|
Joe's Cafe
536 State St, Santa Barbara
Phone: (805) 966-4638
- Category: American
- Hours: Mon-Sun 7:30am-11pm
- Price: $10 - $20
- Serving: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
- Map
- Write a review of this location!
|
 |
 |
Reviews by the General Public
Out with the old...in with the awful, 1/1/2010
Reviewer: Mike
from Santa Barbara, CA
With the new owner comes new ideas, this I get. The place is definitely cleaned up. What I don't get is why they changed the recipe for their fried chicken. It is smothered in a batter that is way too thick and has a rubbery texture. It was overcooked and tough. They use the same batter on the onion rings which made them inedible. The veggies served were cold and bland.The prices were reasonable but it just doesn't have the same vibe that the old Joe's had. The servers seem a little grumpy too. I hope that the leftover box of food made the homeless guy that I handed it to happy! Oh well...writing this just makes me think about not returning.
|
LOVE IT, 1/1/2010
Reviewer: Frode BOe
from Bergen Norway
I lived in Santa Barbara many years ago ( 24 years). And I loved Joe`s Cafe
Hapy New Year
|
Management needs a clue!, 12/24/2009
Reviewer: Douglas A
from Santa Barbara, CA
Being always under staffed, it's a 50/50 chance on how well you will be served. The food is fair at best. if you get a To-Go order and they screw it up, don't plan on them fixing it, apologizing for it or in any other way taking care of the problem.
|
Why cook for Thanksgiving, 11/28/2009
Reviewer: Tom
from Northern Virginia
We visited a friend for Thanksgiving and did not see the need to cook a big meal for three so we were on a mission to find a meal for the big day. We went to Joe's and had a very good Thanksgiving day meal with all the trimmings. The home made cranberry sauce with a touch of orange topped off a great day. Booth #11 offered a great view of the world as we ate. If we lived in Santa Barbara we would be eating at Joe's far too often.
|
old stale french fries, 11/27/2009
Reviewer: Marianne
from Santa Barbara, CA
I have dined at Joe's many times, normally the food was alright. Today it was unacceptable. When the waitress finally came back to our table, eventhough the restaraunt was half empty, never inquired how everything was, never offered refills, just to clear the table and to present the check, we told her the french fries were awful and old. They were still on our plates, her comment, they make new ones every morning, no apalogy for serving old food.
Joe's cafe what do you have to say for yourself?
|
Long Time Tradition, 11/20/2009
Reviewer: Tracey
from Santa Barbara, CA
We have lived in SB all our lives and have always loved Joe's. My husband and I have spent time here before we were married, had our wedding rehearsal dinner here and have brought both our sons in since they were babies. We are always greeted with warm reception, have always enjoyed the food (bread and salsa are the best!) and even though we were hesitant when the remodel took place, it still carries the charm we remember from when we first began.
|
Service Sucks, 11/12/2009
Reviewer: Shawn Reilly
from San Dieo, CA
I gues when it is crowded and you are by yourself at a table you are inconvienent. I was ignored and treated very poorly. I spent $54 dollars on a steak and three beers and I had to ask for everything.
|
Crappy Condescending Service, 10/3/2009
Reviewer: Janet King
from Torrance, CA
This was the 3rd time we visited Joe's Cafe. The 2 previous times were good. (I have to admit we LOVE the coffee.)But this time was a deal breaker I don't know if we will be back. I did not get my complete meal (Breakfast, it sat under the heat lamp with 3 requests to please bring it to me.) We were over charged, when we pointed this out to the waitress she was so condescending.."Oh gee I am so sorry do you want it to go? No that is the right price (when it wasn't) she kept running away from us! It wasn't crowded I don't know what the problem was, perhaps the owners feel that they don't need to keep customer service to an optimum as they rely on their reputation. Not a good idea in this economy.
|
Frankie is a god, 9/7/2009
Reviewer: Bruce B
from Oak Park, CA.
25 years? I remember helping move the place to the new location.. I love basic fare and a stiff drink. Joe's gets that. One time 25 or so years ago we had a beautiful girl in our group, Frankie was in love with her rear and asked if he could touch it, she said yes and we all got a free drink.
Frankie is still there, no hair but all Frankie. Enjoy this place, have a drink and soak in the local color.
|
BLAH FOOD - RUDE SERVICE, 7/28/2009
Reviewer: Gabriela
from Oxnard, CA
My family and I came here on Sunday, after a wedding in Oxnard on Saturday. We were a party of 8 with 3 children under 2 yrs old. It was probably about 2pm when we arrived and upon entering and informing the manager that we were a party of 8 with 3 children his face turned sour as he said it might take a moment. I also told him we would need 3 highchairs but were ok if there weren't enough. After about 15 minutes we were finally seated on the barside of the restaurant. The server, although sweet, had the face of not wanting to serve such a large party but she managed (a little slow on the refills). We are usually pretty easy and dont have special request and very respectful of the servers, we know it's hard work. After a few minutes of reviewing the menus my nephew began to cry loudly and you could see the annoyed look on the managers face. I dont have kids and have very little patience so I can understand how annoying a crying kid sounds and maybe about 30 seconds, he approached my sister and told her, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave". WTH! I was so mad when he said that, for an establishment that has highchairs, kids menus and crayons for kids to color, I cant believe he didn't have the patience for us to handle the situation, which we were going to as we always do, remove the child and take them outside, but to ask my sister to leave because of a 2 yr old crying, that's out of line. She left and then the server comes and asks us if we're ready to order. Well, you just ask someone in our party to leave so no, we're not ready to order. I could not believe the attitude of this person, who was the day manager. Aside from that incident, the food was blah, Two orders were brought wrong, the sloppy joe I ordered looked like it was a MANWICH and the buns were soggy from sitting in the juice for so long, my nephew's mac and cheese looked like it came from a box of Kraft's Macaroni and Cheese. The dressing was oily, and overall the food was nothing to rave about. The manager's service and attitude was uncalled for and I will never return to this place or ever recommend friend's to eat here when they are in town.
|
Pleasant Surprise, 7/10/2009
Reviewer: Nicole
from Santa Barbara, CA
My friend wanted to eat here despite all the mixed reviews and I'm glad we did. We went for dinner and it was a weekday so there were virtually no wait for a table. I got the Omaha steak sandwich, open faced. It was huge! It also came with salad and french fries. I liked everything on my plate, the salad seems like that kind that comes out of a bag, which is a shame given the local produce. However, the price was very reasonable, $12. We got an appetizer of bread and salsa as well. Yes, bread and salsa, not chips. It was interesting and the salsa went well with the steak sandwich I was eating. I would definitely come back here again. Service was a little slow, 2 servers for the whole place.
|
UNSANITARY and less important BAD SERVICE, 6/1/2009
Reviewer: D. Lee
from Santa Barbara, CA
I've never felt the urge to ever write a review on a restaurant until my experience here. I can deal with the long wait to get seated (even though the place was half empty). I can even deal with waiting for the wait staff to come take our order (even though they took over 10 minutes and the hostess had to take our order bc I think she noticed we had been seated for some time). WHAT I COULD NOT DEAL WITH IS, BEING SEATED IN FRONT OF THE "OPEN" KITCHEN AREA, AND WITNESS THE COOK, WITH HIS BARE HANDS, GRAB AN ENTIRE SERVING OF BEACON FROM ONE DISH AND MOVE IT TO ANOTHER DISH BECAUSE THE WAITRESS, WHO WATCHED HIM, PROBABLY TOLD HIM HE HAD THE ORDER WRONG. NO GLOVES, JUST HIS GREASY BARE HAND FROM COOKING. IN ADDITION, I HAD TO WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN AS THE WAIT STAFF WALK OVER TO THE "FINISHED" DISHES AWAITING TO BE SERVED AND TOUCH THE FOOD WITH THEIR BARE HANDS EITHER TAPPING THE PANCAKES OR FLIPPING A SANDWICH TO SEE IF IT HAD CERTAIN SOMETHING WITHIN.
All the while, there was a gentleman walking in and out of the kitchen area. He was wearing blue jeans and a blue denim type shirt (I hope he reads this and knows who I'm talking about) bc he looked like either owner, or management and watched all this going on and just lets it happen. Mind you, we were seated 5 feet from the area, there is no mistake or exaggeration from what I saw.
Anyways, absolutely disgusted.
|
I would stop here again..., 5/29/2009
Reviewer: cHAD bURCH
from Santa Barbara, CA
Great drinks, great food!
|
Wouldn't stop here again!!, 5/26/2009
Reviewer: Julio
from Los Angeles
My wife and I were heading home after a long weekend. We saw the cafe and it looked decent from outside. We were first asked for our name and whether we were there for breakfast or lunch. We chose lunch and the wait began. We were initially told the wait would be a 5-10 minutes. That turned out to be 37 minutes.Mind you the place was not full to capacity and it was just my wife and I. We were then seated and waited for another 10 minutes before the waitress finally came over or should I say until we flagged her down. We ordered coffee and another re-fill did not come for another 20 minutes. When we finally placed our order we had already been in the place for a total of 57 minutes. We ordered our food and yes, we waited again. The food was less than average and I would not recommend this place to anyone. This from a guy that is very patient and doesn't like to complain.
|
Best Veggie Omlette Ever!, 3/26/2009
Reviewer: Diane Treptow
from Simi Valley, CA
My husband & I stopped in on a Saturday morning for breakfast and the atmosphere was great, food was even better and service was just fine. Reading some of the negative comments, made me wonder if this is the same restaurant. The veggie omlette was absolutely one of the best I ever had! Coffee was excellent too!
|
Mediocre Food, Tardy Service, 3/22/2009
Reviewer: Louis
from Burbank, CA
The burger meat was flavorless. The fries stale. The waitress seemed not to notice us. Refills on drinks? Forget it. This place is a tourist trap.
|
The new Joe's sucks, 2/17/2009
Reviewer: Matt McLaughlin
from Santa Barbara, CA
I have a 50$ guest certificate and I have a hard time goin' in the door. AND I USTA EAT THERE TWICE A WEEK!
I like to drink at a place like the Old Joe's...an atmosphere
like a fishing lodge...ya know???...hunkered down, easy to get warm, down home people running the place...
It seems as though the owner has taken the last cheap place to eat Downtown and made it into some kind of transparent, West L.A., drafty beautiful-people place and charging in some cases $7 more for the same food. The place is so well lit that I walked out snow blind. And what is so bitchin about glass jars on glass shelves. God, the place radiates wann-be-ism and mamby-pambyism.
The new Joe's sucks. And you took the last good-deal place Downtown away, too.
Matt McLaughlin
Santa Barbara born, resident for 40 years
|
Rude Management
Reviewer: CCC
from Ventura, CA
I tell everyone who has never been to make sure to check out Joes for of course the drinks...but also the friendly faces that work there! I have been going there for years. But I was not happy with what I saw about a month ago. I saw some male manager speaking to one of the female waitresses and he was clearly upset with her. I couldn't believe how rude he was to her in public. My suggestion...at least pull employees out of where the customers can see you if you are going to speak to them in that manner. Managers should know better.
|
excellent
Reviewer: jane rubin
from Santa Barbara, CA
I am from florida and we stayed in santa barbara I am from england my husband is american i am very fussy about my food I like my meat well done Not only was the new york strip the best I have ever eaten and the lady that helped us was so nice.
|
curious
Reviewer: nick walker
from fresno
My name is Nicholas Walker. I live in Fresno. My grandmother and my mother toled me that the Original Joe was my great grandpa. But they said that his last name was Panzini. Joe Panzini. I have been wondering for years. hopefully an old timer may be able to tell me. my email. nicholaswalker24@yahoo.com
my number. 559 476 7180
|
Frequent Visitor (from Minnesota)
Reviewer: Mike
from Minneapolis, MN
I lived in Orange County for a few years in the mid 90's before moving back to the midwest. Part of the area I covered included Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. You cannot imagine how nice it was for a young man from out-of-state to discover Santa Barbara for the first time, and then, to top it off, to discover Joe's. What's makes Joe's the place it is, IMO, is not only the establishment, the people employed there, or the food and the stiff drinks (well, the stiff drinks certainly help!)...it's also how the customers act inside the place. Even the most hardened poseurs from LA become almost regular people when they saunter into Joe's, take a stiff, stiff pour from Frankie, and catch a college football game or a bite to eat.
My wife and I come back to SoCal about once a year. The first thing we do is get off the plane in LA, grab the car, and head up the 101 to Santa B. The first place we stop, is Joe's. Always. Congratulations on a special place. We'll see you in early September Frankie!
|
Joe's is a treasure
Reviewer: Dianne
from Santa Barbara
Had a delicious beef dip and the Old Spanish Days Margarita (the bartender grumbled it was too early - meaning not Fiesta). Anyway, it's old school and the remodel was done right. The prime meat is excellant. Been going there for over 30 years and hope for 30 more. Love you Joe's!
|
Remodeled but still a Santa Barbara Tradition
Reviewer: Pete
from Monterey CA
Anxiously awaited reopening, read the new reviews, Yes, the cost of progress cost you more. However, still a value for what you get. If your not in Joe's Cafe for a meal while in Santa Barbara, well your not in Santa Barbara!!!!! Still the best for the buck! A family stop for us for over 20 years.
|
I LOVE IT
Reviewer: NEVECERAL
from MONS, BELGIUM
HI! I COME FROM BELGIUM AND HAS BEEN TWICE AT JOE'CAFE. IT WAS WONDERFUL! I WAS THINKING OF YOU TODAY AND FIND YOU ON THE INTERNET WHAT A JOY TO SEE THE PLACE AGAIN. HOPE TO COME BACK SOON.
|
Just one great place
Reviewer: Bob Forrest
from Santa Barbara, Ca
Hi - my name is Bob - I have been going to Joes for quite sometime (years) - let me assure you of the following - the atmosphere is great, the food is great and reasonable, you cannot beat the drinks (yes - a little pricey), pictures are back on the wall - the remodel was great, the place is clean and the best bartenders anywhere Steve/ Frankie,and my favorite wait people Denise, Karen - and the remainder of the staff - they are all great - summing things up - you never know whether it will be a local or tourist you sit next to, but undoubtedly you will become engaged in friendly/constructive conversation. And let me reassure you, overall, there in my opinion is not a better place anywhere in Santa Barbara/the country, perhaps the world, than Joes Cafe -
|
Have you eaten here? Write a review of this location!
Terms of Service
|
