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Little Asia
6527 Madrid Rd, Isla Vista
Phone: (805) 968-5453


Reviews by the General Public

A damn decent place to eat in Isla Vista, 1/30/2010
Reviewer: Ken Billingsley from Santa Barbara, CA
My review is going to be short and sweet. I've lived in Isla Vista for four years and Little Asia has always had consistent, great quality food. The owners are very hard working and they're portions are huge! Rock on Little Asia, I'll always be down for your broccoli beef dinner special.


not that good, 12/7/2009
Reviewer: Jonathon from Santa Barbara, CA
i stopped going here a while ago, but decided to give it a try again. i shouldn't have come back. i usually won't write a bad review, but the noodles honestly tasted like bland Styrofoam. i actually spit it out of my mouth. the ucsb chicken sauce isn't that bad, and the chicken is edible, but only for a couple bites, then i got really really sick of it. too much batter and not enough real chicken either. not worth $6.50. i don't know about their other stuff, but not a good reputation so far


Mediocre at best, 11/16/2009
Reviewer: Jen from Santa Barbara, CA
As a native of SF, I can confidently say that the Chinese food at this place is mediocre. Many times, the dishes are either too salty, or are much too bland (the fried rice and chow mein). The tea tastes like hot water, and the soup tastes like the tea but salty. The Korean food, on the other hand, is much better and comes in good proportions. If you come here, come for the Korean--don't bother with the Chinese or Japanese. As for the service, for some reason, they always try to gyp me out of my soup which comes with the dinner special. If they try to do this do you, don't be afraid to just ask for it.


A little part of asia to you-ignore DAVE's comment.. , 4/3/2009
Reviewer: janet from Santa Barbara, CA
Ok.. so i'm reading this, and i realize that Andrew 02/28/09 is correct.. PLEASE IGNORE DAVE ON 06/06/08 he is very ignorant on what korean food really is. otherwise he would have known that he did order the wrong dish.. there actually is a cold version of bibimbap.. and it is rather spicey if you order it that way and.. the HOT dish that he is talking about is ALSO ON THE MENU! It is written in korean AND ENGLISH. dave seems to be "good" with the terminology of the korean dialect.. so it's a wonder how he missed this.. (sarcasm sorry) the owners are hard workers, and they provide great service! I am Korean, and I will say, it may not be my MOTHERS cooking (b/c by far hands down, she is the best cook ever ha ha), but it is definitely a good korean food away from home. oh and dave, i really hope you don't think you are this great korean guru b/c you lived in korea for only a year.. and using easy korean terms, where you spelled the pronunciations incorrectly..


A real treaditional korean food, 3/22/2009
Reviewer: Allen from Santa Barbara, CA
My family and I relocated to Santa Barbarab few months ago, in search of Good Korean Food we were willing to go to San Jose or LA. But Little Asia has our vote for the best Korean Food. The food is excellent, people are very friendly and taste is as good as any traditional Korean food. How do I know that? I lived in Korea for many many years and I am half Korean. We are mostly interested in Good Food, not decorations and this place has a really good korean food.


Great Korean food - ignore Dave's comments, 2/28/2009
Reviewer: Andrew from Santa Barbara, CA
Dave who posted on 6/6/08 is completely IGNORANT about Korean food if he complained about Little Asia's "Be bim ba" being cold! How can Dave claim he "spent a year in Korea... and have had Be Bim Ba several hundred times" -- yet Dave DOESN'T know how the difference between ordering "Dol Sot Be Bim Ba" (Hot stone bowl be bim ba) and the basic room temperature "Be Bim Ba???" Their Be Bim Ba is excellent. No wonder why the store owner was unfriendly: He probably thought you were arrogantly & incorrectly telling him about Korean cuisine.


Slow to get and Uneventful food
Reviewer: Glenn from Buellton
Not much nice to say about this place. The chicken teriyaki I got was just chicken and rice with teriyaki, no vegetables mixed in. I guess I should have stuck with a Korean choice from below reviews? Cook in back is Hispanic though so unsure of Korean food better claims. Plan to wait at least 15 minutes for your food. At least they have a nice TV to watch while you wait...Not sure what else Asian there is in IV but I'll check.


great resteraunt
Reviewer: dick from Santa Barbara, CA
man do i love this place. great food and service if your hammered. Best orange chicken ever and large portions and great low price. this place is the spot to go


Good Food... but this post isn't about Little Asia
Reviewer: Josh B from Santa Barbara, CA
I like many of the dishes from Little Asia, especially their Bulgogi. For the uninitiated, bulgogi is barbecued beef, one of the most famous peasant dishes of the old country. My wife and I spent a year in Seoul, and can now judge the authenticity of any oriental food... I'm only kidding. But Dave from Santa Barbara's ridiculous review of Little Asia is so weird and offensive. Maybe this cultural ambassador should have tried the Orange Chicken, or recognized he was at the only Korean restaraunt in the 805.


Regulag Bibimbap is served cold.
Reviewer: Samuel from santa barbara, Ca
Last review about Bibimbap is wrong, because Bibimbap means mixed vegeable with rice. If menu says bibimbap, then that means it's supposed to be serve cold. Only egg should be hot. There is another bibimbap called dolsot_bibimbap. That is the one that serves hot with stone bowl.


rude; "convenient" language gap to excuse wretched food
Reviewer: Dave from Santa Barbara
My wife and I had a hankering for Korean food, and saw the ratings on Little Asia and figured we'd head to IV on a Friday night to give it a whirl. We both ordered the bibimbap, which is a peasant dish in "the old country." I should say that I lived in Seoul for a year, and have had plenty of good, authentic Korean cuisine. For the uninitiated, bibimbap is served in a smoking hot stone bowl, with a bed of rice, veggies, sprouts, beef, and topped with an over-easy fried egg. The stuff we were served was stone COLD--even the rice! The fried egg was wayyyy overcooked. When I politely went to the counter to inquire what's the deal, the "adashi" (eldest male) told me that I should have specified that I wanted my bibimbap hot; otherwise it's served cold. Say WHAT? I've had this dish hundreds of times in dozens of places, both in the States and in Korea. I've NEVER seen it served cold. They did NOTHING but thumb their nose at my concern. These blackguards should be run out on rails....


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