The Pickle Room

Pickled Room Love all the old style red décor. It’s a great scape for the city vibes of Santa Barbara. Great place to see the locals and get a drink. The food is delicious. Love the fried rice and the apple pie egg roll. The smith burger and the veggie egg roll is also a must have.

Went in here the other day to try out a different place for happy hour. It was rated very highly so I was pretty excited to try it. I ordered a mai tai because of the fun glass, but it was the sweetest thing I have ever drank and I was pretty disappointed. As I walked to the bathroom I noticed the food looked amazing, and I ordered some egg rolls which were pretty good! The atmosphere was not at all what I was expecting, it was exclusively people over the age of 40 (I’m a student so I was looking for a bit of a younger crowd). The customer service was mediocre at best. My boyfriend had to get up to ask for the check and after waiting 10 minutes for it to come (which it didn’t), I decided to get up myself and ask the bartender to help us get it. Overall, it was an ok experience just because of the food. My expectations were unfortunately not met though.

Place has a good atmosphere. Had a good amount of people there but not swamped.
Waitress was nice but service was super slow. There over an hour, she only checked on us once.
Strangely had some Chinese food on the little menu. Ask the waitress or bartender about the place’s history. Got shrimp fried rice. The 2 shrimp were delicious. The fried rice was fancy and had some things in it I wasn’t expecting for a simple fried rice (cabbage, celery, & others).
Drink menu was very very limited but place has potential.

The Reuben egg roll was our favorite… But now the Smitty burger has taken first position. Although nothing will ever replace Jimmy’s this place is awesome! Groovy drinks, great service. A locals spot. Maybe I should post this…

Mmm… fried pickles and a pickletini! Love the history and vibe at this spot in the theater district… can’t wait to come back and try their other happy hour food items!

A must visit gem in Santa Barbara. If you’re going to a show, grab a seat, some cocktails and scarf down the food. Then take an über up the hill and enjoy the evening. Avoid all traffic and enjoy the night!

Their Reuben eggrolls are probably the best things I’ve ever eaten. The Mac and cheese was pretty rich, but I didn’t love the panko topping. It could be that I had the eggrolls first, and so nothing was good enough for me afterwards.
The Mai tais are good for those who love boozy drinks. The Moscow mules are great as well.
The only thing I didn’t like about this place was the lack of space. It’s definitely not the most spacious place if you have a large party.

The Pickle Room rocks! If you’re looking for something different to try away from the downtown scene then come here.
Dark, cozy, and a casual atmosphere is how I would describe this little hidden gem.
I hold this place near and dear to my heart because it brings back fond childhood memories of dining here with my family back in the day when it was the most popular Chinese restaurant in town. It was always a treat to come here for dinner and Shirley temples!
So to have a sliver left of what was once Jimmy’s Oriental Garden is priceless to me. It’s no longer a chinese restaurant but they do serve up great appetizers and burgers.
Now it’s Old Fashions, Mai Tai’s, Horni Margs, and more! I don’t normally drink Old Fashions but I can honestly say the one they handcraft here is pretty outstanding! Not to mention the delicious luxardo cherries you get with this drink yummmm…
The Singapore Sling and Mai Tai are also winners! You really can’t go wrong with any drink you order here and they serve them in cute tiki cups.
The fried appetizers are a must and everything I’ve tried has not disappointed. The Fried dill pickles and Zucchini are perfectly cooked. You would expect them to be mushy inside but these are not! Reuben egg rolls and Veggie egg rolls are delish.
I especially loved the fried rice! They don’t skimp on the veggies and I loved the presentation with the cute egg on top and Siracha smiley face.
I highly recommend you check this place out if you’re looking for something chill.

Love this place… so glad they reopened… fried pickles are out of this world… the burgers divine… the ruben egg roll is unforgettable… drinks are sublime… watch out for the Mai Tai it has 151 in it… really strong… but really good!
Super clean, really fun, great employees…
Oh! And super fun chalk board in the rest rooms!

I don’t know WHY we don’t have our next OYEE there!!! A few of SB Unilocal’s most die hard regulars are, well simply put… die hard regulars of the Pickle room as well.
The bar at Jimmy’s was a pretty darn hard act to follow. It was one of those great neighborhood bars, the kind of bar that is built through two or three generations of time. The kind of bar that people just don’t open anymore. Or do they?
Some bars just make you feel like ordering a double martini, maybe even a gin martini. While other bars might tempt you to order a Hendersonville Fizz. Go to Pickle room for a Manhattan, a screwdriver or an Old Fashioned. If you want muddled cucumbers with cilantro you can go to the fern bar down the road.
Bartenders are cool and the clientele are the folks who won’t look at you funny for ordering a second drink.
Jimmy’s of course had their Chinese restaurant attached so you could get one of their epic eggrolls. Of course this is gone now… Or is it? At Pickle room you can do the deli take on an egg roll. A Rueben Egg Roll! Very good. Of course you can get a Smitty Burger too, or a double Smitty Burger… or even two Smitty Burgers on one plate! (no-​it wasn’t designed for sharing)
I love that the memory of Jimmy’s lives! The font on their website alludes to that and the Jimmy’s Oriental Garden’s sign behind the bar screams it!!!
Now don’t go there. I don’t want it to get busier than it is.

I love the Pickle Room! Super casual and very comfortable. Service is great, drinks are great, food is great for bar food and it is really clean in there. I’m comfortable going in alone, cuz the bartenders will always keep me company! And you just never know who you’ll run into!

I love this spot. The drinks are strong, the bathroom is clean. The food is good, I love the veggie egg rolls. They used to have an apple pie egg roll that was amazing, but hasn’t been on the menu in a long time. Such a fun little spot.

The Smitty burger is awesome!!! I can eat that all day, er day. The environment is really cool for hanging out with friends. Always a good time!

I get tanked here frequently, which says something. It says that I probably have a drinking problem, and that this is an excellent place to get a massive, no-​effing-​apologies Manhattan. One of the few places in town that reminds me of an urban bar. It’s simultaneously clean and divey, always populated, but never so much that you can’t find somewhere to sit, and it has vegetarian food (thus fitting all of my requirements for an ideal post 10PM location).

Stopped in last night for an after dinner drink. We’ve tried going here a few times before but they had been too packed — no problem this time, just the right amount of busy. We were greeted by the friendly bartender and dug the chill vibe of the place. I got a Moscow mule and the guy got an old fashioned; both were perfection. We can’t wait to stop but again sometime soon when we haven’t just eaten so we can also try out their grub.

Cocktail Bar with good burger.
They have a pretty full bar and make your typical mixed drinks. I’m drawn here more for that double Smith burger (single? Please). It’s a somewhat greasy burger that just hits the spot. Tasty fluffy bun, quality toppings, and mouthwatering meat (insert joke here).

I had the Old Fashion at other places, but I think my taste buds say that The Pickle Room wins. I love this classic drink and it’s well prepared and yet so simple.
The bar tender also told us that they won the best «Clam Chowder» in town. The competition was held at the Bacara. They beat Brophy’s and the other places in town.
I must say that I ought to try it soon before there is a heat wave.
Their happy hour is a little bit earlier than other places 4:30pm — 6:30 pm.

Great hidden gem. Definitely will he coming back. Enjoyed everything about this place… loved the Ruben spring rolls and delicious drinks. Waitress was friendly and just the right amount of attentiveness for a busy night.

The first thing I said to my friend was «Why have I not been here before?». This is my kind of gin joint, kids. But don’t tell anyone.
From the moment you walk in, you know this is something else. Long time locals have fond memories of Jimmy’s Oriental Garden, open 60 years before closing its doors in 2006 and I’m thankful that with allot of love, the Pickle Room is here.
It’s the people. That’s the secret.
The people who work behind the bar. The people who brought it back from the dead.
The people who come to drink here.
There’s no place like it in town. The mix of patrons is business men in suits, collage kids in hoodies, old timers with canes, wheeler dealers, the hip and the down on their luck. The mix is what makes it easy to walk into and feel comfortable. But it’s the talent behind the bar that will make you stay.
Willy rules the roost with decades here under his belt. Dave mixes up a fantastic Manhattan and will be happy to shoot Fernet-​Branca with you. No idea why anyone likes this crap. Jack and PJ all tend to your needs from a classic cocktail to a cheap beer. Whatever you need to get you through the day, they will help. As long as your day starts at 4:30 and does not include Sundays. Because they’re closed.
Jimmy’s is not just the bar of bars in Santa Barbara, they serve good food too. You won’t find fried chicken fingers here. At least, I don’t think that’s on the menu. But what you will find is an amazing list of delicious food you would not expect form a bar. Here’s the trick. It’s part bar and part deli next door so there’s a real kitchen producing real food. Here’s what you’ll want to order.
Reuben Egg Rolls. Don’t think about it. Just order it along with some fried rice and the burger. Bob likes to joke the food creations are chef Weston Richards (yes, created by a real, live chef from Julien, Les Marchand, his own Spare Parts Bistro) and his sons but the burger is all Bob. Or maybe it’s Bob’s uncle’s I can’t remember. Regardless of the origin, you’ll want to try it.
Live Jazz plays on the third Tuesday of each month and it’s always a good time at The Pickle Room. Order a Pickle Martini, some reuben egg rolls and get to know the people around you. Trust me on this one. I may not be from the old school of Jimmy’s but I’m happy to take my seat at the table of the Pickle Room.
I’ll see you at the bar.

My co-​workers took me here after our happy hour gathering. The Chinese characters on the wall first caught my attention. The decoration are unique and there are some beautiful drawings on the wall. I was told it was an Chinese restaurant which was called Jimmy’s oriental garden before the ownership was changed.
The drinks we ordered tasted good… And the cup was so~~ cute! …Hand a great time to hang out with these lovely people (^o^)