Taqueria Santa Cruz Express is a mexican budget eat in Upper Monterey, San Luis Obispo.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Tip: The Foothill Boulevard branch at 862 Foothill runs later into the evening for the campus crowd.
Address: 1308 Monterey Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
San Luis Taqueria plates burritos and enchiladas at counter prices on Chorro Street, staying open past midnight when San Luis Obispo needs it most.
Try: Carnitas burritos
Tip: Thursday to Saturday it serves until 01:00, later than nearly every kitchen downtown.
Petra Mediterranean Pizza & Grill feeds San Luis Obispo generously for the money, with gyro wraps in fresh-baked pita and an all-day Sunday happy hour.
Try: Gyro wraps and falafel
Tip: Happy hour runs 15:00-18:00 and all day Sunday; the second branch sits inside SLO Public Market.
SloDoCo Donuts sells a hundred varieties for pocket change 24 hours a day, San Luis Obispo's cheapest, latest and most democratic institution.
Try: Doughnuts around the clock
Tip: The bacon maple bar is the 03:00 order; a second SLO shop runs on Higuera Street downtown.
Mee Heng Low Noodle House serves generous chop suey bowls at fair prices on Palm Street, and has been feeding San Luis Obispo cheaply since 1927.
Try: Chop suey and chow mein
Tip: The Kwong family took over in 2009, the third to run the house since 1927; the Ah Louis Store faces it across Palm Street.
Firestone Grill's tri-tip sandwich remains San Luis Obispo's best-value famous meal, oak-grilled beef on a garlic-butter roll for fast-food money.
Try: Tri-tip sandwich
Tip: The line moves faster than it looks; order at the counter and grab a patio table on Higuera Street.
Woodstock's Pizza runs slice and pitcher deals that have kept generations of Cal Poly budgets afloat at Higuera and Osos in San Luis Obispo.
Try: Pizza by the slice and pitcher deals
Tip: It serves until midnight most nights and 01:00 on Friday and Saturday, one of the last kitchens open downtown.
