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So yummy and a great ambience! There's public parking and street parking all up and down the main street as well as in the lot that the restaurant is in. It was a hot day but the fans outside were strong, so sitting outside was fine. The smash burger with sweet potato fries was so good and the gyro was very mfiht and tasty. Service was fine - it was a young staff that wasn't unfriendly but also wasn't the most attentive. However, it wasn't an issue.
Delicious food and a nice casual spot for lunch or dinner! You order at the window and seat yourself which is nice but with actual good quality food! I've seen this place very busy during the summer so was happy to eat here easily on an "off season." My boyfriend and I ordered the jalapeño smash burger and fried chicken sandwich with fries and split both to try. While they were both very delicious, we agreed that the chicken sandwich was the best. Nice thin crispy fries, an so many more things on the menu sounded delicious. We ordered the carafe of wine but their machine broke so we only got half that they still have to use and comped which was quite kind. We will definitely be back!
I'm catching up on my reviews. We came to Ojai a few weeks ago and we had dinner at The Nest. My boyfriend heard this place had some popular Vegan Cauliflower Tacos. Omg! Delicious! The cashier was friendly and the restaurant is nice, clean, mostly outdoor seating. It felt a little romantic to me outside. We definitely plan to stop by again.
This place was such a cool vibe. Everyone was so friendly and the outdoor seating is absolutely beautiful. Everything was delicious and so fresh. I don't think you can go wrong with anything you order.
A really cute spot with a lot of food options and drinks. As has an open seating patio which is dog friendly. I went on a Monday holiday and they had been really busy so they were out of a lot of food, which was a bummer. I wanted to try one of the fish tacos but they were out of both, probably for good reason as they sounded amazing. The smash burger was great and the fries were A+. Some of the best fries I have an in a while. I also love when the iced tea is served in a nice glass. The pizza was very basic, good but nothing crazy. I would definitely want to come back to try some of the options they were out of. Service was great and the food came out really quick.
Delicious salad! We had the Nest Salad, I think it was called?? It had goat cheese, pistachios, dates, and snap peas...we topped it with a large portion of salmon grilled to perfection. Really hit the spot on a hot day of walking and sightseeing around town. We also ordered the Hawaiian pizza which was good too but clearly that salad was the star of the show. While it is more popular to sit outside. We welcomed a break to sit inside their space inside with some AC.
Solid spot for a casual lunch in Ojai. They have a great outdoor seating area as well as a few booths inside. You order at the counter and they bring you your food along with napkins and silverware. There's also a self serve water station. I ordered the kale caesar salad and the french fries. The caesar salad was delicious, especially for having vegan dressing! I added grilled chicken to it and loved the extra crunch from the chickpeas - nice touch. The french fries were a lovely shoestring consistency and super crispy. My brother had been here before and mentioned that he remembers the fries being different in the past but these were even better, so perhaps they made some changes to their menu recently. Either way, I'd recommend checking out The Nest if you're in the area!
Ojai's got plenty of great food options, but somehow, we always end up at The Nest. And honestly, we've never regretted it. The open-air patio is a vibe. It's dog-friendly, grapevines are crawling up the walls and a chill playlist matches the easygoing crowd. The food? A little on the pricey side, but you feel the love. Even the fish tacos feel elevated. They're perfectly battered flaky fish, crisp shredded cabbage, and ripe cherry tomatoes that pop. There's real care in every detail. It all just hits. That's why we keep coming back every time we're in town.
Had a great time visiting Ojai for the first time and stumbled on this restaurant on Yelp. We got the sausage fennel pizza($25) and chicken sammy($24) with the vegan cesar. The pizza had tomato sauce, fennel sausage, mozzarella, ricotta, castelvetrano olives + cremini mushrooms. I loved all the toppings on the pizza but thought the ricotta didn't pair as well with the pizza. It was a well made pizza and definitely shareable between two people. The chicken sandwich was so good!!! The chicken was tender and juicy and I loved the well crispy well seasoned breading. The aioli paired perfectly with the bacon jam with onions which brought out an amazing sweetness. One thing I would change is that I would use pickled red onions instead of the regular red onions they put on the sandwich as well as add some arugula to cut out the heaviness. I would come back to ojai just for the chicken sandwich. I wasn't expecting much from the side salad but I really loved it. The vegan cashew cheese added a salty taste with the well dressed greens. The service was quick and I love how the food came out freshly made and quickly. I loved the outdoor seating which had a lot of plants and greeny.
Had a great experience at The Nest. I ordered the smash burger with fries, juicy, well-seasoned, nicely smashed with crispy edges, and the fries were perfectly golden and fresh. My friend got the tacos and absolutely loved them as well. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table. I can't really comment much on full service, but the girl who delivered our food was very friendly. The vibe of the place is excellent, especially when the weather is nice. Outdoor seating is perfect, and it's dog friendly, which made it even better. Would definitely come back.
The Nest has some strong menu items but suffers from an inconsistent menu, a slow line and blatant shrinkflation. I've had some excellent salads there that disappear as suddenly as I'm delighted by them. The urge for a menu to evolve is understandable but is it unreasonable to expect the meal you've enjoyed to remain somewhat constant? I'm not saying a menu should be stagnant, but we're talking counter service here, not farm to table tasting menu. Also, we've seen the overall portions of certain dishes shrink while their prices remain high. Notably, the ahi bowl has graduated to a much smaller dish, and, as you can imagine, the portion of rice and pickled ginger has remained abundant while the ahi itself has gone down precipitously. Despite these gripes, I'm grateful they offer a satisfying vegan Caesar salad on which they added sun dried tomatoes as a special request. The dressing was delicious (albeit not especially Caesar-y and perhaps a little too generous) and coated the kale very nicely. I'd return just for that dish but don't think it's ideal bang for buck. Still, it's a charming atmosphere (props to newly renovated interior seating area!) and can be a perfect choice for different parties including dates and families.
First time here and I am IN LOVE! The service was okay, not overly friendly but the food and value made me look past that. The fried artichoke hearts were the absolute best that I have ever had. I also had the cauliflower tacos, they were great but even better with their homemade salsa. The dining area was very clean and staff were quick to turn tables. I can not wait to go again.
The Nest is a very cute spot in downtown Ojai with a terrific healthy Brunch type menu. It's partially self serve and very dog friendly on their cute grapevine covered outdoor patio. To start we ordered a couple of cocktails because hey, it's brunch and we're on vacation . Tried the mai tai and the moody blue. Both cocktails were not only pretty to look at, but very tasty, particularly the mai tai. Then we feasted on the delicious Smashburger, which was Wagyu beef, American cheese, grilled onions, pickles, and their delicious nesty sauce. I really wanted to go for their great looking fries, but instead, I opted for the healthier option of the wonderful arugula side salad. Hubs ordered the Philly cheesesteak sandwich and sadly was not impressed however as it was drowning in a heavy mayonnaise based sauce and not enough, onions and peppers. The fries he had, though were excellent! The menu overall is just awesome, I would love to go back because there are so many more things I would've liked to have tried including their root beer float.....Next time.
6 months ago
I stopped in at this casual eatery for a late lunch. You order at a window and sit in the large covered patio area or at one of the few booths inside; your food is brought to you. I ordered the BLT Toast (toasted sourdough, basil, goat cheese, roasted tomatoes, bacon crumbles, chives, and hot honey). I wasn't sure what to expect until I was presented with an open-faced "sandwich". It looked tricky to actually pick up so I went with fork & knife. The flavors were great and I really liked it. Although I honestly thought it was overpriced. I also had a bottle of root beer which was refreshing on this hot day. They have their own lot so there is plenty of parking. It's a great laid-back place for a casual bite. read more
I liked it. Good place to grab a bite while wandering around Ojai. There's an indoor space with booths for seating, but the large covered front patio is the main area. The food is good. We got the burger, shrimp tacos, and some elote fries. Decent portions. The elote fries were a good shareable. Would definitely come back to try more next time I'm in town. Service was good. Friendly staff. Easy parking in front or street parking nearby. Patio was also dog friendly. read more
So yummy and a great ambience! There's public parking and street parking all up and down the main street as well as in the lot that the restaurant is in. It was a hot day but the fans outside were strong, so sitting outside was fine. The smash burger with sweet potato fries was so good and the gyro was very mfiht and tasty. Service was fine - it was a young staff that wasn't unfriendly but also wasn't the most attentive. However, it wasn't an issue. read more
Delicious food and a nice casual spot for lunch or dinner! You order at the window and seat yourself which is nice but with actual good quality food! I've seen this place very busy during the summer so was happy to eat here easily on an "off season." My boyfriend and I ordered the jalapeño smash burger and fried chicken sandwich with fries and split both to try. While they were both very delicious, we agreed that the chicken sandwich was the best. Nice thin crispy fries, an so many more things on the menu sounded delicious. We ordered the carafe of wine but their machine broke so we only got half that they still have to use and comped which was quite kind. We will definitely be back! read more
I'm catching up on my reviews. We came to Ojai a few weeks ago and we had dinner at The Nest. My boyfriend heard this place had some popular Vegan Cauliflower Tacos. Omg! Delicious! The cashier was friendly and the restaurant is nice, clean, mostly outdoor seating. It felt a little romantic to me outside. We definitely plan to stop by again. read more
8 months ago
A really cute spot with a lot of food options and drinks. As has an open seating patio which is dog friendly. I went on a Monday holiday and they had been really busy so they were out of a lot of food, which was a bummer. I wanted to try one of the fish tacos but they were out of both, probably for good reason as they sounded amazing. The smash burger was great and the fries were A+. Some of the best fries I have an in a while. I also love when the iced tea is served in a nice glass. The pizza was very basic, good but nothing crazy. I would definitely want to come back to try some of the options they were out of. Service was great and the food came out really quick. read more
21 days ago
4 months ago
Delicious salad! We had the Nest Salad, I think it was called?? It had goat cheese, pistachios, dates, and snap peas...we topped it with a large portion of salmon grilled to perfection. Really hit the spot on a hot day of walking and sightseeing around town. We also ordered the Hawaiian pizza which was good too but clearly that salad was the star of the show. While it is more popular to sit outside. We welcomed a break to sit inside their space inside with some AC. read more
1 month ago
Solid spot for a casual lunch in Ojai. They have a great outdoor seating area as well as a few booths inside. You order at the counter and they bring you your food along with napkins and silverware. There's also a self serve water station. I ordered the kale caesar salad and the french fries. The caesar salad was delicious, especially for having vegan dressing! I added grilled chicken to it and loved the extra crunch from the chickpeas - nice touch. The french fries were a lovely shoestring consistency and super crispy. My brother had been here before and mentioned that he remembers the fries being different in the past but these were even better, so perhaps they made some changes to their menu recently. Either way, I'd recommend checking out The Nest if you're in the area! read more
Ojai's got plenty of great food options, but somehow, we always end up at The Nest. And honestly, we've never regretted it. The open-air patio is a vibe. It's dog-friendly, grapevines are crawling up the walls and a chill playlist matches the easygoing crowd. The food? A little on the pricey side, but you feel the love. Even the fish tacos feel elevated. They're perfectly battered flaky fish, crisp shredded cabbage, and ripe cherry tomatoes that pop. There's real care in every detail. It all just hits. That's why we keep coming back every time we're in town. read more
Had a great time visiting Ojai for the first time and stumbled on this restaurant on Yelp. We got the sausage fennel pizza($25) and chicken sammy($24) with the vegan cesar. The pizza had tomato sauce, fennel sausage, mozzarella, ricotta, castelvetrano olives + cremini mushrooms. I loved all the toppings on the pizza but thought the ricotta didn't pair as well with the pizza. It was a well made pizza and definitely shareable between two people. The chicken sandwich was so good!!! The chicken was tender and juicy and I loved the well crispy well seasoned breading. The aioli paired perfectly with the bacon jam with onions which brought out an amazing sweetness. One thing I would change is that I would use pickled red onions instead of the regular red onions they put on the sandwich as well as add some arugula to cut out the heaviness. I would come back to ojai just for the chicken sandwich. I wasn't expecting much from the side salad but I really loved it. The vegan cashew cheese added a salty taste with the well dressed greens. The service was quick and I love how the food came out freshly made and quickly. I loved the outdoor seating which had a lot of plants and greeny. read more
9 months ago
Had a great experience at The Nest. I ordered the smash burger with fries, juicy, well-seasoned, nicely smashed with crispy edges, and the fries were perfectly golden and fresh. My friend got the tacos and absolutely loved them as well. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table. I can't really comment much on full service, but the girl who delivered our food was very friendly. The vibe of the place is excellent, especially when the weather is nice. Outdoor seating is perfect, and it's dog friendly, which made it even better. Would definitely come back. read more
1 month ago
2 months ago
The Nest has some strong menu items but suffers from an inconsistent menu, a slow line and blatant shrinkflation. I've had some excellent salads there that disappear as suddenly as I'm delighted by them. The urge for a menu to evolve is understandable but is it unreasonable to expect the meal you've enjoyed to remain somewhat constant? I'm not saying a menu should be stagnant, but we're talking counter service here, not farm to table tasting menu. Also, we've seen the overall portions of certain dishes shrink while their prices remain high. Notably, the ahi bowl has graduated to a much smaller dish, and, as you can imagine, the portion of rice and pickled ginger has remained abundant while the ahi itself has gone down precipitously. Despite these gripes, I'm grateful they offer a satisfying vegan Caesar salad on which they added sun dried tomatoes as a special request. The dressing was delicious (albeit not especially Caesar-y and perhaps a little too generous) and coated the kale very nicely. I'd return just for that dish but don't think it's ideal bang for buck. Still, it's a charming atmosphere (props to newly renovated interior seating area!) and can be a perfect choice for different parties including dates and families. read more
First time here and I am IN LOVE! The service was okay, not overly friendly but the food and value made me look past that. The fried artichoke hearts were the absolute best that I have ever had. I also had the cauliflower tacos, they were great but even better with their homemade salsa. The dining area was very clean and staff were quick to turn tables. I can not wait to go again. read more
21 days ago
The Nest is a very cute spot in downtown Ojai with a terrific healthy Brunch type menu. It's partially self serve and very dog friendly on their cute grapevine covered outdoor patio. To start we ordered a couple of cocktails because hey, it's brunch and we're on vacation . Tried the mai tai and the moody blue. Both cocktails were not only pretty to look at, but very tasty, particularly the mai tai. Then we feasted on the delicious Smashburger, which was Wagyu beef, American cheese, grilled onions, pickles, and their delicious nesty sauce. I really wanted to go for their great looking fries, but instead, I opted for the healthier option of the wonderful arugula side salad. Hubs ordered the Philly cheesesteak sandwich and sadly was not impressed however as it was drowning in a heavy mayonnaise based sauce and not enough, onions and peppers. The fries he had, though were excellent! The menu overall is just awesome, I would love to go back because there are so many more things I would've liked to have tried including their root beer float.....Next time. read more
5 months ago
The cauliflower soup and the Greek chopped salad were excellent. The wait staff was very friendly and helpful. read more
Visited downtown Ojai and stopped by The Nest for lunch. Cute little restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating in their patio area. So how it works here is you line up to order and pay at the window, and you're given a pager that will buzz once your food is ready for pick up. The girl working the register was super friendly. Unfortunately they ran out of pizza dough right when I stepped up to order. So we ended up ordering: * side house salad - for a side salad, the portion was pretty big! * jalapeno bacon smash burger - the patty was so juicy but a little too salty. The fries were nice and crispy. * calamari tacos - avocado was not ripe. The calamari was good though. * el sully mexican style lager beer They can get pretty busy so I would suggest coming early or later. It got a little uncomfortable towards the end when I had a family of 4 stand next to my table waiting for me to finish eating so they can take over my table... read more
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The chicken sandwich was really good, the fries. I did not like because they were cold, the drink was very sweet, but pretty good. Overall, the aesthetic is very pleasing and peaceful, and the service was fast. read more
2 years ago
My friend and I were wine tasting in downtown Ojai and started to get hungry so we looked into restaurants to try. My friend had been to the Nest previously and recommended that we give them a try. I was happy as they had been on my to try list for a while so we walked over for an early dinner. I've heard that this spot gets pretty busy but for such an early dinner around 3pm it was pretty much dead here which worked out to our advantage. Plenty of seating to choose from and the food came out within 5 minutes. Worked out just great as we were starving. This spot you actually order up at a counter and then they give you a pager for you to pickup your food once ready. The gal working the register was nice and quick. She also made our cocktails to order in front of us which I appreciated. The menu here is pretty big to be honest. Lots of tasting looking options and I also loved that they had 5 cocktails on their wall to choose from. I think this restaurant has a good variety of options for any type of eater. Sitting outside was pretty nice and the vibe was very casual and relaxed. The cocktails overall were more like a 3/5. Happy to have tried one but the flavors to me were just okay. I tried their Pear Necessities (cute name). It was fine, nothing special - could have honestly had more of a hint of pear vs what tasted like a lot of lemon. I also think the price point was too steep for them. Cute glass though, so despite being a counter service bar I appreciate that they do serve the drinks in nice glassware. While the cocktails were mid the food was very very good! My favorite bite of the night were the calamari tacos and side of fries. My friend and I devoured these dishes. The fried calamari had a wonderful batter and I loved the chipotle cream. Topped with plenty of cabbage and avocado, it was a great taco. The fries were cooked to perfection and salty so good, loved the aioli dipping sauce. Both the tacos and fries were a 5/5. Another honorable mention was the ahi poke bowl 4/5 in my books. Super fresh and generous portion of ahi tuna. Visually appealing and very tasty, another good dish. Happy to report the food is pretty dang good. I docked one star just because the cocktails seemed pretty mid (at least speaking for mine) my friend did like hers more I think so that's good. Also the price point kind of had me shook. Like other reviews noted I do think it's too pricey for what it is here. When you dine somewhere that is counter service and you aren't waited on, I guess I expect the price point to reflect that. For example two cocktails and the one ahi bowl came to $58. How?! That's almost $20 an item. I still left a generous tip but did feel a bit surprised at what they are charging. Was I happy with my meal? Yes! Service was friendly and the relaxed casual atmosphere was much needed after a long day. But I do think there are other more reasonably priced spots in the area. I think the Nest is a good spot to dine or to sample some smaller bites with friends. Again, really loved the tacos and fries. Also think it's cute that they have an attached grocery / gift store. The findings in there were cute and some reasonable prices. Also clean bathrooms. No issues there. read more
The Nest is a great casual brunch spot in Ojai. You place an order at the counter (no Apple pay currently accepted) and just choose a table in the outside seating area. For appetizers, I ordered the spicy shrimp + crispy rice. They have two options- 3 piece or 6 piece but it's a great twist to the usual spicy tuna crispy rice (but with shrimp instead obviously). I would definitely recommend as a shared appetizer for the table! I ordered the Tico salad which is a taco in a salad version- it has all the same ingredients as a taco like ground beef, beans, cheese, tomato and instead of the taco shell, they top the salad with fritos chips. I really liked the added crunch from the fritos chips. The salad dressing they use is thousand island which I thought was the perfect dressing to tie all the flavors together! read more
I love Ojai and I love The Nest! Beautiful patio seating and incredible service, coupled with delicious and fresh food and the most amazing drinks I think we have ever had! The ahi poke bowl is outstanding and the tacos are so good too! Go to The Nest! read more
9 months ago
It's definitely my fault for not checking the description for the margherita pizza but to my defense....look at my photo (attached) and tell me this looks like a Margherita pizza. Chili flakes? And maybe 3 strips of lazy basil within the cheese? It was definitely not the business. Even if this was labeled correctly, the cheese had that "plastic" feel to it, it just wasn't that good. Not awful, but I'm sure u can find a better pizza somewhere else. read more
9 months ago
We passed through Ojai today and stopped for a quick bite at The Nest, where we were met with a wonderful surprise. We ordered the Spicy Shrimp + Crispy Rice appetizer, which turned out to be cī fàn gāo (粢飯糕)--a childhood favorite of mine that I haven't had in years! The tacos were also incredibly fresh and flavorful. It was such a treat. read more
9 months ago
2 months ago
11 months ago
Love their fish tacos and smash burger. Great spot for a nice lunch. Clean and in the middle of downtown Ojai. Good service. We will be back here for sure. read more
1 year ago
We stopped here for lunch! The line was pretty long but it goes by fast! Their food was very good , we got the fried chicken sandwich, it only had bacon not pickles as someone who loves pickles I was not a huge fan but it's a pretty good fried chicken sandwich. Our favorite item on the menu Meza platter which had hummus and some pistachio flavored dip, and. Garlic dip. That was very good. Their smash burger was 10/10! It's a very nice lunch spot we ate outdoors and it was beautiful summary and cozy! 100% recommend read more
1 year ago
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More info about The Nest
401 E Ojai Ave
Ojai, CA 93023
Directions
(805) 798-9035
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https://thenestojai.com
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Ask the Community - The Nest
I would like a reservation for 4 for brunch at 11 on Jan 22. Please confirm Laura lynch can you confirm?
This is a walk up an order at the window spot. There are no reservations.
Is this place offering sit down dining either inside or outside?
We offer outside dining!
Do they take the axxess card?
Is there an Ojai axxess card? That would be good to have!
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