Novo Restaurant & Lounge
| Address: | 726 Higuera St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, USA |
| Phone: | +1 805-543-3986 |
| Site: | novorestaurant.com |
| Rating: | 4.4 |
| Working: | 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 10AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
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Nathan Delaney
I dont frequent this place, but I have a friend who went to Poly who always goes when she visits. Ive always been a fan of the location and of the owners, but have never been as impressed with Novo as I have been with Robins. The location is fantastic, you cant beat having dinner overlooking the creek while in SLO. The food is usually really good, but there have definitely been a few times that the food wasnt cooked well. Unfortunately this last experience was the same, mostly good, but still not great. Our group ordered a couple of drinks and then also brought a bottle of wine. We all requested water as well since we would be dining for awhile. The waiter while cheery and fairly helpful, wasnt the most attentive, and left water glasses empty for long periods of time (15+ minutes) which was terrible. Our cocktails were great and the bartender was super friendly, but even he botched the order a little bit. One of the 3 drinks was supposed to be neat, but he served it on the rocks ruining the drink. The food was good, the salmon bisque is an absolute staple and is worth coming back for on its own. The other food we ordered included Chow Novo, Lavender Lamb, and Lettuce Wraps. The waiter was very helpful with the recommendation for the beef with the lettuce wraps and the chicken with the chow novo, otherwise we probably would have had chicken and tofu. Thankfully his recommendations were spot on, the beef was fantastic with the lettuce wrap. Made for a really nice balance and the beef wasnt very heavy like youd normally expect. Chow Novo also was spot on, noodles were perfect, seasoning nice and light, very light oil and the chicken was nice and tender. The big disappointment of the night was the lamb. It is usually a go to for me when I dine here, but the last two times it has been burnt on the outside and overcooked. Of the three chops only one had even a hint of red in the meat. I used to order this and it would be a nice light char on the outside and a fairly deep red in the center of the chop. Who ever the chef is now likes to give a heavy char and leave the lamb 90%+ brown which is a shame. Overall, still a good experience, but stay away from the lamb these days.
GE
Genevieve Andrews
The wait time was huge and the food was not all that great. We were seated about 7:30, we did not see our server for at least 15 minutes when he came he took our drink order and then disappeared for a good 20 minutes. When he brought our drinks he dropped them and left to take the order at a table that had been seated after us. He then came back to take our food order, he was a little rude when it came to some special requests due to food allergies, he left to put or order in and did not come back to check on us for a good 30 minutes. When he came back one of the people sitting with us asked about how much longer until the food came out, he gave us some excuse about how the Chevre took a long time to roast. My friend then asked if we could get some bread with balsamic and oil while we waited. He brought bread for all the tables and dropped off ours last. Finally about an hour after we ordered our food it finally came out. Unfortunately for the wait the food was not very good. One of my friends ordered the special Halibut and it was over cooked and dry. I ordered the petite filet it was cold and buried under a massive pile of blue cheese, the vegetables were incredibly salty and the mashed potatoes were grainey and flavorless. No one pleased with their meal. Once we were done eating it took another 15 minutes before the waiter came back to offer us dessert we declined and asked for our check. We had a party of 4 and asked to split the check 3 ways, he brought the bill unsplit, when we asked to have it split he took it back and split it into 2. At this point we just payed and sorted the rest out among us. when he took our cards to run them it was another 15 minutes to get them back. We did not leave the restaurant until 10:00. We will not go here again it is way over hyped.
SA
Sally Elbassir
Saturday night of a holiday weekend, and I scoped out the top-rated places on yelp. Somehow I got lucky and my friend and i had a short wait AND ended up with a table on the back patio. Score! I absolutely LOVED the ambiance. It was a warm summer night, the lights were on, and the DJ music was the perfect relaxing touch. My friend and I love to share everything, so we ordered a few things: Samosas - Perfect. Crispy on the outside, delicious seasoning on the inside, and just enough spice to be hot but not overkill. Well-complemented with the yogurt mint sauce. Short ribs - Also really well-seasoned. Not too sweet and very tender - the meat fell right off the bone. Chow novo with chicken - I was REALLY disappointed in this dish. They split into two bowls for us which was nice, but the overall noodles and chicken were very bland. Good texture and well-cooked, but somehow they missed it on the seasoning part. Vanilla creme brûlée - Came with berries on top, and way better than the OG creme brulee. Not overly sweet or heavy. I believe it was on special that night! Overall decent prices, good fusion food and great ambiance.
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Nancy Smith
Went to Novos for lunch on a Wednesday. We were seated creekside, even though it was very windy. Leaves and acorns kept blowing onto our table. Service was very slow. After we had received our drinks one of their umbrellas blew over hitting the lady at the table next to us in the back and then landing on our table spilling my hot tea and our other drinks. Someone came and picked up the umbrella and asked if we were okay. We sat there for a while with the spilled drinks all over our table and then the manager motioned to one of the waiters to clean it up. The mess was cleaned up and eventually our food came. No one asked the lady who got hit in the back how she was. Our food was great. When it came time for our bill there was no compensation for what had happened. We asked to see the manager and explained what had happened and he said he hadnt known. We mentioned the lady that was hit in the back, he never asked her if she was okay or filed a report etc. He acted like we were a bother and finally compensated for part of our bill. We were appalled to be treated that way.
JA
Jason Matthews
Absolutely loved our meals and the outdoor seating by the river with all the lights. The bar room up front is nice too with great artwork. Perfect date place. The appetizers and entrees were delicious with a great selection of California cuisine--my 14 oz New York Strip thick and tasty. Really did not like the flat bottom iron chairs. I should have asked if they had cushions because my butt was aching by the end of the meal--same as one of my kids. Shame since it is such a nice place but not comfortable seating. Also was a little surprised it took about 15 minutes to get an ice bucket for the champagne we brought even though it was seen by the hostess, the water boy and our waiter well before anyone thought we could use some ice. The staff was very pleasant though. Prices in line with quality food. Didnt see any real bargains in food or the extensive wine/beer/drink options.
