Paradise Store & Grill

Oh no! They’re closed for good! Must have just happened. A shame. This was a great place to stop after a hike in the Paradise Road area.

Neat, historic general store… and so much more! Rustic little stop, seating on front deck, or out back nestled in the trees. Both have live music usually! Not a rock band, but one guy, one guitar, one voice. So enjoyable for 20 minutes, or the entire afternoon!
Two words: Tritip Chili. So good. Even if all you do is stop for a couple of containers of the stuff (don’t forget onions and cheese) and take them home. You won’t regret it. Used to do that on the way home EVERY camping trip we made to Rancho Oso. But don’t be fooled, this place may have the best burger in SB County. EVERYTHING on the menu is fantastic… and even a little better due to ambiance.
Don’t sell yourself short. Stop here at the Paradise Store.

Nice people. Did not try the food. the rating is for the 10 $ they charged for a very small box of firewood.

We had the garden burger with onion rings and it tasted sooo good. The buns were fresh and round and shiny ! Veggies were fresh and crunchy, the onion rings were gigantic and fried just perfectly. I haven’t had such a tasty burger for a while. This will be my pit stop whenever i am traveling to SLO. And did I mention the host was very friendly and so was her dog !!

This was the only store /​restaurant close to our campsite. And when I say close, I mean with in 5 to 6 miles. Needless to say, it’s our last chance supply store for anything we forgot to bring.
They have Ice, sodas, beer, some medicine, snacks, food, etc. So expect to pay a premium on everything. It was funny, my nephew noticed there were no price tag on anything. Yap.
I went on an ice cream run (it was super hot). I got 10 (small) ice cream bars, some ice and a couple of sodas and I was over $ 40 lighter when I got back to camp. Hero at camp, Zero in my wallet. hahaha.
They have patio seating in front of the store and a side area where they have a stage and more seating.
The restroom was clean
Look for the sign up front (as you walk up) for the sign or signs to where the restrooms are. Very cool. It probably has all the nick names for a toilet you’ll ever know =)
Service was just okay.
Lesson: Bring what you need or pay the piper what he wants. lol
2015 Review #105

Very interesting place. Went there on Sunday, they had live music; couple of guys, very good music. Went there specifically to try the burger. The atmosphere was old. Now, old is okay, old can be clean which this place ‘basically’ was. It could use a slight redo.
I ordered the ‘Monster Burger’ ($ 12.00), and large fries ($ 3.50). Now the burger would have been very good to great, but… They forgot to put on the sauteed onions and chilis that were on the menu, which is ‘fairly’ important… IMHO. The bun could have been grilled a bit too.
I actually would have given them 1 star but the fries were wedge fries which I really like. Now I did ordered them well done/​crispy which they ‘did not’ come out that way, but were still very good.
Service is basically friendly but non-​existent. They would have found out that the burger was missing ‘important’ ingredients if they had asked how everything was. And the cook stood by me a couple of times (they have a great dog), never asked how things were. The cashier went by me, never said anything. No matter how ‘outback’ a place may be, there should always be basic service, which Paradise is lacking.
Would I go back, no, don’t think so. There is a better venue near by with ‘great’ Tri Tip sandwiches, and live music on weekends. Should you try it? Maybe. Places make mistakes, it just happened on my watch. And I have 32 years in the food and beverage industry.
Thank you for your time.

Decent little store with critically needed supplies… therein lies the problem.
Picture this: you’re camping and in the middle of cooking dinner, your camp stove runs out of propane. Do you want to make a 1 hour round trip down the mountain to get a 2-​canister pack for $ 6.99, or do you run to the local market for a quick 15 minute round trip and pay $ 6.99 for 1 canister? Oh crap, we need ice… Where ‘ya gonna go? While everything in that tiny store is marked up to High Heaven, I’ll give that little place this much; they have a decent selection of random stuff you may desperately find yourself needing, the staff is incredibly friendly, and the tri tip chili is quite good. The meat is tender, the chili has depth of flavor and is hearty, and the meat to bean ratio was correct because they didn’t skimp on the beef. The tri tip sandwich however, was absolutely not worth the $ 8-​$ 9 they charge. On the plus side, the bread was lightly toasted, the meat was tender and the BBQ sauce was flavorful without being too sweet, but I had to search high and low to find the beef in all that bread. I was sorely disappointed at the glaring lack of tri tip in the tri tip sandwich. All that being said, they have a couple guys playing decent live music on the weekends, and because the store was ridiculously convenient, I spent at least $ 200 there over my 7-​day camping trip, which in hind sight makes me furious with myself! When we were there, the place had just been sold for $ 1 million plus, which tells you what a gold mine it is, at least during camping season. I’ll be interested to see what the new owners do with the place.

If for any reason you are already in or are willing to drive into the beautiful mountains of Santa Ynez, this is well worth a stop. It may very well be THE BEST burger in the greater Santa Barbara area, seriously. Don’t mess with this burger, just order it with bacon. A bucket of icy coronas on a hot day, a summer Sunday afternoon concert, and two burgers really can’t be beat.

I came here with my friends and fiancé for lunch. This place was expensive for what you get. More of a biker hangout than a lunch spot. Flies and hornets attacked as soon as we got our food. The tritip was dry and tough. Not worth it.

LOVE this spot! Randomly drove past after leaving Red Rock one afternoon and decided to stop in and check it out. The place has tons of outside seating and live music on the weekends. All of the employees are very friendly and the food is DELICIOUS! They have a pretty good selection on the menu, but I usually go for the tri tip, fries and hot wings-can’t go wrong there! The food is a bit pricey, usually spend about $ 10-​$ 12 per person. Dogs are allowed which is nice too. Great automosphere, all around! Even just talking about this place makes me crave a tri trip sandwich:)

WHAT A FANTASTIC SPOT. We saw this place as we were headed to our camping spot at upper oso, and it was PARADISE. There is a such a nice mellow natural vibe at this place. As we walked in, a grateful dead cover band was playing in the back lounge area. I munched on some tri tip chili (wish it would have been saucier) and jammed to some tunes and sipped a sierra nevada. The next morning i had a good old fashioned breakfast here and it was delightful… as a local guy Elijah jammed out on his ukulele.

Perfect place to go with visitors for brunch. Friendly service & a relaxing outdoor deck. Our server Miles was very friendly & he was doing a lot of tasks simultaneously. Food is a bit overpriced, but the location, service & atmosphere made it okay!

I love this place! It is totally happening in the summer time. We probably stop here 10 – 20 times during the summer.
It is a convenient pit stop before we head out to Red Rock for a swim. Also a good last place to stop before we go camping at Upper Oso.
On the weekends in the Summer they have live music and a BBQ. We’ve eaten here quite a few times. The food is always good. It has a unique and welcoming atmosphere.
Two thumbs up!

Nicest guy in the world that work there, was riding on our street bike and saw it and had breakfast there with my friend and it was delicious I would come back when I’m in Santa Barbara next time

What a find!!! We were heading back from Santa Ynez, and planned to stop into Cold Spring Tavern on the way home (Santa Barbara) when the Live Music & BBQ sign grabbed our attention… we did a u-​turn and decided it was worth checking out, and Oh My! Was it ever! I have to say I much preferred it to Cold Spring– which I love… but it can be such a scene sometimes! This was such a chill spot, with a phenomenal little band that killed it. Such an upbeat, friendly crowd as well. And I am not sure how I just read a review saying the beers were pricey? I believe our 2 drinks were $ 4.50 total. Done & done. I am anxious to come back already!

Just a little drive off of Highway 154 on our way to Solvang, we went to Paradise Grill after a recommendation from a local SB friend who had played during an open mic night there. My husband ordered the Paradise burger and the waitress immediately promised it would be the best burger he would ever taste! I went for the grilled (cheddar) cheese with added turkey. Wow! We both were happy with our orders. The waitress did good on her promise as my husband said it WAS in fact the best burger he can remember having. My sandwich was very good, grilled perfectly and hit the spot! We ate out on the outdoor patio and relaxed while watching the view of the Santa Ynez mountains. This grill is definitely a hidden gem in Santa Barbara!

How many times have you heard someone in Santa Barbara say that we live in Paradise??? So it makes sense that we have a Paradise Restaurant and a Paradise store! I looked up the definition to see if the Paradise store qualifies! The first definition that I found was «an intermediate place or state where the souls of the righteous await resurrection and the final judgment» So when I was able to get up from the floor still wiping tears from my eyes from laughing so hard I read this one… «a place or state of bliss, felicity, or delight» OK that was better… but does it qualify?
I have been to the Paradise so many times. Usually on my way up to or returning from Red Rock! I have exerienced overpriced beer and expired candy bars… but have I experienced «felicity»??? I have enjoyed some great music and met some colorful (albeit not very righteous) people. But have I experienced «Bliss»? On a summer afternoon when the valley is 106 and rattlesnakes are complaining about the heat, a beer at any price will make this place an Oasis!
Paradise might fall a little short as far as paradises go but I am SO glad it is there! It is handy, it is fun and it is an experience that you can only get when you are 20 miles from town.

This is a convenient general-​store/​restaurant for those outdoorsy people enjoying Los Padres National Forest. We stopped by to grab a tri-​tip sandwich (delicious), but it also has drinks, groceries, and drug-​store type things if you get scraped up while hiking. It also boasts live music and a friendly dog!

What a great find! We were on our way back from a Pismo Beach trip. Found the Paradise Store while looking for somewhere to stop for a bathroom break.
Since it was a Sunday, they had a cool local band The Fog, playing in the back stage area.
We decided to buy a couple of beers, stay and listen for a bit. The store doesn’t have a lot of stuff, but it did have plenty of really nice people. I didn’t get any food, but the burgers looked good. One of my favorite things there is the anatomically correct metal robot in the parking lot. I’ll try to attach a picture of it.

This is one of those places where you feel like you’ve happened upon a hidden gem — that happens to be in the year 1974. Right on!
It’s definitely a local’s place. Everyone knew everyone. But after buying a round of beers and hanging out on the deck for a while, we felt like locals and were treated as such. Even had a guy invite us to stay at his cabin that evening if we didn’t feel like driving. When does that happen anymore?
The store is bare bones like Trent R. said. Plus, we were there during off season so there supply was probably especially low. They had «Paradise Store» beer coozies for $ 4.97 each. LOL I guess they have to make a buck off the tourists. And no, I didn’t buy one!
They did have an extensive selection of beer available by the bottle. We chose a couple of Glissade’s by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co (
) that we had never even seen anywhere else. They were good and cold. We sat on the deck at a picnic table and enjoyed some live music. The place was busy for a weekday afternoon and I was surprised they had someone there to entertain the visitors. The musician was a character! He had Einstein hair and told us stories about meeting all sorts of famous musicians. He would also sing the blues like the blues are supposed to be sung. He would pick a subject and then lament over it musically. You never get to hear great talent like this anymore — especially in nature on a beautiful sunny day. This was worth the trip right here.
At $ 2 a pop, we sprung for a round o’ beers and that endeared us to everyone. The musician was so happy, and of course jumped into a made up song about beer and kindness.
We didn’t get lunch because we had just eaten at the beach, but the burgers looked delicious and fresh, with homemade goodness. The fries were thick and they had a ton of stuff you could add to your burger — salsa, avocado, etc. We’re looking forward to having lunch there in the future.