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Three Monkeys

4.5 (70 reviews)
ModerateThai

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Pork Banh Mi
Karen G.

This was the highlight of our Public Market eats ! The beef was crispy but tender at the same time. It had so much flavor. The bread was nice and crunchy and the slaw nicely seasoned to cut through the richness of the meat. I would order this again and highly recommend !

Special menu
Tran N.

Amazing food and great customer service. Nice ambiance for family and friend gathering since it is located i a food court. We got the Hungry Box #1, the skewers were delicious. The dipping sauce that came with the skewers sold the entire plate! We added a little to the salad portion and it enhanced the flavor. Beef jerky had a different sauce and was okay. Not pictured here, but the Coconut bread pudding was delicious, great way to end the meal. Highly recommend this place when you are in downtown Santa Barbara.

Hungry Box #1 - 3 skewers, rice and salad
Travis W.

Such amazing service. Even during the busy lunch hour I was able to get my order rather quickly. I ordered the Hungry Box #1 with a beef, pork and chicken mix of their skewers, rice and salad. Everything was delicious. The ambiance at the Santa Barbara Public Market makes it a nice place to eat. Looking forward to trying the rest of their interesting menu.

Hungry box with beef and pork skewers
Annette T.

This is located in the back of the Public Market. I got the hungry box with pork and beef skewers. It came with rice and a side salad. The meat was very tasty and delicious! My favorite were the pork skewers. A little pricey in general but it is Santa Barbara. Knowing that the meat is good, I'd like to try a banh mi next time!

Banana Nutella Roti
Kim C.

My friend and I decided to try this place after discovering them on IG (the pics looked incredible). Located inside the SB Public Market, it's situated toward the back where it isn't too busy. The counter person was friendly and accommodating. We order the skewer box, Hat Yai box, Thai tea and banana Nutella roti. For $54 we were really hoping to be impressed. The skewers seemed full but the meat pieces are cut thin. The pork was great but the chicken and beef were just basic. I substituted sticky rice for an extra charge and it was served in a plastic bag. Once out of the bag, it was rock hard and inedible. The salad was a nice accompaniment but the dressing was spicy, making it less enjoyable for me. The Hat Yai was really good and I loved the perfectly seasoned crunch along with the crispy garlic. The roti was the best part but still lacking something for me. Unfortunately this place just didn't hit the mark like I had hoped. This is the fifth restaurant I've tried inside of SBPM and I'm convinced that it's just an overhyped, nicely decorated, expensive cafeteria.

Banh mi and steak skewers
Angela P.

This was hubbys food and he said it was delish. The sauce for the steak skewers was really good.

Ban mi sandwich
Jennifer B.

Loved the idea of the food hall! However, for the cost and the amount of food it didn't make sense. You order at the register and pick up your food at the counter when your food buzzard machine rings. Then you sit at any of the available tables. It's a like ginormous food court with lots of yummy choices. But, it can be loud and finding a table can be a challenge. It great if this is what your into for atmosphere.

Food menu
Daniel H.

New favorite place at the Public Market! It's located in the far back corner, but it's well worth the trek back there! All the food is delicious. Favorite is the bahn mi with beef sandwich! And the mango and sticky rice is also amazing. Will definitely come back over and over again!

Rainbow Salad
Maria W.

I had high hopes for Three Monkeys, but I am sad to say the food did not rise to the occasion. Three Monkeys, associated with the adjacent Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar, is at the back of the Santa Barbara Public Market. The service is wonderful; quick, convenient, and amenable. Like other spots in the Market, there is a counter at which you order food, and various seating options in the building. I ordered the beef banh mi sandwich and the rainbow salad. The rainbow salad was delicious and flavorful and colorful, though the peanut dressing became overwhelming by the end and I found a hard bit of something (fiber? nut?) that almost cracked my tooth. And the banh mi was difficult to eat; the meat was thickly cut and hard to chew, and after bringing the sandwich home for takeout, the bread had become tough as well. Perhaps eaten fresh in the Market, it would have been a better experience.

Hat yai fried chicken ($12)
Alyanna M.

My first thoughts when we tried the food was "Wow!" We tried the hat yai fried chicken & the beef skewers, which both tasted amazing. I honestly had such low expectations for this place being in a little food hall; however, both dishes had so much flavor. I will say the food is on the pricier side (with the chicken being $12 & the 2 skewers at $10), this didn't include any sides. It is a small business & food halls can usually be pricier, so I'll give them that. Overall, I will be coming back in the future to try more!

On top, Thai Roti with Nutella. Below, Hungry Box #1 with chicken skewers. At the side is a Thai tea from Empty Bowl!
Madelyn S.

My mom and I are big fans of Empty Bowl and were naturally very excited to try Three Monkeys. We decided to order Hungry Box #1 with chicken skewers, Stick Rice with Mango, and Thai Roti with Nutella. Unfortunately, they didn't have the sticky rice when we went so we just got the hungry box and the roti. I wanted a Thai Tea to go with my food so I popped over to Empty Bowl quick while waiting for the food. Everything we got was so good! The skewers were flavorful and the perfect texture. The salad was really good and the rice wasn't too moist plus wasn't too dry. Alternating between the three whilst eating was a great time. As for the roti...it was soooo good. It was chewy and sweet but not too sweet. All of the toppings worked really well together. My mom and I had a very pleasant experience, unsurprisingly considering who the owners are!! We will definitely come back and encourage anyone interested to give it a try.

Menu
Vanessa D.

I didn't plan on going here but decided to check it out as it seemed new and inviting. My husband and I split the Hungry Box #1 with pork, pork bahn mi and Thai roti with Nutella. Hungry Box with pork: FANTASTIC PORK!! I can't even explain how wonderful the flavor and texture were. It was perfect! The rice fell short of my expectations and I should've listened to the other Yelp reviews. The salad was a good additional touch but in the end, I should've just ordered a pork skewer. Pork Bahn Mi: at first i was disappointed it wasn't filled more but that thought left pretty quickly. Everything tasted fresh and delicious; including the bread. Thai Roti with Nutella: i still think about this dessert. Oh my gosh! It was phenomenal and I could eat ot every day. Do yourself a favor and order it.

We had them cut the bahn mi in half and shared it
Jenn M.

The flavors were all very very good, thus the five stars. I agree with several other reviews that the banh mi could've had more filling in it. We had the pork one and split it; it was $16. The bread was very light and crispy, perfect bánh mì bread. The chicken skewers with peanut sauce and side, cucumber salad were incredibly delicious. We had the sticky rice as you rarely find that in Santa Barbara, and it is a fond memory from eating in Thailand. I also saw another review mentioned that their buzzer did not ring. We were outside. The gal looked at me, surprised it that It did not ring, but I went in after 20 minutes, and our food was sitting on the counter. They are new and have a great product. I look forward to seeing how it refines.

Tofu banh mi

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Ask the Community - Three Monkeys

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Your Choice - Thai tea boba brownie sundae

Your Choice

(440 reviews)

$$

Updating my review to say I've had only good experiences since ~…read more The owners and other staff are all very nice, and I've only ever even seen the staff member with the bad attitude one time since my last review, and he wasn't at the counter. I don't usually leave reviews based on service so now that that's out of the way... let's talk food! The food here is delicious, their curries and topless seafood being my favs!!! The panang curry and green curry in particular have been the best I've had in Santa Barbara by far, only a couple times were they watery but it's RARE and they are almost always amazing and very flavorful. Several thai places here in Santa Barbara have horrible, flavorless curry, so Your Choice having such good curry means a lot for me. The topless seafood... I don't even know how to describe it, but just try it!!! I'll say the noodles here have been a bit of a hit or miss for me, I tend to prefer the ones from Empty Bowl, only because I don't like when my noodles are overly chewy and tend to prefer them a bit more on the saucy side - but luckily I don't judge good/authentic Thai food by their noodles, I judge by curry... which is by far my favorite thing here! Another thing I look at to determine a good Thai spot, is their papaya salad, which is a solid 8.5/10 for me here. It's not the best I've ever had but it's still really good, and it'd probably get a solid 9 if it came with any type of seafood in it like some of the best papaya salads I've had do - but it's packed with flavor and is one of my favorite "lighter" dishes to eat, not to mention all the fiber. My only complaint with this place is that they charge for rice, it doesn't come with the curry/any other meals unless you get a lunch special, which is not standard for Thai restaurants outside of Santa Barbara... but I suppose that's the "premium" that comes with living here. Rice is so cheap to make that I find it a bit silly to charge so much for it, but... the rent has to get paid somehow and if it keeps the prices of other dishes from being higher - so be it, I guess? I personally don't get rice when ordering for takeout here ever as I can make it at home, but if you *are* eating at the restaurant, I recommend the sticky rice - they make it well and it feels a bit more "worth it" for the price I guess. Also very worth noting that their desserts and Saturday night dessert specials are really unique, delicious and fun. You can tell the owners really put love into the restaurant because they make some really creative desserts, and it's always from scratch! If it's not a Saturday night, I also highly recommend the ube vietnamese coffee as a treat, it's very good. Thank you Your Choice for the positive experiences and for making delicious Thai food. I'll be eating panang and green curry here for as long as I live here, probably. Appreciate you and the good energy your restaurant brings to the neighborhood!

Your Choice is an absolute hidden gem for Thai food here in SB. I tried it for the first time last…read moreweek, and ended up going back two days later because I could not stop thinking about the amazing food! The exterior is unassuming and so I have driven past many times. The interior is clean with lots of natural light coming in from the windows and spacious seating. We showed up right at 4pm for dinner and were seated immediately with menus and water. Our waiter was so friendly and patient, I could tell he was genuinely passionate about the food and answered all of our questions. We ordered the crab rangoons, chicken satay skewers, garlic pepper beef, pad Thai with beef, peach lemongrass iced tea and Thai iced tea. The flavors were INSANE! Everything tasted so fresh and was made with care down to the homemade dipping sauces. The mango sticky rice had perfectly ripe mangoes on a bed of sticky rice and a side of a whipped coconut cream. Very light and refreshing with a great balance of sweetness. The black sesame iced cream was really unique and had a more savory flavor to it. This spot is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area!

Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar - (Photo/Video by Ins@foodie.skye)

Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar

(945 reviews)

$$

Bangkok wings. Spicy and sweet crispy and tender. These wings are a must... a special dish only…read moremade for Fridays. I heard that these are legit flavors - a friend who lived in Thailand said this was the closest thing to Thai street food here in Santa Barbara! Go get you some! Thank for the tasty wing and prompt service!

***located inside the Public Market building*** ***it's a…read morekiosk shared with other eateries*** Why four stars? The dishes are sooooooo salty, omg. If you have hypotension, it's perfect. Hangover noodles: extra $ for beef. I am starting to believe it's called hangover because a bunch of ingredients are thrown into the wok with veggies half cooked to wake you up. Beef is more than slightly overcooked but edible. Noodles is drenched and soaked in the sauce making it super salty. Had to utilize the vinegar jalapeños to counteract the salt. Bangkok street noodle: The better half except it was equally over salty, loaded with fish sauce. Had to ask for a bowl of broth since they didn't have hot water. Helped dilute the salt but the salt wasn't going anywhere soon. Lots of meat. SERVICE: They are incredibly friendly and patient, willing to help you until you are satisfied. AMBIENCE: In the middle of the food court. Amazing decor. The seats were a tad uncomfortable with no foot rests. Casual dining. Lots of takeout orders especially for the Pad Thai. Service fee/tips are not automatically included or mandatory. Located in the public market with numerous different cuisines eateries. Street parking is free for 75 minutes except for Sundays. Would I come back? No. I mean it's not bad but it's waaaayyyyy too salty.

Secret Bao - Kungpao Cauliflower

Secret Bao

(708 reviews)

$$

What can I say other than culinary perfection? It's where street food meets casual dining but with…read moremasterfully crafted menu items that will make your taste buds pop! The KFC Bao was exceptional. Crunchy, tangy, sweet, fresh and savory. A delightful dish that had me wanting a second one. The Dolsot Bokkeumbap was also delicious, savory and a bit in the heavy side, it could use something fresh, acidic or sweet to brighten up the dish. The staff was very friendly and recommended the Bao, so they know what is good on the menu. I was sat outside where they have a beautiful little patio with heaters and comfortable seating. Overall this place is a must try!

Overall the food was very delicious. I would recommend the Bao (both the KFC and pork belly were…read morevery good). The sweet potato dumplings are fried and had a very unique twist for Asian fusion and would recommend. The kalbi was very mediocre, but it was fun for sharing. Day cake was delicious. I would highly recommend since it came out and was very warm. The bingsu was mostly frozen and was not finally shaved in terms of milk ice and the Nutella pairing with it did not go very well. We had a fantastic server (Cathy) who took our orders and was very friendly. The front staff was quite rude when we followed up what the wait time was (might have been because it was busy, but hope that it's a 1x thing and not a pattern). Otherwise, vibes we're very good and I can see why this is a popular spot.

Three Monkeys - thai - Updated May 2026

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