Ben's - San Luis Obispo

This place was delicious and I wish I had known about this restaurant when I was going to school in SLO. Upon entering, we were quickly greeted and seated by the friendly staff. There is a bar right at the entrance with the restaurant seating around the corner. There is plenty of booth and table seating with a fireplace in the main dining area with larger tables for parties further back in the restaurant. There is also a large banquet room in the very back of the restaurant for large events. In addition there is some outdoor seating with overhead heat lamps and a covering to keep warm and dry. While browsing the menu (which was a little pricey), we were offered free bread which was amazing! So amazing that my family couldn't stop eating it and asked for more which they gladly brought over. My family ordered a variety of items from the menu with the two highlights being the meatball sandwich and penne rustica. The meatball sandwich which was the only thing that got my sister through our hike earlier that day is only offered at lunch; however, the chef made an exception and allowed her to order it for dinner! The bread was toasted just right and the filling was warm and tasty. It was definitely filling. The penne rustica was also delicious. There were at least 6 pieces of shrimp and plenty of chicken in my dish. It was a lot more filling than I expected. I appreciated the large portion of food! Our waiter, Cameron was so sweet and cheerful during our entire visit. She ensured that we always had enough water and even put our leftover food into a take home box for us. Wonderful experience!

Upper Crust has so much potential to receive a 5 star rating from me. It is so great, but just falling short here and there. I went there last night and have been there four or five times in the last month or two. It 's on my way home and an old favorite that is sometimes forgotten by those on the other side of town. So I took a work colleague and we had some business to discuss so we completely forgot that it is January and Restaurant Month in SLO County. We ordered a bottle of wine, two salads and an entrée to share. After the salads and wine came I thought OMG it 's Restaurant Month, right? Yes, they are participating again and it 's a great deal. Unfortunately for us, it was too late. I sincerely wish that we had received the Restaurant Month menu when we were seated or at least asked about it. Wine would be 25% off and for $30 it comes with an app, an entrée and dessert. We had a great bottle of Sav Blanc from Presquille and the salad came. I had the kale cranberry, which I have had before. The kale was a little tough and needed a massage, but very good. Then we shared the scampi Florentine, which was a little light on shrimp, okay with me because I am not a big shrimp fan, so I had the artichokes. Then another friend came and we ordered another bottle and they graciously brought more bread and let us hang out there for a very long time. The service was great and very friendly. They have lots of wine by the glass including local favorites at reasonable prices. I have had the eggplant parm before and I love that, so if you are vegetarian, there is something yummy for you too! Don 't forget to ask for the special menu in January!

Really enjoyed this cozy restaurant and a great lunch. Our son came in for the holidays and was in the LOVR/Costco area, and we Remembered UCT for a good meal in a setting where we could talk easily, not rush, and enjoy catching up. The staff is friendly and welcoming. We we're lucky enough to get Michelle waiting on us, she has been our server in the past too, and is super accommodating and gives the perfect amount of check ins but never intrusive with too many visits. Too often at restaurants today, servers don't get that you might want to enjoy your drinks and casually take a look at the menu and enjoy more of an experience there vs. feeling like their table should be turned and us feeling pressured to place an order. This is never the case at Upper Crust we really had a great lunch, had time to talk and then place our lunch order. Nice touch is getting some free dough knots that I think had some garlic butter on them we then enjoyed a great kale salad that we shared and two pizzas. Yum! It was a great Lunch and we will return. Nice spot with interior fireplaces for a quiet sit down lunch.

Love this place. The food is great and the service is fantastic! I didn 't get our servers name but she really made the experience memorable. She was attentive, friendly, fast and went the extra mile. She even left the date on my to go leftovers! So sweet!

Though not always on the menu, there's a pizza you can order here (and you must order it! the Fig and prosciutto. Yikes! And Yes!! Truly stone fired thin bubbly crust with prosciutto, fig slices, gorgonzola, balsamic glaze and piled high with fresh arrivals on top. Best of the best! Work of culinary art! Must taste! They also do a nice Bruccetta classico with excellent ripe heirloom tomatoes, Burrata, garlic, fresh basil, balsamic, olive oil and there own freshly baked Italian bread. The atmosphere is warm. Beautiful central coast paintings by one of the owners on the wall, sweet little bar area, that always seems friendly. No television thank the Gods, and not a chain-yay! Sooo hungry right now!