Nate's on Marsh and Irie Ites Neighborhood Kitchen in SLO drop unique, delicious brunch menus 

Stroll just half a mile south of downtown San Luis Obispo and discover two of the foodie town's latest brunch hot spots.

Both restaurants are housed in quaint, historic buildings from the early 1900s. And both offer exceptional cuisine. But that's where the similarities end.

Nate's on Marsh, founded in 2021 by local Nathan Long, is a three-time Michelin Guide-mentioned restaurant, with elegant tablecloths, beautiful Western décor, and a welcoming yet polished air.

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• Photo By Cherish Whyte
• LOWCOUNTRY RIFF I & I's shakshouka, from Tunisia, gets a Southern twist with grits. Fried eggs soak up a savory tomato sauce with olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic, while grits add texture for a hearty blend of African and American cuisines.

Newcomer Irie Ites Neighborhood Kitchen, or I & I, on the other hand, offers "a very chill, casual, irie vibe," said chef and owner Stan Kelly. "I want people to feel, literally, as if they were in my house having dinner."

Both restaurants are pulling out all the stops for their new weekend menus, taking guests on a gastronomic journey, from Long's Italian-inspired Central Coast cuisine to Kelly's Southern, Caribbean, and African specialties.

At Nate's, Long said that the brunch menu is an "ode to all my favorite brunchy dishes while staying true to [the] Nate's on Marsh palate. We went more on the country side, with favorites like biscuits and gravy, Cowboy Flapjacks cooked in a cast-iron skillet, ... and steak and eggs.

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• Photo By Cherish Whyte
• A BENEDICT TO REMEMBER The Biscuit Bennie at Nate's on Marsh in San Luis Obispo elevates the standard brunch staple with soft-boiled egg, house-made hollandaise sauce, grilled Molinari Mortadella steak, and delicately crisped biscuits.

"I personally love the Biscuit Bennie as it reminds me of all the special brunches we had growing up for the holidays. With the buttery hollandaise, thick-cut mortadella steak, and house-made biscuit, how could you not opt in?"

Offered Saturday and Sunday, the menu is complemented by a full bar, with an all-female team crushing the beverage lineup.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Nate's On Marsh
• AT YOUR SERVICE Proprietor Nathan Long of Nate's on Marsh in San Luis Obispo "is the consummate host, and the service is exceptionally warm," according to the Michelin Guide, which has recognized the restaurant for three years straight.

"Currently, the ladies rule the roost," Long said. "Keala Houston is my bar lead, and, along with many other talents that she brings to the team, she has really created the perfect environment.

"While she does the classics best, ... Kaela has also brought craft cocktails to the forefront. With specialties like The White Lotus and The Kentucky Flatliner, we have a program that is rich and true to our heritage along with representing the current fashions well."

The popular bar program spills into the evenings, with $10 happy hour drink specials—and a light bites menu to come—from 4 to 6 p.m. daily, as well as Thursday Wine Night and the lively Martini Monday. On Thursday, wine bottles up to $100 are half off, and on Monday, all martini concoctions are $10.

Long suggests Baby's Martini, the house favorite named in honor of a friend. "It comes dirty and with blue cheese-stuffed olives," he said. "Basically, it's a classic done right."

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• Photo By Cherish Whyte
• TOP THAT! Cowboy Flapjacks at Nate's on Marsh offer a choice of decadent toppings. Try pecan praline and bacon butter, pictured; classic with butter bricks and maple syrup; whipped lemon creme fraiche; or fresh banana and caramel sauce.

Whether joining for brunch, lunch, dinner, or a glass, guests can enjoy the main dining room, patio seating, or bar and lounge, with seating for up to 120 guests.

Note, however, that "the actual bar only has seven bar stools that fill up quickly," Long added, while the surrounding lounge accommodates roughly 25 guests at eight tables mixed with high tops.

"I love the small, intimate setting where you can catch up with regulars, other locals, or even my parents," he said. "They love to come in and are very proud."

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• Photo By Cherish Whyte
• STAN'S ON BROAD Stan Kelly's Irie Ites Neighborhood Kitchen in San Luis Obispo operates out of a 1920s-era brick beauty encompassing less than 900 square feet, with seating for 12 indoors and another 22 on shaded front and side patios.

An even more intimate experience is offered at nearby I & I, with indoor and patio seating capped at 34.

Formerly occupied by short-lived Platypus Café and its predecessor The Broad Street Giant Grinder Shop, the new restaurant launched in June, with a grand-opening celebration slated for late summer.

"Irie ites means positive vibrations, or higher heights in the [Jamaican] Patois language," Kelly said. "It is used frequently with the Rastafarian faith. Everything is irie means everything is good."

Kelly was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and raised in the Philadelphia area, though summers took him back to his birthplace.

"Every summer there was filled with family, cooking, and eating great Lowcountry and Geechie [West African] cuisine," he said.

His professional career kicked off in the late '80s working as a line cook in a Cajun-Creole restaurant outside Philadelphia.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Irie Ites Neighborhood Kitchen
• SOUTHERN SOUL Chef Stan Kelly draws culinary inspiration from his Charleston, South Carolina, roots. At his new restaurant, Irie Ites Neighborhood Kitchen in San Luis Obispo, he crafts flavorful cuisine while also nurturing a sense of community.

"During the mid-'90s I relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, and my first job there was a sous chef position at a popular downtown restaurant called Cafe 521," he continued. "Three months later I became the chef."

Eventually, Kelly landed in Los Angeles—adding Saddle Ranch, Bottega Louie, and Superba Food and Bread to his résumé over a 12-year stretch—before trekking north to the Central Coast.

"As of now my family and I have been residing in beautiful San Luis Obispo for the past three-and-a-half years," he said.

Kelly most recently operated Wicked Garden Cuisine Food Truck before establishing his own restaurant, an homage to the Lowcountry cuisine of his youth in Charleston.

"We feature flavors from the West African, Caribbean, and South Carolina—mainly Charleston—diaspora," he said. "I incorporate a lot of spices, ... [primarily] ginger, nutmeg, allspice, thyme, harissa, serrano, curry, and cumin. We add salt and pepper as a finishing touch and not during the cooking process. I try to utilize the natural flavor of each dish along with the added spices."

The end result is huge flavor from a limited brunch menu offered on Sunday only.

Presently, guests can order Egg Callaloo and Grits Shakshouka, as well as avocado toast and featured specials, such as Jamaican jerk chicken tacos.

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• Photo By Cherish Whyte
• CREOLE CREATION I & I's Egg Callaloo features two eggs any style with harissa roasted potatoes and crab callaloo, a delicacy from Trinidad and Tobago. Pour the zesty stew over the spuds and eggs, and mop up the remains with Bread Bike slices.

"Callaloo is a Trinidad recipe," Kelly explained. "It's almost like an eggs Benedict.

"The shakshouka is from Tunisia, and the egg is normally poached in the tomato sauce, but I wanted to have grits on the menu as well and thought this would be a great cross-pollination of cultures."

Pair the zesty fare with refreshing beverage options, including mango and orange mimosas, local wine, and bottled and draft beer, with Antigua Brewing currently on tap.

Also enjoy rotating live music on the patio, with frequent gigs by indie-style singer and multi-instrumentalist Cassi Nicholls.

Beyond brunch, Kelly offers a combined lunch and dinner menu Tuesday through Saturday. Try Jollof Rice with andouille sausage and shrimp, collard greens, or Mojo Cuban Roast Pork Panini, and finish with sweet potato brulee.

Dishes can sell out, and menus change based on seasonal ingredients.

"The bread is from Bread Bike, and the produce comes from SLO Food Co-op, awesome places and people," he said.

Kelly aims to connect with both suppliers and guests, embracing the secondary meaning of the restaurant's nickname.

"In Patois," he explained, "'I and I' is 'we,' representing the oneness of all people. Food is a universal language that should be shared with everyone." Δ

Flavor Writer Cherish Whyte will be bouncing between Nate's and I & I for flapjacks and shakshouka. Reach her at [email protected].