‘Rodent activity’ briefly closes SLO County restaurant. See latest inspections

One San Luis Obispo County ramen and sushi restaurant was ordered to temporarily shut down due to rodent activity in “multiple critical areas” of the facility last month.

That was one of the most notable conditions San Luis Obispo County health inspectors found in August 2025 during dozens of surprise visits to eating and drinking establishments.

Many food and beverage sellers passed with flying colors, while others needed to make serious improvements. Every month, The Tribune prints the lowest- and highest-ranked eateries to give diners more information about the places where they buy food and drinks.

Inspectors visit restaurants, bars, coffee shops, grocery stores, mini-marts and more on a monthly basis. They score eateries on a 0-point scale and make deductions based on the severity of the violations they find. Negative scores represent businesses with violations, while a restaurant with a score of 0 received a perfect score.

This is a change from the agency’s previous scoring system, which ranked eateries on a 100-point scale.

To check out the safety and cleanliness of your favorite restaurants around the county, visit EatSafeSLO.org and use the interactive map to view full inspection reports.

Here are the highs and lows of the 155 inspections Environmental Health employees conducted in August.

Los Osos restaurant briefly closes due to rodent infestation

Kuma in Los Osos was ordered to temporarily shut down Aug. 27 after an inspector observed numerous health code violations at the property — including apparent rodent activity throughout the facility.

According to inspection notes, the restaurant at 2011 10th St. had “evidence of rodent activity in multiple critical areas including the sushi bar, the hot line and the dry storage area.” The inspector also noted there was no hot water available in the kitchen or sushi bar at the time of the inspection.

Because of those two major violations, the restaurant was told to close and remain closed until it was given the go-ahead by the Environmental Health Services Division to reopen.

Meanwhile, the inspector also observed cooked vegetables in a pan without temperature control, raw fish being improperly defrosted and an exterior door kept propped open.

In a follow-up inspection the next day, Kuma was allowed to reopen after all the violations observed were corrected.

Lowest-rated restaurants

Mirazur Restaurant, 1365 2nd St., Los Osos

Points lost: 56

Notes: The Los Osos restaurant lost a whopping 56 points during its routine inspection Aug. 5, for violations ranging from improper heating and cooling to issues with sanitizing.

According to inspection notes, the restaurant lost points for employees repeatedly washing their hands in a prep sink and not a specified hand wash sink. It also was dinged for a too-warm prep cooler that was not keeping potentially hazardous and ready-to-eat foods at the right temperature and cold food being improperly reheated in the facility’s steam table.

Round Table Pizza, 1600 W. Grand Ave., Grover Beach

Points lost: 46

Notes: Round Table Pizza in Grover Beach was told it would have to be re-inspected in August after its routine inspection revealed a number of serious health code violations. According to inspection notes, the facility’s walk-in refrigerator measured at 62 degrees — well above the 41 degree maximum allowed. According to the inspector, the unit had been at the incorrect temperature for about 24 hours and still had “several potentially hazardous food items stored inside.” Employees voluntarily disposed of the fridge’s contents. The restaurant’s self-service salad bar also clocked in at 57 degrees during inspection, once again well above the 41 degree max allowed, according to inspection notes.

Other major violations included rodent droppings and poison observed in the back storage area of the facility from a past vermin issue and no hot water at the hand sink in the kitchen.

Umi Sushi & Sake, 1108 Pine St., Paso Robles

Points lost: 39

Notes: Umi Sushi & Sake in Paso Robles lost points during its routine August inspection due primarily to minor violations, mostly centered around a lack of knowledge of food and sanitation best practices. According to inspection notes, workers were told to stop storing a rice scoop in room temperature, standing water; washing hands in the food prep sink on the sushi line and keeping employee personal items in food prep and storage locations. The restaurant was also told to ensure all employees were food-handler-card certified, that their dish machine was correctly dispensing sanitizer and to clean and sanitize food debris and grime from the freezer and fridge gaskets in the kitchen.

Branch Street Deli & Pizzeria, 203 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande

Points lost: 35

Notes: The Arroyo Grande pizzeria and deli lost points for a number of repeat violations found during its routine inspection in August. Those included not having hot water test strips available for its mechanical warewasher, raw wood at the soda station, a toilet room door propped open to the kitchen, multiple other doors kept propped open throughout the rest of the facility and mops being kept against the wall of the back kitchen.

Other violations food-handler cards. The facility was also told to implement a deep cleaning scheduled to ensure equipment is moved for cleaning.

These businesses also lost 30 or more points due to violations.

• Yamato Japanese Restaurant, 1741 W. Grand Ave, Grover Beach
• Mason Bar, 307 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande
• Monarca Restaurant, 1104 Pine St., Paso Robles

Highest-rated restaurants

These stores and restaurants received perfect scores of 0, with few to no violations.

San Luis Obispo

• Broad Street Shell, 4021 Broad St.
• Cafe Crepes de SLO, 785 Marsh St. Ste A
• Dave’s Hot Chicken, 299 B Madonna Road
• Elks Lodge #322, 222 Elks Lane
• Food-4-Less, 3985 S Higuera St.
• J & L Hawaiian BBQ, 2256 Broad St. #120
• Krobar Craft Distillery, 1701 Monterey St.
• La Biga, 1803 Spring St. Pod 1,2,4
• La Lomita Ranch, 1995 La Lomita Way
• Taco King, 158 S Higuera Ste B
• Taco Rico, 3975 S Higuera St. #101

North Coast

• Caliwala, 1229 3rd St., Los Osos
• Kuma, 2011 10th St., Los Osos (reinspection)
• Nautical Bean, 911 Main St., Morro Bay
• The Optimyst, 4056 Burton Drive, Cambria

South County

• Beachin Biscuits, 800 Price St., Pismo Beach
• Flora and Fauna Fine Food, 816 E Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande
• Gogo Thai Restaurant, 968 W Grand Ave. #102, Grover Beach
• HIH Pismo Cafe, 620-B Cypress St., Pismo Beach
• Iry-N-Blenders, 590 Dolliver St., Pismo Beach
• Twisted Sodas, 671 W Tefft St. #11, Nipomo

North County

• Ancient Owl Beer Garden and Bottle Shoppe, 6090 El Camino Real Ste. C, Atascadero
• Black Sheep Sourdough Micro-Bakery, 1306 Pine St. #D, Paso Robles
• Cambria Hotel - Templeton, 1000 Las Tablas Road, Templeton
• China Gourmet Restaurant, 153 Niblick Road, Paso Robles
• Courtyard by Marriott, 120 S Vine St., Paso Robles
• El Guacho Mexican Food, 5625 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Farmhouse Motel, 425 Spring St., Paso Robles
• Grapes & Grains, 1240 Spring St., Paso Robles
• Hampton Inn & Suites, 212 Alexa Court, Paso Robles
• Heritage Ranch Recreation, Heritage Ranch, Paso Robles
• Holiday House-Heritage Ranch, 3330 Harbor Circle, Paso Robles
• Kikka at Valley Fresh Market, 1905 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• La Bellasera Hotel and Suites, 206 Alexa Court, Paso Robles
• Le Gourmet Spot, 1032 Pine St., Paso Robles
• Refuge Church, 6955 Portola Road, Atascadero
• River Lodge Hotel, 1955 Theatre Drive, Paso Robles
• Sensorio, 4380 E Highway 46, Paso Robles
• Sasquatch Coffee House, 6090 El Camino Real, Unit A, Atascadero
• Spice Cult Tea, 8389 Plane View Place, Paso Robles
• Sun Outdoors Central Coast Wine Country, 2500 Airport Road, Paso Robles
• Templeton Tennis Ranch, LLC, 345 Championship Lane, Templeton
• The Habit Burger Grill, 7340 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Valley Fresh Market II, 1855 El Camino Real, Atascadero

This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 10:00 AM.