Health inspectors checked 152 SLO County restaurants last month. What they found

One restaurant had black and pink grime in its ice machines, two had employees not properly washing their hands and several had food handler certification issues.

Those were some of the notable conditions San Luis Obispo County health inspectors found in January 2026 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 152 inspections Environmental Health employees conducted in January 2026.

Lowest-rated restaurants

Big Bubba’s Bad BBQ, 1125 24th St., Paso Robles

Points lost: 57

Notes: The Paso Robles barbecue restaurant lost points for a number of violations during its routine inspection in January. The most notable violations included employees keeping personal drinking cups with no lids in the prep area and storing them on food equipment, staff not washing hands prior to putting on gloves, a buildup of food on the meat slicer and no sanitizer solution set up during active food prep. The restaurant also lost points for not having sanitizer solution in the automatic dish machine, not posting a consumer advisory on serving raw or undercooked food and not having a copy of the latest health inspection report on site. Big Bubba’s also lost points for a repeat violation because no staff on site had food handler safety certification.

Aliyah’s Kitchen Seafood and Grill, 1344 Park St., Paso Robles

Points lost: 45

Notes: During its routine inspection in January, Aliyah’s lost points for rice not being held at and then reheated to the correct temperature, a “large accumulation of empty bottles and extra equipment at the back of the facility” and no sanitizer in the automatic dish machine. It also lost points for untagged oysters in the freezer and not having a staff member with a food manager safety card at the time of inspection.

Beso, 1050 Willow Road, Nipomo

Points lost: 41

Notes: Beso in Nipomo lost a majority of points during its routine inspection last month for cleaning issues throughout the restaurant. According to inspection results, the health inspector observed “black and pink grime” on the ice chute for both the kitchen and bar ice machines, grime on equipment throughout the kitchen and in “multiple floor sinks” and an accumulation of food debris and grime underneath equipment in both the kitchen and the bars. The restaurant was advised to implement not only a procedure to keep everyday nonfood contact surfaces clean, but also a deep cleaning schedule to ensure that equipment is moved for cleaning.

J’s Burgers, 747 Spring St., Paso Robles

Points lost: 30

Notes: J’s Burgers in Paso Robles lost points during its inspection in January for predominately minor issues, including not having a hand wash sign posted in its toilet room, a degrading wall at a mop sink, a light out under its hood system, no food manager’s certificate on hand and bags of onions being kept on the floor. Its only major violation was a direction to ensure that mployees wash hands with pump soap and paper towels.

These businesses also lost 20 or more points due to violations.

• Aliyah’s Kitchen, 575 S. Main St., Templeton
• Bronco Burgers, 1925 Golden Hill Road, Paso Robles
• La Reyna Market, 532 24th St., Paso Robles
• Templeton Mercantile, 508 Main St., Templeton
• Paso Robles Inn, 1103 Spring St., Paso Robles

Highest-rated restaurants

These stores and restaurants received scores of 100, with few to no violations.

San Luis Obispo

• Ace Sushi @ Vons2306, 3900 Broad St.
• Avila Pismo RV Resort & Campground, 7075 Ontario Road
• Baby Bear Biscuits Southern Cafe, 811 Froom Ranch Way, Ste. 130
• Efren’s Mexican Restaurant, 892 Marsh St.
• Giuseppe’s Cucina Rustica, 849 Monterey St.
• Gold Land BBQ, 570 Higuera St, Ste. 101
• Hampton Inn & Suites, 1530 Calle Joaquin
• Harmony’s Tiny Kitchen, countywide
• Hotel Buena Vista, 2050 Garfield
• Hotel Cerro, 1125 Garden St.
• J & L Hawaiian BBQ, 2256 Broad St., #120
• La Cuesta Inn, 2074 Monterey St.
• Los Verdes Park 1, 92 Los Verdes Drive
• Madonna Inn, 100 Madonna Road
• Mcdonald’s #7675, 275 Madonna Road
• My Friend Mike’s, 2324 Broad St.
• My Thai Restaurant, 1815 Osos St.
• Panda Express #861, 789 Foothill Blvd.
• Sands Inn and Suites, 1930 Monterey St.
• Secrets Of The Garden, 2050 Parker St.
• Villain Bakery, 722 Marsh St.

North Coast

• Morro Bay Farmers Market, 2650 Main St., Morro Bay

South County

• 805 BBQ Brand, 115 Cuyama Lane, Nipomo
• Beachin Biscuits, 800 Price St., Pismo Beach
• Fervala Enterprises, 1353 20th Court, Oceano
• Phresh Foods Co., 589 May St., Arroyo Grande
• Spyglass Inn, 2705 Spyglass Drive, Pismo Beach
• Varian Ranch, 2060 Varian Circle, Arroyo Grande
• Yo, Banana Boy!, 1381 S 4th St., Oceano

North County

• Ace Sushi @ Vons2314, 7135 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Adelaide Motel, 1215 Ysabel Road, Paso Robles
• Alba Provisions & Flowers, 3090 Anderson Road, Paso Robles
• ALF Food Pantry, 5411 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Allegretto Vineyard Resort, 2700 Buena Vista Drive, Paso Robles
• Angela’s Pastries, 1401 Park St., Ste. 104, Paso Robles
• Ben’s Custom Meats, 6100 Rocky Canyon Road, Atascadero
• Cowboy Caribe’s Ltd, 825 Riverside Ave. #12, Paso Robles
• Cured And Cultivated, 825 Riverside Ave. #5, Paso Robles
• Dubs Soul Food, 1144 Black Oak Drive, Paso Robles
• Eberle Winery Ltd, 3810 Highway 46 E, Paso Robles
• Evers Park Snack Bar, Gibson Road, Templeton
• Grace And Rose, 745 Park St., Paso Robles
• Halter Ranch, 2300 Airport Road, Paso Robles
• La Quinta Inn & Suites, 2615 Buena Vista Drive, Paso Robles
• Levine Chocolates, 325 Primrose Lane, Paso Robles
• Mitchell Vineyard & Winery, 2515 Mitchell Ranch Way, Paso Robles
• Motel 6 Atascadero, 9400 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Paso Robles Inn, 1103 Spring St., Paso Robles
• Pizza Planet, 717 6th St., Paso Robles
• Pozo Toffee, 1555 Parkhill Road, Santa Margarita
• River Oaks Hot Springs Spa, 800 Clubhouse Drive, Paso Robles
• Springhill Suites Paso Robles, 900 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Taco Mafia, 340 14th St. A, San Miguel
• Templeton Chocolates, 6480 Navajo Ave., Atascadero
• Templeton Spirits, 575 Se Main, Templeton
• The Charcuterie Bar, 2915 Union Road, Ste. A, Paso Robles
• Yes Cocktail Company, 2915 Union Road, Ste. A, Paso Robles