State & A Bar and Grill

Flashback! My old happy hour spot. Great outdoor patio. Glad I got one last visit in. They are closed now and new restaurant is on the way.

I seriously thought I was on candid camera or something. I came in for a late lunch one day and everything I got here was absolutely wretched… even their drinks!
Its such a shame because they have a great location and a nice outdoor patio… how do they stay in business?
I must say this place also gets an award: the absolute worst calamari I’ve ever sampled in my life (and that’s saying something).

Good, simple food, and best al fresco. You will not be disappointed with their cocktails.

My boyfriend and I went here last night on our mini-​getaway to Santa Barbara. It was later in the evening, closer to 9 pm. We sat ourselves inside, even though the patio was very inviting. The chicken strips appetizer was good yet a little undercooked and it came with French fries! The burgers were great! Their Bacon cheeseburger and mushroom burgers were perfectly cooked, moist and fresh. Their fries were lightly seasoned, which was perfect, and our service was polite and verrrry diligent! I would definitely recommend this restaurant. And they also have live music on weekends and a full bar.

Average. Nothing special.
Over priced salad and burgers. Very loud.
If you want to drink… ok. To eat… you can do a lot better.

Don’t let the nice outdoor patio fool you. This place is just another crappy bar and grille. Mediocre beer list, and unimpressive food. Was in search of some sustenance this weekend after all the tables down the street at Opal were full. Didn’t want to leave Santa Barbara too late, so we stumbled in here thinking it would be a pleasant little gastropub. Prices were right, but the experience was lacking. Service was okay, but the food was… well…not very good at all. Played it safe with the chicken strips and fries. Fries were good; salty and crispy. However, the chicken strips were super processed. They weren’t those wonderful chicken breast strips that most other places carry; instead I got a glorified chicken nugget. Half of them were fried well, but two of them tasted burnt. Very unsettling. Boyfriend’s Guacamole burger was also underwhelming.

The menu does not have too much variety – it’s very American food. Traditional salads, steaks, salmon… nothing too out of the ordinary. I ordered the 7 oz filet with a «zinfandel reduction» (whatever that means! sauce, topped with bleu cheese and capers. Was definitely tender, but the sauce out-​flavored the actual filet. Too much. It came with a side of veggies which seemed reasonably fresh, and I got a side of fettucine alfredo. Yes, the restaurant offers the alfredo as a side! I also got a side of vegetable soup – kind of bland, too tomato-​y.
The outdoor seating is really nice – cozy and slightly romantic.

Lovely patio, Natalie was so attentive and helpful, and our food (halibut sandwich, fish & chips, and grilled pastrami & Swiss) were delicious!
Looking forward to our next visit!!!

AVERAGE!
The only way to describe this place. Had the sirloin steak salad, the meat was over cooked, huge inedible pieces, onions were the same (huge) but raw and not seasoned. Also had the chicken tacos, which were under seasoned, dry and uninspired (also wayyy to big to eat without a fork).
2 drinks + 2 cheap entrees = $ 42
Drinks are good though.
2.75 stars

This place was recommended for great burgers by the guy at Hertz when he delivered my rental to me, so I decided to try it… great recommendation!
My mom and I had the guacamole burgers — delicious! My mom usually does not like hamburgers and she finished this one. I had the fries and she had a salad, it was a huge portion.
We got to eat in the outside patio and enjoy people watching on State Street.
Service was good, staff friendly, the restaurant was clean and the bathrooms were too. Definitely recommend this place, of course there were other options but we went what was recommended, maybe next time I will try something else.

When I ordered a black velvet (or snakebite. basically any cider topped w/​Guiness) the bartender basically said that my order was fancy and that the establishment was only «State and A». So that sums up their food as well.
Anyone who makes a big deal about a black velvet order shouldn’t be in the bartending business.
I think the only reason why this place is still in business is because of its location a lovely patio area (as it always reserved for wedding receptions and what not). So heed my word of caution when entering this place.

You’re probably wondering why i ate at a place with only 2 and a half stars, yeah?
Well, i am too.
Just kidding. But really, it wasn’t that bad. The 2 places my friends and i were planning on going to were both closed! They must have closed for the whole Christmas weekend. Boo :(! So, Unilocalless and pretty hungry, we stumbled across this place and it looked quite nice from the outside. We took a glance at the menu and it seemed pretty promising. Burgers, salads, drinks, etc. Pretty basic stuff.
We were planning on going somewhere with a decent selection of drinks, but as soon as we got the drink menu (being as hungover as we all were) we immediately changed our minds, haha. It was sad. But for once in my life, water sounded so much better than a glass of beer. Weird. :/​
Anyway, i got my usual veggie burger with sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions, and swiss. Except they forgot my grilled onions and i didn’t notice until half-​way through my burger. The burger was alright, definitely not the best veggie burger i’ve ever had, but also not the worst. My best friend and i also split a Chinese Chicken Salad, and we had to ask our waitress for some extra dressing/​an extra plate like 3 times, and then she finally brought over the dressing, but no plate. Clearly she wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. But service aside, the salad was really good. I was really satisfied and ended up ditching my burger and just eating the salad instead.
I doubt i’ll ever be back, but for the record, it’s definitely not as bad as people are making it out to be. Pretty solid 3 stars.

First visit to Santa Barbara — we stumbled here for lunch.
Food was ok — service was pleasant — but there was a lot of confusion because their bathrooms were out of order. Isn’t that illegal?!
Customers couldn’t even wash their hands… one would think that they would have ran to CVS and purchased some hand sanitizer or something!
Great outdoor patio area to sit and watch the State Street hustle and bustle.

We were out with friends who were starving and we were on the north end of State Street. The outside of State & A made it look good. I was sooo wrong.
The service was actually pretty average. No real complaints there. They were also not busy though. I think most of the complaints were in the interior décor and the food. We sat outside and that was just okay.
My fish and chips were bland and below average. My boyfriend got the nachos with chicken and he got food poisoning from them.
I would say that I don’t plan on going back.

When you’re starving, almost anything tastes great — but not their ribs, the salad or their fries. The only thing that tasted good was the beer.
The fries were unevenly cooked, some a little pasty and others really greasy. The ribs were dry and tough — AND — they were actually served lukewarm. I’ve had supermarket ribs which tasted better.

It was OK but nothing to write home about for sure. We looked at the menu (probably the 100^th menu we read that night) and decided that since we were both hungry, icky and tired from the long drive down from the Bay Area, we just went for it. It was OK, edible, but nothing special. The halibut was a little dry but the salmon was prepared a little more thoughtfully. The veggies were crisp, but forgettable. The «salad bar» was definitely a throwback to the salad bar to my local childhood pizza parlor and would have not been missed if we skipped it.
The service was good, friendly and prompt. They had outdoor seating with heaters which made sitting outside at night a little more pleasant. All in all, we will not miss this place. Think of it as an upscale Applebees.

Food was OK, nothing special. Overpriced. Service is incredibly SLOW, whether they are busy or not.
Looks nice from the outside, as you are driving by. Ends the minute you actually walk in.

Didn’t leave a major impression on me.
However, the service is great! The girl was super helpful, asking for refills on a frequent basis and we got our food in a decent amount of time.
I had the shrimp scampi, comes with your choice of soup, salad, then rice, potatoe etc etc. I really enjoyed the rice and the veggies were okay. It consisted of green peppers, onions, and cucumbers. The shrimp was very good, but the seasoning of it I thought could have been better. The seasoning consisted of garlic chunks and butter.
The tomatoe bisque soup was so-​so, good but at the same time I feel like it lacked flavor.
They have hot wings and they were very good.
The beef dip sandwich is good, nice amount of meat on it.
The chocoloate and peanut butter pie was pretty good too. But the peanut butter taste overpowered the chocolate.
They have nice outdoor seating which I would suggest on a sunny day out.
Nevertheless, had a great time here with friends. We played a guessing game. Person, place or thing. Try it out! :D hahaha get a couple drinks and eat, pass the time. Gets addicting!
Anyway, come and try out this place at least once and see for yourself. I will be back b/​c I feel second chances are always a good idea… unless there is something to scare me away. LOL

I’m giving it 5 stars for the memories. My wife took me to Santa Barbara for my birthday in 1996. Saw «Mission Impossible» at the State Street Theater and then had dinner here. I just remember loving the burger I had and the company.
I need to go back…

I have two old memories of this place.
First, chicken strips and stuffed potato skins. That’s the State and A in my eyes. Come here with surly high school friends, we’re poor, we order the chicken strips and stuffed potato skins.
Second, my first blind date. Freshly 18 and I got stood up! Jerk. The odd thing is that he was there, at another table, I found out later. He was the stranger who paid for my iced tea while I sat there getting increasingly sour. Apparently he was crapping himself because I did not look 18. We never rescheduled, and then the internet broke on the scene which has been an appropriate time suck alternative to painful blind dates ever since.
But who’s to say there aren’t more wonderful memories to come with this establishment? For one, the State and A can throw down a decent halloween party. The salad buffet made for a superb coffin. The place was crammed full of costumed people.
The State and A is in an über prime location, and its past has been paved in mediocrity. I think there is potential to play up its lounge-​like atmosphere. I have patience and hope.
What more can I say?