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    Petra Cafe

    4.1 (319 reviews)

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    burger week falafel with chips
    Roslyn L.

    So good! Truly a fresh and delightful meal. Don't skip the chips and spicy sauce !!! Hollah at Falah for the food!!! Hang out and play chess or other games and enjoy a late night hookah session with your best peeps! Service food and ambiance is stellar! Super great place to chill and eat

    Shawarma wrap
    Diana L.

    Hookah and bar available. Board games and delicious food available. They also make coffee Turkish style with the sand. The menu is Mediterranean cuisine. Shawarma, salads and hummus to choose from. All plates are pretty filling. The chicken shawarma is pretty filling enough for a hungry person or share. The hummus is delicious and freshly made. The only downside is that the pita bread is a little hard. The service is friendly and a cozy atmosphere.

    Bingo night? Yes, you can host one here.
    Katie J.

    Dive bar meets Mediterranean cafe. It feels like a hole in the wall neighborhood bar, but inside is super spacious with lots of nooks and outside has beautiful fancy-ish wooden booths for outdoor dining. Menu marks gluten free & dairy free options. Which, strangely enough, I now care about because of my shift to healthier eating. Their delicious chicken schwarma bowls are 100% GF and you can ask for the garlic and other dairy sauces on the side. For $10 bowl at happy hour ($12 if not HH), this has got to be the best dinner deal in downtown Santa Barbara. Well seasoned chicken, roasted vegetables, flavorful rice and sauces galore. And with all the board games and even biscuits for your dog, they are set up to make you want to stay all night!

    Warm beet salad - very good. Plenty for 2 people.
    Harriet E.

    Hubby and I came here after a movie and got a corner spot on the street patio. The street patio isn't level, so I found I felt like I was sliding a bit with the booth bench, but it wasn't too bad. Hubby got the shawarma rice bowl at Happy Hour price, which was lucky. I got the kofta (lamb) sliders. We also got the cauliflower bites, french fries, and beet salad. Between the kofta sliders and the shawarma rice bowl, hubby definitely won. The rice bowl came with a beautiful salad and the seasoning was lovely. The kofta slider patties were small - about 1/3" tall and too small for the bun and not well formed. I wondered if the lamb was off. They were topped with beautiful cukes and picked turnips, but there was way too much tahini. They were a big mess and poorly seasoned. I asked for salt and pepper, which comes in little disposable packets, like at McDonalds (maybe this is due to COVID - they don't want to put salt/pepp shakers on street?). The warm beet salad and french fries were fantastic, but no seasoning. The cauliflower was okay. I ordered a manhattan, which was great and they used a homemade walnut bitters in it. Yum! Highlights were the shawarma rice bowl, the beet salad, the french fries, the Manhattan and the excellent service. Both the bartender and waitress were lovely and helpful. I've heard so many great things about Foxtail and I would definitely come back for live music and a drink and fries. However, overall, I wasn't that impressed by the food and certainly not by all the plastic containers for sauces and condiments and the packets for salt and pepper. I definitely would choose Zaytoon the next time for dinner.

    Mansef
    Kathie M.

    Let this be your sign to go to Petra Café right now! The grape leaves tasted like my mom made them, the mansef was delicious, and they even have Molkeah! The Kifta was spaced differently than I'm used to but it was still tasty.. I asked the guy working there if he would be my mom.

    Emalee K.

    Good food! Happy they reopened. Cute little outdoor seating area, very friendly staff. Beef dolmas felt most authentic to what my family made growing up. Selection of ingredients to buy as well. Hope to go back soon!

    Erika S.

    came here to try out the "burrito week" & and had a subpar experience. My food arrived as pictured (not the falafel burrito, it had chicken) and when I asked our waiter about it he did not correct the mistake & mentioned something about how the kitchen would be mad. I told him not to worry about it since his response took me by surprise. I ended up bringing the food to the employee who was at the bar and she quickly brought me the right burrito. The food was okay. My friend's cocktail was so bad that she couldn't finish it. Not a great experience... maybe it was just an "off" night but I probably won't be quick to return.

    Mai tai
    Lindsay W.

    Santa Barbara definitely is lacking in in specialty food options so when I found good hummus, labneh, and a Felafel burger it was definitely plus to my week. For $7 during Burger Week, the felafel burger was an epic win. It is filling, huge, and has lots of flavor. I highly recommend adding the spicy sauce for that extra kick. Sitting outside in the front park-let, relaxing with friends, would always be a good way to spend a weekend afternoon. Bonus was the games, such as Jenga, that the kids loved and was a great distraction from boring adult talk. Can't wait to try more of the menu!

    Three charges and never got our food. So basically I paid $100 for 3 drinks...welcome to Santa Barbara...
    Sam C.

    What's to say, they forgot we ordered food. We sat there for 90 minutes and they never made our order. We drove up here for a nice weekend away and our first night is shit with no dinner. I left pissed off and hangry, thanks for starting off our weekend get away with a shitty, food less, $100 for 3 drinks experience. What a shitty way to start our weekend. Worst fucking bar in town

    Falafel burger with mango!

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    11 months ago

    Absolute most terrible hookah. Service is bad, place is ran down, they do not answer their phone. Ridiculous honestly

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    Falah M.

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    Zaytoon - Halloumi & Watermelon, Tzatziki, Hummus, Pita, Tabouli and Batata Harra (the best!)

    Zaytoon

    4.2(1.6k reviews)
    0.4 mi
    $$

    What can I say about this restaurant. Five star in my opinion…read more First time visiting this place and it was exquisite. We arrived on a Friday night and they were kind enough to find us a table without reservation (I would still recommend reserving for the weekend). Customer service A plus. Ambiance was so beautiful, we felt we entered another dimension with the patio seating. We ordered Falafel, Baba Ghannouj Chicken Kabobs and Pita Bread. For a cocktail I had a tequila based one called Standard. Everything was made to perfection and fresh. Timing between entrees was perfectly calculated. We were seated like in a private terrace which we loved.

    The ambiance here is absolutely stunning, and the service was decent--the manager was friendly and…read moreattentive throughout our meal. However, the experience felt a bit underwhelming for such a very expensive price tag. The Food & Drinks: Pita Bread: A disappointment; it lacked the soft, hot moist texture you expect and honestly felt like it came out of a bag. Hummus: Just okay--nothing to write home about. Beef Shawarma: This was the highlight of the meal; it was actually good. Alcohol: Be warned--the markups are intense. They really gouge you on drink prices, so you might want to skip the cocktails. The Experience: The "cool factor" has dipped a bit since they stopped offering hookahs, and since there were no belly dancers during our visit (maybe we were just too early?), the entertainment was lacking. Also, keep in mind that you must be in a large group if you want to snag one of those coveted fire pit tables. The Verdict: Go for the views and the relaxed vibe, but manage your expectations on the value for the price.

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    Zaytoon
    Zaytoon - Kabob platter

    Kabob platter

    Zaytoon - Outdoor dining!!

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    Outdoor dining!!

    Mezza Thyme - Inside of the beef sambosik

    Mezza Thyme

    4.8(104 reviews)
    0.0 mi

    We hosted a 20-person outdoor wedding reception at our home, and Mezza Thyme catered the event. The…read morefood was outstanding. Throughout the meal, I kept hearing the same comment from different tables: "This is really, really good food." And it was. The Mediterranean dishes were vibrant and fresh -- not generic or middle-of-the-road, but thoughtfully prepared with balanced flavors and ultra-fresh ingredients. Even our most restrained eaters went back for seconds. Delivery was on time as scheduled. The general manager personally supervised the transfer of the food from transport containers into our serving dishes and offered helpful suggestions on serving layout to improve flow. Presentation and execution were handled professionally, which matters when hosting an event at home. Prior to placing the final order, I studied the menu and placed a preliminary order online to establish a starting point. I reviewed it with my daughter and wife and received their approvals before finalizing. I did have a few questions about overlap among side dishes, spoke with the general manager about it, and finalized the order 30 days before the event with no subsequent changes. That clarity made the rest of the planning straightforward. Their menu reflects flavors and traditions rooted in the Levant region. Mediterranean cuisine lends itself well to buffet service within a defined service window. We would be happy to use Mezza Thyme again for any larger-scale gathering -- or for a great meal at home or in their restaurant on Cota Street downtown. I highly recommend them.

    The food is delicious! I came on Friday for lunch and immediately changed my Saturday plans so I…read morecould return. 10/10 all around. The beef samosas or sambusa were perfectly seasoned, crispy, and flakey.

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    Mezza Thyme
    Mezza Thyme - Eggplant Falafel Plate 9/10

    Eggplant Falafel Plate 9/10

    Mezza Thyme - The entrance

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    The entrance

    Petra Cafe - mediterranean - Updated May 2026

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