Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar

Good stuff. If you like this place, next time you go to San Francisco go to a place called Lime Tree and ask for Laksa. You are welcome.

Tasty spot inside of the Santa Barbara Public Market. One of the two bustling places inside (the other one is the ice cream!)
My boyfriend and I were seated at the bar where we could see all the action in the kitchen. We started with larb lettuce tacos which were tasty. I ordered the Bangkok Street Noodle Soup and he ordered the Hangover Noodles.
My noodle soup had a nice, spicy broth with lime and lemongrass flavor. There was a nice crispy cracker soaking in the soup.
The Hangover Noodles were similar to pad see ew with a great spicy kick. Good amount of mushrooms and peppers.
The service was great, they constantly kept our water glasses filled. The only thing that could have made it better is if we had more meat in our meals.
They have beers on draft and the Thai tea looked good, too.

Stopped by for lunch today and only had to walk about 1.5 blocks to the Public Market. My friend has been telling me about this noodle bar for weeks. Worth a shot? Heck yeah!!!
Ordered the Boat Noodles and watched them cook my lunch from the bar. It was quite an amazing experience to see noodles being generated out of a wok! Who would’ve thunk?!
My bowl was a glorious brown glistening with a layer of fat. Once the broth hit my palette, there was an instant array of flavors of beef, garlic and onion. I think the beef balls didn’t belong however I can’t complain. I really appreciate a complex broth with flavors, it’s what a bowl of noodles should be packing.
Duck buns were also to die for. Perfect execution on crispness of the duck. Cucumbers added a wonderful crisp texture as well. Well priced and easy to manage with the hands.
The highlight would have to be watching my dish being formulated from start to finish, you really get a sense of pride. The owner guy seemed like a firm individual (little mustache man), but I would shake his hand if I could to thank him for an awesome experience not only via taste but visually.
I wish they would open up a larger restaurant, they would do well! Bravo!
5 STARS. *****

Delicious! Legitimately Asian, too. Love the little hip indoor market where this stand is located. The street noodle soup was delicious. The only thing I might mention is that I’m allergic to shellfish and I did get sick afterwards, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the food. It’s possible that there are traces of shellfish in that soup, just in case anyone reading this also has a shellfish allergy.

I love this place. I’ve gone here 3 times so far, and I will continue to eat. The service is friendly, and relatively quick for my Pad Thai. However, the price point does turn me off quite a bit. Everything in the Santa Barbara Open Market is quite pricey, so I can’t complain. I also wish they didn’t charge to make the food spicier since without added spice it has zero kick.
Overall, great place with great food. Get food before lunch rush or you’re gonna be met with a packed noodle place.

I love this place! Was surprised to found this place inside the public market.
We got the Roasted duck bun and it was really good! My fav!
And I love the Bangkok style street noodle, portion was not to big! It’s good for me! But for hungry man you might want to eat salad or appetizer, they all yummy!
Definitely a place to eat when you’re in Santa Barbara.

I had not visited the SB Market in some time, and had heard about some recently departed tenants. However, Empty Bowl definitely makes up for it with fucking amazing food. So good. I understand that they are attempting to be a noodle bar, but if they had a larger bar or more tables … game over. This would be the de facto stop for all Thai aficionados in the whole county! I had a large plate of the chicken hangover noodles (or something called that) that was only enhanced with the chili/​hot sauce condiment trio. Food was so good, and orders came up promptly. Seriously, everyone should eat here and then get one of those tiny cones next door at the organic ice cream place in the market. Delish.

Yummmmy! We went here the other night and I ordered the Thailand Curry Noodles. it’s classified as a soup, but since it’s curry, it’s not very brothy, but it’s delicious! The chicken was tender (it pulled apart easily) and the crispy noodles was a nice touch, both aesthetically and in taste & texture. The soup also came with soft, flat egg noodles. Those were good as well, but if I were to improve something about this dish, it would be to loosen those noodles a bit at the bottom as they were difficult to pry apart. They have several different spices that you can add to your meal, but my dish came with the right amount of spiciness. Not too hot, but enough to get my nose running.
This restaurant is obviously the most popular business in the SB Public Market. There is almost always a wait to get a seat (then again, there is very little seating in their designated area of the market) & there seemed to be a lot of to-​go orders. I think Empty Bowl has serious potential for growth if it moved to a location outside of the market, giving other asian food places like arigato & sama sama a run for their money. I would have liked it better if it was in a more closed, intimate setting, as opposed to a wide open, bar style setting.

Food: delicious but not traditional. I’m Filipino so when I heard somewhere in SB had pancit, I got very excited, only to be bummed that it didn’t taste the way I’m accustomed. Once I realized this place is not «traditional», everything tasted a lot better. (The pad thai tastes like the kind you’d get at a Thai restaurant!) This place is slightly pricey, though.
Service: as attentive as a bar-​style place can get.
Location: in the SB Public Market. Gets pretty cramped, especially during lunchtime, so try calling in and doing take-​out.

First of all the service is great — staff are polite, friendly and knowledgable. That alone is worth 3 stars but I’m only giving 2 stars because of the food and the crowded seating. The food is just Meh. Not bad. It’s very pretty to look at if you can find a seat at the bar. But it tastes plain, bland and boring.
There is crowded seating at the bar or at tables in front of the restaurant in which those served receive their meals with a lovely presentation — real dishes, glassware, and silverware. However, If you have a larger party or want roomier seating 15 feet away in the large, designated dining area, they package your meal to go – no fancy presentation, just everything tossed into paper or plastic. This is a bit of disappointment, but perhaps they are afraid you will walk home with their dishes?
I’ve tried 2 soups — Northern Thailand Curry Noodle «Khoa Soi» and Bangkok Street Noodle Soup. Our server recommended the Khoa Soi Soup as the more popular selection and it is definitely better than the Bangkok Street Noodle Soup but both are lacking in flavor and complexity. The coconut milk in the Khoa Soi makes for a richer flavor, although the chef is still shy with the seasonings. The Bangkok Soup is in a plain broth, with nothing to save it from blandness. I had higher hopes for the Noodle Dishes but the Pad Thai Kao San Road was just as bland and disappointing.
In fairness, the Santa Barbara Marketplace, where the Empty Bowl makes its home, is pitched as one stop shopping for tourists, so perhaps that accounts for the Meh-​Factor. Cooking for the lowest common denominator and the blandest palate so as not to offend those fresh off the tourist bus?

This place is so money! I usually get the Bangkok street bowl (noodles) and add some green Serrano chili to spice it up. It never disappoints. This is my favorite noodle house in Santa Barbara. If you haven’t tried this spot yet in the SB public market you are missing out!

Ok so we were really excited to try this place.
I ordered tom yum with tofu. It wasn’t the best Thai place I have tried. The food had too much oil. And something was off about the dish.
Next time I would want to try the pad Thai, because my friend liked it.
Other than that it’s a cute place, inside of the Santa Barbara public market.
Thai iced tea was perfect !!!

It’s Monday-​you don’t know how the weekend went by so fast or frankly how you survived work and all you want are some delicious Thai noodles.
I have eaten a lot of noodles in my lifetime and I have to say these are pretty spectacular. The Public Market was poppin tonight and my meal was still made quickly and brought to me in the beer garden. Now that’s great service.
I recommend the Pad Thai (signature staple) or the Chicken Lettuce Wraps for a healthier alternative. While some might think $ 13.95 seems a lot for noodles, let’s all remember this is still Santa Barbara and you can’t put a price on fresh. Your taste buds will thank you.
Great job, Noodle Bar. I love you.

Been here twice, first time I ordered chow mein, it was great. The second time I ordered. Noodle soup, a version of Phoa. Unfortunately the noodle soap was not good. The veges are too crunchy and the broth is too thick and smelly. It looks like they used the first boil of beef. It has residue and smelly.
I can not say good about their service because no one smiles at anyone. Unfriendly crew yet chow me in was good but pricey.

The public market is so unique for Santa Barbara and this is my favorite spot inside!
Food is amazing! Small beer selection but the ones they do have are great!
Small seating and if you go during dinner rush hour you will be standing and waiting for a seat.
A must try!!!

The pad thai here is excellent. It has a very unique, sweet flavor that I have only encountered in one other place — Lers Ros in San Francisco. The only downside with the pad thai here, that Lers Ros managed to outdo, is that the dish at this location is a little too sweet. Plus, the components are lacking. The tofu was a little too mushy, and the dish itself needs vegetables — because there are hardly any in it.
Overall, I would eat here again if I was in the area. It is a good place to get a pad thai. Yes, there is room for improvement, but it’s definitely a winner.

The European owner in my opinion needs to organize better. there is first come seating but no sign. I had to move twice for people. He never greets and appears unpleasant all the time. Servers are nice. Food is good but I hit the toilet within 20 minutes. I’m not happy the last two times. I felt hurried as well.
Good Luck!

After spending a good amount of time in SE Asia I have a high bar for Thai food. This place does a pretty decent job trying to replicate some of the staple dishes but comes up a little short of being really impressive
My northern Thai Curry had some nice flavor but there were too many noodles and they kind of over-​starched the dish. When I was finished there was still a mass of noodles that I would have gladly traded for more curry. The curry itself was very flavorful but didn’t quite have the sweetness of the coconut milk or the strong chili flavor you find in Thailand. This seems to be a general problem in the U.S. as the raw ingredients just aren’t as good. The chicken was all white meat and I would have preferred some dark meat and meat on bones to add flavor
The place is cool; although the servers seemed a bit grumpy at times. I think it’s slightly overpriced (12 – 13 dollars per noodle dish) but I guess that’s something you’d expect in downtown SB

Come get your noodle on but you better know the game about seating cus it is super confusing. First off, this place is in a building shared with other restaurants. Might be a good idea to tell customers that in your listing as the restaurant name is NOT on the building… lol
This is the spot for fresh noodles and ingredients tho! I will be back to get my noodle on.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting too much from Empty Bowl. Judging from a pretty biased first impression solely based on location, I expected my noodles to be a little on the bland side, and a little subpar in comparison to what I have come to expect of Thai noodle dishes.
Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar is located in the Santa Barbara Public Market. The layout of the noodle bar works exactly like a regular bar– you can take a seat if someone is leaving, but in the mean time, you have to stand in line and wait until someone vacates their spot. You also have the option of ordering your meal to go and finding a seat elsewhere in the market which I opted to do.
First things first, I love khao soi. And I specifically came here to taste their khao soi. Khao soi is a Northern Thai dish with flat egg noodles in a curry base broth with a slight hint of coconut. In this case, it was garnished with pickled mustard greens, green onions, cilantro, housemade chili oil and topped with crispy noodles. I expected my noodles to bland, but alas, I was pleasantly surprised. Despite it being served in a styrofoam container, and having to eat it with great difficulty, it was amazing. It was everything I expected and even more, it had a great kick to it. Moreso, I packed my leftovers home with me and they were equally as good the next day.
I also had bites of the Bangkok Street Noodle. Delicious.
I was surprised. The flavors of each noodle dish were not compromised and everything was equally as good and authentic as something you would find in Thai town. Come, take a gander around the market and stop at Empty Bowl for a good bowl of Thai noodles.