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    Lighthouse Coffee

    3.5 (62 reviews)
    Closed • 6:00 am - 4:00 pm
    Updated 1 month ago

    Lighthouse Coffee Photos

    LIGHTHOUSE COFFEE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Lighthouse Coffee

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    Reviews With Photos

    Santa Barbara's beautiful Lighthouse Coffee! Delicious hand, roasted coffees, and some delicious gluten-free cookies too!
    Sonia K.

    Welcome to wakefulness Supirior coffee! This Santa Barbara treasure has five locations to serve you the most beautiful morning breakfast sandwich alongside their master, fully roasted custom coffee blends. They even have something called the Chewbacca latte which blends South American Mate and chai. Genius! The staff is so welcoming and warm. They offer everything from vegan to gluten-free selections and baked goods too! Like a beacon in the night, I have found my Lighthouse!

    Avocado toast. Iced coffee with hazelnut syrup.
    Tori K.

    Came back twice for the avocado toast- the photo tells all. Coffee was pretty good, but honestly I'm not a big fan of coffee shops having an "add your own milk" situation (maybe that's just me). Staff were friendly. There's indoor and outdoor seating; there are spots outside in and out of the sun.

    Food menu
    Vanessa D.

    This place has gone downhill a bit since they opened. I went yesterday and three staff were standing behind the counter. The lady that took our order was not friendly at all. Once we finished ordering, one of the staff started on our coffees. He took so long to make our drinks and more people had come to put in their orders. Not sure why it took him so long to make our drinks. Our food came out before our drinks did. I haven't been enjoying their coffee as much and am just kind of over the whole vibe the staff give off.

    Jojo H.

    Friendly staff, great outdoor tables. The avocado toast was really good. A great place to have coffee with friends.

    after one sip.. so much ice :(
    Vivian L.

    First time visit, nice vibes and lots of seating. My barista/cashier did seem new tho. It's very pricey and I'm a bit bummed they bought out low pigeon as their portioning this visit was so off my small and large were filled with so much ice, and the amount poured was the same in each as I watched him pour. The other employee saw how there was still so much empty space in my large latte and told us he'd top it off. It was still just a cup of ice at this point after one sip... Flavor wise on my vanilla oat milk latte is that it's tasty & good quality. At $7 for a large, I expected a lot more. I think I'll stick to other local spots.

    Outside 7/9/22
    Sara B.

    This was a nice coffee and pastry option for me before working my last day traveling in SB. The place has a really nice modern, light and clean feel to it. I ordered a hot chai latte and 2 croissant: an almond one and a chocolate one. I knew there was no way I would eat both but I had to get 2 different things to try for my Yelp review. I sat on the airy patio that sits by the street side. The croissants were just as you expect, light, flakey and buttery in texture. Honestly I preferred the almond one over the chocolate one. One of the locals told me that she suspects that a shop called Renoud's (sp?) maybe supply these croissants as they are identical to that shop's. But I don't know for certain. Mother chai latte had just the right amount of chair flavoring for my liking. Prices are pretty average for a Starbucks or Peet's. The baristas were very nice and my order was ready in a few minutes.

    Vanilla Latte all morning.
    Mickey A.

    First day of being officially open, and counter staff Beth and Kim were gracious hosts and made it all look so easy as they served up assorted coffee drinks and delicious breakfast treats. This new location is super convenient, with plenty of parking, comfy inside and patio seating, right there on the corner of Turnpike and Hollister Avenue, and across the street from San Marcos High School (Go Royals!).

    Chai in outside patio
    Kim J.

    My favorite spot for a delicious chai and muffin (pumpkin chocolate chip is the best!). Quiet atmosphere. Outdoor space. Definitely a good place to check out for a meeting or to pop open your laptop.

    Jen S.

    Nice location, easy to find and plenty of parking. Cute outdoor space, and lots of seating. I had the green tropical smoothie, it was great, and I had an oatmilk cappuccino which was very good. Had to ask for a for-here cup, or they will give you a paper cup. I wish there were some vegan pastries. I would have loved to get a vegan muffin or scone to go with my drinks. They have a vegan empanada, and their avocado toast looked good (and they told me their bread was vegan), but I was in more of a sweet mood. I'll have to try the avo toast another time.

    Much better in a mug

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    8 months ago

    Bad coffee- terrible food. Low quality ingredients and place is dirty- they don't even clean tables when opening morning time

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    2 years ago

    Uninspired service, very boring cookie cutter ambience. There is much better around. Guess the high school crowd doesn't care.

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    2 years ago

    I get breakfast here when I travel to Santa Barbara for work. Coffee is delicious. And they make a great lox bagel.

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    3 years ago

    Great spot. Clean, nice, safe and lots of parking. Service is good. Recommend if you are in the neighborhood!

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    Ask the Community - Lighthouse Coffee

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    We visited Kin Bakeshop around 10:45 am on a Sunday fully expecting a long wait, but were…read morepleasantly surprised to find only a short line. From getting in line to receiving our entire order, it took about 15 minutes total. Parking is easy with a large plaza lot, although seating inside can be tougher. It was completely full when we arrived, but we got lucky and snagged a table as someone was leaving. We ordered the Osmanthus Matcha Cream, Hojicha Black Sesame, Pandan Coconut Matcha, Vietnamese Coffee, Cinnamon Sugar Mochi Donut, and Buko Pie Mochi Donut. They also served us complimentary barley tea when ordering. Everything was delicious and absolutely lived up to the hype! The Osmanthus Matcha Cream was easily the biggest surprise and highlight for us. It was creamy while somehow still tasting light and refreshing, and we've honestly never had anything quite like it. It's made in limited quantities and sold out just a few minutes after we ordered, so I'd definitely recommend getting it early if it's available. The Hojicha Black Sesame was another standout. I've tried this combination at a few other cafes, but Kin does it better than any version I've had. Both flavors came through really well without either overpowering the other. The Pandan Coconut Matcha was also great, although I've had similar drinks at quite a few cafes throughout California, so it was harder for this one to stand out as much. The Vietnamese Coffee was solid too, but a little sweet for my preference. Personally, I think their tea-based drinks are much more memorable. Their mochi donuts were incredible too and easily some of the best I've had. Both were SO soft with that slightly bouncy mochi texture. I especially loved the Cinnamon Sugar Mochi Donut because it genuinely tasted like a churro in mochi donut form. Service was amazing throughout our visit, and I also love that the menu is projected onto the wall and updated as items sell out. Overall, Kin Bakeshop absolutely lived up to the hype for me. There are already so many other things I want to try, and I'm definitely looking forward to coming back!

    Searched for matcha joints and this highly-rated venue was tops... and now I know why! There will…read morebe a line, always. We got here Friday around 12n and there were a dozen high schoolers (from next door) in line. We got here on Sunday at 9:35am (they opened at 9:30) and there were approximately 20-24 people in line. I asked a woman who was just coming out and she said she got there at 8:45a and was first in line (45 minutes before opening)! We had wine-tasting in Los Olivas to attend so we timed our return for just-before-closing (4pm). We pulled in at 3:57pm and raced to the front door just as the manager was about to hang a "closed" sign up! On both days we ordered the black sesame matcha. These are $7 and only 8 oz but heavenly. They were out of most all food items on Sunday but on Friday I got a couple of their famed mochi donuts ($4). Imagine a donut (as you can see from the picture, they are round but slender with "knobs") but with a chewy mochi-like texture. Between their unique flavor combos and that amazing texture, these are worth the wait (and I generally never eat donuts because of their complete lack of nutritional value)! But that matcha -- they hand-pestle finish all of their matchas! There's a large window (albeit with a thinly weaved curtain drawn) where you can watch the kitchen in action). The black sesame cream is super thick and layered on the bottom first. The drink comes with a long (7 inch) wooden spoon and you are kindly instructed to draw that spoon out slowly and sample the sweet cream coated in matcha, before ultimately stirring the drink thoroughly. The experience along with the very-lightly-sweetened, softly nutty/sesame concoction are divine... and, yes, the whole reason we raced back on our last day in SB to grab one more taste.

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    Handlebar Coffee Roasters - Morning bun + Latte

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    I have a love hate relationship with Java Station that stems from their prices and inconsistencies…read more My favorite food item is their egg and bacon bagel sandwich with avocado for $20. It's really good, when they don't run out of egg, and when they don't forget the sauce that's supposed to come with it. Their drinks are pretty good when they're done right, but there's been a few times recently where the smoothies had zero flavor and was mainly milk, which sucks for what you're paying. I'm pretty patient but definitely expect to wait a while for your order even if you order ahead of time and double check your order because they often get my order wrong. I do like this place and the atmosphere and the workers are nice but I think a little more attention to getting the orders right would benefit them.

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    Comedy night at Java Station

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    Lighthouse Coffee - coffee - Updated October 2026

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