My friend and I haven't been back to Santa Barbara since 2021. So here we are back in May 2026. My…read morefriend and I took a Santa Barbara Sunset Sailing tour. I knew we would arrive back late and there're not a lot of restaurants open past 9:00. We arrived back at the dock at 8:30PM. My friend was hungry and as we were walking back to our hotel, we saw Santo Mezcal still open YEAH! As we have seen in the past, the place is packed and super lively with diner finishing up. There were spots open at the bar we took. Edgar the bar tender (cocktail aficionado) was great! We ordered Cocktails, Espresso Martini and a Mezcal Paloma (so good) I ordered the Shrimp Empanadas. My friend ordered the King Fish Crudo and the Enchiladas Verdes. Even though they were ready to close our food came out hot, fresh, presentation great and tasting delicious. It was a great ending to our sunset cruise night. Atmosphere: fun lively. Service: excellent. Food: excellent.

Super easy and convenient location if you're arriving by Amtrak Train…read more This was the perfect place for lunch on the patio after arriving to Santa Barbara. Service was great and very attentive. -The pulpo or octopus tacos were insanely delicious. The meat was so soft and tender. And oddly their rice and beans were also really really good. -The ceviche was not worth ordering tasted like red chili oil on ceviche.

Food was amazing with a nice ambiance. The host and the cashier had some great recommendations.read more

Absolutely best Mexican food I have tried in USA. Their Salsa options are amazing and food was…read moreabsolutely delicious. Ambience is pretty cool and they have outdoor seating as well. Service is great. 100% recommend it when you are in the town.

Amazing. This is our 3rd time here and this place is the absolute best. We tried the Sal de Mar…read moreceviche - expensive but well worth it. Mmm... the fresh tuna tartare, watermelon, guacamole and pomegranate seeds. Unbelievable and what a great combination. Also got the Tia Juana and Norteno tacos... best tortillas and filling, queaabirria - yummm. Everything is top notch and I'm so happy that we stumbled on this place in the SB public market. Who knew that this high end food is at this open food hall. It's the best.

I tried the Corriente taco Amazing!…read moreStaff is courteous and friendly and fast and the Market is a live place to enjoy food, drinks, and sports! Everyone loves this spot.

La mejor comida que e probado . Tradicional rica en sabor y olor definitivamente mi lugar favorito…read moreen Santa Bárbara happy Easter . Grasias a Xóchitl y Gabriela por sus servicios excelente

Excellent food and service! We felt very welcome here. Had breakfast and will definitely come…read moreagain to have lunch/dinner.

Came here on a Saturday around 2 pm. We were planning to go to Los Agaves just a block away but…read morethey happened to be closed. Parking was very easy on the street and free. There was a line of people waiting. Took us a little over 30 minutes from getting in line, to ordering and receiving the food later. CASH ONLY. Their specials menu seems to change every day or so. We ordered a taco de hongo (sautéed mushrooms with epazote in a light cream sauce w/ 2 homemade corn tortillas), enchiladas de plaza (chicken breast, potato mushroom, red chile sauce, topped with cheese, chile pasilla strips, cream sauce, avocado and radish), a tamal norteño de puerco (pork tamal), #16 súper-rica especial (pork on 3 tortillas, a modelo, and a piña pepino agua fresca. All for around $63 without tip. They had a tomato salsa, salsa rojo, and salsa verde options. All were delicious. All of the food was excellent and super flavorful. I would say my favorite was definitely the tamal. So savory and the masa was the perfect texture. The pork tacos and mushroom taco were close behind, also delicious. The enchiladas were my least favorite. Still good but I just don't think I can be an enchiladas fan no matter how hard I try!! I just am not a fan of the texture of the tortillas when sauced up. Nevertheless, everything was finished up and nothing left behind. The agua fresca was also super good and refreshing. Very sweet and a little thick so we thinned it out a bit with some water. They have limited outdoor seating but a lot inside. A single bathroom right by the parking lot entrance. Nice and cute spot with hard workers. Would definitely come again!

Hmmm..... Where to start!?!…read more It was cool watching all the cooks in the open kitchen, the staff looked happy and I was so impressed with the scale of business coming out of such a small kitchen. I did notice that workers were going back and forth to a house nextdoor picking up stuff-- cooked food, veggies and such... The restaurant itself is pretty cute-- open seating inside, nice outdoor seating. The older gent who took my order was sweet and kind. I was looking so forward to this place. But sadly, it simply wasn't worth the wait or cost. This is a picture the remaining portions---yes we ate most of it because we chose to not eat ANYTHING before getting there and the hungry anticipation took over--- we really tried to like the food, but it was just not great. #1 beef taco-- on the white plate--dry dry dry. No flavor. Just dried out beef jerky shavings on a tortilla. Didn't eat it. #18 Julia child's favorite --on Black plates- weird pork meat with crunchy peppers, and globs of melted cheese-- not great. Over-hyped. No flavor, no sauce, pork was soft, had no chew- it was strange. We had a special tamale item on the banana leaf. Chicken mole-- way too sweet, no sauce on top, and somehow it was super wet-- moist and too soft. We ordered a chili releno, but the guy didn't hear, so we didn't taste that-- I asked for some of the crema that comes with it and was charged 75¢ for a small 1oz portion-- tasted like hot cream. Watery and lacking body. No flavor. Cinnamon coffee was served in tiny cups-- super hot, no cream. Asked for cream-- and one of the guys said " no cream" was rude and wasn't interested in helping ---we only got one lid, so I mentioned that there is no way to carry scalding hot coffee with no lid-- someone finally brought the smallest amount of milk. Old coffee with cinnamon stick flavor-- not even good. Guacamole was really sad. Super whipped smooth shinny avocado with tons of pico in it. No citrus, no salt, just crunchy pico-- zero avocado chunks or flavor. The avocado is served on and with fresh tortillas -- the tortillas were great, but they are served with everything, so it felt like a waste. NO LIMES!! The salsas were decent. But NO LIMES!!! Negro Modelo especial beers were ice cold, refreshing and delicious-- the beers had limes. We paid $68 for the food and drinks- I left $10 for a tip. I don't really feel like this was authentic Mexican food at all. I am not sure what to call it. It seemed like it has been "gringo'ed" down-- no heat, no chiles, no spice, no flavor, no limes, no love. Glad I can mark this joint off the list.

A Must-Visit in Santa Barbara If you're visiting Flor de…read moreMaiz, you absolutely cannot skip this place. We ordered the pulpo and the chicken mole, and both dishes were incredible. The pulpo was perfectly cooked--tender with a great char and packed with flavor. The chicken mole was rich, balanced, and deeply satisfying, with that classic complex mole flavor that keeps you going back for another bite. What really stood out, though, was the service. It was phenomenal from start to finish--attentive, friendly, and genuinely welcoming without ever feeling rushed. The staff clearly care about the experience they're giving guests. The food, the atmosphere, and the service all came together for a great meal. If you're in Santa Barbara, make sure this spot is on your list. Highly recommend.

Server was super nice and attentive and food was absolutely delicious. Only flaw was after not…read morereceiving our order for a while. The waitress came back and asked what we had ordered. The food then came out 15 minutes later however one of the five items was the wrong entrée, and the rest of the items did not have.the right modifications. I believe the order wasn't put in at the time we ordered. We did not mention the modifications and were also missing a item that we did not tell the server about the second time around which is why I think the order wasn't placed originally:/ they did comp a dessert, but we were so full from the delicious food that we didn't eat it. Overall I would go. Back. Staff was friendly, and food was good, mistakes happen. Side note there was some "partying" happening in the restroom so if you go with your family don't let them go unattended.

Great Mexican restaurant in Santa Barbara. Has a variety of delicious specialties, try the chicken…read moresopes for example. Definitely recommended. Space is a little small and sometimes crowded, but the food is worth it.

This is a clean and nice Mexican restaurant off of state ave in Santa Barbara…read more The manager Anthony was so kind and friendly The food was sooooooo good and spicy sauces bar was great Next time I am in Santa Barbara I am definitely going to go back and enjoy this very nice and clean restaurant

Los Agaves is easily one of our favorite restaurants in Santa Barbara. Every time we go, it's…read moreconsistently great. The service is always super friendly and on top of it, and the whole place just has a really fun, welcoming vibe. The food is seriously amazing--everything tastes fresh and packed with flavor. We always get the seafood enchiladas and they never miss. And the margaritas are so good too, easily some of the best around. It's one of those spots you can go to over and over and it's always a great experience. Definitely one of our go-to places in Santa Barbara for Mexican food. 10/10 would recommend.

First time coming to this location. Usually go to the one on Milpas but they are temporarily…read moreclosed. Restaurant is bigger and has better parking. However I received awful service from Angela B this evening. You would think that after paying over $90 for food that I'd atleast be able to get a water cup. I was denied a water cup. Afterwards the customer who ordered after me was given a water cup without asking. He seemed to be a regular as he was greeting all the staff. Seemed very biased! Then my order was sitting for a while after it was prepared and bagged. Took them a while call my order.

Visited Loquita on 04/11/26 for a birthday celebration and let me tell you I was blown away by the…read moreentire Loquita experience! From the food to the service to the ambience, all of it was truly an amazing experience. Food - We got the patatas bravas and the paella verde. Both were phenomenal. I have tried ~4 other vegan paellas and was originally skeptical going into this, but Loquita's paella was by far the best vegan paella I've ever had! The attention to detail is what made the dish shine. It had perfectly tender mushrooms and artichokes as well as the delicious vegan cream on top. They were able to make the dish smoky and delicious. Dessert - We got the crème brûlée and the pistachio ice cream. Both were truly wonderful, when I go back I will order both of these again! Vibe and Staff - Super cute and romantic vibe, perfect for a nice date. The staff was super attentive and even gave me a little postcard for my birthday! Definitely worth the visit :)

This place is hyped as a date place…read more It's in a fancy location near the beach, nice patio. It is good food but overhyped IMO. $16 for patatas bravas is a bit on the silly end. lts also one of thoses places that defaults to 20% tip on the low end. I have no problem with paying a 20% tip but the service was poor on my visit. We gave one instructions/request that were just completely disregarded. Very little in terms of service other than attempts to upsell with more Tapas when we were done. Sorry, just being honest.

I really enjoyed my one taco here. I ordered the steak taco, which came in like one large thin…read morepiece like if you were to get from a backyard Mexican friend's BBQ. I think the other reviewers nailed it. You have so many great Mexican food joints here, and you start becoming less inclined to try new spots because you have your staples. ie lily's tacos, Los Agaves, the shop in Public Markey, Los Arroyos ... etc And I can safely say this is a great spot to keep in the back pocket too.

You should not be going anywhere else in SB for tacos. Seriously. THIS is the spot!!! They've got…read morethe best tacos, the most reasonable prices, and the staff is so friendly and kind. There's about 8 tables for seating inside, and it's order-at-the-counter. Quick, easy, delicious. They have everything you could possibly want, including vegan options that don't suck!