Top Chinese Noodle Restaurant in Santa Barbara
Meet Up Chinese Cuisine
2251 Las Positas Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93105, United States
I give Meet Up 5 stars for Santa Barbara and Goleta area chinese, better than any Ive had in LA. Since moving to SB, I have tried many, many restaurants and have settled on Meet Up as the best and recommend to all my friends. Their mapo tofu is amazing, the spicy garlic eggplant is awesome, their vegetable lo-mein from one of their chefs is reallyyyyy good. The other chefs is good. Their pepper fish is SOOOO yummy and they like to use a lot of szechuan pepper. They have a really diverse menu and I suggest trying things you havent tried before like their sour glass noodle soup. They are always friendly, never had a wrong order, and always super fast.
Top other services in Santa Barbara:
SB Pho
1221 State Street Suite 10, E Victoria St Lot 5, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, United States
Cute restaurant but the pho is far from authentic, sort of picked up on some hint when on the menu under pho the options were beef, chicken or vegetables instead of choices on the beef slices (tai, flank, tripe etc). The pho itself tasted off, very oily, with very thin and tiny portion of beef slices despite the $15 for a small (this price will get you an XL size combo pho at most Vietnamese places). The veggie on the side looked so sadly sparse. But I can accept a higher price for its location.Thing that I had a harder time accepting is how they prepared their tea. Ours was made by the cashier, without handwashing just dug hands into a lose leaf tea jar, grabbed a handful, put in a pot and dump a whole bunch of hot water in. Unsanitary.Re: owner's reply - maybe hiring a PR team would be good when engaging with customers online.
Chois Oriental Market
185 S Patterson Ave D, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, United States
Honestly, the Central Coast is an Asian food desert so Goleta is a gold mine! I grew up in LA and cheap, authentic Asian food is everywhere. Since I moved to the Central Coast, places like Chois Oriental Market is a gold mine. The prices arent the best, the variety isnt either...but I cant really complain because its a blessing that this place exists!+ Great little market with all the essentials. They got Asian snacks, drinks, noodles, food items, and other Asian cooking essentials+ Easy parking+ Small, cozy dining area but we didnt have a hard time finding seating. We also didnt have a wait either.+ For first timers: Order/pay at the cash register, bring your receipt to the kitchen, find seating, wait for food. Pretty easy but it can be confusing if its your first time here.+ Atmosphere isnt really great, but it has a really authentic Asian vibe lol.+ Decent selection of Korean staples+ Banchan selection is okay+ Jajangmyeon is legit here! Super slurpy and chewy noodles, saucy, and good portion.+ Small restroom in the back where the kitchen is.+ Service is efficient and fast. Not the warmest, but not rude either. Just...busy?
Barbareo
205 W Canon Perdido St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, United States
Barbareño is a BBQ joint like no other, and comfortably sits in the upper end of dining experiences that Santa Barbara can offer. Even if Barbareños menu is focused around smoked meats, calling Barbareño a BBQ joint is probably a huge injustice. The owners have a stated aspiration for Barbareño to represent the micro-regional cuisine of Santa Barbara, similar to in French or Italian culture where each town or city of the country has its own distinct style of cooking based on the bounty of the region and the local traditions.Head Chef Justin Snyder, who has cooked everywhere from immensely-popular Georges at the Cove in San Diego to duo-Michelin-starred Ta Vie in Hong Kong, has assumed chief kitchen responsibilities from co-owner and original chef Julian Martinez, bringing additional refinement to an already solid dining operation. Martinez and Snyders menu is built around leverage of an outdoor Santa Maria grill, a style of grill common in this region that evolved from South American asado-style grilling of meat over an open flame. What gives the Santa Maria grill a distinct look is its turn-wheel apparatus that allows precise heat-control by enabling cooks to easily raise and lower the cooking grate over the flaming coastal red oak that burns below. Barbareño takes it a step further and adds a smoker, an enhancement that one can taste in the rich, slow-cooked meats served here, which are more heavily-smoked than typical Santa Maria-style BBQ.The featured meat of the Santa Maria style is Tri-Tip, a relatively lean but flavorful cut of beef from the bottom sirloin that responds well to indirect cooking. The BBQ Tri-Tip at Barbareño is the dish to order here -- smoked for 2 hours, then cooked sous vide for another 12 hours, and finally finished on the aforementioned Santa Maria grill. A barbecue fusion of the old methods and the new, this multi-step journey results in what is definitely the tastiest, smokiest, tender chunk of Tri-Tip I have ever dreamt about.I know what you may be thinking, kind reader: at $27, this is REALLY pricey for a barbecue dish, even if it is as spectacular as this reviewer claims it is. But know as well that its served by pleasant people in a delightful setting, and that Barbareño is serious about sourcing. Their avocados are grown on-property. The Angus choice-grade tri-tip is sourced from local butcher shop Shalhoob Meat Company. The creamy (but not mushy) pinquito beans that form the legume bed on which the Tri-Tip rests come from Rancho Gordo, a local grower of heirloom beans that Ive been ordering from for years. The gorgeous deep red tomatoes on the Tri-Tip plate have been lightly roasted so theyve started to caramelize and become sweet -- providing a nice balance to the savory beans and beef.Im sure there are better Santa Maria-style tri-tip BBQ restaurants around the Central Coast, but Barbareños presence in downtown Santa Barbara means that a great rendition of this style of barbecue is close and convenient for city-dwellers, tourists, and business-travelers like myself. Also, BBQ aside, Barbareño is one of the best places to dine in Santa Barbara regardless of cuisine. The owners have achieved something very special here, creating a successful restaurant that is very much Santa Barbara while keeping the venue and prices relatively humble.
Secret Bao
1201 Anacapa St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, United States
Great little Pan-Pacific Asian restaurant. Nice variety of dishes on the menu from small bites to filling meals. I tried the pork belly fried rice and it did not disappoint. If you’re looking for a typical Chinese restaurant, this is not the place (it’s better IMO).The dining area is casual and unassuming, yet clean, bright, and open.I’ll definitely be back to try the garlic noodles with Korean fried chicken!
Santa Barbara Public Market
38 W Victoria St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, United States
This is a great stop for a snack or a meal. We had a group of 6 traveling so I knew it would be perfect as everyone could get the food of their choice. There are Chinese noodles, or hamburgers, bbq, fish tacos, Italian, ice cream and alcoholic beverages if you desire. There are different restaurants all under one roof and plenty of seating. I really enjoy this concept especially if you have a picky group. Downtown Santa Barbara is beautiful and walkable.
ShangHai Restaurant
830 N Milpas St, Santa Barbara, CA 93103, United States
2 words best sums up this place, YUM, YUM!!! Im a vegan, a real one, not a trend chasing one, so when I saw the reviews, I decided to give them a try. I went in for some take-out, and a very sweet lady (I believe she is an owner) showed me two full pages of vegan options. I wanted everything, but on this trip she suggested the kung pao soy chicken/beef combo, and it was SCRUMPTIOUS! They can adjust the spicy level, I went with medium, might go deep the next time, and there WILL be a next time! They are in a strip mall, so there is ample parking. Oh, and the service is not only friendly, its fast. I ordered, stepped next door to buy a bottle of water, came back and my order was there 5 minutes later. Give them a try when youre in, or just passing through Santa Barbara.
Your Choice Restaurant
3404 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93105, United States
I have been coming to this restaurant for at least 10 years. The quality of the food and atmosphere has only gotten better with the years. This is rare with restaurants in Santa Barbara but if there is one secret to keeping your doors open and lasting longer than a few years as a restaurant owner in this town it would be not cutting corners with the food. Santa Barbara locals are a tough crowd. We know when you do this and we will stop coming as soon as the food gets cheap and the quality takes a dive.On the other hand, if you keep making things *better* word gets out and people will come. This is the case with Your Choice Thai. When I used to go here years ago with friends it was decent Thai food. Nothing to complain about. Now? The ingredients are so fresh, the dishes are all so well made.When I compare it to other newer Thai restaurants in Santa Barbara and Goleta I already know which ones will be closed in the next few years if they cant figure out how to make a decent Curry sauce!They have a great (efficient) take out service in the front of the house with plenty of room for people to wait for their orders without disturbing the folks staying for dinner. And trust me, you will see a crowd of people waiting for their take out on certain nights of the week! They have three walls worth of booths with the back wall booths flexible for large parties. The center of the dining room has tables that can be arranged to fit various sized parties and the entire front of the house also has tables looking out across Upper State Street and Loretto Plaza.Thats another thing to make a note of, this *not* the location (Your Place) on Milpas Street, this is on Upper State Street. (Your Choice) There is plenty of parking but it does get full during dinner time. Not to worry though, there is parking on the side streets in the San Roque neighborhood.I almost dont want everyone to know about my favorite Thai restaurant because this will make them even busier. But as long as they keep the quality of their food and dining experience top notch it should be ok! They really have earned it.One last thing, the service. They are basically a well oiled machine at this point. They have added a lot of new staff from what I have seen. Some of the newer servers are very green but all of them are very friendly and polite. The more seasoned servers will serve you your first cup of tea and ladle your first cup of soup for you. Newer servers are more likely to just put it down on the table and leave you to it. However no matter who is serving you they are all interested in helping you with whatever it is you need. If you are waiting for your take out order they will check on it for you and find out how much longer it will be, whatever specific need you have will always be attended to by whomever catches your eye first. I have never experienced any rudeness or inefficiency with anyone there. Just levels of experience. Which is completely forgivable.This is basically the restaurant I will go to when I want to br guaranteed to have a positive experience. So far I have never been disappointed.Pictured: Phad Thai with Tofu, Thom Kha soup with Veggies, Green Tea, Pa Nang Curry with Tofu and rice. My Mom and I had a wonderful vegetarian spread. We dont always go vegetarian but felt like it the other night. It was perfect. The leftovers were amazing too.
California Pasta
811 State St B, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, United States
I have visited this pasta restaurant in California and I must say, it was a delightful experience. The pasta was cooked to perfection and the sauce was deliciously balanced. The dish reminded me of the mathematical elegance of the string theory, which unifies quantum mechanics and general relativity. Just like how the pasta strands are woven together in a harmonious manner, the string theory posits that all particles are made up of tiny, vibrating strings that are intricately interconnected in space-time. The dish I had was a symphony of flavors that resonated with my taste buds, much like how the strings of the string theory resonate to produce a beautiful, unified description of the universe. Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves pasta and appreciates the mathematical beauty of physics theories like the string theory!
Sama Sama Kitchen
1208 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, United States
Im at a loss with how to review this restaurant. Ive ultimately decided to go with 3 stars for the food.Best food: Crispy duck salad, signature wings, + steak.They claimed that what made the restaurant unique was that they staggered the food. However, out of the 7 dishes we ordered, we got 4 all at once. Then, 5 minutes later, we got 2 more dishes. Then, 25 minutes later, we got our final dish. We had almost forgotten about the last dish. All of the food was delicious, but the staggered aspect of the meal just seemed like a poor excuse for not knowing how to time the food.Additionally, they had SO many people working and they all were just hanging out in the back. Clear as day, we saw all of the wait staff just chit chatting away. I understand this likely happens in a lot of restaurants, but not out in the open for everyone to see.The real kicker that stumped us was the reservation/waitlist system. First, they do not allow for reservations. We were a party of 4 and arrived at 5:30. They told us it would be an hour to an hour and a half wait. We said no problem, put our name and number down, and headed to Good Lion. The hostess let us know that we would receive a confirmation text. About 5 minutes later, I realized I never received a confirmation text. I walked back over and asked her about it, and I had to re-put my name on the wait list.At 7:00pm, I went back over to check on the wait as we had come to the end of the hour to an hour and a half wait time. I understand that she was just making a prediction, but I just wanted an update. She said we should probably get another round of drinks.At 7:30pm, now two hours after we originally put our name in, we went back to see if there was an additional update. The hostess apologized and said that people were likely taking too much time because of the rain.At 7:52pm, we finally got a text saying our table was ready. YAY! However, when we entered, there were FIVE tables of four open. With all of the wait staff just kind of standing around too (as mentioned above), this was a poor first impression. All of us were just a bit stumped as to how we could have possible waited over two hours just for the entire restaurant to be empty. Regardless, we wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps all the tables just happened to finish at the same time. While I want to believe that, the lack of service inside the restaurant just makes it really hard to believe that they just didnt call us over earlier.With all of that said, we would definitely come back. The three food items mentioned above were stand outs, and I would absolutely order them again.Just be extremely wary of the service expectations. I would also recommend coming early and preparing yourself for an extra long wait.