The food was great. Nice outdoor seating. Staff is super friendly. We came from out of town but will definitely be back next time we are here. read more

Esau's Cafe - French toast combination, 1/2 biscuits and gravy & California Benedict with hash browns - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Carpinteria, California

Nice place nice people. Taste of food pretty good. Price ok plates come pretty full. There home made jelly is amazing. Didnt really like the country fried steak the county souce was tasteless. The dont do dinner. read more

Six years later and it's still FANTASTIC! Stopping in at one of my favorite places in Carpenteria, Ca for my annual breakfast on the way to Ma and Pa's pad...if you're ever in the area, it's a MUST try! read more

I had an hour to kill and not had my breakfast. Stumbled across Esau's and gave it a go. I wasn't disappointed! The biscuit was fabulous and the meals I saw coming from the kitchen looked great. Only complaint is I never received a coffee refill and my original waitress disappeared. Hopefully next time service will be a little better. read more

Great service great food, local island brewing beer. Friendly staff, lots of coffee refills. How breakfast should be! Killer eggs Benedict. read more

Esau's Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Carpinteria, California

Best huevos rancheros I have ever had! This place has good outdoor seating with shade and friendly service. I am very happy with the meal and time spent here. read more

Fantastic food and great open atmosphere. Their unique menu items were all a hit with our family!

Pancakes are the best! Excellent service and peaceful outdoor setting. You will enjoy your meal here.

love their food & service,friendly good people.It's not unusual to strike up a conversation with another patron, "yeah i remember Henry,used to surf with him".It's a locals spot I visit every 5 yrs, when I'm out for my Goleta high school reunion(from Maine).It's like Old California i remember as a kid,ghosts from the past in every bite & have a happy Halloween too! read more

Yes, yes & yes. Food was amazing, desserts OMG. I wish I lived closer. But if you're ever in Palm Springs it's a must. The service was amazing read more

Local friend referred us and we were not disappointed! We ordered the huevos diablos and turkey sausage & eggs with a biscuit. All so so good! Everything is made from scratch we were told and it tastes like it. We will be back to try some of the other dishes like the breakfast burrito.. read more

Drove 2hrs just to come here and have their Baja Fish Tacos. Been coming here since a kid to go camping at Carpenteria and this place is still the same. Still the same home feel atmosphere and awesome food. They are only open half days so come before they close. read more

Esau's Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Carpinteria, California

We had plans to go to The Spot burger but there was literally 100 people ahead of us in line. As we walked back to our car we passed by Esau's Cafe & decided to give it a try. My son had a cheeseburger & fries and said they were just perfect. I chose the fried fish tacos. The two tacos were loaded with finely shredded cabbage lots of slices of fresh avocado, cilantro with a yummy aoili. Spicy beans and sticky white rice came on the side. It was super messy but super delicious. We sat outside, it was seat yourself. Service was excellent. The only thing that I would say is that it was a bit dirty - at least where we were sitting in the outside space; felt like it could use a scrubbing and a power washing. Otherwise I would say give it a try. Lots of items to choose from and breakfast is served all day read more

Best diner in Carpinteria. The Stanley family is friendly and warm and they take their business seriously. Very large portions of food, and everything on the menu can be modified to diet specifications. read more

Such a great breakfast! And Taylor went above and beyond. Great service and smiles! So nice to go somewhere during this whole covid thing and have this experience read more

It was really just ok. Nothing stood out... for the crunchy French toast, they gave me normal French toast.. when they brought it back out I think they just dipped it in egg a second time and tossed the cereal on top. Not what I expected after people said it was like Cinnamon Toast Crunch.. Husbands burger was just ok too. Definitely not satisfying /:. read more

Great breakfast spot! They have a huge menu. There is something for everyone. I appreciated that they had several vegan options. I got the vegetarian scramble, which wasn't your typical scramble. It was uniquely done (they included bean sprouts, which I thought would be weird, but was actually delicious). The home fries were perfect. Service is friendly, prices are fair, portions are good. There were several items on the menu I filed away for next time. read more

Killer local spot that has been in Carp for over 50 years and it's obvious why they've weathered the years. Lots of food for a fair prices and the service is always friendly. I went for Easter brunch with my girlfriend and we had the most exceptional server Kimmy take care of us. She made the experience beyond enjoyable and always had a smile when she stopped by our table! I was so sad when their spot on Chapala in Santa Barbara closed, though understandable with some of the other breakfast spots close by. Would highly recommend this spot to any of my friends and I'm sure to be back soon! read more

When ever I visit Carpentaria, I make it a point to eat breakfast at Esau's. I am never disappointed. My usual is eggs, ham, and fruit bowel. The ham is a large, thick generous cut. Eggs are cooked to perfection. The owner Scott personally goes table to table with refills for water and coffee. Many locals eating there. Great place for breakfast. read more

I love meeting my daughter and granddaughter at Esau's Cafe for comfort food! Everything is delicious- just writing this makes me want To run up to Carpinteria for an order of fries! Yum! read more

Found this gem while participating in the Avon39 event this past weekend. What is there not to love? I measure the quality of a breakfast spot by the yumminess of the pancakes. YOU DON'T NEED SYRUP and seriously a 60 year old recipe can't be wrong. Better than my grandma's pancakes. I ordered Corn Beef hash & eggs. Ratio of beef to potatoes was perfect and was flavorful. My fellow diners ordered Gnarly Scramble which was wonderful with home fries which were seasoned well. I can see many Sunday drives that end up at the front door to try the rest of the menu and explore Carpenteria. read more

This place was crowded but we were told it's not as crowded as usual. I ask for crispy hash fries and it was the first time a restaurant really did it right. I had an omelette with feta cheese which I don't think I'll do again the cheese just doesn't go with eggs. Service was nice and friendly and they kept my coffee cup filled . I would go here again. read more

Ate here after not being able to get into the Worker Bee down the street last weekend. I have been to this establishment before many years ago but it was downtown Santa Barbara. What I remembered was it was a decent place with a good food so we gave it a go. The lady who was greeting/seating people at the door was extremely distracted. She must have asked our name at least five times and we were only one or two parties waiting at that time. Seems like once we walked away to use the restroom, she had forgotten our name was on the list and it took way too long to get seated. The wait staff was great and very attentive. The menu looked fantastic, but the food was just so-so. I had the corned beef hash which was extremely salty and left me wishing I had gone to the Worker Bee. They have the best corned beef hash I have ever had! All in all, we were glad to have found a place to sit outside and have breakfast but next time I think I'll wait for the Worker Bee. read more

I rarely leave a complaint as it's hard enough to be in business as a small restaurant. However this place is filthy from the outside to inside, makes you wonder what the kitchen is like. The canopy out front is even filthy. The clam chowder had zero flavor with lots of lumps of flour. The grilled cheese was so greasy i used a napkin to try and render some of the margarine they used. Gross! Unfortunately I will not return. The 2 stars is because the waitress was nice. read more

Friendly owners, servers and atmosphere...and everything we have eaten there, breakfast or lunch, has been delicious- expect to have a people bag to bring home what you can't eat in one sitting...love Esau's read more

Stopped for breakfast this morning and enjoyed one of the best breakfast ever! We had the Sunset Magazine Featured dish Chili Relleno, hash browns and English muffin shared. Enough for two for sure. The best just spicy enough Chilli! The coffee was awesome and the green tea hit the spot for my husband. Great family who own this place, our friends have been friends with the family for many years we went on their recommendation. So happy we did! Please go and taste for your selves on my recommendation. read more

Was not happy that they only had Splenda... No equal or the pink one. Actually I just don't want you all to flock to this restaurant so I have to actually wait in line a long time. Great service... And great food... friendly servers.... We are particular about our coffee. From IHOP to expensive restaurants, we have found the coffee to be like dishwater. Even Esau's coffee is good! A favorite of Carpinteria!! read more

Esau's is truly a local gem! It's a classic small town diner. The staff is so friendly. Arti, the owner, is a hoot! She's incredibly personable. Even the decor looks like a classic 50's diner/cafe with orange booths and a long chrome bar with stools. The food is great, with a huge selection of menu options and large portions at a great price. My favorite meal to go to Esau's is brunch. If you're feeling something sweet, I recommend the chocolate chip banana bread French toast! If not, you can't go wrong with any of the egg combinations. The bacon, grits, and biscuits with homemade jam are incredible! Unlike any that I've tasted outside of my Southern roots. read more

Come here every time I am back in town. Food is always solid as is the service.... great menu variety as well!!

Came in today(Saturday morning) with my boyfriend because we have previously had a wonderful experience here. Unfortunately that was not the case this time around. We started with some Bloody Marys which were amazing. I ordered the Lox Benedict and my boyfriend ordered the California Burrito. Upon receiving my "Lox" Benedict I noticed the salmon had a golden crisped outer layer, indicative of it being grilled. I asked the waitress immediately after it being set down what is was and she assured me it was lox. I also noticed a moment later the poached eggs has been cooked with a hair in it(yuck). I really do not like to be a person to complain to much so I wanted to verify I ordered what I thought I did. The menu is as follows; Lox Benedict: with smoked salmon, salted with green onions. To be clear Lox and Smoked Salmon are two different preparations of the fish. Lox is cured and remains raw while Smoked Salmon is obviously smoked and salted to preserve the fish longer and as a result has a more opaque white pink rather than that of the Lox which is a little more red and well, raw. I would have been fine and eaten my meal if what I received was either of these forms. BUT UNLIKE THE MENU DESCRIBES THE FISH ON MY BENEDICT WAS NEITHER OF THOSE AND OBVIOUSLY COOKED ON THE GRILL. Onto my boyfriends California Burrito, it was 80% guacamole some eggs, no pico de Gallo inside(in item description on menu) and had seemingly 1 piece of tri-tip in the entire burrito which was so chewy he couldn't even swallow it. The culmination of all this led us to sadly lose our appetite and request we just pay for the bloody Mary's and be on our way. Our waitress spoke the manager who came to our table with my boyfriends burrito cut all the way open to show that in the last half inch of the burrito there were actually 4 bite size pieces of tri-tip. I found this to be poor customer service as my sister is the GM of a large fine dining restaurant and the usual mode of operations in these situations is to comp the bad food and ask if they would like anything else. Although I respect her attempt at defending her staff, "The customer is always right" is a saying for a reason. She then followed up by letting me know that the LOX IS ALWAYS GRILLED AND MOVING FORWARD I SHOULD ASK FOR IT NOT TO BE. I told her that lox and smoked salmon are served cold which she nodded her head to but HOW SHOULD I BE EXPECTED TO ORDER A PROTEIN TO NOT BE PREPARED IN A WAY THAT ITS NOT EVEN DESCRIBED ON THE MENU AS!? That's like ordering Ahi tuna tartar, receiving it seared and being told I should've asked for it not to be? In what world is this on me?? The fish situation just made me feel like they are serving fish that may be on the verge of going bad and are grilling it to ensure no one gets sick. And in conclusion my boyfriend and I agree that this is a old diner and they may not have the budget to order high quality tri-tip or actual lox. I would recommend sticking to the basics here and maybe that when the manager is done re-doing the menu like she told me she is...they should have their descriptions be accurate because again; Lox-Smoked Salmon-Grilling are 3 DIFFERENT preparations of salmon and anyone who likes the protein enough to order an item with it WILL know the difference. read more

Great food, wonderful service, and atmosphere. If your looking for great food Esau's Cafe is it. It has been open since 1939. read more

Esau's Cafe - Blue Berry Muffins, Cinnamon Rolls, and Buttermilk Biscuits. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Carpinteria, California

We have been here twice so far and both times the food was really good. Th first time my partner and I ordered the Monte Cristo. We had planned on sharing it but the waitress said it wasn't that big. It was HUGE. Definitely could have shared. My friend had the divorced eggs and really enjoyed them but only ate half. This time I had the chicken fried steak and eggs. It came with breakfast potatoes and a side, I ordered the biscuit. It was amazing and huge. This place will become a regular stop. read more

I love going here for breakfast, everything is delicious and fast! I almost always go for the veggie scramble or their biscuits and gravy, perfection! Any time I'm here with a big group the orders come out exactly as everyone wanted, and the coffee never stops :) awesome place for brunches and family get togethers. read more

Esau's Cafe - Veggie scramble - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Carpinteria, California

My daughter came to visit us from LA and we ordered the food so we can eat it at our house. The price for the quality of food is ridiculous! The Hash browns are burned, the tri tip was over cooked and i asked for medium rare, we ordered a side of bacon and we got 4 little bacon bits!!!!! My son had the Sausage and eggs and for a kid to say the breakfast sucked then this tells you how bad it was. The only good thing about breakfast was the pancakes. I didn't like the 7.95 price for 2 pancakes but they were actually good. Spent over 90.00 on 4 breakfast plates that denny's does better. This morning we tried them again because i was going to leave a bad review last week but i read some reviews here and before i posted something bad i wanted to try it again. The Hash browns are burned again, this time i tried the eggs Benedict and for 15.00 i was not impressed. My son had the pancakes and 2 sausages(smalllllllll) and 2 eggs that looked like 1 egg for 10.00. When my wife picked up the food it was 30.00 and cold. Never giving my money to this cafe again. I would rather go to IHOP next time. read more

Nice place. Good breakfast place. food is creative, well done and good serving. Went 3 times during our week vacation. Watch out .. they close Wednesday. read more

After a busy pre-Easter week took Monday off so I could enjoy breakfast at the best breakfast place in the Santa Barbara area! Great food and and the best owners and staff around! Great selection, large portions and reasonably priced! Love the coffee! read more

I absolutely love Esaus! It is definitely our go to weekend breakfast place for sure. super close to the ocean, located within the cute little downtown, Esaus offers delicious home cooked Americana breakfasts in large servings washed down with their AMAZING coffee! The have fantastic biscuits and their jam is heaven on the biscuit. The staff is friendly and it is always busy. I love the surfer feel, with old surfing movies playing on the tvs. Cool, beachy breakfast joint for sure! Their eggs benedict is fantastic! read more

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There was a big crowd out front, so we figured the food must be good. After experiencing poor customer service, we imagined the food must be really, really good to be so popular. Then my Mom had hair in her food, and we realized it didn't really have good food or good service. Other than her salad, those of us who had more traditional breakfast dishes were content with our meals, but not excited enough that we were not unhappy with the experience overall. read more

After enjoying Esau's for years in Santa Barbara and mourning their closing I finally rediscovered this breakfast gem in Carpinteria a few years ago. Bring your appetite here and enjoy their monster plates of omelettes, scrambles and pancakes. Old fashioned hash browns and fresh ingredients make this a memorable spot. The waitresses are great and the bloody marys spicy! read more

Seriously, this is in my top 3 favorite breakfast spots of all time...and I've lived up and down the West Coast. From Portland to San Diego. The food is what makes this place. Huge helpings with amazing flavor. I go once a week and try to make it every Saturday morning since I moved to Carp. The only reason that I can't give this 5 stars is that the service is horrible. Not intentionally or maliciously horrible...but bad none the less. If you go later in the morning, it seems that people are more focused and concerned with their "side work" than actually taking care of the customers. The food is enough to keep me loyal though and I love this place like crazy. I just wish some of the wait staff cared more. read more