#41 in my SOCAL COFFEE SHOP SERIES…read more Came on a Friday at 12:30, waited around 20 minutes to order. Didn't realize this place was so popular/hyped but after going there, famous for a reason! Best matcha and coffee drinks I have ever had. You can taste the quality of the ingredients. Plus the mochi donut was so fresh and delicious! Pillowy soft and chewy. I normally don't get matcha from places because I'm always disappointed by the lack of matcha, but this place was SO GOOD. You can taste the quality of the matcha without it being overly bitter. And the foam they use is delicious! I also got the black sesame latte, equally great! The best one I have had. They have some seating inside but definitely not a place to study/work in for a long time. I would recommend grabbing and going. Go earlier during the day too so they don't run out of certain items!

My friends & I were really excited to try Kin after seeing all the videos on social media. We went…read moreon a Sunday afternoon & waited around 20 minutes before ordering. From the time we got there to the time we received all our drinks it took a total of 30 minutes. I got the hojicha einspanner & my friends got: strawberry/raspberry cream top latte, double einspanner, regular cream top latte, cream top green Thai tea, & an osmanthus matcha cream top. All the drinks were very well made and delicious. The matcha had the perfect balance of grassy/sweetness to it. I would definitely come back again.

The donuts are fresh and light, not overly glazed, and a huge variety to choose from. Some of the…read moreclassics and some you don't see everywhere. Pastries are enormous. But what I was surprised by were the bagels. Their goal is not perfectly round. What you get instead is an amazing crust that didn't require burning then. They have an airiness to them which makes for great chew-ability all around. Buy extra as they freeze well too given the low moisture. The everything bagels don't use the typical dusting of seasonings - you can actually see the garlic and taste the seeds. The staff placed two extra donut holes in the bag for my kids which is always a nice touch. Will be back.

This place was so awesome! We were in town for our friend's wedding, and stopped by here for…read morebreakfast the following morning. Although the wait was a bit long, you could tell everything was being made completely fresh. The menu was sooo extensive, including donuts, breakfast sandwiches, coffee, tea, lemonade, etc.! This is one of, if not the BEST bagel sandwiches I've ever had. I'm obsessed with breakfast and a huge foodie. Would 100% return again!

I'v never had Turkish delights but I do love baklava so much. Glad we came in to get Turkish…read moredesserts and tea to go. We stayed in downtown Santa Barbara so this store was 2 minutes walk from our Kimpton hotel. The store itself is very spacious and stylish. I picked assorted baklava, modern and traditional delights. The traditional ones are naturally gluten free. The Turkish iced tea was so delicious and strong. The desserts were amazingly tasty! I will have to order from their online store from time to time. The service was friendly and fast!

Took a day trip to SB and wanted to try some interesting sweets. I like Turkish coffee, so I…read morefigured this would be an interesting option. They sell lots of flavors of Turkish coffee, and I was used to a sweetened and cardamon flavored version I had had in Egypt, Jordan and Israel, so I opted for the cardamon version. What they serve here was unsweetened, so I needed to add sugar, but it was good. On the sweets side, they have cheesecake, baklava... but the dominant sweet here is Turkish Delight. They have a myriad of flavors here, using various Middle Eastern nuts and spices as flavoring. They have the traditional cubed gelatin version, along with a rolled version that is a little softer and less chewy. It is all sold by weight, so you can mix and match.

Chocolate to die for! Excellent cappucino. Gorgeous macaroons. Loveley shady patio A moment in…read moreFrance right here in SB..

The cranberry pumpkin croissant is one of the best pastries I've had in a while! Wow! Incredible!…read moreI'd been to Renaud's once before on a work breakfast and really enjoyed their breakfast croissants. Trying it again reminded me how delicious their mushrooms are. The croissant is perfectly buttery and flaky. I got their matcha and it was okay. My husband also thought the same of their coffee. Just fine and nothing special. Service was decent. It was a busy lunch time rush so I ordered on the self-serve station. This shopping center is insanely packed and kind of a pain! I'd been before to the bookstore in the shopping center and dealt with the same busy parking lot issue. This will likely sway me from not coming to this location even though it's a bit larger than the downtown location.

We decided to come back to this fantastic gluten free bakery and cafe. It was only 2 minutes walk…read morefrom the Kimpton hotel we stayed at. This store was packed the entire weekend when we came in. Store is big and spacious with two sections. One is sit down cafe, the other is bakery and take out area. It's all fast casual style though. They have a lot of varieties to choose from and great coffee and tea to go menu. They take reservations for weekend brunch too. I picked quite a few pastries to try. My favorites are lemon tart and lemon bar. Obviously I like lemon flavored pastries. The red velvet vegan cupcake and blueberry muffin were delicious as well. I am so jealous of this gluten free kitchen bakery and cafe. Wish we had something like this near my home! This is our must stop whenever we are in Santa Barbara!

We stopped in Lilac after walking through the Farmer's Market - which I must say was the best I've…read morebeen to. It's a bit overpriced but everything we had was very good. I ordered the Lilac breakfast and a honey lavender latte, which I loved. One of my friends had the salmon plate and the other ordered the Quiche Lorraine. We were all very happy with the food. The people working there were very friendly and the service was efficient. I thought it was a cute bakery and restaurant.

Hook & Press was so good! I got the Meathead breakfast sandwich for lunch, which has turkey bacon,…read moresausage, egg, and cheese on a brioche bun, and it was absolutely delicious. It was super filling though -- I was STUFFED afterward lol. I also grabbed four different donuts (I completely forgot what they were all called ), but every single one was delicious. The donuts are so light and fluffy, and I really liked that the frosting wasn't overly sweet or heavy. It added just enough flavor without overpowering the donut. The atmosphere was really cute too, and they have Wi-Fi, so it's a nice spot if you need to sit down and get some work done. Everyone working there was also super friendly and welcoming. Definitely a great spot!

Exceptional customer service, very friendly, helpful, and welcoming. The environment is nice,cute,…read moreand chill. The reason why I gave it a 3 stars the vanilla cold brew lacks flavors in vanilla and sweetness. This was from their seasonal menu. I do enjoy the environment and the customer service was great. Maybe I'll give them another try and try something from their regular menu.

My friend and I spent the day exploring Downtown Santa Barbara. I had told him about how…read moreMcConnell's is a must stop by for Santa Barbara, and how iconic their ice cream is around here, since they were founded here. I had stopped by this very same spot with my parents 9 years ago on our way back from a San Francisco road trip. This place definitely did not dissapoint, almost a decade later! My friend and I just had dinner at The Harbor Restaurant on Stearns Wharf, and since he covered dinner, I had promised ice cream on me. We absolutely had to stop here on our walk back to the car. We got the "Double", which was 4 scoops - Eureka Lemon & Marionberries, Pistachio & Almond Biscotti, Martinelli's Apple Cider Cranberry Jam, and the Pumpkin Spiced Latte. All of the flavors were absolutely delicious!!! Flavor, texture, sweetness-creaminess, everything about the ice cream was perfect! Service was good, staff was pretty nice with samples (some places can be super stingy and have an attitude about samples), and they were accomdating with extra cups and spoons since I wanted to share with my friend. Ambiance was nice too. I loved the upstairs seating area and how the store is covered in the history of the McConnell's Ice Cream legacy. Beautiful to witness, experience, and enjoy part of that legacy. 100% would definitely recommend McConnell's Ice Cream, check out a location if you're nearby or try them if you see them at your local grocery store. I absolutely love them!!!

I've tried McConnells ice cream at the grocery store before but this was my first time trying it…read morefrom the actual McConnells store, and wow, I was impressed. The ice cream here is wayyy better than the pints at the grocery store. I got the sea salt cream and cookies flavor and really enjoyed it!! If you're a fan of sea salt flavored ice creams, you would absolutely love this! The service here was friendly and the employees let our party sample as many flavors as we wanted. The store itself is on the smaller end and is more of a grab and go spot.

Melt in your mouth goodness!!! While visiting SB, we drove…read moreby this spot on the way to dinner. We said to ourselves, skip dessert at the restaurant , so we can save room for ice cream! Thursday evening and there was a line! We got double scoops and those were generous portions for sure, seemed like a pint of ice cream in each. We got Santa Barbara Strawberry, very strawberry, creamy and yummy! And Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate - as creamy chocolate as it gets, with bits of chocolate - yummo!!! Go get some goodness while in the area, we highly recommend !

While in Santa Barbara, I came across McConnell's Fine Ice Creams. I'm a creature of habit, so I'm…read morenot big on trying something different when I already know what I like. But I decided to step outside my comfort zone and give this place a try. When I walked in, the place was clean and busy. The employees were friendly and provided great customer service. They even let me sample a couple of flavors before I made my decision. I ended up getting Strawberry and Eureka Lemon & Marionberries. The Strawberry was good, but that Eureka Lemon & Marionberries... ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! If nothing else, I'll definitely be back just for that flavor. It was that good!

Came for the chicken stayed for the ice cream. A lot of this review is similar. The vibe is very…read moreice cream shop and that's great. The staff worked their butts off but ultimately if felt like a third person or some better organization would help them out. But the reason we were here was ice cream and that was just kind of middle of the road. We didn't do all the fancy stuff and just for scoops so maybe we can try that next time (churros and ice cream looked bomb), but again the ice cream was just kind "meh".all the menu options they had were more interesting than something like baskin robbins but the ice cream was just one tick below in my opinion, and again not that it should be in the same category, but it wasn't as good as Roris. If I'm eating ice cream, I'd prefer to spend the extra and get the best.

Amazing customer service from Kayla. Her efficiency, friendliness, and knowledge about the flavors…read morewas great. Clean, colorful, and fun spot for a sweet treat on any occasion. It's people like Kayla who makes it worth the trip for a delicious treat.

I was on the hunt for a classic French omelet when I came across Alessia Patisserie & Cafe, and…read morethis place far exceeded my expectations in every way! As soon as I walked in, I was immediately drawn to the beautiful display of desserts. They have a huge selection of croissants, cookies, tarts, cakes, mini cheesecakes, and so much more--and everything is just as wonderful to look at as it is to eat. Even though I originally came here for the French omelet, there was no way I was leaving without trying some of the pastries. So I ended up getting the salted chocolate chip cookie and the lemon & raspberry tart, and I absolutely loved both! The salted chocolate chip cookie was soft and chewy in the center with just a slight crunch around the edges. The salt sprinkled on top really enhanced the chocolate flavor and gave it that perfect sweet-and-salty balance. But the lemon & raspberry tart was what I would call a nearly perfect dessert. It had just the right amount of tartness from the lemon and raspberry, while the light, fluffy meringue on top balanced everything out beautifully. Now for the savory food! I was so sure I was going to order the French omelet, but for some reason, the Blue Crab Crepe was calling my name. So I decided to go with that along with the Veggie Quiche, and I have absolutely no regrets about either choice. The Blue Crab Crepe came with two crepes generously stuffed with fresh-tasting blue crab and topped with lemon hollandaise and chives. The Veggie Quiche does take a little longer to come out, but it is absolutely worth the wait. Mine came with sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan, and basil, and it was delicious. The breakfast entrées also come with your choice of house potatoes, fruit, or a side salad. One thing to note: you order everything at the counter first before finding yourself a seat, and there is also a self-serve water station. From the beautiful décor and relaxed café vibes to the sweet AND savory food, I loved everything about this place. I originally came in searching for a French omelet and somehow left without even ordering one--which I guess just gives me the perfect excuse to come back!

Wow. Can't say enough about this place. It is a must visit and I will definitely go back…read more The setting is delightful and gives French bakery, with a counter service and table service option. We arrived during a busy Saturday morning and were lucky to be seated right away. Our server Sidney was awesome. Arrived with a smile, patients made great recommendations, and very efficient. Props to Sterling, also her brother, and his excellent basing support as well as keeping our water glasses filled. We also had the opportunity to meet one of the co-owners who was humble and helpful! The food was some of the best I tasted! The pastries were amazing and sauces delectable. Everything was cooked to order and prepared with care. We were so happy with our food that we had to take some pastries to go. We will definitely be back to visit this charming place!