I love this place so giving it three stars was a struggle. Ascetically this place is the BEST! The atmosphere is 1950s hometown diner meets rockabilly chic. The waitresses wear the traditional diner girl outfits and are just a pair of roller-skates short of completely transforming you back in to some sort of plesentville/ twilight zone realness. Unfortunately the service is really poor which is likely because of management. Every time I have been in it's the same two waiters running around like crazy to serve everybody. The food is okay, not the best diner food in the world and not the worst but very diverse so you can get pretty much anything. The real shining star of this place is the fountain drinks. They have egg creams and all sorts of malts, so so good! Overall it just feels sort of scatterbrained. If they paired down the menu and focused on service this place would be perfect. read more

Very bland- not worth it at all!! I think the health inspector needs to visit this place. There was hair in my fruit and in the open jelly container that was brought to outer table. The waitresses are nice, but nothing to brag about. I think this place is unsanitary. They should not be serving the jelly, salsa and apple butter like this. It's an open container. They do not change out the spoons or refrigerate it. Very gross to think I could have my mouth all over my toast and then use a spoon to spread my jelly then return it (dirty) to the community jelly jar. Ewwww. My fruit was warm. My eggs were smothered in butter. My toast was burnt. My husbands waffle was a joke. It was "Belgium" but soooo thin!!! For $25 I would go elsewhere. Skip this place. Too outdated. read more

Busy Bee Cafe - Community jelly and salsa- they don't have the spoons in them so my germs (from my half eaten toast) are spread in there. Ewww. - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

Busy Bee Diner always is fun with adorable waitresses in cute costumes and smiling faces who serve hot coffee and great food especially crisp bacon, hot scrambled eggs and toast. Their shakes are yummy and cold with whipped cream. I enjoy their open turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce. All their dishes are hot and fresh. read more

I am going to give this place a 4 .. it is a old school diner really neat to look inside . They have all American classics . To hot dogs to malt shakes . All American food. I get the potatoe skins which they are very delicious and big half a potatoe. They serve breakfast all day. They have awesome shakes I got the banana nut which was awesome with chunks of banana . Mac and cheese was really good also. Then my friend got a Bailey's and coffee but it had a hair in it. But everything else was good they do not accept discover and close at 11 pm. Parking is street parking it is in a busy area . But even the hair mistakes happen and I still give it an 4. read more

Busy Bee Cafe - The business - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

We waited 20 minutes to Get served , then got ok food. The servers were rude and we never got checked on. We had to wait another 20 minutes until we had to walk to the front to ask for the check. read more

Had breakfast/brunch here, All the food was super good. The "Busy Bee" was a great sandwich.

Great service, big portions, and yummy breakfast. The cute 50's atmosphere is great. You even get bazooka joe bubble gum with your bill :)

Food is great, service is great, I especially liked The server Jessica. Very nice and helpful. Great hair too. Anyone who rates this establishment a low rating is delusional. That milkshake was bussin. You should definitely come here. It's amazing. It was so good I even went through the trouble of making a Yelp account to write this review read more

Brought my mother and kids here for breakfast. F**K me... "Does the kitchen make the corned beef from scratch?" "No, it comes from a can." That should have been my exit but with hungry kids sometimes it is not an option. I ordered one of the few benedict options. The eggs were undercooked, hollandaise was cold (which I am sure was not made in house either), and the rest of the food was barely warm. I did not eat, and the server did not catch on to any off vibes I was laying down, so we paid and left. Off days are off days, but lack of quality control, and abundance of carelessness should not be permitted in any serving restaurant. I will not be coming back, and advise others to do the same. read more

Great place, Nice people and meals are awesom! Has a full bar, so a true sundy brunch is an option!

Ordered the breakfast plat. Pancakes literally tasted like butter, along with being given a tiny cup of butter, therefore it was not edible. The hash browns were ok I guess. The rest of the plate was good. read more

Love this place! One of my favorite Breakfast joints. Breakfast is always delicious! Love the Denver Omellette. Waitresses are always nice and give great customer service and refill are drinks. I have never been disappointed with the Breakfast. Free parking in the back and across the street behind the businesses. read more

Busy Bee Cafe - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

Came in for a late night desert, and got a little more then expected. The size if the desert for the price was amazing!!! Service was good and desert was better!! read more

Busy Bee Cafe - The brownie with ice cream - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

Delicious breakfast with great home fries! Visiting from Phoenix and looked for good local food. Recommend this place for breakfast!!! Here for breakfast again almost a year later, and food is still outstanding! read more

It was just alright. I tried their pastrami half-sandwich, and was appalled. It wasn't hot, and it had lettuce, tomato, and mayo. I was hoping for only deli mustard on it, and served hot. Their fries were good, and the service was great, albeit slow getting our cold sandwiches. Had I known in advance they put weird stuff on their pastrami sandwiches, I would have ordered a bowl of chili. read more

Busy Bee Cafe - Who TF puts lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a pastrami sandwich??? Busy Bee does. I was not amused. - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

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This is one of the nastiest resteraunt diners I've ever eaten at. Maybe it's just the mash potatoes that suck ass or maybe it's just the quality over here. If I wanted sucky ass food I'd head over to chick fil a. I expected good food but instead I gotta disappointment meal. Suck it boneheads. YOU GUYS SUCK! read more

This would definitely be you typical 50's dinner with Elvis on the wall and deep red vinyl booths to sit in. Both times I have been there has been absolutely no wait and we were seated right away by waitresses wearing somewhat of a uniform. Management seemed friendly and the place still kept some of the small town Ventura feel about it. There is just about anything you could want on the menu from good ol comfort food to burgers and shakes. The Cobb salad was great (real thick slices of turkey) and the strawberry waffles for breakfast were a treat. Some friends ordered a half order of the biscuits and gravy which looked pretty tasty. Good experience overall and wold definitely come back again. read more

Busy Bee Cafe - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

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Last stop on Friday night. Top off a fun night with dessert cocktails Great service and patience with our server putting up with us!

We ate here the Sunday after we were married. We spent a couple days in Ventura, Ca. Anywhoo, the hubby and I walked down Main Street to the Ventura county museum to find it closed!!! On our way back we ate at the Busy Bee cafe. It was delicious!!! I had the French dip an the hubby had... I don't remember? He had a little fit when he'd asked me if I had eaten here before and well... A nice little gentleman many moons ago had taken me there on a date! The gentleman was very sweet and wanted to take me to places I'd never been before. Busy Bee being one of them. The hubby was a lil annoyed that I would take him somewhere I had been on a date! Crazy to think the last time i had been there was 14-15 years ago! 12 of those years have been spent going on dates with my husband!!! Regardless, the Busy Bee is a place to go if you are ever in Ventura! It's good enough to take your husband on your honeymoon!!! Great diner menu! Nostalgic decor! Great service! Fun place to eat!!! read more

Busy Bee Cafe - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

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Just finished eating with my family!! This place is amazing!!! I ordered the fish and chips delicious!! Homemade tartar sauce. It was delicious!! Very good service thank you Kimberly read more

This restaurant and it's staff were amazing on thanksgiving. They were working so hard but they all asked if I was being taken care of acknowledged I was waiting for my pick up. I got a turkey dinner which was an incredible value and tasty. Went back to get two turkey drums to take home and was so good. I highly recommend them. read more

So here's the problem... This place was awesome the few times we went. The owner (I think) is really cool and clearly loves what he does and he's down to wait tables and get right in the mix. The food was on point. There's a potato skin hash brown thingie that's bomb. But then... We shifted to a parallel reality while we slept, and now the BusyBee is way too busy to cook bacon so they serve it undercooked. They also don't take it off the check when you tell them it's undercooked, instead they remake it the exact same way. Odd. So depending upon which reality you're in, will depend upon your experience. Good luck. read more

Cute 50's style diner with a big menu. I had a hot turkey sandwich (a favorite) that was very good. Lots of turkey and gravy - very filling (I could only eat about half of it). They have a full soda fountain and make all the traditional flavored cokes, milkshakes, and pies. I was too full to have a milkshake or pie. The all-day breakfast menu also looked good. I would not hesitate to eat here again. read more

Cute old-fashioned diner with good comfort food. Good place for breakfast. The eggs benedict was really good. The staff was friendly and attentive. I went there twice last week for breakfast-- no complaints. read more

Literally it was my husband and i favorite restaurant. But the "manager "Nancy wants to be extremely rude and prejudice towards emotional support and service animals . Questioning my emotional support service dog and her ability .... DONT GO HERE IF YOU HAVE A EMOTIONAL SUPPORT OR SERVICE DOG read more

Not worth it, way over priced. Taste like all the food is pretty much from big box stores. I ordered their bowl of $9 Chili, its served in very shallow bowl that's more like a deep plate than a bowl-very small portion, felt it was a take your $9 bucks and give you very little in exchange. Ordered the way over priced $16 burger, big box store buns and meat? I can see $8.99 for the burger, but $16? Huge rob your money for what you get kind of place. Other local fast food burgers are way better and priced correctly. Service was unfriendly, host wanted to seat my wife and I to the back, I asked if we could sit up front in a booth, got the rolling eyes and nodding head look, that made us feel warm and fuzzy. Waste of time and money in my opinion. I call these types of places hit and runs, they love tourist, because they know tourist won't complain or coming back anytime soon. read more

I consider myself to be a connoisseur of country fried steak. It's not a fact, it's just an ego thing. I love country fried steak! I travel quite a bit and every place I go, I look for restaurants that serve it, boast about it, or simply have good reviews about it. I grade it from 1 to 10 on the meat used the gravy used, seasoning of the breading and the portion size. The meat was perfect. A high-quality cube steak, Tender and tasty with no gristle in it. I scored it an 8.5 out of 10 The gravy was thick, perfectly seasoned and NO CLUMPS! It tasted homemade, I don't know that it was, but it tasted like it was. another 8.5 out of 10. The Breading was crispy, stuck well to the beef and was my favorite part of the meal. I give it a 10. Portions? Don't worry. You won't leave hungry. I ate there around 9 AM and wasn't hungry again until after 6 that night, and I can put it away. I give it 10 on portion because I want to get full, but I don't want to throw any away, I left a happy man. Oh yeah, my wife got an omelet and said it was great too. read more

Everything was cold - eggs, hash browns and toast. Three egg serving seemed Ike 1.5. Oat pancakes had almond flavoring and nuts ( not noted on menu). We could see food sitting under light for 10 min. read more

I had to go to Busy Bee Cafe before I left the neighborhood, and we walked over for breakfast one weekday morning. We had the quintessential cafe experience. The food was greasy, the waitstaff was semi-attentive, and we left full and happy. It met our expectations for an oldies style diner. The menu is large, filled with lots of options for any meal of the day. The place is family friendly, which was a big plus for us. I was there a little early for a chocolate milkshake, but had to save something for next time! read more

Looking for greasy old school American food? This is the place. Barbecue beef sandwich is to die for, and it may very well kill you, but man it was tasty. read more

Classic old school diner (except for the full bar which also serves alcoholic milk shakes!!!) that is definitely a locals favorite. Seems that most items are scratch made from the biscuits to the country fried steak. We all sampled many of the breakfast items. The country fried steak platter was huge, we should have gone for the available half order and that would have been the perfect amount for a hungry adult.. The steak had a crispy crust and moist juicy interior with just the right amount of seasoning.. We also had a perfectly charred ham steak and eggs breakfast with perfectly cooked over easy eggs... Again the half order is just right for a hungry adult since these breakfasts come with your choice of potatoes or fresh fruit AND toast or biscuits with gravy.. Go with the light and crumbly biscuits with milk gravy! We also tried the banana Walnut pancakes which were filled with walnuts and fresh banana.. They were nice and fluffy, perfect with a little syrup.. Prices are inexpensive and portions are big.. Service is friendly.. The kitchen is kind of slow though but the food is worth the wait.. Free Street parking until 10 AM out front. Bring quarters for the old school table top jukeboxes! read more

Wide variety to choose from (huge plus due to my picky eaters). Food was ready in 20 mins for pickup. Everyone enjoyed their meals (cheeseburger, BLT, chicken and dumplings, potato skins and fettuccine alfredo). Will definitely be ordering from here again! read more

Stopped in for late lunch on our way to Ojai. Place was busy with locals and visitors alike. Eggs Valentino ($9.95) was okay, but lacked any distinctive flavor; bowl of chili was very tasty; onion rings just ok and very greasy. Interior decorated to resemble a '50s diner. Nice touch with the old tableside coin-operated juke box, although the volume was too low to really hear the songs. read more

We ordered fried chicken blue plate, kids fish and chips and a bowl of albondigas (meatball soup). Well, most of our meal went in the trash due to being over cooked; way, way over cooked. The chicken was DARK brown and hard. The fish and chips were just ok but no flavor except from the tarter sauce. The fresh fruit was good and the albondigas was decent. The biscuit was hard as a rock! I do not like posting negative posts. However, we are trying to support our local businesses but the local businesses need to bring it. Money is not overflowing so we don't like to waste it on something that is not satisfactory. Maybe we just caught a bad day or ordered the wrong items. read more

The shepherds pie lacked both meat and flavor. The clam chowder tasted more like cream of celery. The rye bread was dry and the deli turkey tasted like cardboard. The unappetizing and flavorless food wasn't even the worst part. Just really got frustrated when we stopped in to order something warm to eat and decided to get it to go as we are still pretty far from home and we were asked to wait outside for our food, where it's more than a little chilly. The main reason it upset me is because there are people inside sitting down to eat, we have masks and the server who was taking our order was rude from the beginning to the end. We asked another server if my husband could add a float and she was way nicer than the first gal. I simply don't understand why restaurant open for dine in would ask paying customers to wait outside in the cold for their food to be cooked. I'm literally standing here freezing. They could have told us prior to our order that we would have to wait outside for our food. We would have gone somewhere else. Not to mention that when we got here, there was another couple standing by the jukebox and waiting for their food. I doubt anyone would be happy to wait outside in the cold for 30+ minutes, waiting for tasteless food. read more

Busy Bee Cafe - Busy Bee Diner - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

There are plenty of diners to choose from out there all flash no substance Busy Bee isn't one of those. I am only 49 I have no idea what diners where like in the 50's but I hope they were like this place. inexpensive great food and a lot of it. Chicken fried steak three eggs fruit and a giant fresh biscuit with gravy, I was not hungry for the rest of the day. The only reason to not go here is that you're not that hungry because they are going to feed you like you just came out of the forest for a month and haven't eaten at all in that time. This place is the only reason I would ever visit Ventura. read more

If your in Ventura for breakfast with your family this is a must. Great breakfast the best Muchacha and eggs breakfast ever . Great drinks and a great setting . Great service . read more

Fun and reliably good Predictable menu - not exciting but there is something good for everyone on this menu, service is friendly and prices are fair. read more

The food is on point! Hot and fresh when it came out and it was so fast! I think I waited no more than 10 minutes for my plate to come out. And it was cooked exactly how I ordered it. The staff is super friendly as well and are willing to accommodate your request. Overall a great experience and laid back atmosphere. I dig the diner vibe! read more

The cutest cafe. I'm giving it a 4 because our waitress was sweet but as soon as we got our food she kind of just ignored us but it's ok. Overall the place was adorable but I could've made better eggs and bacon read more