Buona Tavola

Open daily for dinner 5:30 - 9:30pm (Fri and Sat until 10pm)
lunch served Mon - Fri, 11:30am - 2:30pm (Thurs until 2pm)

Buona Tavola is a popular Italian restaurant situated in San Luis Obispo's delightfully vibrant downtown. I highly recommend dining in downtown San Luis Obispo where you can enjoy a richly diverse shopping area, and an abundance of history and beauty with the mission, parks and river.

The indoor dining at Buona Tavola is somewhat limited, but there are plenty of tables outside by the fountain in the garden area. Outdoor heaters keep the experience pleasant even when the weather turns cool.

We started our meal with a generous salad of fresh greens, diced pears, roasted pine nuts and gorganzola cheese. The salad was a special and is not listed on the regular menu. For the main course, my husband ordered the Orecchiette con rapine e salciccia (hat shaped pasta served with rapine broccoli, grilled Italian chicken sausage, sun dried tomatoes, garlic and a light tomato sauce). The flavor of the Italian chicken sausage was unique, and the overall taste was strongly influenced by the sun dried tomatoes and sauce. Although we both enjoyed the dish, it was difficult to finish in one sitting. I was thrilled with my order of Tortelloni di zucca alla salvia e mascarpone. The homemade tortelloni was stuffed with pumpkin and ricotta cheese, served with a light and creamy sage and mascarpone cheese sauce, and topped with toasted walnuts. Delicious! The tortelloni held together well without being chewy, the filling was flavorful and the sauce was perfect. The portion seemed small to begin with, but ended up being plentiful enough to provide me with a delicious lunch the following day.

Buona Tavola does not offer a kid's menu, which gives an indication as to the looks we received upon entering with our family of four. I had called ahead to make a reservation and inquire about our children and was told that we could order simple pasta for our kids. After we were seated and the time came to order, our kids requested spaghetti with butter and parmesan which our server accomodated by bringing an order of penne with butter and parmesan. Fortunately our oldest has learned to see pasta as pasta and proceeded to inhale the entire bowlful. Our kids were happy with the complimentary breads and tapenade as well as tasting the dishes my husband and I ordered. Needless to say, dessert was a must.

We ended the meal with a flourless chocolate cake served with both a raspberry sauce and a creamy white sauce. The single dessert, a special for the evening, was rich enough to satisfy our family of four. The cake was very moist and creamy, and the two sauces, tart and sweet, complimented the dark and bitter chocolate.

The prices at Buona Tavola are on the higher side, at least of the restaurants we have reviewed thus far. The salad was $13.75, and the two pasta dishes were $13.50 and $14. 25. We did end up taking enough home for another meal, so the cost did stretch a bit that way. The special dessert was $9, while most desserts on the menu range in price from $5.75 to $6.75. Salads are $7.25-$13.50, pastas are priced around $11-$18. Steak, chicken, and veal dishes are available for $21-$32. Lunch prices are a few dollars less.

Buona Tavola is located in downtown San Luis Obispo at 1037 Monterey Street, next to the historic Fremont Theatre. Rachael Ray filmed a portion of Food Network's Tasty Travels at Buona Tavola (aired most recently in June of 2007). Another Buona Tavola is located in Paso Robles at 943 Spring Street.