Casa Blanca Restaurant

great food, but the service was horrible it took forever for them to give us chips, they forgot one of our burritos and then when they finally gave it to us they got the wrong beans. they forgot our forks, and the ice cream we brought for ourselves. AND they didn’t ever turn on the heaters when they said they would. IT WAS A FIASCO.

Went last night, Sunday, for a mellow dinner. Food came out quickly and was very good. The service needs work. The food runner was the most helpful. She got us all the things that we had asked our server for but were forgotten. Asked the server for the check, nope. Had to get that from someone else. It felt like an intrusion that customers were there. No one wants to feel like that, especially for State St. prices.

Mediocre food and not too impressive service. This place is more conveniently located which is what led us here in the first place. Good chips and salsa as starters.
We got the tube of margarita for 8 of us to share. It is a good deal for how many drinks you get out of it for $ 65.

Emily was great! Celebrated with my birthday with my girls Greet service and food selection!

First impression was that this place is huge! It has a nice patio seating area and diverse seating options inside. The lighting is dim and sports games are playing. Noise level was loud, as was expected with so many people on a weekend!
I always judge Mexican restaurants by their chips and salsa. Fortunately, Casa Blanca was off to a great start with thick crispy chips and a big bowl of fresh salsa. Their drink options/​happy hr menu are epic. They sell margarita tubes! I wish I could handle that much margarita. I did order the margarita flight, so I could sample a variety of flavors. It came with the house margarita, prickly pear and blood orange. The house was pretty standard, the prickly pear a little too sweet for my taste and the orange the perfect combination of sweet and tart– definitely recommend!
For my entrée I had some kind of chicken plate w/​rice and vegetables. The bf had a carne asada burrito. My chicken was very flavorful and the portions were good, just a little salty. I wouldn’t say it’s authentic Mexican food, but it hit the spot.

Came here New Year’s Day and it was beautiful. Everything was set up so nicely. Good vibes. Great food. Joey was the sweetest and even offered us free dessert! Will def be coming back

The location is great! Tons of parking near by and I’ve never had to wait for a table. On Monday they have a great special! The food is good and the service was great!

Never had these at a Texmex place — and I’m a Mexican. They are like fried boneless chicken wings (deconstructed). OMG. Really good. Called — Chicharrones (yes, yes, but never seen them on a menu). The Cadillac Marg has fresh ingredients with a Grand Marnier floater — — - Super hand made love and delicious. Cool vibe but they have these beer and margarita towers. (never seen those before anywhere). You need to see them to understand… Bartenders were great, very friendly and attentive.

Nice ambience and music. The customer service was also well organized. We came with a large group for a holiday dinner and they did a good job. I ordered the Ceviche tostada and unfortunately it was not great. It was a dry and did not feel fresh at all. Don’t order the ceviche here. Others said their food was okay. I think based off reviews and my experience, the food could use some improvement. This place has potential with the great interior and location on State Street.

I had the tri tip benedict which sounded delicious unfortunately it fell short. Incredibly dry and overcooked thin slice of tri tip coupled with an overcooked egg and a sparse drizzling of chipotle sauce left me dissapointed. To be fair some of the people i was with enjoyed their breakfast enchiladas and the bloody mary was on point. Service was really attentive and it was a great place to watch nfl games.

Casa Blanca definitely doesn’t have the best Mexican food/​drinks in SB, but it’s definitely the place to go if you want the full, festive experience. Food and drinks are decent, but the décor is great, service is friendly, music is always on point, and it’s just hard not have a fun time there. It’s a great place to go with a big group. Prices are slightly higher than the average Mexican restaurant, but portions are huge. Check out their happy hour if you can!

This place is cavernous. From the outside, it’s impossible to see how big it is, but between the entrance and the bathrooms, I saw seating for at least 200 people. With all that said, I wish I could give Casa Blanca a higher rating, but I found the food to be inconsistent. This was the first time I saw a non-​pork option for pozole — with chicken — but it was totally bland and lacking in flavor. The guacamole was also average, but I do recommend the extra hot salsa, which when combined with the normal salsa, had the perfect amount of kick. The entrees were good, but nothing that will wow you. I have to give them props for the nice outside patio overlooking downtown, and extremely clean bathrooms, but food was hit or miss.

Great happy hour food/​drink specials.
I usually order chimichangas. Weird incident in which first 2 times i came here i had no cheese in them (which was fine, i didnt notice and they were delicious). Then came the third time and suddenly it was oooooozing w cheese (which is an oddly common trend in SB that i find unappetizing). The waiter gave me a hard time about this since the menu apparently states it has cheese, ignoring my comments that id ordered it several times before and it never been like that… but usually Ive had good service.
Another great dish is the garlic shrimp. The sauce is sooo good i mop it up with my garlic bread-​which is also great.
They have 2 outdoor seating sections which are nice. Indoors theres a more restaurant-​like section, and a larger section which is more sports bar like so it’s a great place to catch a game too.

Went in for lunch with a friend on a Monday. They were having a special where you can get two combination items that include tacos, enchiladas and a few other items along with a Margarita for $ 12.50. I got the chicken and beef enchiladas, which were good, not the best I’ve had but they were good. The house Margarita we really tasty and the staff was incredibly friendly. They also have TVs throughout the restaurant if you’re the type that gets bored.
Definitely had a good experience.

My favorite Mexican food from our stay in Santa Barbara. The chips and salsa were deliciously crispy and fresh! For my main meal I tried the shrimp empanadas — delicious. Wishing we had more time in SB so I could have them again. I highly recommend!

Viva la Casa Blanca! It’s good! The first year that Casa Blanca was open I was not a big fan because I felt the food lacked flavor compared the vast majority of great Mexican restaurants we have here in Santa Barbara. That has changed over the years and there is a marked improvement in the quality and flavor of the menu items I’ve tried. I eat at Casa Blanca weekly for a women’s Leads Club meeting that is held in their semi-​private room in the back of the restaurant. Through this luncheon I’ve had the opportunity to try a plethora of items on the menu which have left me craving CB for dinner and happy hour.
First, chips and salsa — very good! Thick crispy chips, served with a house made, slightly smokey & spicy tomato salsa.
Next, salads! CB has some wonderful salads! Two of my favorites are the Chicken Tostada Salad and Pomegranate Spinach Salad. The Chicken Tostada Salad is served a crispy tortilla bowl (you can opt for no tortilla bowl if you don’t want to be tempted to eat it ;). It has big chunks of chopped, grilled chicken breast, black beans, corn and sautéed green peppers. It’s topped off with a wonderful anchiote dressing that is slightly sweet and mildly spicy, yum! The Pomegranate Spinach Salad is also topped large chunks of grilled chicken breast, and includes, pomegranates, jack cheese (cut in thin strips), BACON, tomato and red onions. It’s complimented by a warm pomegranate bacon vinaigrette that rounds the salad off perfectly.
Soup! The chicken tortilla soup is rich and flavorful. It’s a huge bowl that can easily make a meal with the fresh avocado on top and the corn tortillas. I’ve also tried the Chicken Posole but it was not my favorite. I think it could use a little more seasoning and flavor in the broth. I’ve heard the pork posole is better.
Entrees! Carnitas Plate, I love it! Large portion of tender carnitas served with rice and beans, and a side of tortillas. I like to ask for the Carnitas to be cooked to a crisp on the outside, then they are perfect! The Burrito Mojado with Carnitas is also very good. It’s huge and packed with rice, beans and cheese.
Finally, booze and desserts! CB has a great house margarita, made with fresh lime juice and agave nectar. I love that they squeeze the lime right in front of you so you know it is fresh and not some concentrated mix. Lots of tequila to chose from if the well is not to your fancy. I’m really loving Casa Amigos tequila right now. For dessert, try the flan. It’s creamy, «caramel-​y» and delicious.
The restaurant itself is huge! Perfect for large parties, private groups, families, couples or dining solo at the bar. Customer service is good and the staff are welcoming and friendly. It seems that the General Manager, Joey, is always there and making sure things are running well.
If you haven’t been to Casa Blanca, or haven’t been in a long time, I recommend giving it a try and heading Unilocalers advice on what to order (or not order). I think you’ll find something you like.
*For sports fans, they have a TON of TVS throughout the bar and main dining room area. This is a great location to watch your favorite sporting events!

Very nice place. Good friendly people. Lots of space. Asked the waiter for suggestions. Went with the burrito. It’s huge. I had steak, added guacamole. A little salty but very tasty. The salsa verde sauce was spicy. The salad on the side was ok.
I’d come back and order something different. But I recommend the place.
PS: I comment on bathrooms a lot lol. Theres has cool walls on the inside. Atleast the girls bathroom.

As dismal this review is, this is after all my experience. We went there as a last minute resort. The parking around the street is bad so we settled to this restaurant. I confirm the service is bad. I placed an order for Pozole bowl and they dropped in 2 bowls. Next was the pricing, they gave me a bill of $ 14.95 but I only ordered a bowl. Our server said, they have a price of the cup. I said I ordered the $ 8.95 bowl. She came back and gave me $ 10.95 bill for a $ 8.95 bowl. The service was slow. My daughter was choking and the server didn’t immediate served my daughter water. The chips have sharp edges that I even coughed.
Then we were presented a bill before we even got the food. That’s the 1^st!
Still I gave the server 10%for the effort. they have the nerve to put in a receipt 15% tip 20% tip when their service is bad and a lot of people say so. They should have this receipt feature removed.
Worst service goes to this place. Will never come back again.

Oh my gosh, talk about a place were 20-​somethings go to get trashed on a weekend night. There were so many overly drunk people the night we popped in for a quick after dinner drink after our dinner at the Lark. This place is exactly what you would expect; ok Mexican food in an okay atmosphere. Can’t speak to the food or service as we only did a round of drinks, but from what I saw it looked «ok».

So my manager’s boss requests Mexican food every year for our offsite dinner.
Our criteria required the following:
Able to accommodate 45 people
Walking distance from our hotel
Had margaritas
Be on budget
We did find various options and contacted all of them for prices and group menus.
One place was going to charge us a flat fee to reserve the space alone and total would have been way out of budget. Another place had a weird website with lots of college kids all over, with «fist pumping music» and reminded me of Jersey Shore for some reason. LOL
So at the end, we decided to go with Casa Blanca. They had a nice outdoor area with a decorative fireplace. They would provide heat lamps for us as well.
With a Party of 45, they did ask us to reduce the menu choices ahead of time. So we went with the following:
APPETIZER — Chips with salsa and guacamole
ENTREES — Choice of Enchilada, Chicken Mole Poblano, Burrito Mojado, Carne Asada, Baja Fish Tacos
DESSERT — Vanilla Bean Flan
The service was really slow which is understandable for a large party, but even with that in consideration… it was extremely slow.
They took our drink orders and it was almost 30 minutes before we put in our food orders. Half the party received their food first and it took another 20 minutes for the other half. There were about 3 people who didn’t have food and got their plates 15 minutes afterward.
Well now that we have food… dig in!
I tried the Carne Asada and my friend’s Chicken Mole Poblano.
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy my dinner at all. The guacamole was bland, my carne asada was overly salty, overcooked and hard. The beans were runny and rice was mushy. The Chicken Mole Poblano had «Okay» flavors. The chicken had bones in them and a little hard to eat especially in the dark. LOL.
The Vanilla Bean Flan was pretty good though.
At the end, the servers were pretty good about providing refills, asking if anybody wanted coffee and taking away dishes. With everything into consideration, I give them a 3 Star review.
Overall, I think the dinner went pretty well since I liked the ambiance of being outside. There were a number of rowdy groups that did walk by while we were eating, but we have rowdy people in our department too so no big deal. HAHHA.
As we were leaving, there were a few guys just standing around and called out «OH, ALL THE SINGLE LADIES!!!». Hah, mind you that some of my coworkers have children their age… Thought that was hilarious.
¹⁹⁹⁄₁₀₀ Reviews for 2014