La Playa Azul Cafe

It’s a bummer, but I will never go back. The food was extremely over pieced. The beans tasted burnt. The beef was cooked without any seasoning. Grease was dripping from the tacos and running down my kid’s arms. The flauta I had was also dripping grease. The server never checked on us at all after the food was dropped off. After eating the bland, burnt, greasy, overpriced food without getting drink refills, we eventually had to go ask someone other than our server for a check so we could leave.

We came in for lunch on our anniversary. The food was pretty good, but service was inatentive from when we walked in and were walked past by multiple staff members veggie being acknowledged and seated through our meal when it server never stopped by until we left waiting and waiting for the check and our card back.
The food was good, but not enough to redeem the service.

This was one of our favorite margarita happy hour places ever, until I opted to pay my tab without looking at the bill first. Turned out the waiter snuck on a few dollars more thinking we wouldnt notice. Learned a lesson to always look at the bill, and never come back to a place where they try to steal your money!

Located in a charming house, this restaurant has a lovely atmosphere. We sat on the porch on a warm spring evening and enjoyed the lovely flowering vines surrounding us as well as the serenade of the birds in the trees. The food was good and the service was outstanding.

I’ve been here a few times now and every visit makes me love it more.
I absolutely recommend sitting on the patio. Whether it’s after dark with all of the romantic twinkle lights or for brunch/​lunch, you can’t go wrong.
The servers are incredibly attentive and welcoming. You can tell they are proud to work here.
The complimentary chips and salsa are amazing. The chips are fresh, light, crispy and warm while the salsa is some of the best in town.
My favorite thing on the menu is the Steak Ranchero. The lunch special is just about as big as the dinner portion and super affordable for how filling it is.
I also love their cheese enchilada.
I looooove their top shelf margarita. I would also rate it as one of the best in town.
Of all the Mexican spots in Santa Barbara, this one is at the top of my list for atmosphere and experience.
Can’t wait to return.

The food is amazing very authentic and they have the best margaritas in town, also they are kid friendly that is always a plus

The best Mexican food in Santa Barbara! The patio is delightful, the beer cold, chips hot and fresh and the homemade salsa is rich and flavorful with just the right amount of heat! The portions are generous and everything is prepared well and served beautifully. Enjoy!

Beautiful atmosphere, delicious food with lots of veggie options. Excellent margaritas!

Playa Azul is simple, authentic, delicious Mexican food. Lightning fast service and all the staff is super friendly. Quaint patio seating in a front yard setting. Reasonable prices and a great happy hour menu.
We had the pollo asada tostada and the pollo asada burrito… both A+.
I’ll definitely be back to this place next time I visit SB.

I’ve been going to the Playa Azul since the late 1970’s, a few years after I moved to Santa Barbara. Sure, my wife and I go to other Mexican restaurants in the area too, but I’ve yet to find one whose food and ambience is as good as the Playa Azul. We don’t go often, so its always a desired treat when we do… kind of saved for special outings.
My preference is the «Playa Azul Burrito” — its so good that I wind up ordering it every time we go there. That’s not being narrow minded, its just pursuing what I truly love to eat. The Playa Azul winds up being the reference standard by which I measure all other local Mexican restaurants. This restaurant wins out, hands down, every single time.
Service has always been great whether crowded or not, and the Larry Iwerks watercolors on the walls are a true gallery within this eating establishment. This restaurant would be high on my list of reasons why I’ve enjoyed living in Santa Barbara for the past 43 years– its that good of a dining experience, in my view.

AMAZING SERVICE. VERY FRIENDLY! We had are wedding lunch here the other day and everything was easy and went very well! They were very helpful and so nice! And of course, the food was excellent as always! They gave us the outside eating area which was beautiful. The music plays softly in the ambience so its not overwhelming and you can hear others talk. The black metal grate tables were topped with white table clothes thanks to the workers. It was great, thanks again and don’t hesitate to have your party here!

First off, GREAT customer service! I have come here a couple of times, and ordered different things. In my opinion, it’s American-​style Mexican food, but it’s OMG GOOD! Also, they don’t mess around with their mixed drinks. You won’t ever get a watered down drink here. The outside seating at night is amazing, cute for a casual date. The restaurant itself looks like a house, so you get a very down to earth environment (also making it great for a girlfriend brunch/​lunch).

Meh. Service was good, but wasnt impressed with the food after all the glowing reviews. Nachos were good enough; taquitos were very spicy but otherwise dry & not particularly flavorful. Also our margaritas tasted odd.
Outdoor patio was atmospheric & nice but I doubt I’ll be back.

In some ways this restaurant reminds me of the The Ivy in L.A. in that it is a restaurant created in a former house. In addition, it’s décor is Americana (similar to The Ivy) with a bit of a funky edge. That being said, the menu here is very different in that this is a Mexican restaurant.
As far as the restaurant itself goes, there interior dining is nice and clean and the tables are well-​spaced so you do not feel like you are dining on-​top of other guests. There is no air conditioning, however. Which does make interior dining, in the summer months, a bit warm. They do have overhead fans. They work well but obliviously not as good as air-​con.
La Playa Azul Café also has outdoor dining on a large patio which is where I recommended having your meal. It is obviously airy and open. From there, you have a nice view of the street and it provides you with an overall more comfortable dining experience.
The restaurant has both male and female restrooms which are large and clean.
In terms of the food, it is good. It is traditional Cali Mexican with good flavors and a few unique presentations. They have a large section of beer and cocktails and a pretty good choice of wines.
Overall this restaurant is okay. But, it is does have a few less than ideal components that you need to keep in mind. The service is a little if-​y. You can wait for quite a while. And, sometimes they don’t really listen to you, making mistakes with your order. For example, the last time I ate there I ordered a Dos Equis with my lunch. Only one! They brought us two. Finding this amusing we were joking and stating, «I guess I should have said, ‘Uno Do Equis so he would not have gotten the idea, dos, Dos Equis.’» But, I rolled with it and drank them both.
Also, the last time I was there, I notice that the house red wine sat outside in the sun, in its carafe, throughout our entire lunch, waiting for its next request. (You can see it in my photo). For all of us who drink wine, I believe we can understand, that is not the way to treat wine, house wine or otherwise. So, overall, this place is okay. You just need to know what to expect.

I was really excited about eating hear after a super Mexican craving! The restaurant was recommended to me by a Santa Barbara native with a discerning palate — especially for Mexican food — and the beautiful twinkling lights and romantic ambiance seemed to secure her review. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The service was spotty and inattentive — even with a nearly empty restaurant. My margarita was flavorful but WAY too strong. The chips and salsa were meh — not homemade tasting, not corn, and too salty. The enchiladas were decent but not up to the quality I was expecting. It was wonderful to look around and enjoy the scenery and to sit outside on a beautiful night, but I would definitely not go back for the food.

First time in Santa Barbara, the city is quiet, peaceful and colorful. I was looking for a restaurant with a terrace on the sun and with charm; I can tell this is exactly the place I was looking for! The terrace is gorgeous and the staff ready to welcome you without a reservation. The food is excellent and tasty, I was not starving and took the shrimp. They were cooked perfectly and well presented. The service is fast but not too much so you have time to enjoy the terrace. Overall I loved that place and will surely come back to that terrace.

At the time that i cam here, the place should have been ready for customers to go and sit outside,. but it was not. The location where i was seated at it was nice because the fresh breeze did feel good but then at the same time certain leaves or stuff will fall onto the table.
but other than that, the service was really great the place seemed very welcoming and making suggestions which is great.
I would definitely come here again.

This place deserves another star for their happy hour! I tend to forget about this place since it’s located away from the usual places you tend to think of when it comes to happy hour. The service was great this time and our waiter was very attentive.
For a party of 3 and 4 happy hour drinks later with 2 appetizers ordered, free chips & salsa, our bill came out to $ 32 bucks! You can’t beat that price. It’s always nice to sit on the patio outside, especially when the weather is warm, but if you happen to go during the evening on a cool night they do have outside heaters that keep you warm.
Give this place a try if you haven’t already!

The Blue Beach Café! What does that mean? Blue Beach? Hmmmm sounds better in Spanish.
Playa Azul is a Santa Barbara staple. I can’t remember when it wasn’t around it has been so long! So you would expect that Playa Azul would be kind of «old school» Mexican food, and when you look a the menu it kind of is. They have a lot of the traditional combination plates like taco and enchilada with rice and beans or a chile relleno and burrito. But they also have some wonderful stand alone dishes that would make anyone’s mouth water.
While I don’t really think that they have the absolute best Mexican food in Santa Barbara they are certainly top tier. While they don’t have a salsa bar they do give you some very tasty salsa to go with your chips.
I recommend their margarita as well! You don’t have to go fancy, the house margarita is absolutely wonderful.
One of the nice things of course is the great patio. A great place to sit, sip and crunch a few chips.
Certainly the only Mexican restaurants in this town that are better are some of the hole-​in-​the-​wall places or are too busy to accommodate a group. If you want Mexican food for an office party or a rehearsal dinner I would suggest that this place is absolutely your best bet.

We arrived on a lazy afternoon and the outdoor seating ambiance seemed promising. Unilocal had a solid 4 stars and since we’re just visiting, we figured we can’t go wrong with Mexican cuisine.
My husband ordered the carne asada burrito and I had some chicken breast entrée with red tomatoes based sauce. My chicken was tender and I opted to have double salad versus beans and rice. My salad was served in the same plate as my entrée and that’s always a turn off with hot food mixed with my cold salad. My husband’s burrito was simple and he didn’t enjoy his meal since the carne asada was not seasoned or cooked well for that matter.
The free chips and salsa held us over until the food came out. You can go wrong with freshly fried tortilla chips, but my husband did enjoy their salsa.
Their drinks are strong and for me it’s wasn’t a good ratio. I enjoy my margaritas with the right amount of alcohol and lemon flavor. This drink was made way too strong and some people may enjoy it, but I beg to disagree. I’m here to enjoy a drink, not get wasted.
The service wasn’t too bad and the place wasn’t packed, so we got the right amount of attention and service. Unfortunately, this is hardly considered a reliable source of good Mexican food when it is a hit or miss depending on what you order here.