China Pavilion Santa Barbara.com

Control Panel

China Pavilion 1202 Chapala St, Santa Barbara Phone: (805) 560-6028 Category: Chinese Hours: Mon-Sun 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-10pm Price: $10 - $20 Serving: Lunch & Dinner Reservations: Yes, but usually not needed Map Web Site Menu Write a review of this location!

Reviews by the General Public

Very good experience, 2/6/2013
Reviewer: Kevin from Santa Barbara, CA
We had dinner on Tuesday evening and were very pleased with the flavors, volume and quality of the dishes selected. The war wonton soup in particulaar was delicious. Service was attentive and polite. The family in the booth behind us had a child playing a noisy video game. This was noticed by our server and he immediately asked them to please turn off the sound! We will definitely return to try more items from the menu.

Horrible Service - Disorganized Staff, 6/30/2012
Reviewer: Mike from Carpinteria
We were there today for lunch. It has been about 8 mo. since we were last there (service was horrible then, but decided today to give it another try). Well, nothing has changed. A lazy glum hostess sat us at a table, and then we sat there for 14 minutes -- nada, zilch, zippo service. The restaurant wasn't that busy plus even if they were -- the servers were running around like chickens w/o their heads! I finally motioned to the glum looking hostess and she had a server come over to our table - if I hadn't done that, we'd still be sitting there. The server was a sweet girl, took our order but the food today, except for the filet fish with ginger sauce, was horrible. Cripy noodles were greasy and you could taste the oil. The calamari appetizer was greasy and the batter was tasteless and not thoroughly fried enough. My tofu dish was tasteless. I could have eaten just a block of tofu from the grocery store and it would have had the same taste. We were out of there in about 75 minutes and this time, we shall not return EVER.

excellent, excellent, excellent
Reviewer: lisa from Santa Barbara, CA
We had five items of Dim Sum. The atmosphere was nice, the food was VERY good and the service was great. It was plenty to fill us up. We would have gotten more for less in Los Angeles County, but for Santa Barbara, we were pleased with the service and price.

Better dim sum experience
Reviewer: karen from Santa Barbara, CA
Went on Sunday for dim sum and had a better experience than the last two times, when service was barely tolerable. They've hired more staff, I suppose. Dishes came out very quick, and they were more attentive to refills of water and tea. I was pleased that it had improved! The dim sum is yummy and we stuffed ourselves. I especially enjoy the crispy shrimp balls and the steamed egg custard buns. MMMMMmmmmm!

Great
Reviewer: Stu from Santa Barbara, CA
Had a wonderful meal with my wife here. Ask for Patrick to be your waiter. He is exceptional and all of his recommendations were right for us. We had a beef dish, a chicken entree and a wonderful shrimp dish with onion and pepper. The chicken was a hotpot with Japanese squash. We enjoyrd everything very much and will certainly return. We also plan to try the Dim Sum on the weekend.

Great Dim Sum
Reviewer: Mai from Kansas
Dim Sum here are pretty good, i especially like their Sao Mai. There are 20 some items on the Dim Sum menu, and some are kind of pricey for the 3 or 4 pieces you get. Service here needs improvement. My party waited 10 minutes at our tablet without any water, given the place was very busy, but still; we ended up walking out the restaurant. When back to the place another day and took them a while to serve our food. Other then the wait time and service quality, the food is pretty good.

Very rude staff
Reviewer: Vishal Gupta from Santa Barbara, CA
I am writing this review because i had almost three bad experiences with china pavilion. Last time i took my parents and wanted to taste chinese food. We asked the waitress that we would like to have variety of food, and she suggested us 3 entree. We ordered all three and all tasted exactly same. Upon asking the waitress, she didn't talk to us properly. After we had our meal, i left 15% tip and waitress started talking about how less tip i gave to other staff in from of me. Very rude treatment.

Yummy Dim Sum - You'll need to wait, though
Reviewer: Karen from Santa Barbara, CA
Tasty dim sum here on the weekends, but service is spotty. Some of the dishes took FORever to come out. The service peope are not very aware of patrons as they all buzz around the dining room, and you don't have a specific go-to waiter. When no one person is responsible for the table, then no-one is. :-( You either have to get up and go get someone or practically yell across the restaurant to get their attention. Annoying. If you have a lazy weekend afternoon, it is a good way to spned it, noshing on dim sum!

Don't Confuse With China Palace!
Reviewer: marilyn Baseman from Sheffield, Ma.
This is a top-of-the-line Santa Barbara restaurant from staff to food to ambience. In error, we went to Monticetto, not realizing that China Pavilion's former branch was now owned by China Palace- a hugely disappointing experience (see my review of that restaurant). Two of my favorites are crispy walnut prawns & szechuan eggplant, but everything here is delicious.

great as always
Reviewer: Maureen from Santa Barbara, CA
Just ate here last Saturday the 28th for a birthday celebration---everything was divine. My favourite, Hong Kong Noodles, never fails to be tasty and each of our five dishes were equally enjoyed by all our guests. Try the Fava beans with Tofu sheets---YUM!!! I did not find things salty or over oily--but we were not looking for a health food experience. Service was outstanding as usual---we eat here a lot and recommend it highly.

For health, please cut down salt and sugar. other are OK.
Reviewer: Daniel Liang from Santa Barbara, CA
I ordered some dishes, taste and cooking are in standard level. The only thing I don't like is too much sugar, salt and oil in the dishes. I requested for less salt, sugar and oil but they were still the same. I wish they can reduce 50-60% of salt, sugar and oil. That will be more delicious and healthy.

Cut down on salt!
Reviewer: Susie from Los Angeles, CA
When I went with a large group, I enjoyed the eggplant, veggie, and meat dishes. However, I hope China Pavillion cuts down on the sodium content, as my bf and I found ourselves very thirsty after dinner.

Have you eaten here? Write a review of this location! Terms of Service