SLO County restaurant inspectors found dead rodent in a trap, cockroach carcasses and more

One restaurant had rodent and cockroach carcasses, another had no hot water and a third was keeping too-warm mayo on the table.

Those were some of the notable conditions San Luis Obispo County health inspectors found in November 2024 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 publishes 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 100-point scale and make deductions based on the severity of the violations they find.

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

Here are the highs and lows of the 192 inspections Environmental Health employees conducted in November.

Lowest-rated restaurants

Agave Grill, 671 W. Tefft St., Nipomo

Points lost: 24.5

Notes: Agave Grill in Nipomo lost a number of points during its routine inspection in November due to repeat health code violations — though its largest single ding came from a new violation: a cook touching their hair and changing tasks without switching gloves or washing their hands. The inspector also observed bags of produce being kept in a hand wash sink, a repeat violation for the South County restaurant. The restaurant was also placing cooked beans into a larger bucket for cooling, had no sanitizer solution set up during food prep and had bulk food storage without lids, according to inspection notes.

Samurai, 1131 Creston Road, Paso Robles

Points lost: 14

Notes: The Paso Robles sushi restaurant was briefly closed after inspectors arrived for the routine inspection on Nov. 14 and discovered no hot water was available. The restaurant was allowed to reopen Nov. 18 after hot water was restored. Meanwhile, a health inspector observed used gloves being stored in a box with new gloves, an employee beverage without a lid and evidence of employee meals in the prep area and no sanitizer buckets being used in the sushi bar area. The inspector also noted raw fish was being stored over ready-to-eat cucumbers and lemons. There was also “evidence of a rodent infestation at the time of inspection,” according to notes, with “numerous rodent droppings in multiple critical areas of the food facility.”

Milestone Tavern, 972 Foothill Blvd., San Luis Obispo

Points lost: 11.5

Notes: During its routine inspection in November, Milestone Tavern in San Luis Obispo was ordered to be reinspected after a number of violations were found. The restaurant was told that all violations must be fixed at the time of that reinspection, or it would be charged for subsequent reinspections. According to the inspection notes, an employee was seen eating and began prepping food without first washing his hands. When the employee was told to wash his hands, there was no soap available at the hand sink the employee used, so they rinsed their hands and returned to food preparation, the inspector noted. The inspector also noted raw cubed beef and raw fish were being stored next to ready-to-eat foods like sliced tomatoes and salsa in the cold top prep cooler, and there was food stored on the floor of the walk-in freezer.

Blast 825 Brewery, 1462 E. Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande

Points lost: 19

Notes: The Arroyo Grande restaurant lost a number of points during its November inspection for repeat violations. Among those were its mechanical dishwasher not dispensing sanitizer and grime built up on the bar soda nozzles and their holders. Cardboard was also being used to line shelving, according to inspection notes. The inspector noted the facility’s prep top unit was also not cooling properly, with foods registering at 45 degrees when they are required to be 41 degrees or lower.

Ramen @ 805, 807 13th St., Paso Robles

Points lost: 18.5

Notes: The Paso Robles ramen restaurant lost points during its November inspection after a whisk was spotted being kept in a hand wash sink and several containers of too-warm mayonnaise were being stored on prep tables. The restaurant also did not have any sanitizer solution set up during active food preparation, there was buildup on the ice chute and two containers were set up to collect water on the floor below the ice machine, according to inspection notes. The inspector also noted that they were unable to verify food manager and food handler safety cards for employees at the time of the inspection.

Taqueria Jalisco, 1912 Creston Road, Paso Robles

Points lost: 13.5

Notes: During the inspection of the Paso Robles restaurant in November, a “dead rodent carcass” was found in a sticky trap behind the water heater, while evidence of a past cockroach infestation was also observed. “Numerous cockroach carcasses were observed near the water heater and along the wall behind the washing machine,” the inspector wrote. The business was told to clean and sanitize all affected areas. Employees were also seen to be improperly cooling potentially hazardous foods, a plastic bag was blocking use of a hand sink and unprotected baskets of chips were being kept in the dining room, according to inspection notes.

These businesses also lost 10 or more points due to violations.

• Pismo Beach Gas, 890 N. 43th St., Pismo Beach

• La Mexicana Restaurant, 7495 El Camino Real, Atascadero

• Shin’s Poke, 361 Pomeroy Ave., Pismo Beach

• Tiger Tea House, 1800 E. Grand Ave., Grover Beach

• Beachin Biscuits, 783 Price St., Pismo Beach

Highest-rated restaurants

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

San Luis Obispo

• Antonia’s Pizza, 891 Higuera St.
• Bamboo Bamboo Chinese Restaurant, 1049 Nipomo St.
• Black Sheep Bar & Grill, 1117 Chorro St.
• Brooks Burgers SLO, 134 Tank Farm Road
• Camp San Luis Obispo - MOA #E0107, Hwy. 1, Building 854
• Ebony, 778 Higuera St., Suite D
• Eureka! SLO, 1141 Chorro St.
• Finney’s Crafthouse, 857 Monterey St.
• Food-4-Less, 3985 S Higuera St.
• Frank’s Famous Hot Dogs, 950 California Blvd.
• Giuseppe’s Cucina Rustica, 849 Monterey St.
• Nate’s on Marsh, 450 Marsh St.
• Panera Bread #6460, 1390 W Branch St.
• Party City, 271-A Madonna Road
• Popeyes Chicken, 840 Foothill Blvd.
• Proof & Gather Baking Company, 778 Higuera St Unit A
• Sally Loo’s Cafe, 1804 Osos St.
• Starbucks #620, 1075 Court St. #110
• Taqueria El Guero, 1122 Chorro St.
• The Neighborhood Cafe and Juice Bar, 3887 South Higuera St., Building 3
• Woodstock’s Pizza Parlor, 1000 Higuera St.

North Coast

• Cambria Nursery and Florist Corporation, 4039 Burton Drive, Cambria
• Del Mar Market, 2864 Main St., Morro Bay
• Mobil Mart, 911 Morro Bay Blvd., Morro Bay

South County

• Fin’s Restaurant, 25 West Grand Ave., Grover Beach
• Honeymoon Cafe, 999 Price St., Pismo Beach
• Oceano Elks Lodge #2504, 410 Airpark Drive, Oceano
• Oxford Suites, 651 Five Cities Drive, Pismo Beach
• Panda Express #932, 1401 East Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande
• Panera Bread #6460, 1390 West Branch St., Arroyo Grande
• Penny’s All-American Cafe, 1053 Price St., Pismo Beach
• Surfside Donuts, 603 Dolliver St., Pismo Beach
• The Scoop Ice Cream Parlor, 607 Dolliver St., Pismo Beach

North County

• Ace Sushi @ Alb66314, 189 Niblick Road, Paso Robles
• Adelaida Cellars, 5805 Adelaida Road, Paso Robles
• Bru Coffee House, 5760 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Carl’s Jr, 7085 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Daou Family Estates, 2777 Hidden Mountain Road, Paso Robles
• Del-Licious, 8550 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• El Camino Liquor, 7403 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Fatte’s Pizza of Atascadero, 5735 El Camino Real, Suite D, Atascadero
• Five Below #1385, 2169 Theatre Drive, Paso Robles
• General Store Paso Robles, 841 12th St., Paso Robles
• Jamba Juice #724, 96 Niblick Road, Paso Robles
• Kindred Oak Farm, 1250 Paint Horse Place, Paso Robles
• Le Cuvier Winery, 3333 Vine Hill Lane, Paso Robles
• Mr. Pickle’s Sandwich Shop, 7177 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Mr. Pickle’s Sandwich Shop, 1477 Creston Road, Suite A, Paso Robles
• Pasolivo, 8530 Vineyard Drive, Paso Robles
• Rava Wines LLC Events Center, 6785 Creston Road, Paso Robles
• Sensorio, 4380 E Highway 46, Paso Robles
• Sirena Vineyard Resort, 3775 Adelaida Road, Paso Robles
• Spearhead Coffee, 619 12th St., Paso Robles
• Starbucks Coffee #5987, 7029 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Subway #1730, 8789 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• The Habit Burger Grill, 7340 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Touch of Mexico, 105 Main St., Templeton
• Trattoria di Luca LLC, 8550 El Camino Real, Suite C, Atascadero
• Vineyard Hills Health Center, 290 Heather Court, Templeton
• Wayside Liquors, 703 Creston Road, Paso Robles
• Wendy’s #11996, 8600 Curbaril Ave., Atascadero