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Sizzling Lunch

4.3 (150 reviews)

Sizzling Lunch Photos

SIZZLING LUNCH ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Dogs allowed

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Recommended Reviews - Sizzling Lunch

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Kimchi Beef Pepper Rice
Lianna M.

I was really excited that I found a Sizzling Lunch in IV! I ordered the kimchi pepper rice, takoyaki, and spicy wings. I thought the takoyaki and wings were pretty solid. The flavor of the takoyaki was really good with all if the bonito flakes on top. My kimchi rice was really good, I loved how much kimchi was on it! For anyone that is new to Sizzling Lunch, you order on a tablet (this can be confusing with all of the add ons) and your food comes on a sizzling plate. It's like your own personal kbbq plate! Service was pretty quick, and food was very good. I think this restaurant would be best for sit down to get the full Sizzling Lunch experience!

Beef Pepper Rice
Corinna W.

Good spot for lunch. It's similar to our fav beef peppered rice place in SF. Our server was friendly. Simple menu. We ordered the beef peppered rice and the kimchi beef peppered rice. I really enjoyed the garlic bits in the beef peppered rice . Both dishes were similar. Only difference was the kimchi in one and the garlic bits in only the beef peppered rice dish. I wish they offered an option to add a fried egg. Glad the UCSB students have an option to dine here. It's something different from Pizza or Panda Express.

Tina S.

This place never disappoints from food to service! Jubei is friendly and attentive to our needs. Our faves are the tonkatsu, beef pepper, and cheese corn. Also, this place is clean. One of our fave spots plus the pricing is reasonable. One of the regular places we go to. Give this place a try. This place is near UCSB and beside a 711 convenience store. Parking can be a bit tricky at times though.

Garlic Beef Pepper Rice
Caro F.

first time visiting Isla vista and we stumbled upon sizzling lunch. Cute & affordable little restaurant where you place your order at the table on the screen and pay up front. We tried the garlic beef rice & pork belly rice plus some gyozas and an order of fried chicken appetizer. Personally the chicken appetizer was too spicy. I loved the beef & rice and thought it was cool you finish cooking yourself as it's served on a hot cast iron plate. The pork belly was delicious! The server was super nice and gave me my entree free for Mother's Day which was totally unexpected and super generous! I'd recommend and would return!

Chicken Kaarage
Alyanna M.

I usually love places that do sizzling plates. But this place was a bit of a disappointment. I do appreciate that you can order from an iPad at each table. However, Food lacked flavor & needed a hefty amount of the available sauces/seasonings at the table.

Originally Beef Pepper Rice
Megan O.

Love the beef pepper rice. After mixing, it tastes pretty plain, but after adding a bunch of teriyaki sauce and a sprinkle of garlic soy, it taste amazing. Love that it's on a hot plate so the rice can be crispy on the edges. Don't forget to order the fries. It's a huge portion, good for sharing but really addicting :) Service was fast, and make sure to pay at the counter. Nice

Cheese French Fries
Viviana G.

Had lunch with a friend here for the first time and it was a great experience. The staff was welcoming and nice from the moment we came in and the food was served fast. I liked how they have plenty of seating area and how u can order everything from your table through a kiosk. I tried the cheese fries and garlic pepper plate and they were both delicious! The amount of food was generous too, ended up having leftovers.

Cheese corn precooked
Doc Ev E.

4.8 rounded up. Excellent place for UCSB students. The sizzling hot plate literally cooking the raw meat served and need to stir to cook. Adding the various sauces enhances everything. The corn cheese to share is unique and Yummie. The garlic rice I loved and other varieties like udon helps vary the texture. Gotta start mixing right after served or will burn per daughter . Gotta love this place

Chicken Kaarage. 5 stars. IG: @amei.eats
Alex M.

(Overall: A) - Sizzling Lunch is easiest my top restaurant pick in Santa Barbara. I feel that their beef pepper rice is definitely the star dish with an interesting premise if you know how to handle the sizzling stone. In addition, they have your classic tea shop appetizers -- Chicken Karaage, Sweet Potato Fries, and Takoyaki -- which are all of decent quality. From a cost analysis, I think the prices are very fair for the food you're getting, especially compared to everything else in the area that is not as great quality.

Self ordering
Liz N.

Udon and beef was so good! The sauces were flavorful and you can add it to your liking. The service was friendly and the waiter took the time to explain the ordering process and the way to eat the food. Lots of great options on their menu for everyone!

Kurabuta Pork Belly Pepper
Regina C.

My second time trying this place and it never disappoints! We went a little close to closing time but they still welcomed us which was appreciated! We got the Kurabuta Pork Belly Pepper and shared it between two people. But honestly, with the way we finished the dish, we coupd have ordered one each! Definitely a go to when visiting Santa Barbara

1. Curry Beef Udons
Grace L.

If I were to eat out in IV, Sizzling Lunch would be one of my top choices. With a bunch of NorCal locations, I'm glad they (re)opened in this college town, increasing the variety of Asian food in the area. We seated ourselves, ordered on the iPad, and paid at the register at the end of the meal. Each table has a pack of Clorox wipes as well as garlic shoyu sauce, teriyaki sauce, chili powder (shichimi togarashi), salt and pepper. I find the instructions on the wall helpful in explaining how to eat the teppanyaki style dishes because you want to make sure the meat cooks fully. The teriyaki chicken wings (not deep fried) are pretty standard and tasty. Although the garlic beef pepper rice is popular, I always find myself ordering the curry beef udon because it's so comforting and satisfying. The curry powder is Japanese curry and not spicy at all. I hope Sizzling Lunch sticks around!

Kurabuta Pork Belly Pepper
Anmol L.

Ok... yes it might be a bit pricy for a college student... but most things in IV is pretty expensive. It was a super cool experience. I've gone twice and I enjoyed it both times! They bring the dish out to you and you get to experiment cooking it yourself! I do recommend not getting the chicken as I am more iffy of finishing that off in a shorter period of time. My personal favorite is the pork belly rice, but the pork katsu curry is decent too. Their sauces are delicious and you can order directly off of the tablets. The service is ok, could be better. The tables are nice and big and there is room for a big group. That being said, be aware that they do have a service fee. The lighting is nice and I do think it would be a nice place for date night! The service sizes are pretty large! I personally like to share a dish!

4/15/23

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7 years ago

great service as well as great food! Doesnt get much better than that. i recommend the beef udon with both garlic and teriyaki sauce.

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7 years ago

Went here and got the garlic beef rice with cheese and egg and it was so good. Shout out to Christine for being such a gem love dis place!

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7 years ago

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7 years ago

10 out of 10 would most definitely recommend cuz Jason shen's cute ass is working there and also food is good too

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7 years ago

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7 years ago

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6 years ago

Decided to give this place another shot. Service was much improved and the sizzling rice plates were really good.

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7 years ago

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7 years ago

Amazing food. The waiter Andy was always really attentive and provided excellent service.

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7 years ago

Great place to eat the food is fantastic and the service is even better. True jem in IV

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6 years ago

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7 years ago

This place is dope! I've already been a few times since opening and it always hits the spot. I'll be a loyal customer here

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7 years ago

Very pleased with the service from Andy during my meal! Hottest worker there.

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7 years ago

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7 years ago

Great food great service, best spot in IV, Jason was the best server I've ever had, like wow

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6 years ago

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Sizzling Lunch Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Sizzling Lunch

Is it open? I miss this place so much!!! When will it open??! I took it for granted!! I would've wanted to go every day.

It's open now!

Are there any vegetarian options?

Yes they do!

What time do they open?

I think at 11am

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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Uniboil - Stewed beef noodle

Uniboil

3.9(307 reviews)
2.6 mi
$$
Outdoor seating
Kid friendly

Food was good and staff was kind. Would come back and get the angus beef boil again…read more Characters

We were passing the area when we decided we needed some lunch. I found this place on yelp and…read moredecided to give it a try. It was an open layout that had plenty of seating inside the restaurant. The decor was moder, but not overdone. We were greeting and pointed to a table but that was it. We realized there was a QR code on the table and we could order our food on there. It took a little while to get our food even though no one else was there. I found it really odd to not even be told to use the QR code to order or be informed of anything. Stewed beef noodles with Ramen- 9/10 My husband ordered this and I tried some. The broth was delicious. Rich and flavorful but not overbearing. The noodles were cooked perfectly and the meat was tender. The bok choy was a needed touch. My husband ate the whole bowl and wanted a second because was so good. Certified Angus Beef hot pot- 8/10 I ordered this with the tom yum broth. I didn't know it was a creamy version of the broth until it was served. I'm not mad about it but it wasn't in the description in case others are dairy sensitive. The broth was flavorful and really delicious. I will say that the beef was tough and it a typical cut that overcooked very quickly in the broth. I'm not positive it was Angus beef grade. I just now realized it was missing the lotus root but gave me zucchini instead. I was also missing my quail eggs. If I didn't read the description to know I was supposed to have them, I would've missed that too. Overall, the food was delicious but the service was 1 star for sure. We were never checked on and the waiter only appeared if we pushed the call button. If you can overlook the lack of customer service, the food is really delicious.

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Uniboil - T1 sizzling fried rice

T1 sizzling fried rice

Uniboil - Curry Udon with Chicken

Curry Udon with Chicken

Uniboil - Tomato beef

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Zapp food truck

Zapp food truck

4.8(5 reviews)
1.9 mi

This was a welcome addition to the area! The service was really attentive and the people are kind…read more The food was really flavorful, and not too salty. The drunken noodles are made with udon, and they've got the perfect qq bouncy noodle flavor. The soup was rich and coconut-y, with hints of lemongrass. I've gotta come back to try more some time.

This looks like a permanent food truck park outside of Draughtsman Ale. The owner was on site. We…read moreordered 3 entrees plus fries and chicken wings. Portion size is good for the 3 entrees and the price is a couple of dollars cheaper than the sit down Thai restaurants. Pad thai: it was good if you like pad thai on the sweeter side. If you don't like sweet pad thai, you might think its not as balanced. Drunken udon noodle: made with round wheat noodles instead of flat rice noodles, other than that, the taste was good and I liked the use of baby bok choy, which is not normally included in drunken noodles. The spice level can increase a notch. Khao man gai: this dish is called Hainan chicken rice in the Chinese speaking parts of the world. Zapp has a more traditional version with boiled chicken, but I got the fried chicken. Chicken was juicy and crispy while the rice was mildly savory with a slight sheen of chicken fat from being cooked in chicken broth. It was also served with a side of very light chicken broth. I didn't like the Thai sweet chili sauce. I would have prefer a more complex ginger sauce. I don't know if the more traditional ginger sauce is offered with the boiled chicken. Chicken wings: crispy wings in a sweet and slightly spicy glaze. Nothing particularly Korean about it, but it was tasty. Fries: standard fries with some seasoning on top and served with a spicy and tart aioli. This was over priced at $8, I wouldn't pay more than $5 for some fries. This is the first Thai food truck in Goleta and Santa Barbara since we don't have a town council very friendly to food trucks. Overall, I think the food was quite good and the price is better than the other Thai places in town.

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Zapp food truck - Ambient lighting at night

Ambient lighting at night

Zapp food truck - Chicken rice

Chicken rice

Zapp food truck - Drunken noodles

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Drunken noodles

Choppa Poke - Sparkling clean

Choppa Poke

4.1(401 reviews)
1.7 mi
$$
Locally owned & operated
Established in 2016

This place has been mine and my boyfriend's FAVORITE Poke spot for years, my favorite for even…read morelonger. We absolutely LOVED Yabee and Johnny (the two workers at the front) and were treated very well throughout these years. However, today my boyfriend went back there to pick us up a poke bowl. It has been about a month of us not eating here (we got busy). Unfortunately it doesn't seem Yabee and Johnny are working anymore which is a huge bummer. He came home with a said "large" poke bowl that he paid $35 for. For the base he asked for light mixed greens, and for the protein and toppings he asked for salmon, tuna and imitation crab. When he came home, I immediately noticed there was a SIGNIFICANT decrease in the fish portioning, especially for the "large bowl". The only reason the bowl was filled, was because it was mostly lettuce. I kid you not when I say our bowl was filled with about 90% lettuce and greens and about 10% actual fish and toppings. We have NEVER experienced this before and for the price we paid, I would expect anyone to be treated to MUCH better portions of fish. The bowl didn't even remotely fill either of us up and we were both left just as hungry as before. I wish I had taken a photo of what it looked like when we were done, as the bowl was STILL filled to the brim with lettuce. I'm not sure if we were just personally jipped this time but I sincerely hope this isn't the new way this place will be handling their business. I am pretty bummed about this.

Small portions for the price. Paid $22 for a bowl and there was barely any tuna. The employee…read morescooping must've had a bad day to give me the smallest portion. New employees need to be educated more on serving sizes, because I never had this problem with the owners, they were always good on portions.

Photos
Choppa Poke - Warm Up with Umami - Cozy up with a hot bowl of miso soup this winter!

Warm Up with Umami - Cozy up with a hot bowl of miso soup this winter!

Choppa Poke - Wow! Miso soup for only 2$???

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Choppa Poke - Large bowl with passion fruit green tea

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Sizzling Lunch - japanese - Updated May 2026

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