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    Barbarella Restaurant & Bar

    4.1 (1.6k reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Order Barbarella Restaurant & Bar Takeout or Delivery

    Barbarella Restaurant & Bar Photos

    BARBARELLA RESTAURANT & BAR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Happy hour specials
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Barbarella Restaurant & Bar

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    Noemi S.

    We love to come here for dinner with friends! This location is full of laughter anytime we visit. Their servers always make us feel welcome. They give awesome recommendations and I thoroughly enjoy how festive this restaurant is. We love coming here around Halloween time but this year we went for valentines also! A great place to enjoy time with special people and enjoy great food! Near the beach, which helps walk off some of those carbs!

    Julie B.

    Made a reservation here for galentines dinner! Such a festive and cute environment!! My bestie and I got the calamari, funghi pizza, prosciutto & burrata pizza! The pizza were very delicious!! We also had a few glasses of wine. Def such a cute place to get together with friends! I believe they change the decor according to the holidays!

    Ann V.

    My first time at Barbarella was wonder-filled and I love their Holiday Spirit. This restaurant is decked out to the Tee with beauuutiful decorations boosting this holiday cheer for sure. All I can say...is wooowww! My inner child appreciated it a lot :-) When we arrived, it was a full house. Luckily, we had reservations. We had a chance to look around the restaurant admiring the festive decor. We even walked to nearby restaurants to discover that they were not "on-n-poppin" like Barbarella. Barbarella definitely attracting the crowds. Because of the busyness, we did have a wait. It was worth it though. We were taken to an overflow room in the back which was also nicely decorated too. Once our waitress appeared on the scene, she was on-it...answering our questions and making recommendations. My yummy refreshing Santa Special Cocktail made me feel sooo special. I can tell the bartenders are working their magic at the bar. Cheers!! My Ricotta Ravioli with half Bolognese & Lemon Cream sauce made me feel sooo saucy but in a good good way. My adult self appreciated it a lot ;-) I'll definitely return to this super cool Italian spot.

    Seafood Linguine
    Maridel A.

    This place is so festive! I honestly felt like I walked into a Hallmark Christmas movie. I love the holiday spirit here. I started my meal with a nice cup of hot chocolate, and it set the tone perfectly. I really enjoyed the vibe, the service, and the food. It was definitely busy, but our server was super nice and totally on top of everything. I ordered the seafood linguine with the white sauce -- it was good, but I think I prefer the red sauce. The bread and butter was $5, and it was worth it... the butter is what makes it! My friend even ordered one to go, lol. I highly recommend the mint ice cream lava cake. So good! This place is very family-friendly, and I'll definitely be back with my kids so they can experience the winter wonderland too.

    menu | tiktok & insta: @trinhiesworld
    Trinh T.

    Food: Funghi Pizza (9/10) - i love mushroom pizzas but i didn't expect how well made this one was! it came out hot and fresh with the perfect amount of cheese and mushrooms. so tasty! Pasta Al Forno (7/10) - be sure to mix it well because my scoop ended up not having enough sauce haha the sauce eventually disappears and lacks flavor. overall decent but i do think the sauce was a little separate from the noodle and felt less together? wasn't enough sauce and meat but still good! Fettuccine Bolognese (7.5/10) - more on the creamy and toasty side. pretty good flavor and you can taste the bacon bits. wasn't mind blowing but decent! Service: We had the most helpful and conversational server! Flagging someone down was a little hard at times because no one was around for some reason for a long time for us but they would be very nice and helpful once we did Ambiance: I went during christmas times so this place is fully decked out in so many christmas decorations! Such a nice place to visit especially at night with all the lights turned on. Very spacious with the patio seats and multiple rooms/sections for more seating

    Calamari
    Cryetti C.

    Food: 4 Service: 3.5 Ambiance: 4.5 We visited Barbarella during the holiday season, and the restaurant was fully decked out with festive Christmas décor. The lights both inside and outside really added to the lively, cheerful ambience and made the whole experience feel extra special. We had a 5:00 PM reservation, just before the dinner rush, and were seated promptly. The service at the front desk was okay, but our waiter more than made up for it. He was attentive, friendly, and checked in on us often. Our water glasses were always refilled, and we felt well taken care of throughout the meal. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how good the food was. We ordered the bread and butter, calamari, lamb medallions, and broccolini. The lamb medallions were absolutely the star of the show, cooked to perfection, and paired beautifully with the sweet potato, which was delicious. The broccolini was also very good. The calamari was just okay, a bit too breaded and not as fresh as we would've liked, so we probably wouldn't order that again. We also tried two holiday cocktails, the Ornamentini and the Partridge in a Pear Tree. Both drinks were super cute and festive, and they were light and refreshing. I'm glad we tried them. For dessert, we ordered the mint lava cake topped with mint gelato, and it was very, very delicious. We enjoyed it immensely. The location is another big plus. After a heavy dinner, we took a nice walk down the street and ended up at the beach, which was the perfect way to end the night. Overall, we had a wonderful experience and would definitely return. I highly recommend Barbarella for a girls' night out or a date night.

    Inside decor
    Marie L.

    I was SO excited to try this spot for Christmas vibes but was extremely disappointed. Only reason for 2 stars is for the Christmas decorations which were very jolly indeed. HOWEVER the service was SO poor and the food was even worse. We had a reservation for 5:30pm on a Sunday, and we didn't finish dinner till close to 9PM. I do realize it was very busy since this is a popular spot, but everything was slow and things came out wrong too. Now onto the food: Charcuterie Board: was afraid of food poisoning honestly, seemed like it had been sitting out for a while (cute plates though) - also the meat was touching the cheese so my vegetarian friend couldn't try it. Caesar salad: actually not too bad! Pepperoni pizza: can't expect much from pizza in California but this was gross - crust was sloppy and undercooked and way too much cheese. Cocktails/wine: Specialty Christmas cocktails seemed super cute but I learned the espresso martini is batched so I couldn't get tequila instead of the vodka. The other tequila option was VERY blue and way too sweet. Ordered white wine and it came out warm - gave me a massive stomachache and headache due to poor quality. Maybe the food and service is better when it's not so busy during the holidays, but do not recommend the Christmas pop up as it is overpriced, slow service, and poor quality.

    Drunken sailor
    Maureen D.

    The place has a new owner. No more decorations. No more vegetarian selections. Pizza was terrible. Won't be back. Very disappointed.

    Salmon Entree Upcharge
    Cristina B.

    The food is baaaad. We tried to give it so many chances but each plate that came out just missed. The best thing was the bread and vanilla ice cream. They do have the cutest Christmas decoration!!!! Indoor and outdoor was covered head to toe and we loved it. They had delicious Christmas cocktails with the best one to me being the partridge in a pear tree. It came in a cutesy bird glass and was perfectly balanced. Service was good for being a busy night. Inside did smell like piss and the bathroom line was long so I didn't even get to see the bathroom door and you can still smell the pee. Overall--- maybe come for cocktails and bread ?? Take pictures with the decor. Hopefully you have a better experience if you try.

    Prime Steak
    Jeannie B.

    We recently celebrated our annual Christmas dinner here. We chose this place specifically for the holiday cheer and decorations that are displayed throughout. It's like stepping into my Christmas past of the 80's with tinsel, yard lights, and trees and garland galore. We had a reservation for 12 and were happy to accommodate us even by adding an extra table for more elbow room. Service was excellent with close attention to making sure we got what we needed. I had the their specialty egg nog cocktail which was delicious as well as a class of Daou cab to go with my dinner. The Brussels sprouts were tasty. The food was okay. I ordered the Fettuccine Bolognese & my husband ordered the steak and both agreed they were okay. I tasted the Funghi Pizza which was delicious. Four stars for the ambiance and the service. I think improvement on food would make this place a frequent spot for me

    Entrance
    Jillian C.

    MUST TRY HOLIDAY THEMED RESTAURANT Barbarella is a charming, super fun and festive kid-friendly restaurant in La Jolla, that goes all out with holiday spirit! We came for the decorations and the vibes, but the food was also a hit. Our favorites were the French Onion Soup (with a hefty amount of melty cheesy goodness) and the rack of lamb (full of flavor and cooked to perfection). They offer a special holiday cocktail menu with a ton of options, including a martini served out of a Christmas ornament (the ORNAMENTINI). The Christmas Spirit is OFFICIALLY making its appearance and we're HERE for it! Ornamentini Whiskey for Santa Partridge in a Pear Tree French Onion Soup Chicken Parmesan Pasta Al Forno Grilled Lamb Rack Medallions KId & dog-friendly! Follow @allthingsfoodinsandiego for more must try San Diego restaurants, date night ideas, food experiences, kid friendly spots, with a sprinkling of home-cooking!

    Amber D.

    I LOVE LA JOLLA! And Barbarella, Karlee was our server and her vibe was amazing I thought she was one of my friends in the past. Then to come and find out she was in charge of the playlist, how was she playing our favorite songs??? How did she know I love Adore by Miley Cyrus? The food was perfection, we came by yesterday and my friend tried the lump crab gnocchi and we had to run it back but sitting down this time. Thank you Barbarella, you will be seeing us again!

    Freddy
    Yvette S.

    Visit trés! I have visited Barbarella's three times and each time it's just as great as the last, from the service to the food to the festive atmosphere. People were dressed in Halloween attire having a great time, waiter was super awesome and attentive despite the very busy time and my food was amazing! I've tried both mushroom dishes in the past, and loved them, this time opted for their steak. Did not disappoint! Green beans were crisp and flavorful, whipped mash was amazing 11/10 for me! Restrooms are always a fun time too haha. Can't wait to visit again soon before the end of year. Worth my hour commute to LJ. *lots of patio seating out front, bar area and take reservations.

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    Barbarella Restaurant & Bar Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Barbarella Restaurant & Bar

    Does anyone know what date the holiday/christmas decor will be up for winter? :)

    It is already up as of November 15 2023. :)

    What's parking like?

    You can find parking on the surrounding streets.

    Not sure, but Do you still have the decorations up for Christmas? or took them out?

    Hello Komal, We are slowing taking down the decorations. Most of the decorations are still up.… 

    Do they still decorate for Halloween?

    Yes we do... BOO!

    I am wondering what is in your winter breeze/berry(?) cocktail? It was the best cocktail I've ever had so I'd like to know what was in it.

    Hi Zoe, WINTER BREEZE: Malibu Rum, Peach Schnapps, Pineapple, Splash of Cranberry… 

    Is the patio dog friendly?

    Yes!!! Very dog friendly ! Even have a dog menu

    View All 9 Questions

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