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Petros - Santa Barbara 1316 State St, Santa Barbara Phone: (805) 899-9100 Category: Greek Hours: Mon-Sun 11am-11pm Price: $20+ Serving: Lunch & Dinner Map Web Site Menu Write a review of this location!

Reviews by the General Public

The best meal we had in Santa Barbara this week, 10/7/2012
Reviewer: Jim from Burlingame, CA
We learned of Petros through santabarbara.com (a web site worth visiting) and decided to give it try on our last night of our Santa Barbara vacation. We were delighted to find the food, service and atmosphere were all five star. The prices were more than reasonable especially considering the overall quality of our experience. During dinner, the owner described his dedication to fresh, high quality ingredients and, indeed they were. Our server, Jessica, was delightful and professional. We will visit Petros again.

We enjoyed it!, 8/21/2012
Reviewer: Stu from Santa Barbara, CA
We went for lunch and enjoyed it. Very beautiful setting, sitting in the courtyard next to the fountain. Friendly and efficient service and good recommendations for what to order. The lamb sandwich was fabulous. My wife had it on the olive bread which added to the tastiness. I had the lamb over rice/ braised beef over mashed potatoes and both were excellent worth the flavor of the beef winning out over the lamb. I thought the sandwich was a decent size and came with lots of greens but the meat platter, which arrived on an appetizer size plate was not filling for my big appetite. Now the cost: $40 for what I described plus one beer. The menu states that dinner prices are the same as lunch prices but the dinner menu has many dishes not offered for lunch. For instance I wanted the moussaka pizza but it wasn't available because the moussaka was being prepared for dinner. Would we go back again? Only for a special celebratory dinner.

Disappointed!, 7/27/2012
Reviewer: Charlotte from Goleta
Had Birthday dinner there last week. We went early, so the service started out great, because it was almost empty, however when the restaurant got busier, our service really suffered. It was as if the servers don't have designated tables in one area. We didn't even see our waiter for most of the meal...and there were problems with the food...so the busboy was serving as our waiter there for awhile. The Moussaka is not traditional so I ordered the Feta encrusted lamb chops Med. rare...they arrived cold and med.well. The second round was better but was again not hot and no juice...which tells me that the lamb is not cooked to order but ahead of time and held in a warmer. I cannot prove this but I am sceptical. The tomato olive jus was more that of an over reduced pan sauce w/burnt fond...yuck! The salmon was overlooked and dry, no sauce present. It would have been nice to have had some Greek style roasted potatoes along with the vegetable on the entrees....we are not dieting! And for the hefty price tag of each entree if would have been more well rounded and substantial. The Mezze pita with the variety of dips was delicious and a lovely presentation as well. The cocktails were good and not overpriced. I will not be back because of the expense and lack of authenticity ( I love traditional Greek food) but I realize that they are not trying to be authentic, which is fine, just not for me.

Terrible service and cold food
Reviewer: Debra from Santa Barbara, CA
Large party for Mothers Day. Service was the worst, cold food served after a long time. Appetizers served with 20 minutes in between. No follow up on served food, absolutely terrible service for an expensive restaurant. Over $500 bill. Will never go there again.

Outstanding
Reviewer: Dan from Santa Barbara, CA
Quick seating. Attentive, friendly service. Excellent homemade breads, delicious soups, sensational lamb and short ribs, and amazing dessert. Lunchtime prices are totally reasonable for the high quality. Can't wait to go back.

Overpriced mediocre food.
Reviewer: Matt from San Francisco
Nice atmosphere and friendly staff. The food is mediocre at best and very overpriced. Listen to the reviews that say the same thing. Borders on being a ripoff. Bring the food prices down.

very expensive for that type of food
Reviewer: sam from Santa Barbara, CA
Waited 15 minutes before anybody attempted to sit us for lunch. We requested patio seating but they took us inside. Food is so-so.

Good food and service but too expensive
Reviewer: PJ from Santa Barbara, CA
Ate at their restaurant in Los Olivos which was very good. Had dinner at the SB location. Different menu and expensive. The lamb pasta was tender pieces of lamb in a spicy red sauce over spaghetti. Good flavor. But more expensive than what it should be for that meal. Service was attentive.

Way too expensive for the food
Reviewer: Jen from Santa Barbara, CA
You are paying for the ambience and the location. I got the fish tacos. $26 and I was expecting a whole lot more. Unreal that I paid $26 for FISH TACOS!!! They also came with some lettuce on the side. Drinks are great, service is great but it's just not worth it to me. I could have gone to Arrigato across the street for $50 for a complete dinner and would have been more satisfied.

Was expecting so much more !
Reviewer: Joelle from Santa Barbara, CA
This was our third visit to Petro's, but possibly our last.At least until they iron out the service aspect!Tremendously slow & clueless about the menu.My wife,and I,asked for some suggestions about "Signature"dishes and the waitress almost self-imploded.Ka~Boom!Get a friggin' clue!?All I detected was negative energy & chemistry throughout the floor. Terrible!! On a positive note,the food was phenomenal.Octopus app.was superb!The "Feta Crusted Colorado Lamb Chop" melted in my mouth.And the center cut Swordfish was out of this world.Kuddos to the kitchen!Get your SH-T together in front of the house.

Delightful lunch on the patio
Reviewer: LP from Santa Barbara, CA
I met a friend here for lunch today, at her recommendation, and I was thrilled that I did. The patio is lovely, the food beautiful and delicious and our service was terrific. Friend's watermelon, heirloom tomato and greek cheese salad looked so tasty and refreshing (it is her staple at lunch). My chicken souvlaki was tender and flavorful and the accompanying grilled vegetables had the right amount of crunch. We shared the eggplant dip, which also was delicious. I am breathing garlic fumes, with more in the yummy tzatziki that came with my meal, but it was well worth it. I look forward to returning.

Abnoxious Owner Ruined the Night
Reviewer: Tom from Santa Barbara, CA
I have been here two times now and Thursday night was my last. The food is good, but it is pricey and we have a lot of Restaurant's in SB with GOOD food that cost much less. What you pay for at Petros is the atmosphere. About midway through our meal we hear the owner starting to yell at his staff and tell them how awful they are. The conversation at the table ceased because we could not stop listening to the mean things this guy was saying. It was one of the most disrespectful acts I have ever witnessed. I will not support a business where the owner is so openly abusive to his staff.

Really authentic Greek food
Reviewer: Helen from Santa Barbara, CA
This was my second time eating at this restaurant and It was wonderful! I usually don't write reviews but felt compelled to after seeing a few negative reviews about the service. Whatever problems may have been in the earlier months of opening seemed to have been fixed when we dined there. The food was phenomenal, best Greek food I've ever had. Definitely try the platter of 5 dips with pita bread. The service couldn't have been much better. The second we finished something it was cleared from our table and our glasses were never empty.

Our 5th Visit - should be getting better??
Reviewer: Alex from Santa Barbara, CA
We attended this restaurants Opening Night in early January and loved everything about it. We came away very excited....nice ambiance, good Greek food and reasonably priced wines. We were accepting the fact that the service was a bit hit & miss due to new staff, etc. Unfortunately, the problem continues into month three. The staff seem to be trying, there are certainly enough of them around, pleasant attitudes, but in the end the Service is very disjointed and slow. Our most recent visit still had MAJOR service issues. Wine prices by the glass have also gone up....even though it takes forever just to get a glass to be delivered to the table. Where is that great glass of red I had at the opening for $9.00? This restaurant has so many things going for it....please make the package complete and we and many locals will become your regulars. We are disappointed but remain hopeful.

Cold nightmare
Reviewer: Angela from Santa Barbara, CA
Decided to come here with my finace today after a nice film, sat outside & after waiting twenty min for a server, moved to the bar. Spoke to the bartender and ordered our drinks. Ten min waiting and my fiance refreshed his memory after seeing him bombarded with drinks and a moody older owner in the bar playing with an espresso machine as he sees the restaurant fallong apart. Recived our pricy drinks and ordered some calamari and meatballs. Almost thirty minutes wait and we recived our food half warm. Made it obvious to the server and requested to have it for take out as we had been over the loud place. Waited another ten minute wait to get our food and be checked out. At the end we left with a big bill, cold take out, & a nightmare of a "launge" dine in. Never again!

Service continues to lack!
Reviewer: Elle from Santa Barbara, CA
I've been here three times now, and each time there have been what appears to be 85 employees and yet the service is still way too sluggish for my taste, especially at the bar, when the ONE bartender for the whole place is getting berated by the servers to pour drinks faster, and she still has to wait on the 6 people sitting at her bar. Poor thing! The cocktails are super yummy, and the food has not disappointed. This place is not new anymore, please iron out the "new restaurant service kinks" ASAP!!

Love the food, but fix the service
Reviewer: Ed from Santa Barbara, CA
We returned to Petros for our 3rd time, and we were again impressed by the food. The Calamari, squid and meatballs are fun starters, and any of the dishes with lamb are always quite good. The atmosphere is fun and lively. But the service remains a concern. Getting a glass of wine can be an ordeal. I was puzzled by the way they wait tables; rather than having one waiter that is responsible they have a team. In theory this might be better, but it's not working. It's broke...please fix it!

Birthday Dinner!
Reviewer: Tammy from Santa Barbara, CA
We visited Petros on Saturday for my birthday dinner (party of 10). We will definitely be dining here again! The food was great and the service was efficient. The waitress very helpful with explaining the menu items. My husband had the lamb dish and I had the Petros Horiatiki Salad- so tasty & made w/ fresh ingredients! I hope the restaurant does well here in SB! :)

Extreamly nice layout, Large lack of Service
Reviewer: Cody James Sangas from Santa Barbara, CA
I really enjoyed the cleanness of the restaurant, relaxing atmosphere, although the floors had some stains. The owner seemed to be very discouraging toward his employes portraying a dictatorship in the common dining room. Tried the baklava for dessert - Decent, but doesn't compared to Astoria, NY =)

Nice food - service lacking
Reviewer: Alan from Santa Barbara, CA
Dined with group last weekend. Restaurant was 1/4 full. Food was nice, but not Wow. Service left something to be desired - slow. I'll probably go back to see if the service picks up. Two strikes and you are out in my book.

Loved it!
Reviewer: Alexandra from Santa Barbara, CA
So happy that Petros has opened a restaurant in Santa Barbara! I have dined at his Manhattan Beach and Los Olivos restaurants. We dined at the new Santa Barbara location last week. The food was outstanding and beautifully presented, the atmosphere is hip and elegant and the service was pleasant and enjoyable. I highly recommend it!

Delicious Greek Cuisine
Reviewer: Andriana and Ernest from Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Barbara has another superb eatery. We have dined at Petros weekly for the past 3 weeks, and enjoyed prompt and attentive service. Every dish was beautifully presented and absolutely delicious, whether appetizer, salad, entree or dessert. We have encouraged our friends to experience this wonderful cuisine - Greek food with a "California flair" and look forward to dinners on the beautiful outdoor patio with warmer weather, and soon, hopefully, lunches as well. For dessert, be sure to try the Bougatsa - Heavenly!!!

Big Potential, but felt sorry for stressed staff
Reviewer: Melissa from Santa Barbara, CA
Was very excited for this restaurant to open and believe it has potential! First the food...The food was very good. I have now been there 2 times. I was not blown away by any of the entrees, but the salads and appetizers are excellent. The prices are too high for the quality of the food and the atmosphere. There is a lot of garlic, which I like, but be warned. Each time I went, they were out of at least 2 entrees that someone in my party wanted to order. The restaurant is very pretty, but a bit casual for the prices. No table clothes outside (can't remember if there are inside) and the chairs are not comfortable like I would expect for a restaurant with some entrees that are over $35. In addition, considering a huge remodel was done to the place, it would be nice to have real heat for the patio seating, which is a much larger area than the inside. It was so cold, it was a bit shocking. Would rather have heaters than marble bathrooms or fake glass fireplace. Presentation was nice. I ordered the rack of lamb medium, but it was definitely rare. Still good, though. As for the service, both times I went everyone was really nice and attentive, but I could feel the stress the staff was under and it made me uptight. The owner was there and did not look like a nice person to work for. Everyone seemed nervous and overly eager to please as if they would get in trouble if anything went wrong. There were girls working on the patio in t-shirts and they were obviously freezing. It had a weird vibe. Obviously they are new and have kinks to work out. I will try it again in a month or so, but I refuse to spend money at places where I don't think employees are happy. To the owner, relax, your employees are working hard and trying and this is Santa Barbara. I would love to see this place do well. Haven't been to any of the other locations.

Good, not great food
Reviewer: Thomas from Santa Barbara, CA
Granted, I'm a bit of a Greek food aficionado, but the quality of their dishes didn't match the price on the menu. I was in a group of 4 and I got to taste a little bit of everyone's food. Their dishes are just as pricey as a restaurant like Kokkari (in SF, if you like Greek - GO HERE), but much less imaginitave. I tried their signature Feta Encrusted Lamb and it was good not great. The service was very good and I liked the atmosphere - just think their menu prices are about 10 dollars off.

Not a Greek Restaurant
Reviewer: Kathy from Santa Barbara, CA
I was looking forward to great Greek food, but the menu was too Americanized for my taste. The appetizer was well done, but the entrees were salty, unimaginative and very expensive. Some bumps in the service, but that's to be expected. People were eager to please. Overall, it seemed like the restaurant is designed for a young, hip demographic--especially with the loud (I think) techno music. I didn't enjoy the ambiance and I'm left wanting a real Greek meal. Warning: do not sit on the patio in cold weather.

Really Good
Reviewer: Ron from Santa Barbara, CA
Thanks Lenny, I agree 100%. Seems all restaurants need to work out the kinks when they open. I didn't get the bad experience noted in some reviews. My visit was great, or maybe we're just not as pretentious as the haters, hee hee. The menu is very diverse with some simple and exotic fare. Great wine menu as well. The restaurant was a little over half capacity inside with a few people outside. Everything came out in a reasonable amount of time and the food was really good. I'm happy this place is in town, we need a really good Greek restaurant and in my opinion this is WAY better than Cafe Buenos Aires.

Here We Go Again.
Reviewer: Lenny from Santa Barbara, CA
Will dine here but wait until the bugs are worked out. Opening a restaurant like this in SB at this location is a challenge and it takes time to tweak the system and make good your 10's of thousands of dollars just to get it started. SO!, to all the local self-entitled,uber-restaurant critics that are recogged by opening statements like, "we were looking forward to eating here BUT",cook it at home and see how well you do or just stay away. I have no connection to this restaurant or it's owners.

REALLY Disappointing
Reviewer: Marie T. from Santa Barbara, CA
We were really looking forward to the restaurant opening but given our experience, it will be some time before we go back. The food was actually good, if you don't mind waiting 1+ hours and receiving no acknowledgement from your server. The service was completely disorganized and unprofessional. Either they need to overhaul their staff or educate them on the service industry. When you are spending $30 a plate and wines by the glass ranging from $12 - $18 (our entire bill came to over $400 for 5 adults and 2 children), you expect MUCH better.

not impressed
Reviewer: Mary from Santa Barbara, CA
We celebrated a birthday at Petros last night. They were extremely disorganized with seating us, and had to move us after we were seated to another table because someone else had requested the table they sat us at. It took forever to get our meals (nearly 2 hrs) to the point that none of us wanted our entrees by the time they came. I hope they can work out the kinks because we were looking forward to the SB location opening.

Need to address some significant issues
Reviewer: Lyman Orton from Santa Barbara, CA
Our party of four was graciously seated at the "owner's table", the only one open, on January 6th. The wait staff were friendly but quite disorganized and slow. Had to order wine twice, waiters were so busy because of under staffing or new-opening confusion that they could not focus on us, running off the minute we paused. Considering there are two other locations it is not like they are starting from scratch. Food very slow coming. A big problem is the patio was very cold and we had to huddle around one end of the table to try and keep warm. They have the wrong heaters for the job and the owner blamed it on "the City". He didn't seem to want to hear about any problems but I give him credit for being there. Maybe some individual-table umbrella heaters would do the job better than the large and ugly ones that only heated one side of the table. Too bad the excellent food experience is diminished by these other issues. Will wait a month or so before trying it again.

Loved, Loved, Loved
Reviewer: Hutton from Santa Barbara, CA
This is exactly what Santa Barbara needed! The food is delicious and authentically Greek, and the atmosphere is truly beautiful. My friend and I shared apps, and I couldn't have been more satisfied. I will not only recommend this to all my friends and family but I will be back as soon as possible! Thank You Petros!

snotty girls
Reviewer: Jean from Santa Barbara, CA
Besides the pressured staff serving you, depressing owner almost yelling to his staff like dogs, & snotty "fake smile" middle eastern girls walking around... the food was not bad. I really enjoyed there dip combo and complimentary bread. Not sure if this is what is to expect because of opening week, considering they are having a "soft" opening, but overall you truly are paying a $35 dollar entree, $9 dollar coffee, and your time to the pricey nice remodeling they invested for this Santa Barbara location. We can now say we have a greek restaurant in SB!

Wonderful Greek Food
Reviewer: Jenn from Santa Barbara, CA
I was so happy when this restaurant opened because Santa Barbara needs a Greek restaurant. The price point is on the higher end but it is completely worth it! The wine, appetizers and main course were to die for! We went on their first official night open and the service was good but almost too good. We had someone over at out table every five minutes checking on us but I figure that they will work that out in time. We ate inside because it was a little chilly at night but during the summer this place is going to be packed. Overall I would give five stars for food and highly recommend it!

Can't wait for Summer at this place.
Reviewer: Sean from Santa Barbara, CA
Amazing food and amazing ambiance to boot. This place has great authentic Greek dishes. Although you pay for them, they are worth it. Honestly, I can see myself going there for drinks and 8 appetizers more than 1 entree. That is how good the selection and the quality were. The service was ok, but that is always the last thing to come around. Try it out yourself and judge for yourself. One thing is for certain, when summer rolls around, this place is going to be tough to get into on the weekends.

Great Atmosphere and Delicious Food... But PRICEY.
Reviewer: Melly from Santa Barbara, CA
The food was absolutely delicious & worth every penny. We started with the saut�ed cheese and then enjoyed the lamb souvlaki and the roast chicken. All were prepared beautifully and cooked to perfection. We were at the Santa Barbara location tonight, the night after the restaurant's "soft opening". Though there were plenty of staff on hand to take care of the four tables seated, the food took a while to prepare and the bussing staff was more attentive than our server. Also, I ordered a glass of wine, which must have been the last pour of the bottle because it was filled with the sediment. When I pointed it out to our waitress she seemed bothered that I was even concerned as this was "just something that happens" ...I know, but it's still gross and not what I expect from a nice restaurant! Anyway, a great meal & would return again for the food definitely,. Just hoping that the sub par service was a consequence of the recent opening and not what I should expect in the future.

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