My first time here and I loved it! The vibe is fresh and a little funky (in a good way), but most importantly, the food is delicious! Everyone in my party loved what they got! I got the Lamb Quesadilla, which was so good! With all the chain restaurants around, you could almost forget what cooked to order, fresh food from a restaurant tastes like! Not any more! I can't wait to go back and try something new! read more

I hate to write this review but I have to because I'm really upset. This is my second time ordering chef ricks through DoorDash. The first time I ordered I got the same thing, Grilled Vegan patty melt. There aren't many options here in Santa Maria for vegan things so I ordered through DoorDash. My first time everything went good and I got the right order and this time I didn't. I ordered a vegan patty melt and they gave me REAL meat. Keep in mind that I've been vegan for THREE years. I instantly knew this wasn't vegan meat or cheese and I felt sick. I could've gotten way more sick if I would've kept eating it thinking it was vegan meat but I know the differences. In the picture I had to rip the patty apart and it looks like I ate half but I didn't. I ripped the patty apart to observe it and it was real meat. I called and the girl there apologized and said she was sorry and that they would remake my order. They remade it only for me to get a vegan grilled cheese with no beyond burger meat inside. At this point it's whatever they keep messing up and I'm dissatisfied with this service. I kept my calm when I confronted them and everything but one of the guys there made me feel bad for even saying anything. He told me to take it up with DoorDash when it's not their fault. My DoorDash driver went to pick up my order and she had no idea that it was the wrong one. It was up to Chef Ricks giving me the right order because door dash is connected with their system. I've been vegan for three years and I was given real actual meat and I felt sick. Be careful out there and make sure you repeat your order or else this might happen. read more

Chef Rick's - New American Near Me - Orcutt, California

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We are always glad we came here. Today I tried one of the specials. New Mexican green Chile stew. It was awesome. Chef Rick is a local treasure. Truly a chef that knows what to do with his fresh ingredients read more

Someone mentioned they serve the best burger in town, wrong...it was one of the best burgers I've ever had! Thick juicy patty that was huge, can't wait to go back again! read more

I was so happy Rick has reopened a restaurant. Many old favorites from his old menu. You order at the counter but food is brought to your table. The table has china plates, cloth napkins, and real flatware, not plastic, so it's nicer than most order at the counter places. Good service and great food. read more

So nice to have Mason back on the culinary arts scene. It's terrific that he has several vegan options on that menu, all rock by the way! Go. Go again! read more

Chef Rick makes food fresh! I'm pregnant and I was craving the pasta. I had gone this past holiday only to realize it was closed. I had to settle with olive garden and it was a sad evening. But trust me his food is really good! read more

Rick is simply the best. Great food. Great atmosphere. I have had so many special occasions at Chef Rick's.

The food was great, as usual. My issue is with the staff. When I placed my order (to go) over the phone, I asked for some rolls. She said she would put them in. When I got there to pick up my order, I was charged for the rolls. I was charged $7.50 for 6 rolls. I put the bag in my car and when I got home, I realized they put the heaviest item (Jambalaya Pasta) on the top and the lightest items (rolls) on the bottom. Since it was off balance, the pasta sauce spilled inside the bag and got all over the other containers. For this reason, I couldn't enjoy my dinner as much as I normally would have. read more

I wanted to love this place because I was a very happy customer at the old place years ago. The waitress told us we had to order at the register then get a number and a table. Since we had to pay first I tipped on the service we had gotten at the original Chef Ricks, which was exceptional. The service at the new place was lacking. DO NOT TIP WHEN YOU ORDER. After our food was delivered no one ever came back to our table. There were no salt or pepper shakers on any of the tables. No drink refills and the ice tea glass was small. If my friend wanted another beer or dessert we would have had to wait through the line at the register again. No thanks. There are too many other restaurants in Santa Maria with great service. read more

Simply delicious! Especially love their monster burger, garlic soup, archies shrimp, jambalaya, and everything they have to offer pretty much! read more

So glad that Chef Rick is open again! He's got his wonderful menus as always and I like the idea of ordering at the counter, not having to wait to be served on, especially at lunchtime read more

Love this place... food is fantastic... service, great.. and ambiance.. fantastic!! So glad he's back!

Really good food. Friendly quick service. Nice decor. Clean. Really good mango iced tea. Minus one star for price. With tip spent $50 on 3 items for lunch. read more

They call it the best vegan burger ever, and it is. Also the fish salads are great, as are the fries and the sweet potato fries. We don't eat meat, so can't help you there, but everything we've had (doing take-out these days) has been excellent. read more

We are very grateful that Chef Rick's is open and serving great food especially during COVID. Ordering and pick up is seamless. The food is amazing and ready when promised. read more

For this birthday, we again treated ourselves to a Chef Rick meal. I had the black bean ravioli, Lauren had linguini with shrimp and mushrooms, and we topped it off with a blackberry burrito. Original, delicious food from a master of seasoning. read more

We ordered food for the first time from Chef Rick's. It was fabulous! The online ordering and pick up were glitch-free, the portions were extremely generous, and the food itself was excellent. My wife had the angel hair pasta with chicken and mushrooms. I had the jambalaya pasta with sausage, chicken and shrimp. Both came with freshly made rolls. The entrees were perfectly spicy, with flawlessly cooked pasta. We highly, highly recommend this restaurant. read more

Been to Chef Rick's probably 25 times. Food quality is always excellent, desserts are incredible. Service was pretty good but my ice tea glass got empty a few times. Sorry to be a nit picker but for the third time in a row, I have asked for no tomatoes on a dish. My daughter did the same. Here comes the tomatoes for both of us. Had to tear my burger apart as did my daughter. Really not a big thing but when you specifically ask for it, it shouldn't be a big thing for them. Makes it easier for the chef and they save a tiny amount on tomatoes. read more

Great food and great atmosphere! Good job Chef Rick and crew! The Chef Rick Burger and Prime rib sandwich wont disappoint. Wait staff was friendly and prompt. Good variety of food to choose from. Will be back again and will recommend Chef Rick's to everyone. read more

wow chef ricks man, those burgers are phenomenal perfect smoked char burger solid sauce and the bun is sweet, is a perfect balance with the salt of the burger great pickles and tomatoes perfectly cooks as well read more

Chef Ricks was recommended to us as one of the few nice places to eat in Orcutt. It did not disappoint. We had the delicious coconut shrimp to start. They were huge, and so good. 2nd we had the lamb and papaya quesadilla. The lamb was so tender and not gamey. We then ordered the Rib eye, salmon and catfish. The servings were HUGE. The catfish with jambalaya was delicious, just slightly spicy and oh so filling. Could only get through half of it. The shrimp crusted salmon was moist and tastey. The rib eye with maque choux was so good. And the piece was almost too big for my husband to eat! We ended with the jack daniels pecan pie. We were so stuffed, we could barely fit it in, but it was sooo good. The service was really nice. The ambiance was casual but trendy. Overall our experience was great. We can't wait to go back. This will definitely be one of our regular places to enjoy an evening out. read more

Service was TERRIBLE !!! The burger could improve and the wine pours need to be consistent.

What a pleasant surprise! They focus on putting out good food and keep checking to see if you're happy. I had the crab sandwich and my mom had the fried green tomato tostada. We enjoyed the food, the nice crowd of people and the pleasant staff. Thank You Rick! Something different read more

First of all.... something has to be pretty bad for me to give a negative review. Second of all I've eaten at Chef Rick's once before recently and had a great experience and the food was absolutely amazing. This review has nothing to do with the food (as we walked out before ordering ..... after being seated). It has completely to do with customer service....or in this case the lack of. I brought my daughter here because she had heard great things and I had a great experience. We walked in and a young man greated us and said that they were full at the time. But then a girl came by and said that some people were leaving and they would have a table for us soon. So we sat down at the bench. We waited and waited. Another couple walked in and walked past us and began a conversation with a different girl (sounded like they knew her) and she seated them at a table. I was slightly perturbed. Other employees walked past us and didn't acknowledge me at all. I finally spoke up to one who walked past and said. "Excuse me but those people came in behind us and were seated and we were told to wait for a table." She basically said ok. No apology. Then told us to follow her. Sat us down. Asked if we had a menu. I forgot that I was suppose to grab one and my daughter didn't know. So she said she'd grab them. We waited...and waited. No one ever came by. We gave up and left. Like I said... the food is amazing. The service sucks. read more

Ordered for delivery from DoorDash on 6/2/20. Order fried coconut beer shrimp, the New Mexican corn crusted chicken, shoestring fries and coconut cake. The food that was delivered was wrong. They sent 2 orders of shoestring fries and did not send the shrimp. The shoestring fries were lukewarm and tasted like they had been sitting under a heat lamp they had a good flavor so if they had been fresh they would have been good. The corn crusted fried chicken was delicious. It was hot and crispy with a spicy sauce that was not to hot. Because the chicken was hot and fresh while the French fries were just barely warm that tells me there is no reason the shoestring fries couldn't have arrived hot. The coconut cake was very good. I would have it again. So bottom line is they need to check orders are correct before they send them out for delivery. The 2 boxes that the shoestring fries came in were clearly marked. So someone just did not read what they were putting in the bag. read more

So yummy! We love this place. First off - the rolls are incredible. Seriously, it's worth coming for just the dinner rolls alone. But then add to it that virtually every item on the menu is delicious! If you love spicy, you simply must try the gumbo. It is out of this word delicious! The Shrimp and fried green tomato tostada is incredibly flavorful and surprisingly filling. My son is absolutely in love with the meatloaf po' boy and I can see why - it's yummy! If you're vegan, the black bean raviolis are delicious and very filling. The vegan burger is one of the best I've tasted anywhere, and the vegan "crab" cakes are surprisingly similar to the real deal. And if you're into dessert the blackberry burrito is a winner! We also loved the Jack Daniel's pecan pie - which is very rich and yes, you can taste the Jack Daniel's and that really makes it special. While we're very fond of this place, I will say the unusual table service structure does create some lag in service - that's one of the few downsides of an otherwise superb restaurant. Oh, and if you do come here be prepared to spend some time here - it's not fast, but good things are worth waiting for! read more

What can I say but I'm so happy that Chef Rick Manson has opened up another restaurant! He's responsible for turning my wife and I into "Foodies "! We stopped by today and as usual were not disappointed. We both had the potato crusted salmon salad with mustard shrimp and it was like every single thing I've ever eaten at one of his restaurants....awesome! This was part of his very, very soft limited-menu opening, I can't wait for the full dinner opening! The salmon was perfectly cooked, the fire grilled shrimp were the best I've ever tasted! The potato crust was deliciously crunchy and the salmon was almost twice the size that you would get at any other restaurant! I was bummed that I couldn't stay and eat more items on his "limited-menu"! We also had the sweet potato pecan cake with butter pecan ice cream and caramel drizzled all over it! Heaven! Welcome back Chef Rick I would like to add this , the New Orlean's pan roasted catfish in shrimp, scallop, and andouille sausage gumbo with seafood "dirty" rice and crispy oyster remoulade is now my favorite entree here! Every element of the dish is incredible and that is all I need to say! The name of the dish tells you everything you need to know! read more