Next stop: renovated depot in San Luis Obispo

Sunset, April, 1988

Next stop: renovated depot in San Luis Obispo

As lovely as the city of San Luis Obispo is, until a few months ago you got no hint of it if you arrived by train. The rundown depot was surrounded by a pothole-riddled lot. Now, several months of improvements have revamped the site, and the renovation may encourage you to arrive in town by train; for schedules, call Amtrak at (805) 541-5028. It certainly has made more attractive an area that increasingly holds the city's most popular restaurants.

The depot, jerrybuilt during World War II, has been opened to light, repainted, and given new flooring. There's also a new covered waiting area for riders heading downtown or to nearby hotels.

The old hotels around the station have fine restaurants. Best--and most crowded --is Cafe Roma (1819 Osos Street; lunch and dinner daily except Sundays), with simple trattoria-style food. Pete's Southside Cafe (1815 Osos Street; lunch and dinner Mondays through Saturdays, brunch Sundays) has Mexican-style seafood, including the dish it's famous for: fish tacos.

From U.S. 101, go southwest 1 1/4 miles on Monterey Street, then turn left (southeast) on Osos Street and continue about a mile to the station.

Photo: Conductor greets potential passenger as southbound train stops in San Luis Obispo, alongside town's renovated depot