Had a beef & chorizo chimichanga. It was delicious!! Waitress is excellent!! Nice, professional, knowledgeable about the entrees. Would recommend this restaurant. read more

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Great food. Fresh squeezed OJ. Chilaquiles were the bomb. Very good prices. Small hole in the walls.

Great happy hour great food great service great prices authentic Mexican food ! Can't wait to go back

Food was great, the service excellent not only from our server but every we came in contact with. Over just great

We order the chicken fajitas with cilantro rice and black beans. Everything was delicious and the portions were enough for 2 people. This was our first time and we will be back. The staff was attentive and took good care of us. Leo and Celeste did an amazing job. read more

Great food, including cilantro rice, fish tacos and mole enchiladas. Good beer selection and good service. Enjoyed the covered patio, despite a few loud fire vehicles (patio is right on State Street). Friendly service and very good salsa with chips. read more

Taco Tuesday is great!! The chicken was my favorite surprisingly, asada close second, pastor was great as well tho!

Amazing food! We are staying next door at the Hyatt Place while we are visiting out of town, and on the first night here, we went in for dinner with our toddler. The food was absolutely amazing, and the server was fantastic... we are planning on going back the second day! read more

Love this place ! I swear I wrote a review but I guess I did not.I have been coming here for years and love the food. I especially like that you can get sauteed vegetables as a side so it seems healthier .They also have a vegetarian pozole sometimes which is really good. Yummy nachos,good chimichangas ,love the chile relleno burrito,good micheladas. They have black beans and also Peruvian beans which is interesting and I am not sure if they are doing it now but used to have fresh tortillas on the weekend and good lunch specials. read more

Loved the food, absolutely delicious. Reasonable prices, great staff! Wonderful little treasure with a great theme. Will definitely be back.

Great Mexican food! My wife and I have had lunch here twice and enjoyed it tremendously. They have delicious lunch specials. Dining outside, we felt like we were on a mini vacation. Highly recommend Palapa and will return. read more

Good service, delicious food. Love the mini burrito for breakfast and the carnitas, salads and chicken enchiladas. When it's hot out, the patio feels like you're in Mexico read more

After a long day of work before the 3 hour trip back to my workplace, I came across this restaurant before turning into the 101 South and decided to give it a try. I recommend the salsa verde wet burrito. You can thank me later. read more

Cute place, good service, nice people, BUT... hands down the WORST Mexican food I've ever had. Rice under cooked, Chile verde watery and overcooked, nothing had any flavor. The best part of the meal was the chips and salsa. In a town with dozens of Mexican restaurants, I'm surprised their door is still open. Don't bother. read more

This is our go to date night spot! We love the small restaurant feel, outside patio, and live mariachis on Fridays nights starting at 7PM. I always order their amazing shrimp cocktail, shrimp ceviche, or agauchile. Their portions are big and yummy! Recently, I ordered their wet Palapa burrito with red sauce and dry carnitas (you can choose their wet or dry carnitas) and the burrito was AMAZING! My mother in law ended up switching her order to what I ordered and she loved it. Having it as leftovers the next day was still amazing! One last thing, their staff is always so friendly and prompt and they have daily specials! read more

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It is always a pleasure to dine or get La Palapa take out. The staff is extremely nice and accommodating. When it comes to the food... oh my.... definitely the best authentic Mexican food in Sb! You can't get wrong. And the best part is that they have a variety of amazing sea food, beef or chicken. Whatever you are in the mood for. Only thing I would say is that the location doesn't do the restaurant its justice. If this place was in Downtown it would definitely be the most popular restaurant. read more

We love Palapa! We have been coming here for years and it's always delicious. Authentic Mexican food and the staff is always great. I love going on Fridays when they have live mariachi! read more

Palapa is a great place to kick back on their patio and have some tacos and beer. The carnitas are a family favorite. They used to have a mariachi band playing there. Since Covid, it's a good idea to get the food to go. Let's support our local restaurants. read more

Absolutely the best Shrimp Ceviche I've ever had! I really love the Salsas too my favorite is to mix the Salsa Fresca and the Roasted Tomatillo they also make a great Pico de Gallo and Tomatillo Salsa. Ever since the pandemic I've been taking advantage of Taco Tuesdays they have 1.50 Soft Tacos and they're delicious! I suggest a side of Black Beans and or some Guacamole to go along with their Tasty Tacos! I have had the Al Pastor, Carnitas, Chile Verde, Chorizo, and Carne Asada and they are all Muy Sabroso (Very Tasty!) You Will Not Go Hungry Here!!! The Portions are always Very Generous and the Staff is Very Friendly :) read more

Palapa was a lot nicer and cheaper before it apparently changed owners. We used to enjoy sitting out on the terrace, first enjoying good chips and salsa, then tasty dishes with lots of fresh vegetables, and we liked the friendly attitude of the staff. No más ... ¡Qué lástima! read more

We had an excellent meal. T'he chips and salsa started us off on just the right note. Crispy, thin chips with tangy, fresh salsa. Yum! I had the RBC burrito, rice, beans and cheese. I added guacamole. It was delicious. My husband had the chili verde burrito. He raved about how good it was. The service was outstanding! Let me quote Arnold Schwarzenegger, "We will be back!" read more

We've been ordering takeout from Palapa about once a month for the last few months. Their portions are beyond generous and really hit the spot when the mexican food cravings hit. Family meals come with 4 freshly made drinks (I recommend the lemonade and horchata). So far, we have ordered the flauta/taquitos, enchiladas, and tacos. It comes with 2 sides and chips and salsa. For sides, we've tried red rice, green rice, black beans, and veggies. Entrees were all flavorful and fresh. I prefer the red rice because it's real garlicky :). The mixed veggies are a little bland (balances well when everything else is quite flavorful) and juust cooked enough. We like to use the leftovers and make soup. read more

Good news: white ppl get great service here!! Terrible service if you're Asian!!! Too bad because we'd had tipped very well.

This is an update to my existing, very positive review. I've been back several times since. The experience is always excellent. What I love is the genuine care and quality of the food and the service. For instance, the chicken enchilada is much more than the Taco Bell variety. The enchilada sauce is more like a mole sauce than the usual fire engine red stuff. Their Fish tacos are delightfully prepared and stuffed into two corn tortillas. They ere a little difficult to handle because they are overflowing. I had their chorizo breakfast burrito this morning and some fresh squeezed orange juice. It doesn't get better! read more

Very good food and I could bring my dog! Nice wait staff too. The happy hour is great.

Everything was perfect. It was crowded but they managed it all. I would highly recommend this local restaurant.

I'd heard a rumor that Palapa had some happy hours and I went last week to investigate. Here's the 411! Happy Hour: M-F 3pm-6pm Margaritas and Sunsets: $3 Island Brew $3:50 Imported Beer: $2.50 Domestic Beer: $2.00 Wine: $3 Cheese, chicken or beef quesadilla: $4.95 Cheese, chicken or beef nachos: $4.95 Chicken or beef tacos, $1.50 The margarita is offered on the rocks or blended. The tacos are crunchy shell or soft. I got the margarita blended, and one each of the chicken and beef soft tacos, costing a whopping $6. Didn't have to dig too deep for that. I am no margarita expert. This appears to be a wine margarita that may or may not be based on some kind of Mexican recipe. I'd like to ask around, see where the origins of this comes from. I did, however, have to driven home, because the margarita was rather ample and I'm a wee bit of a lightweight. The tacos were also ample and I quite like the beef taco, that was chunks of steak. Not on special for happy hour is Palapa's flan, but I still ordered one, as I consider the flan to be one of the best in SB. Ooooh so good. This is not the type of place that gets random foot traffic, so a great place to avoid the tourist crowd. It was not busy at all when I arrived around 5:30 pm and I so thoroughly enjoyed it that I've returned there a second time for happy hour and will go again this week. Complimentary chips and salsa, too. Note: expect the typical upsells of guacamole and other drink and food items. If you are truly hard up for cash, stay strict to the happy hour menu. read more

Palapa - happy hour margarita, $3.00 - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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I saw the positive reviews on Yelp, so decided to give it a shot. I ordered 6 oysters on the half shell. My wife and I both ordered tamale and enchilada plates. The food was fairly bland. I rarely salt my food, but everything needed more seasoning. As the meal progressed our waiter became less and less visible...to the point we had to flag down the bus boy to get our check. We never saw our waiter for the last 20 min of the meal. We were sitting in the patio and by the time we left there was no one out there. Large parties inside we're singing jovially to the mediocre mariachi music. I would not recommend unless you are a big party sitting in the main part of the restaurant. They seemed to receive much better service. Oh...and the grilled vegetables were more like boiled soggy veggies. Yikes! read more

A little hole in the wall but a cute place and the food is really good! The service is excellent and they are very attentive to you. The food is good, the drinks are good, and the atmosphere is nice. You can chill inside or outside. They have live mariachi band (on Fridays) and it completes the authenticity of the restaurant. read more

I asked the waiter for the meat options on the mini tacos, after he listed them I asked for one of each. He looked irritated, put his hand on his forehead and asked me to explain. He stared at me angrily and wouldn't repeat the options. Food was mediocre in the end read more

My first time and certainly not my last time!! The portions are huge!!! I'm going to have the best leftovers tomorrow. I had the bean & cheese & rice burrito. Delicious!!! My boyfriend had the steak burrito and he loved it. We shared the queso and again-delicious!!! Our order was prepared fast, pickup was easy and everyone was Covid compliant. The staff was super nice. We'll definitely be back for takeout and can't wait to dine on the patio soon. read more

My roommate took me to Palapa, and I enjoyed my meal. She suggested getting any seafood plate, but I leaned towards chicken. So I got the chicken tacos with green rice and black beans. I really liked the rice and beans. The black beans were cooked with onions and spices, so they were very flavorful. I also liked the green rice. The tacos were good. The chicken was a little dry, but it didn't deter much from the meal. We sat outside in the patio and enjoyed the summer heat. I can imagine that it gets busy at night because the patio is a nice place to sit, eat a good meal, and enjoy company. And I really enjoyed the fresh tortillas! They're handmade by a lady in the patio. If I wasn't so full, I would've ordered more. read more

Good food, convenient location to the Hyatt Place Hotel. The crispy tacos were delicious! Authentic, home-made Mexican food. Generous large portions! Excellent thin, tasty chips with delicious house salsa! Only caveat. We went there multiple times during our Santa Barbara visit and ordered carious take out to bring back and eat at the Hyatt. The tostadas were odd. Partly due possibly to being take out and partly due to unexpected substitutions to traditional items. First, the chicken tostada...no crispy shell. You know, that wonderful, crunchy shell that you break off as you enjoy the tostada within. Not there. Not even a "shortie low boy" that fits in the take out box. Replaced by a single soggy raw corn tortilla in the bottom of the takeout box. Ok, I understand maybe it is easier to package for takeout but every other Mexican restaurant take out I have had still has the traditional crunchy shell/container. No iceberg lettuce. Only sliced Romaine (with the thick stems) that looked like soggy, steamed spinach in presentation. Or grass clippings, very unappetizing. The veggie tostada had no tortilla at all, in addition to no refried beans or rice. Same soggy Romaine. It was a pile of grilled veggies and whole black beans in the take out container. No chicken-as expected-but the same price as a full on beef or chicken tostada. read more

Went on a beautiful sunny Santa Barbara day. No wait, quick service and attendence. I ordered the chile relleno and enchilada with rice and beans, really good. The tortillas weren't the best in my opinion but overall the food was satisfying. I dined with some friends who ordered other things off the menu that were pretty good. read more

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I've always loved this place. But today I was disappointed. Waited for them to come to my table to get my drink ordered or even my food order. Two parties came after us and they gave them chips and drinks and took there order right away. And we have been there waiting for 20 mins. It wasn't busy at all. And one of the servers were on the phone. Unacceptable. What a shame. read more

so many mex restaurants in SB this one is hit or miss, had some chicken tacos, raw chicken sent back and left! read more

Palapa - Monarch - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Amazing food, great ambiance, kind and excellent service. Will definitely be back. Thank you!

Great place to eat in Santa Barbara. I loved the fish tacos and veggies. wow. The shrimp ceviche is tasty and plentiful. The salsa and customer service was really good too. Heard compliments about this places fish and the delivered. Definitely coming back for this. read more

Palapa - fish tacos and veggies - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Holy shit ! This place is f*cking good .My girlfriend and I were going for a weekend drive and ended up in santa Barbra so we stayed at the Hyatt on state street. This fantastic little restaurant was in the same parking as the hotel. We ordered the beef flautas Plato and this was probably some of the best flautas I've had. This Plato came with FOUR flautas and TWO sides , I am 6'0ft tall and I was even full before finishing . You really get your moneys worth. My girlfriend likes to drive to San Diego all the time go get flautas at cafe coyote where they give you 2 flautas for 17 but instead we're going to start making the trip to Santa Barbara more often just for this food. I was very happy to see that you can order online and the restaurant follows the covid mask rules very well . One of the cook even had a hardcore filtered mask. Safe to say this place is now one of my favorite places to go to and I will be making the trip and staying at the Hyatt to make a little vacation out of it every time. read more

We eat here frequently because they have the best mole chicken enchiladas and fish tacos I've ever had! Believe me, I've eaten a lot of Mexican food because I lived in Austin Texas also.You cannot go wrong with either of those two entrées. We've been getting to go orders several times a week during Covid and I'm still not tired of those two dishes! I highly recommend this restaurant and they have a nice patio for outdoor dining if you eat it there. read more