Los Olivos: Tips for Visiting

Los Olivos knows that you’ll probably be doing a bit of drinking while you’re in town. As such, they don’t have any overnight parking restrictions.

Tip: If you find that you’ve had too much to drink, simply grab an Uber or Lyft home (yes, they have them in the area) and come get your car in the morning.

There are a couple of great sandwich places in Los Olivos. Panino is on the corner of the center of town (by the flagpole) and has a huge variety of sandwiches.

However! The best sandwich in town is the Tri Tip from R-Country Market. The catch is—they are only available on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday—and they sell out, quick.

Tip: Try to get there before 11:30am to snag one (their other sandwiches are just ok). 

If you haven’t tried the cupcake pairing over at Saarloos & Sons, you haven’t lived.

They rotate their cupcake flavors every week, and pair them with specific wines on their menu. You have to buy the cupcakes separately from your wine pouring, but it’s easy and fun.

Tip: They have a little outdoor patio around the back. It gets pretty busy indoors on weekends.

One slight downside to Los Olivos is that most places don’t have their own bathrooms. They will mostly all direct you to the permanent porta potties in one area of town. They are kept in pretty good shape (so it’s not the end of the world), but they can be a bit smelly in hot weather.

Tip: The big church in town, St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church has really nice bathrooms off their courtyard. And a small thank-you donation couldn’t hurt.

Many of the wineries in Los Olivos offer some sort of discount, if you can hunt down the coupon. Often they are 2 for 1 deals, or a percentage off any wine purchases.

Tip: Pay for your first tasting, but at the end ask your pourer if they have any discount cards for other wineries. They usually do.