That Cool Travel Couple

We really enjoyed our visit to this adorable Spanish style restaurant in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo. Here are some of the highlights.

The Ambiance

When you first walk in, there is a gorgeous sun soaked patio with ample seating and red umbrellas to keep you nice and cool. The red plastic chairs are somewhat unfortunate, but the surrounding plants and greenery make up for it.

Inside has more of a vintage vibe, with brightly painted walls and old fashioned posters. Again, lots of plants, which we loved!

The Food

Let’s be real – the ambiance matters, but not as much as the FOOD. We were truly blown away by the quality of the dishes that were sent out. Of note, we were part of a large group which was great because we got to try so many things!

One stand out amongst the apps was the grilled brie. It was simple but absolutely amazing. Amongst the garden shareables, we highly recommend the spicy spuds. By the way they are not very spicy – more garlic deliciousness. One of our favorite spins on patatas bravas that we’ve tried.

There are so many delicious things on the menu it’s hard to narrow it down. We really enjoyed the lamb lollipops. The gambas al ajillo were absolutely phenomenal. The shrimp are obviously the star of the dish, but we fought over the crusty bread that’s soaked in chili oil at the bottom. We also really loved the tacos, especially the birria. They were super juicy and delicious.

The standout at Luna Red is the paella. We dare to say this is the best paella you’ll find outside of Spain. There are also VEGGIE FRIENDLY OPTIONS which we really appreciated! When we visited Spain and ordered paella it was quite difficult to order with dietary restrictions. This made us appreciate the wonderful servers at Luna Red all the more. Many of their paella options are seafood forward and there’s an option of saffron or squid ink rice. Since it takes about 35 minutes to cook, you’ll definitely want to order some other dishes so you don’t get HANGER.

The Drinks

The coffee at this place is amazing. We can never go to a brunch place without trying the coffee, and it’s free unlimited refills. (save caffeine room for Turkish coffee at Lokum – check out our SLO post here!)

There are a wide variety of cocktails available here – we kept it to just one! We shared the Sup, Doc? which is a delicious concoction of gin, carrot, cucumber, lemon and thyme. So fresh and tasty!

The Service

10/10! As we said, we were part of a big party which is often a big challenge. The wait staff was amazing and gave us great recommendations. They didn’t get anything wrong in our order, and paid attention to dietary restrictions. They made sure our water and coffee glasses were always full. Honestly, they did a wonderful job and no criticism here at all.

If you’re visiting Luna Red, make sure you check out the rest that San Luis Obispo has to offer here!