New French cafe, Mongolian BBQ bring ‘a little bit of fun’ to downtown SLO

Vietnamese cuisine, French pastries and Mongolian barbeque — San Luis Obispo restaurant owner Alexandra Nguyen wants to do it all.

Nguyen has owned Lotus Asia’s Best, a Vietnamese restaurant in downtown San Luis Obispo for seven years. Now, she’s bringing French and Mongolian cuisine to the area as well.

“I wanted to bring a little bit of fun to San Luis,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen opened French cafe Petite Paris in Suite 4 at Mission Mall, 746 Higuera St. in San Luis Obispo, on Wednesday. She planned to open Mongo Madness, a Mongolian barbeque restaurant, in a neighboring Mission Mall spot, Suite 6, on Saturday.

Nguyen had been thinking of opening a downtown restaurant that would pay tribute to her French roots for about three years. When two suites opened in Mission Mall, it was the perfect opportunity for the ambitious restaurant owner.

“Paris is a city of love and lights, and I hold it very dear to my heart,” Nguyen said.

Petite Paris will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. Nguyen said closing hours may extend to 4 p.m. depending on customer response.

The cafe will primarily serve French-style breakfast and feature a bakery that offers regular and gluten-free pastries.

Nguyen said Mongo Madness, open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, is reminiscent of her original Lotus restaurant.

Nguyen opened Lotus in 2011 in the historic Railroad Square District of San Luis Obispo before moving to her current spot at 1131 Broad St. in 2015.

While Lotus was near the San Luis Obispo rail station, the restaurant served both Vietnamese food and Mongolian-style barbeque. However, Lotus’ new downtown location did not have enough room for the barbeque.

Nguyen said she jumped at the chance to serve Mongolian barbeque once again.

For more information, call 805-493-1198 or go to lotusslo.com.

This story was originally published August 4, 2018 at 10:24 AM.