Abundant amount of food and it was great. I only wish we had shared a burrito. We were unable to take our leftovers to go because we were staying in a hotel. Otherwise it would have made for a great breakfast burrito the next day. Service was fantastic as well! read more

Sweet service and food made with a more. The fish tacos were delicate and the buffet of bottled hot sauces made me tingle. We will be back to this local diamond for more polishing.......of the palate read more

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Great food, lots of meal choices one of my favorites is the carnitas tostada. The servers are friendly and knowledgeable. Palapa is the prefect place to unwind and to enjoy a meal. I will be back. Elvia is one of or favorite waitresses, she will make sure you are a satisfied customer. read more

CITRUS RICE. CITRUS RICE. CITRUS RICE. I can't emphasize this enough, I'll say it again for the people in the back...CITRUS RICE. Aside from the citrus rice which I clearly really loved. This place was all around such a good experience. My friends and I were craving tacos and stumbled upon this place. It's super cute both inside and out with the gingham red picnic cloth. The service was beyond nice. One of waiters even offered to charge my friend's phone bc he overheard that it was dying, thats some 10/10 service. The food was amazing. On the menu when I saw two tacos for $14 I was pretty hesitant since I usually get them for like $1 each. But it's worth. I got the fish tacos and they were both very filled with fish and veggies. I got the sides of citrus rice and grilled veggies. The entire plate was filled and definitely very filling. Everything is amazing and perfect way to end a warm day after the beach with friends (: read more

Palapa - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I What a disappointment!! I ordered a chili verde combo to go for $20.02 when the server delivered my food I looked in bag and asked if it came with chips and salsa .. No, not included !! For 3.50 you can order it. I have never been to a Mexican restaurant and not got a side of chips and salsa. Very disappointed!! Next I get home open container and couldn't believe I got 2 tablespoons of beans!! Now I'm really upset !! $ 20.00 for what??? Will never return !! The server was not friendly . I don't mind paying for good food but this place lacked good customer service .. they lost a cusyfir sure!!! read more

The prices have gotten higher since when i last came. But the portions look bigger! Also, the drinks are unlimited refills. There's complimentary chips and salsa & quesadillas with homemade tortillas that are so bomb. The service was awesome, the servers were constantly checking on us. They also have a kid menu though it's not on the main menu, it comes with crayons. read more

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Good home cooked taste. I had the hard shell taco and chile relleno combo. Definitely will return and recommend

The last time I came here was about a month ago and the chicken quesadilla blew my expectations. The staff gave us chips and salsa with free refills while we ordered. Not only do I remember the delicious food, but I do remember the HORRIBLE service that same day as well as today when I came with my family. We came around noon time, and we were seated outside on a hot day. The older waiter gave us our menu, and gave us extra time to order after giving us our iced waters first. I noticed that other parties were already starting to order, when we were seated before they were. We had to wait HALF AN HOUR to even noticed that we were sitting there twiddling our thumbs and waiting to order our food. We even finished our chips and salsa before we ordered our food. When it came to my dad's order, he decided to change his order at the last second to something else, and the waiter had to cross out his order on the iPad and even said "okay let me restart. You want THIS item correct?" after my dad clearly repeated it many times. It's not that the waiter had to ask more than one time what my dad wanted to order, but it's that they STILL got my dad's order wrong when all of our food came out. So, we had to wait an ADDITIONAL 10 minutes for them to remake his food. I'm absolutely appalled by their HORRIBLE customer service and their lack of attention to detail. When I looked at other parties around us, it didn't seem that busy either. I appreciate the younger waiter being very generous to us and fixing the older waiter's mistakes. Friendly staff, great food, but customer service is utterly atrocious. read more

So my husband and I decided to do mini weekend getaway in Santa Barbara! We decided to walk over to this restaurant and grab dinner. To our surprise it was absolutely delicious!!!!! Highly recommend this place. The service is great and the food is amazing! We order a dozen oysters which were very fresh! Definitely coming back to this again!!!! read more

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Best shredded beef tacos in Santa Barbara! I Can't get enough of this place. 5 stars! read more

I love this place. It's a down home classic Mexican restaurant. Great food, friendly service and good prices.

Great Mexican food. They have a great variety and it's all yummy. The service is also awesome!

Staff was great, food came out quickly. My only complaint is that I did not like the enchiladas de pollo. They were sooo salty I couldn't even finish one. I'm too shy to return my food but they really need to start checking their food for salt. Other than that everything was ok. read more

We enjoyed this place. Great service. Quality food. Big portions. They also had aquas fresca and a kids menu. Everything was fresh and hot. read more

Palapa - Siete Mares Caldo (seven seafood soup) - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

We just tried Palapa for the first time last Friday and were so impressed. They did not skimp on anything and our enchiladas and quesadillas were huge! My shrimp quesadilla was packed with so much delicious shrimp. Their queso dip was amazing. It was supposed to be the appetizer but it filled us up right away. They have heaters which kept us warm as we ate on a windy night. Service was great and they were all so friendly. Also, non-happy hour beers for less than $3?! Definitely coming back! read more

I would've given them 3 stars because their food is decent but their level of service is just rude. For starters when ordering my meal I had a few questions about the Chilaqules dish and the waiter looked at me like I was annoying him which was rude. Secondly they didn't ask me how I even wanted my eggs with my meal like restaurants usually do when I order this. And after we got our food they didn't check on us one time to see if we enjoyed it or needed anything else. Oh and when I asked for a straw the waiter put his finger up gesturing me to wait. Not a fan of this place and their service at all. They also took forever to give us our bill and didn't pick up on any body language. Smh waste of time and money! read more

Food was great and came out quite fast. I did specifically say I did not want beans due to an allergy in my meal and it was delivered w beans. I asked for them to re do it and they apologized and redid it. Food was tasty and is a great spot in Santa Barbara. Would recommend read more

Palapa - Chicken Chimichanga - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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I was a little surprised that the tacos had no lettuce and tomato... And that I couldn't get a real margarita just a fake one...

I LOVED this place. I can't believe I've lived here the majority of my 50+ years and never ate here! So authentic, very sweet staff, and really yummy food! We'll be back. And back! read more

I love this place for lunch! They have a good selection at very reasonable prices and $10 lunch specials. As one of the side items they offer green rice which is one of my faves when dining here. Give it a try! Trust me it's really good. One of my favorite dishes has to be the Filete de Pescado. This is basically a tilapia fish cooked in your choice of sauce. I usually go for the Al Ajo Garlic sauce. It's garlicky and buttery. Such great flavor! It goes well with the grilled veggies and I like to mix mine with the sauce. The fish tacos are delicious here too so if you like seafood i would recommend you start with these two meals. Or the special of the day if they are offering whole fried fish. I've enjoyed their mole enchiladas, taquitos, chile verde, and some of the combo plates. They have a very reasonable happy hour Mon. - Thurs. from 3-6pm They advertise margaritas at $3 but they really aren't your typical margarita since they only have a beer and wine liquor license, so they can't provide tequila in the margarita but instead use wine. So think of it as a Winerita. The only down fall about this place is the location! The parking lot is not easy to get in and out of since it's located on a busy street; especially during the weekdays. The exterior looks run down and to be honest it's not the best looking restaurant BUT the food is pretty darn good depending on what you order. I have yet to have a bad meal served to me here. The waitress was very polite and i've never experienced anything bad from their service, especially going with a party of 8 she even offered to ring us all up separately and that is pretty rare for a restaurant to offer that when it could be a hassle. Palapa is not in the best location but if you're looking to try something new and never been here before then give it a shot! You might just like this hidden gem. read more

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Food is delicious and atmosphere is nice with outside seating. I recommend going and sitting outside

I ordered a steak quesadilla and steak fajitas... this is the amount of oil it was drenched in. Totally disgusting. Save your money and go anywhere else. read more

Palapa - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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They screwed our order up twice. We will not be stopping here again. I'm glad we don't live in the area.

AMAZING! Took our 1st vacation since Covid and our hotel was right next door to this gem. Hotel wasn't offering room service, so we ordered takeout from Palapa. We (2 people) ordered Chicken Fajitas and a Shrimp Ceviche Salad and were 100% satisfied. $40 fed us for two days, the portions were amazing. Great spot! read more

Excellent food and service! Homemade tortillas and chips are fantastic! The salsa is just right!

Really good! Our hotel was right next door so we decided to try this out one night. We had the family taquito and flautas meal. Lots of food and really tasty! They even upgraded our drinks for waiting a little longer than usual. Definitely coming back the next time we're in SB! read more

Nice quiet place for breakfast with friends on the patio. Feels like I'm South of the boarder. We're regulars. There are countless places in Santa Barbara to enjoy breakfast but we love the atmosphere, or really the lack of, at Palapa. It's simple food at fair prices. Enjoy the shaded patio and dive into the Chilequiles (add chorizo) but don't fill up in the chips and salsa, this is allot of food. Friends love the breakfast burritos. In three years we've only been to dinner here once. For me, it's not a dinner place and the food did not stand out. As previously mentioned, there are so many places to eat Mexican food in the area, I just don't feel this one is dinner worthy. Breakfast is 4 stars but dinner is 2. Palapa I love you but the average is 3. read more

Palapa - Mexican Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

The first visit was good. The food was good and plentiful. The service was attentive. The second, and the last one, was disastrous. The food didn't come for the longest time. And the service was abysmal to the point of being deliberately offensive. The server passed us close by never but offer refills. Several times we had to go and ask for refills. And we have to go and ask for the check. The restaurant was practically empty. Inexcusable. read more

Server was very attentive. The lady, whom I believe to be the owner, quickly sat us down and disinfected the table and chairs in front of us, which was a much appreciated gesture during these times. We ordered two pozoles. They were savory and pretty authentic for a restaurant. I did wish they would have the chili paste that normally accompanies pozole. Then, it woulda been BOMB. However, it was still good. Great service, good food and fairly priced for the area. If it was hot, I woulda definitely tried their mariscos because the pics on Yelp look tasty. read more

This place was sorta busy on Easter Sunday but the service was terrible. The waitress should not of been in charge of the to go window and tables inside. You kinda just stand at the window hoping people stop pretending they don't see you. read more

This place had great service, great food, big portions, and a great vibe. We got the fish and shrimp ceviche plate, and it was massive and so delicious. Would definitely come again for it. The flautas were cheesy and very authentic. Highly recommend this place! read more

I tried this place during a stop-over in Santa Barbara on my way down to LA. The place has pretty solid Mexican food specializing in authentic seafood. Food was savory, not overly salty or greasy. Everything was seasoned just right. The food arrived piping hot without a long wait While the food was great, the menu was very limited, perhaps due to the Covid crisis. Also, only beer and wine are served. They do have a "wine tequila" which tastes authentic but it is "wine strength" and at $6 for 1 oz when this written, the price is pretty steep for what it is. At this price, they should serve wine-sized portions for wine strength drinks. I tried the seafood enchiladas a-la- carte. Portions were more than generous: two giant enchiladas stuffed with octopus and shrimp smothered in a mildly spicy, green sauce. I chased this down with a Corona beer and felt pretty satisfied. Others in my group ordered the seafood tacos combo plate and chile relleno a-la-carte. The chile relleno was a single one, and while satisfying, it was not really enough to be a meal in itself. Thankfully, they were generous with the chips and salsa. The next morning we went in for brunch and had shredded beef machaca, chillaquiles, and one in our group had a traditional pancake, eggs, bacon breakfast. All were excellent. The chillaquiles had the perfect balance being gently fried and not being soggy....a difficult feat to pull off. Though the spiciness was a bit on hotter side which took down the dish a slight notch for me. The machaca was excellent and served with plenty of flour Tortillas ( not hand-made). The "American" breakfast was pretty awesome with freshly made pancakes and super-fluffy scrambled eggs. The coffee is pretty mediocre though: it's essentially dark-brown water. Though we didn't go there for specifically for coffee, so all is forgiven. The portions are simply Huge! ... and were too much for anyone in our group to finish. Since we were travelling , we didn't doggy-bag anything. These dishes are probably best shared. For dinner prices are pretty high, 2X what they should be. For brunch, prices were very reasonable. But it is in Santa Barbara; and I was happy to find this place for my first Post Covid, SIP restaurant experience. Parking is plentiful, staff is friendly, and food is great. I can see this place being packed in a few weeks as people start heading out for dinner after SIP. I subtracted one star because the place looks bit run down and in need of a deep cleaning. Though, I never felt it was unsafe...it just took the ambiance down a notch for these prices. read more

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

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Excellent fish tacos! The rice and grilled veggies were great too. Good service and cute atmosphere.

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

Great place to eat!!! You should try it. I ordered aguachile, enchiladas and chicken strips. Everything was delicious. The plates are HUGE! The service was fantastic. Juan was our waiter. He was very nice, polite and fast. I will definitely come back soon. read more

Came here for the great food and tasty dishes. Service is always fast and friendly. Ceviche, shrimp cocktail, and aguachile are all great choices. Mariachis on Fridays and handmade tortillas on the weekend at noon are the best. read more

I did not realize until today this spot is right down the street from my work. I've been missing out! I got the Palapa Burrito and it was delicious! The chips came out hot and both the red and green sauces were great (careful with the red sauce if you don't do spicy well! )! It looks like I found a new spot for lunch and will be back often! It really helps that they are currently open for business still! read more

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

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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