Passing through and trying to find a Mexican food breakfast. Yelp led us here with pretty substantial reviews. Warning this a COVID review where all dining is outdoors. It was also during a dreadful heat wave for the coastal area. We were seated and provided a simple listed menu. No descriptions of the plate but just a list (COVID menu). To my disappointment, none of the food menu items were remotely near breakfast items. Pretty much a lunch and dinner condensed menu. We waited sometime for a waitress to arrive to take a drink order. Upon returning with drinks, the waitress scurried off and left for a good deal of time. After approximately 15 minutes the waitress returned. Destined that I was slated to resort to lunch items the waitress said they had breakfast items available. Of what a relief! The waitress explained about the COVID menu issues and they could not put breakfast items on the menu as to cut down on the amount of menus and the process of cleaning after each customer. The comment seemed like "convenience" over "quality" and tad bit lazy on the staffs part. But oh well at least she rattled off their additional choices for breakfast. I opted with the "machaca" and "papas" and found it to be delicious with the right amount of shredded beef, eggs,veggies, and chilies. My wife opted for the "huevos rancheros" with her eggs cooked over easy. She found the eggs to be fully cooked and the yolk hard and the chili verde sauce to be much sweeter than she liked. I too did not care for the chile verde sauce. This is probably is a decent place to get a meal but on this trip it felt as it definitely missed the mark. I also seemed as the staff were lack luster and did not pay much attention to their customers. read more

We ate here on a Friday evening and our party of 7 was sat outdoors on the patio promptly. The service staff were nice and promptly brought ice water for all and took our beverages order plus a Happy Hour plate of nachos while we all looked at the menu for dinner. Beers and a very large fully loaded plate of nachos came out in short order and we were happy campers for the moment. Dinner orders were taken and I was not happy with my order of bacon wrapped cheese stuffed shrimp. They were totally over cooked (think desiccated) making both the bacon and shrimp almost inedible. Two other folks also were not happy with their dinner order. Not sure if we'll go back. read more

Palapa - Camerones, bacon wrapped - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

We've been several times and always enjoy ourselves. The food is good quality, prices aren't bad, and the staff has always been friendly. They'll meet you with chips and salsa before you even have a chance to sit down. I've had fish that tasted fresh, burritos that were legit, and a torta that was absolutely delicious. Friends and family have had enchiladas, soup, tacos, and more. I have yet to hear of a complaint. Good stuff. read more

Palapa - Torta - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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When the meat in your food is rotten it's definitely a place to be avoided. Ambiance was decent but no restaurant should be letting rotten meat be served. Ever. read more

Got the burrito supreme for $15. Very good. Huge. Only downsides were the meat was super greasy and they mixed up our orders. Friendly staff. Good Mexican beer selection. Clean and comfortable. Excellent salsa. Table with just about every kind of hot sauce know to mankind, which was awesome! read more

My husband and I were staying at the Hyatt Place and the breakfast there sucked so we went across the parking lot to Palapa who was already opened. The food was excellent, taste is authentic and the salsa was sooo good! The waiter was friendly and attentive. If You are in Santa Barbara I highly recommend this place. Excellent food and prices were great! read more

Palapa - Breakfast Menu Machaca - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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4 stars the food. Yum! We had the Vallarta salad, carnitas, and steak fajitas. The salsa and chips were delicious. But 1 star the dine in service. Terrible. We had to wait 30 minutes once the food was ordered. And then once the food was served, it took another several minutes to get silverware. And then more time to get extra tortillas. Had to keep flagging down the servers for help. The dining room was not busy on a Wednesday night and there were several people working. But they were prioritizing their carry out business. So come for the food but take it to go. Instead of a full service dining room, they should have patrons order at the counter. They can't seem to support the full service experience - at least not well. read more

Delicious! Lovely patio with umbrellas. I had the shrimp taco plate...my friend had chili rellenos. We both loved our flavor-filled lunch. Our waiter was lovely. I look forward to returning. The only thing I might suggest is to have chips that are thicker as the one they have fall apart easily. Also I'd love if they'd make a salsa that is truly mild (no jalapeños), as I and many others are sensitive to chilis and jalapeños. Their salsa is yummy, but still too spicy for me as it has jalapeños in it. Otherwise I highly recommend Palapa! read more

Service was great and the food was very good. Could it be because I drank 2 ice cold Bohemias. I ordered 2 tacos, carne asada and al pastor with cilantro rice and frijoles. Yummy. I will be back!! read more

Palapa - Ice cold Bohemia - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Food was basic. Waitress was so bad. Older woman in her late 30's? Black hair . Didn't catch her name . She slammed the menu at me and my friend. No enthusiasm, obviously hated her job or not getting paid enough? Idk. Mad dogged us and just overall bad service. Hire better waiters please. I felt very uncomfortable and felt rushed . read more

Food is very sub par. Service is good. Nice people too. They need to improve their menu. read more

I highly recommend coming here if you want amazing Mexican cuisine. The epic Palapa burrito is one of the best burritos i've ever had. The staff is extremely friendly and cater to every request. Will definitely come back read more

Was craving carnitas and decided to try this cute place. It was a nice casual atmosphere. The carnitas were delicious and they give a generous portion of everything here: the tortillas that come with the carnitas plate, the Posole soup, chicken torta and quesadilla. The chips they bring are light and crispy with yummy salsa. I would come back for these carnitas. read more

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Fui a comer a ese lugar y muy malo el servisio Solo ahi un mesero no atendio bien estaba una jove tambien de mesera pero muy antipatica nunca agarre chips mi agua se acabo y bunca me fue a ofrecer mas agua ni ganas de dejar les un tips muy mal sabor la comida y la verdad muy caro sobre todo. Le doy un 1 a ese lugar read more

Went for pick up on taco Tuesday, the service was good and fast. The tacos were delicious and they make their own chips.

Food tasted average. They were closing in 15 mins or so but still let us dine and service was fast. Nice traditional Ambiance. Overall, a decent experience. read more

Delicious food at a good price. Plenty of outdoor patio seating, staff was respectfully wearing masks, and the food was delicious! I had a vegetarian burrito which was large but had a good distribution of all the fillings, and my sister had the camarones empanazidos which were also very tasty. The chips were thin and crispy and the horchata was delicious! Definitely would recommend if you're in Goleta or Santa Barbara area. read more

Palapa - Vegetarian burrito in front, camarones empanazidos, chips, and horchata - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I want to start this review by saying the manager (or owner?) is super kind and top notch in customer service. The ambiance is lovely. The staff was good. That being said..... 1. They don't have margaritas lol that was the first red flag. A Mexican restaurant with no margs? What's going on here!? 2. The salsa was reminiscent of Ragu sauce. It really tasted like the bruschetta I just had at a Italian restaurant a few days ago. So that was odd. 3. After finding out there were no margaritas, my mom decided to order a "sunset" drink which included tequila, orange juice and whatever Jamaica is. It came out as a pink liquid and tasted like fruit juice. She's still unclear if there actually was tequila in it or orange juice or whatever the hell jamaica is. 4. After being weirded out that the salsa tasted like marinara sauce, we didn't want to get a meal because we became fearful. So because we felt bad, we ordered a queso dip - it felt like a safe bet. Unfortunately we were wrong. The queso came out looking like a ball of mozzarella (and honestly I think it was mozzarella) now don't get me wrong, I do love some mozzarella BUT NOT WITH MY TORTILLA CHIPS! We tried really hard to eat the mozzarella but we couldn't because we couldn't stop laughing at whatever this "queso dip" was. The waitress noticed the struggle with the "queso dip" so she offered to reheat it. She returned with the "queso dip" and quickly walked away. My mom grabbed a chip and excitedly dipped it in the mozzarella - BREAKING HER CHIP IN THE CHEESE!! So of course, we laughed even more. But then when they tried to charge us for this ball of mozzarella cheese, I asked them to take the questionable "queso dip" off our check. The manager was very kind and took it off and we all had a nice laugh. All in all, we have never laughed so hard about queso dip before. Please see video for reference. read more

Palapa - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Took home the family pack of flautas and taquitos. Excellent! Perfectly prepared, crisp yet not crumbly. Rice and beans were perfect along with salsas. Ample for 5 or more. read more

Wife has all meat burrito and I had the Burrito chili relleno Supreme. We had to ask for the salsas but the burritos came with chips. Burrito was good but even though it looks big... wasn't as filing as I had hoped. Would want to try some other stuff on the menu another day. read more

Palapa - All meat burrito on top, and Palapa Supreme Burrito on bottom - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Best CARNITAS hands down! I absolutely love everything about this restaurant. I crave their carnitas a few times a month. I really appreciate the fact that they serve great portions and are very generous with their meat. The salsa and chips are made fresh and the service is always on point. My husband and I look forward to their outdoor seating area after a nice hike. We usually order either the carnitas nachos or the carnitas burrito supreme with a nice cold beer and take the left overs with a big jug of their salsa and chips back home. Please take the time to check it out. Some of the negative reviews are about the fact that they do not have hard liquor. I wonder why some people do not take the time to ask questions while they are at the restaurant but instead take the time to lower their rating on Yelp. This is a family owned business that cannot at the moment have a liquor license. We really need to pull together as a community and protect small family owned businesses in our town. read more

Nice environment to eat. Ceviche tostada had so much shrimp and the portions was great for the price. I will recommend this place to Friends for the ceviche. Friendly people there too. read more

Very slow service. Which would have been fine if they at least had been friendly. They were not. Food was fairly tasty but arrived barely lukewarm. Not a great experience. read more

Great food, great service. We had the Siete Mares soup and Posole and both were excellent. The kids meals were good too. All were very generous portions. We will be back next time we're in town! read more

Palapa - Siete Mares Soup - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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The portions were ginormous and delicious! I had a chili relleno burrito, and Rose had a chimichanga. Both were huge and we needed take-home boxes. The food was very good! Service was Akari very good. Ambience is definitely casual. Yes, I would recommend this restaurant read more

Scrolling through Yelp and I was reminded of how I loved this place when I lived in Santa Barbra. Oh how I miss it! Great little sit down Mexican spot that has a cozy and welcoming atmosphere. I have eaten most things in the menu and everything is delicious. I remember really really enjoying the carnitas here. The perfect amount of crispness paired with the tender juicy amd citrus flavors of the pork. As good as that was they specialize in seafood and that what I would reccomend getting. They used to have live mariachi on Friday nights. If they still do that's a plus that just makes this place a little more special. I miss this spot and wish I could dinner there tonight! read more

Came here based on the reviews. This place really needs new cooks. We ordered breakfast and the bacon was burnt to the point that it was we tossed it. We had pancakes, eggs, potatoes, chorizo and juevos rancheros. All the food was bland and over cooked. Even the pancakes were charred. $100 bill, not worth it! read more

Uhmmmmmm!!!! EXCELENTE comida, tan excelente como el servicio. Acogedor lugar con ambiente familiar... read more

Palapa - Asi es como dejas los platos - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Great food friendly staff, and prompt service. I have eaten there a half dozen times and will visit again.

We are here on Vacation from San Diego. We wanted authentic Mexican food. This place did not disappoint! I had cheese enchiladas with rice and beens. My husband had steak tacos. Highly recommend!! read more

Lived up to my expectations of what good chips, salsa, guacamole and tacos are. Beer and wine only. The only thing that would've made this meal perfect would be margaritas. Insider's Tip: Sub veggies for rice is an option read more

My first time at Palapa's restaurant. I was surprised for the variety of dishes in the menu. We had a double date dinner, with dear friends. I ordered shrimp wrapped in bacon! A must to tried. Also the ceviche was delicious! They had a Happy Hour beer bucket :) Highly recommended! read more

Perfect menudo weekend for the family and friends. It's a go to spot after a night out and a rough morning. They have great selections and I love the outdoor seating option read more

Best Mexican food I've ever eaten. 10/10

OM This was the best food and service ever. I think the staff is all family. They came and checked on us throughout the meal. They had a place for us to sit outside with our dog and brought her water. I had ceviche, there was so much i couldn't finish. My hubby had tacos and he ate it all up. Hope to come to Santa Barbara again to enjoy this restaurant. No doubt hard working team. read more

Palapa - Ceviche - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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so good i have to leave another review. staff is friendly and answers all questions you may have. it's currently midnight and i cannot sleep because all i can think about is how much i need their food. read more

Terrible. Service was terrible, food was terrible, don't bother. We didn't get our server's name, but he was a younger guy in his 30s and we came for Sunday brunch on 6/12/22. Didn't greet us, kept leaving for long periods of time to where we had to get up to look for him to take our order. Mind you there were only 4 other tables in restaurant, and there were other servers working. Within 10 mins of us sitting down, a group of HIS friends came in and he pretty much disappeared. He took their order, brought out their drinks and chips before ours. We had to ask twice for our chips and salsa because he brought them out to his friends first and completed neglected our table. The food was also not great. The shrimp they use for their aguachile was disgusting and not fresh at all, and their oysters were barely okay. Sad since we're in Santa Barbara. Would avoid this place. It was prime brunch time and the place was dead, we should've figured. read more

First off the ambiance here is very nice and family friendly. The customer service is some of the best I've ever had! Staff is lovely and the owner himself tends to us customers very well! I had the mojarra frita and some ceviche and as an avid ceviche lover this ceviche is my favorite ever! No other restaurant can beat this ceviche for me. My next time around I'll be trying their chorizo tacos I've heard they are good there! Oh and the flan is immaculate, it's very creamy and so delicious! 12/10 highly recommended! read more

Great food, lots of meal choices one of my favorites is the carnitas tostada. The servers are friendly and knowledgeable. Palapa is the prefect place to unwind and to enjoy a meal. I will be back. Elvia is one of or favorite waitresses, she will make sure you are a satisfied customer. read more

Abundant amount of food and it was great. I only wish we had shared a burrito. We were unable to take our leftovers to go because we were staying in a hotel. Otherwise it would have made for a great breakfast burrito the next day. Service was fantastic as well! read more