Wow, met local friends here for lunch & was SO impressed! Service was fantastic~my blackened prime rib sandwich with broccoli slaw was AMAZING!! BEST, I MEAN BEST sandwich I've ever had & the slaw was crisp & fresh. Can't wait to go back, what a fabulous find!!! Local guy had a big bowl of seafood gumbo, fresh homemade rolls, other local had a huge turkey wrap (took home half for later). Desserts looked amazing but will have to sample when I'm not so overstuffed. I highly recommend this place & understand that Chef Rick does catering too. read more

I love Chef Rick's! They have multiple vegan options, I've tried them all and loved them. They really do have the best vegan burger I've ever had. The black bean raviolis are to die for. Chef Rick's was the last place I ate before I moved away for school, and it'll be the first place I eat when I come home. The staff is super friendly there as well, Michaela and Jana are so so sweet. You can also do orders for pick up over the phone, which I appreciate. Last time I ordered for pick up, they wrote a super cute thank you note on the bag. It was a really nice touch! read more

Chef Rick's - Thank you note written on the bag of my pick up order - New American Near Me - Orcutt, California

The food is out of this world. Ans the staff is on top of it way to to go Rick Manson:)

Attentive service, and wonderful atmosphere! Chef Ricks is always top notch, I have never had a bad meal! read more

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Chef Ricks is a wonderful restaurant with great tasting food! My wife and I shared a Louisiana blackened prime rib sandwich and garlic soup. The prime rib sandwich was so tasty! The meat was tender and seasoned to perfection. The garlic soup was excellent as well. The service was very good! We really enjoyed our meal at Chef Ricks! We will definitely be coming here on a regular basis! read more

We popped in for some lunch because I heard so many good things about the food. We weren't disappointed except we passed on dessert and we should have stayed the photos looked appetizing. We will be back! read more

I eat here about five or six times a year since it opened and I've never been disappointed with my selection. The monster cheeseburger is awesome; I highly recommend it. The jumbalaya pasta must be great because my sister orders it ever time we dine here. We're lucky to have such a great restaurant in Orcutt. I should have written this review years ago. read more

You better be hungry when you go here. The servings are quite large and delicious. My jambalaya had more meat than pasta and was delicious. Casual atmosphere & friendly service. read more

DESERVES 6 STARS................It's been probably 20+ years since we went to the original Chef Rick's in the center of Orcutt. I loved the place in Orcutt but the "new" location is awesome in its location and feel . If anything the food is only getting better. Can not wait to get back for more. Well worth the 20 mile drive. ................ The care and thought is putting together the options for each visit are simply spectacular. read more

Another fine meal at Chef Rick's. Our party enjoyed the Catfish special, with couscous jambalaya, blackened prime rib sandwich and salmon tacos. All were tasty and seasoned just right. Service was delightful and we enjoyed Rick's playlist too... RIP Burt read more

This place is so cute! I love the vibrant colors and welcoming and happy staff. I ordered the New Mexican chicken sandwich with fries to go. I paid $10.78 for a yummy sandwich and a side of French fries can't beat the price for great service and good food. I love the interior walls and ceiling and all of the colors. I will be back with my colleagues and my family this place is awesome! read more

Chef Rick's - Right when you walk in from the side you see a pop of colors! - New American Near Me - Orcutt, California

Let me just start by saying, WOW! What a best kept secret in the Santa Marcia Valley! Chef Rick combines years of experience with a knack for international flair to develop every one of his delicious dishes! His menu is diverse, his options are healthy, fresh and tasty. Chef Rick personally hand selects his key ingredients and it is not atypical to see him at local markets buying seasonal, fresh, local staples for his restaurant. With Governor Newsom recently closing indoor dining again in Santa Barbara county, he creatively developed a way to continue operating during these Covid 19 times. He remains open with lunch being served 11 am- 2pm and dinner from 4-8 pm (may close a bit early if there are no customers). I had the grilled salmon, shrimp, arugula, ginger & sesame salad (for a great price of $18) and it was delicious!!! It typically is served with a half pear on the side but since peaches are in season now (July), he served it with a grilled (yes, I said grilled, you know us Santa Marian's--we kik to grill!) peach on the side--absolutely delicious--did I already say that!? read more

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I can't believe I have only been to Chef Rick's only one time in all the years I have lived here! The menu is extensive and interesting. Our waitress was attentive and knowledgeable. The atmosphere is fun. I look forward to returning to Chef Rick's! read more

We have been trying to find a nice place with good food to go out and enjoy ourselves, and I'm really glad I decided to try out Chef Ricks here in Orcutt . My daughter is extremely picky about it French fries and she gobbled those down, and be ready for a huge basket of them enough for 6 people! I had the coconut shrimp which was my favorite. Not only are they perfectly cooked, but the sauce they serve with them is the most amazing sauce I've ever had with coconut shrimp. I also had the sweet potato fries, again, yum. And I even dipped them in that delicious sauce that came with the the fried coconut shrimp. To top it all off, even though my daughter and I were pretty full, we decided to try a desert and settled on the one our waitress was raving about. I'm so glad I listened to her because WOW. I was addicted at first bite. My daughter and I were fighting over it and probably looked crazy ;p If you go here , get the 3 layer chocolate cake, it had this intoxicating coffee icing layered between the rich chocolate cake, it comes with a scoop of ice vanilla cream, mint garnish and and some raspberries and a special chocolate stick to top it all off. read more

Chef Rick's - New American Near Me - Orcutt, California

With all the hyped reviews, I was really looking forward to my meal here. But it was left wanting. The ordering system is odd. The meals are too expensive for ordering at the counter, we paid $76 for a steak entree ($36 special) a steak salad $18 and they tried to up sell me for double meat for another $8, coconut shrimp and 2 kids meals. And water to drink. The shrimp came out burnt, had to send it back. The food came out and the salad was good, except for hidden tomatoes in a Caesar salad propping up the meat to look like more. Skip tomato's and add avocado please. The kids meals were ok, but more like $5-6 meals, not $8. The steak special my husband said was ok. It looked nice but again, overpriced and underwhelming. Overall, it just wasn't worth it. read more

First time and won't be the last! We all enjoyed our dinner including 2 children. Their New Orlean's style cooking is delicious! Desserts were amazing. You won't be disappointed. read more

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My husband is a carnivore and I am vegan so going out for meals can be a little tricky and often we end up eating Japanese as a compromise, which gets boring. Hunting on yelp led us here as they had multiple vegan entrees. We made the trip from Atascadero to try for lunch. Husband had the bleu cheese bacon burger with broccoli slaw and I had the vegan cheese burger with fire shoestring fries and it was so so so good. Best vegan burger I have ever had and the hub raves about his. They have a lot of Louisiana and New Mexico style dishes... we are definitely coming back! read more

I love Chef Rick and have been visiting his restaurants for 25 years. I just moved back to the central coast and checked out his place in Orcutt ( the old Jetty location) the coconut shrimp, salad, jambalaya were excellent. He never disappoints. read more

Hey Chef Rick's what's going on here. Stellar food, pathetic service. It's unbelievable it will literally be 15 minutes between seeing a single server while sitting in their parking lot tent. If things are running that far behind, a heads up would be great. We heard other tables around us also mumbling about the huge delay to get drinks, food or even just to see a server. I know multiple people who also experienced the same service which is very disappointing and it tells me this Isn't an isolated incident We are months into dealing with COVID, if you can't figure out how much staff is needed to deal with a large amount of take out orders and the people waiting in the parking lot tent then I'm pretty speechless. Quite frankly I think this is some of the best food the SM/Orcutt area has to offer and at a reasonable price but at this point we'll only be doing take out to avoid the frustration of the bad service. It's been several weeks since we experienced this so hopefully it has become better. Nonetheless I will still give 3 stars based solely on the good food - lunch and dinner. read more

They have great food and outdoor seating. He's a chef with years of skills and experience. Always new and exciting meals. Not the run of the mill menu. read more

Rick is the man! Pumpin' out good food and good fun in his funky restaurant. We love it here.

My go to for Saturday night after work take home dinner. been there probably 50 times, always good! The salmon, arugula, salad is the best! It's a must try! read more

I've always been a fan of chef ricks however today we ordered fish and chips and a fish sandwich. The fish was way overdone it was a dark brown and we couldn't eat it. The sunflower seeds in the coleslaw were rancid. They should have taken those meals off. I don't know if I'll be returning my husband gave chefric the sign of the cross but we did tip the waitress 18%. She was really nice. read more

The bread, vibes, and service are good but the food is overpriced and underwhelming other than that.

Amazing !!!!!! I love chef ricks ! My favorite is the chicken tortilla soup . Or the impossible burger meal . Chef Ricks never disappoints. Each meal is included with homemade bread . The dessert is also spectacular! Each meal will be packed with flavor and freshness guaranteed:) read more

was very disappointed... we ordered off the online menu for takeout. We ordered the Shrimp, scallop, linguine also the three coconut shrimp appetizers. I opened it at home only to find no scallops at all and realize they had charged $15.99 for the Three coconut shrimps when online it's $9.00. When I called Chef ricks I was told that they had stopped ordering scallops but yet the menu still states that it has scallops and the price hasn't adjusted for the lack of scallops and I told him they had overcharged us for the coconut shrimp and she stated that the price went up in January. I told her what the menu says and she says yes Chef Rick is in charge of the online menu. Well the last I looked this is June and she claims things changed in January. so basically it was just oops. So I'm saying check your food before you leave and also check your receipt. read more

chef rick's food is indeed ultimately fine. i got the cajun pasta and my previously bad day was suddenly good. and we met chef rick himself! he saved my life read more

As always the food was delicious, but the service here is the worst! We waited forever for a server to come to our table, let me say there were 3 servers and only 3 tables with customers. So no excuse. The food came and was delicious but when it came time to pay and get a to go box... what a joke! The 3 girls stood behind the front counter on their phones, all of them! The owner Rick came out a few times and noticed this and said nothing. Maybe that's why there were only 3 tables with customers. Very Bad Service!! Your wait staff could care less about your customers! read more

So many menu choices. Our lunch was very good, so glad we tried. Will definitely be returning

I am obsessed with this place every dish I have tried here is amazing. My favorite so far is the Georgia Fried Chicken Salad I dreamt about it for days after I had it. The food is so good I could go on and on top quality love you Chef Ricks!!! read more

Finally got to try Chef Rick's tonight and was completely disappointed. It was a slow Tuesday evening with only five tables of diners and two servers on. We had to ask for water, drink orders and for them to actually take our dinner order. When my daughter received her entree she notices a long dark hair laying across her plate. She immediately told the server who took the plate back to the kitchen where they replated the same food and brought it right back to the table. She actually told us the chef replated the same exact food when she returned. This is disgusting. My daughter asked for a completely different entree and they brought it out soon after. When they brought her second dish out it was the wrong order. She ended up barely eating it. My other daughter ordered a hamburger that was grossly undercooked and left it uneaten. When we got the bill it was not correct either. I asked to speak to the chef to explain our dissatisfaction the server said, "He was busy in the office on the phone and couldn't come out." All in all my first impression of this restaurant is unacceptable. I definitely won't be returning. read more

Chef Rick's is such an amazing gem. It's not just the food, which is always consistently delicious, creative, with made with fresh and local ingredients. It's the people there. I don't know if she could tell I've had a long and hard day, but the woman at the register just treated me so kindly when I picked up a to-go order. Everyone that works there is lovely. Make sure you order through THEIR website, not DoorDash. It's less expensive through their website, and that way you're supporting their business much more, they don't have to give a cut to DoorDash. It's super easy, and they're always easy to reach by phone too. I've eaten almost the entire menu and I've never had a dish I didn't love. Tonight I got the BBQ chicken salad and my husband got the shrimp po' boy. He's been a chef for 20 yrs, cooks in the New Orleans Jazz Fest every year, and we had our own New Orleans-style food truck for many years. So you can trust his opinion that this shrimp po boy is good :) read more

Poor service, the water is tap and terrible, overpriced and bland food. Does not compare to Rick's previous places.

The food is 3-star flavor. atmosphere mediocre in an old fish shanty and the owner hasn' even put up a new sign. Class it up more with a name like Chef Rick's and it'll be taken more seriously read more

I had my first indoor dining experience in Santa Maria since last year. The food was excellent, and the blood orange beer was amazing. The waitress was very efficient and friendly. This restaurant is less than a mile from my house. I will certainly eat there again. read more

Walked in.... and walked right back out. Loud and having to order your own food at the counter is a turnoff. The menu is the same old tired food Rick has at every restaurant he's ever opened. Boring and disappointing. read more

CHEF Ricks is the best restaurant in Santa Maria. He serves real New Orleans Food. I have been to New Orleans many times. The food here is right on par. His shrimp and grits and pasta jambalaya are unbelievable. read more

Glad to see Chef Rick back with another new amazing restaurant. Had a wonderful experience there today. My partner and I enjoyed the shrimp and salmon salad. The service was superb--very friendly staff and unique decor. Without hesitation, the best restaurant in Santa Maria/Orcutt and one of the best on the Central Coast overall. We will definitely become regulars, most likely for lunch. Two things I would point out: (1) The music, though spectacular, is way too LOUD. Why blast us out of the room? Also (2) If I'm paying these prices and eating this quality food, why can't I be waited on? There were plenty of staff in the room and they swung by our table regularly. I don't understand why we can't be waited on like in the old place. But that food today. Wow.... read more

This is one of our favorites, with delicious and creative foods! Chef Rick's never disappoints us, and I've tried the regular and daily specials. The great experience starts with warm rolls containing jalapeño and cheese. Yum. The jambalaya pasta is wonderful and the fire fries are a favorites! read more

Went with my wife for the first time. Staff was friendly. I ordered the vegan burger and it was delicious! My wife had the chicken salad and sh really liked it as well. We will definitely be back! read more