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Gardens of Avila Restaurant, San Luis Obispo, CA

Gardens of Avila Restaurant

4.4 (990)
$31 to $50
Californian
1215 Avila Beach Dr., San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

Make a reservation

2 people
10:30 PM
Booked 13 times today

About this restaurant

  • Charming
  • Good for special occasions
  • Romantic
The Gardens Restaurant at Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort, a favorite spot for locals as well as travelers, is situated in a beautiful garden setting in the Avila Valley. Savor the flavors of the award-winning contemporary California cuisine inspired by the surrounding local wine country.

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Californian, American, Farm-to-table
  • Hours of operation
    Daily 8:00 am–2:00 pm Dinner Daily 5:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Phone number
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Executive chef
    Joshua Jones
  • Catering
    We offer catering by our Gardens Restaurant onsite in our banquet rooms. We offer many dining options, packages and menu choices for parties of 12 or more. We offer plated dishes and buffet. Our Event Manager will work with you directly with you to ensure a memorable dining experience.
  • Private party facilities
    Our event facilities have a wide variety of configurations and settings to meet your specific needs. The Palm Room, which features cathedral ceilings and large windows can accommodate up to 50 guests. The Fireside Room can accommodate up to 15 guests & the Fireside/Palm Rooms together accommodate up to 65. Reservations Required thru Events Manager.
  • Neighborhood
    San Luis Obispo
  • Cross street
    Hwy 101
  • Parking details
    Complimentary onsite parking
  • Public transit
    Avila BeachPismo Beach
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Indoor Fireplace, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

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What 990 people are saying

Gardens of Avila Restaurant reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.4
4.4 based on recent ratings
  • 4.3Food
  • 4.6Service
  • 4.6Ambience
  • 4.1Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • San Luis Obispo / Paso Robles

    Best Overall

  • San Luis Obispo / Paso Robles

    Best Food

  • San Luis Obispo / Paso Robles

    Best Service

  • San Luis Obispo / Paso Robles

    Best Ambiance

  • San Luis Obispo / Paso Robles

    Healthy

  • San Luis Obispo / Paso Robles

    Great for fine wines

  • San Luis Obispo / Paso Robles

    Great for outdoor dining

  • San Luis Obispo / Paso Robles

    Romantic

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Gardens of Avila Restaurant offers a "beautiful setting" with a "peaceful, charming" ambiance and "delicious, farm-to-table" cuisine. Guests appreciate the attentive service and "beautifully presented" dishes, featuring highlights like "amazing short ribs" and "outstanding seafood." Despite occasional service hiccups, the restaurant's unique location and "wonderful experience" are often praised.
990 Reviews
  1. Christopher VIP

    California Central Coast92 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Fantastic food and friendly service. Portions are on the larger side, so come hungry.

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  2. Stephanie VIP

    Orange County29 reviews

    3.0

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    Don't order the beet salad, all beets and nothing else. Salmon portion was very small but cookd perfectly. Maybe we just hit an off night, we dined with friends, and they weren't enthusiastic about the food either. Service was good, I just think they were short staffed, she was very sweet.

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  3. Brian VIP

    Dallas - Fort Worth141 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on June 15, 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4
    1st time there while in vacation. Nice property. Limited parking. Food was above average. My wife’s fish came out cold and had to be remade. Limited wine list and they were out our first choice, but the recommended replacement was quite good. The “sommelier” struggled with opening bottle and clanking glasses with bottle while filling away from table. No tasting and overfilling glasses without leaving cork. Also put bottle in ice bucket without ice. Our Mourvèdre red blend didn’t need an ice bucket - with or without ice. It was just weird for this level of restaurant. When they took my wife’s fish away to redo, the manager came out and told her to keep and enjoy her broccolini and rice. She wasn’t going to want cold rice either so she asked for that to be redone too. Food ended up being quite good, but the service really struggled All evening.

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  4. N

    California Central Coast1 review

    2.0

    Dined on June 15, 2025

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Unfortunately, the meal was a major disappointment, despite a couple of small highlights. The bread and honey butter were genuinely good — warm, soft, and comforting. Sadly, everything that followed fell short in a big way. The shrimp appetizer was tiny and buried in a thick, bland coating that overwhelmed what little shrimp was there. It lacked flavor entirely. Next came the Caesar salad, which was surprisingly off the mark. It had none of the classic Caesar elements — no anchovy, no garlic, no tangy bite. It was flat and unrecognizable as a Caesar at all. The main course, a pork chop, looked beautiful when it arrived, but that promise ended with the first bite. It was dry, unseasoned, and flavorless. There wasn’t even a touch of salt on the crust. Overall, the experience was frustrating because the basics — like bread and butter — were done well, but the actual dishes fell apart in execution. I hope the kitchen revisits its recipes and seasoning, because right now, the food just isn’t working. Even the menu itself felt uninspired. Dishes like the “ABC Burger” don’t offer anything new or memorable — it’s something you’d find at any average café. For a place that seems to aim for something elevated, the creativity just wasn’t there. Overall, it felt like a missed opportunity. With some solid basics in place, there’s so much potential here, but as a former food critic, I can't recommend other than eating because of its beautiful setting.

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  5. Elizabeth and Bob

    California Central Coast16 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on June 5, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    My husband and I celebrated a special anniversary dinner here. The entire staff made our meal so special. The food was absolutely delicious and beautifully presented. Love that they have their own organic garden on site.

    Is this helpful?

  6. Linda

    San Francisco Bay Area4 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on June 3, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Friendly service. Delicious meal. Pretty presentation. Very leisurely paced. Don’t be in a hurry for a quick bite.

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  7. Nancy VIP

    Orange County142 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on May 25, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We were tired and we were not real hungry so we came here and it was great as usual. I always get an old-fashioned.

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  8. alice

    Las Vegas2 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on May 24, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    I only didn’t give 5 stars because my filet was overcooked . That saying it was still tender and tasted fabulous just wasn’t med it was med well. The seafood chowder was top notch. Best chowder I’ve ever eaten.

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  9. Kelli VIP

    Las Vegas67 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on May 18, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Another amazing breakfast! Shout out to our wonderful server Macy(?) Not sure about the spelling. We dined on the patio and it was the perfect temperature.

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  10. Kelli VIP

    Las Vegas67 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on May 15, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent food in a beautiful restaurant! The service was terrific. After breakfast we walked over the bridge to the Secret Garden. It lovely and the gardener was friendly and knowledgeable. What a great experience!

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Gardens of Avila Restaurant offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (805) 595-7365.

Gardens of Avila Restaurant is rated 4.4 stars by 990 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

  1. Home
  2. United States
  3. California Central Coast
  4. San Luis Obispo / Paso Robles
  5. San Luis Obispo

Make a reservation

2 people
10:30 PM
Booked 13 times today
Google Map for Gardens of Avila Restaurant

1215 Avila Beach Dr., San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross street
    Hwy 101
  • Neighborhood
    San Luis Obispo
  • Hours of operation
    Daily 8:00 am–2:00 pm Dinner Daily 5:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Californian, American, Farm-to-table
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Parking details
    Complimentary onsite parking
  • Public transit
    Avila BeachPismo Beach
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Joshua Jones
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Indoor Fireplace, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine
  • Phone number
  • Catering
    We offer catering by our Gardens Restaurant onsite in our banquet rooms. We offer many dining options, packages and menu choices for parties of 12 or more. We offer plated dishes and buffet. Our Event Manager will work with you directly with you to ensure a memorable dining experience.
  • Private party facilities
    Our event facilities have a wide variety of configurations and settings to meet your specific needs. The Palm Room, which features cathedral ceilings and large windows can accommodate up to 50 guests. The Fireside Room can accommodate up to 15 guests & the Fireside/Palm Rooms together accommodate up to 65. Reservations Required thru Events Manager.
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