The Summit

Driving back to santa paula decided to stop for my lunch break. It was a late lunch and a whole bunch of bicyclists were dining already. My coworker and I ordered a baskets of chicken strips and a turkey burger with onion rings. 25 minutes later the food is ready. The onion rings were cold. The turkey burger wrap was ok. Big patty but too little condiments. Barely a few onions and one tomato slice. The strips were good but it doesn’t take 25 minutes to drop them in the fryer. Over priced too.

Made the drive to sole park from Ventura to take our pup to the dog park. We hadn’t had lunch and decided to try that place we would always see when we head to Santa Paula. We get there and the 2 motor cycles that just sped past us had just placed their order (we assume they got there 2 – 4 minutes before us.) The hours are listed on the window from ?-2 o’clock (Sunday). It was 1:34 when we got to the window. The two young women do not acknowledge us at the window so I had to grab their attention. «can we order here» I asked. «No were closed» as we walked to our car the two bikers walk to their table with their food.
So my review is solely on the experience we had. Not on the food.

I grew up eating burgers at The Summit, and happily the new owner is doing it right!
The hamburger is the best yet; made-​to-​order, fat, juicy and topped with grilled onions. My favorite item is the breakfast sandwich with bacon, egg and cheddar cheese. Yum!

I live right down the road from this establishment. I have seen new people try to run it over the years and I have always tried to support it. The food quality is hit or miss, prices always high and service usually pretty pleasant. The other day all my husband and I wanted were large coke’s with a lot of ice. The price listed on their menu for a soda was $ 1.50. When the cashier told me my total for 2 large sodas was $ 6.48 I was shocked. I paid and while I waited for the sodas (which was filled with soda and hardly any ice) I asked again if the total was correct. A girl — maybe the one running the show — said it was correct, the price of $ 1.50 was for their regular sized soda. I have been in the industry for quite some time so you cannot tell me that a few ounces more of soda warranted $ 1.75 on top of the profit they were making on the true cost of about .20 cents. I told her that her prices were off the mark and that I was a local who would love to support her business, but with shenanigans like this I cannot participate or afford it!

I seriously drive 1500 miles from Tx once a year for this area, especially this place. Best breakfast burrito you’ll ever shamelessly devour in one breath. Trust me, Texans know breakfast and this is the only place locally that knows what they’re doing. Consistently quick and friendly. A little pricey but you get what you pay for. The burritos are 2 inches wide and over 5 inches long! 5.50 is very fair price. Ample indoor and outdoor seating along with plenty of parking and an unbeatable view of the Ojai mountains, The Summit is just a one of a kind eatery experience.

Under new ownership as of Nov. 2014, they have done a great job of sticking with the best menu items and adding more. I like the burger choices made to order as listed on a big chalkboard sign by the order window. They still make mean corn burritos smothered in grated cheese and Ranchero sauce. My new fave is the grilled cheese. I chose sourdough with cheddar (I know, not very original) and the cheese was that perfect gooey consistency and the bread was lightly grilled. I of course stole copious numbers of my husband’s fresh hot large cut french fries. Everything is made to order and with friendly service, it is the perfect stop when you are driving scenic Highway 150 between Santa Paula and Ojai.

This is a classic roadside burger stand that you don’t see so often anymore. A mom and pop operation, each order is done individually, so it takes a bit longer than the burger factories we have become accustomed to.
The wait is worth it. The various burgers on the menu are big, juicy and delicious. If you have some individual peculiarity you want to indulge, ask and they will try to accomadate you. The taquitos take you back to days long gone…
Great place to stop on your road trip through the Upper Ojai Valley. Tables out front to eat on while you watch the traffic go by…

Modest little place between Ojai and Santa Paula. It’s 5 miles north of the KOA… and a few miles before you get into Ojai. There are 3 or so picnic tables outside with umbrella for seating. There are also some picnic tables inside. Nice views of the Topa Topa Mountains. Order at the window and they’ll call your name. It’s a nice setting so don’t be in a rush. They are cooking/​making your food etc… it’s not fast food. BLT was great. Fries… just the right about of crisp (we indulged, but split a small order… and that was huge). Grilled cheese on sourdough was good. They also have Veggie burgers, milkshakes made to order (oreo, caramel, peanut butter… and more).

Absolutely fantastic breakfast burrito! Stopped here just on a whim. Definitely worth the stop if you’re passing through!

It’s been quite a while since I’ve gone to the Summit and I was pleasantly surprised! I ordered the Western Bacon Cheeseburger with grilled onions and Swiss cheese and a side of onion rings. The entire meal was extraordinarily good! A bit expensive but worth every cent! It’s under new ownership and the new owners are doing a great job. As good or better than the old Summit!

Just visited The Summit yesterday for lunch and I really loved it. I had a burger made with beef from Watkins Cattle Ranch located locally in Ojai. Wow! This beef comes from free range fed cattle. It was lean and delicious. They offer many burger options as well as a veggie burger. My husband ordered the veggie burger and really enjoyed it. I saw that they offer breakfast as well. A couple of options are a breakfast sandwich or a burrito both of which looked great. They make milkshakes to order. I loved that they offer indoor patio seating as well as outdoor seating under a tree canopy. Will definitely eat there again and again.
Must say that Kyle and his crew are doing a fine job there at The Summit.

Located off highway 150, this gem of a drive up restaurant will make you leave full and satisfied. The food is your classic 60s style burger/​shake joint. You can pick your style of patty and customize your own burger. Order the freshly made shakes on a hot day and your temperature will cool down. I highly recommend this burger joint.

If your on Highway 150 between Santa Paula and Ojai this is nice little spot to take a break. The BBQ Cheese burger was darn good along with an order of onion rings. The small but nice community is a great area.

Super solid burger stand in cute upper Ojai. Nothing fancy but fresh to order great setting and tasty assembled meals. They even got the crispy fries right. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Gotta try the shakes next time. Seem like a specialty.

Just got back from having lunch with my mom and my niece at the Summit! Mom and I got the Watkins Ranch version of the classic summit burger and they were soooo good! Bring your appetite because that is one massive burger! Iceberg lettuce, grilled onions, fresh tomato, pickles, special sauce on a sesame bun — classic hamburger stand taste and cooked to perfection. We also got a side of fries (thicker cut and served piping hot), an A&W root beer float (they don’t skimp on the ice cream!), and a chocolate chip shake (giant with whipped cream and a cherry on top). The niece got the chicken fingers which were also fresh out of the fryer and actual pieces of chicken breast (so good I ended up sneaking pieces from her throughout lunch). On a warm Ojai afternoon nothing can beat a classic hamburger, fries and and shake at the Summit! So happy this place is open again!

I am happy to announce they’re open again, under new management and better than ever! The new menu is set up build-​your-​own-​burger style and offers a ton of options. We chose the locally raised grass fed Watkins meat with pepper jack cheese and a ton of other toppings. The burger was cooked perfectly, amazingly juicy and paired with seasoned large-​cut fries, made for a wonderful lunch. We will certainly be back! Cheers

I respectfully take exception to Jimbo’s remarks about lack of hard work and not being stocked being the cause of the business closing. I always found The Summit’s food delicious and the employees were always friendly, even when they were super busy. The owner’s focus was ALWAYS on fresh, quality food and making people happy with good food from local residents. The owner and the employees were (are) residents of Upper Ojai, and that community was important to them. I will miss the people there, the delicious food, and the «home town» atmosphere.
As for hard work, I happen to know the owner worked her back side off. If hard work alone is the key to success, she could have turned that place into a national chain.
I had the opportunity to have several chats with the owner and her employees between bites (I loved their special sauce), and was so moved that she wanted to make The Summit a success because her heart was in it for the nostalgia of that landmark, for her community, and for serving really good food. If a customer wasn’t happy, the owner took it to heart and always (ALWAYS) wanted to make it right.
Sadly, as this owner and former owners know, it’s impossible to succeed when landlords fail to respond to the building upkeep needs, functioning equipment, and landlordy responsibilities.

Now closed… and it should be. It was always out of food. Run by people who thought it would be fun… and found out being stocked and working hard is critical to success.
The former team was much better… miss Karen.

I’ve driven by this burger stand many times on my way back and forth between Ojai and Santa Paula and although I wasn’t going anywhere today, I decided that it was finally time to stop in and try the food. I pulled in just after 1PM for a late lunch. I asked about the chicken sandwich, but I was looking for something grilled and this was fried chicken so I opted for the Turkey burger. I also got a small fries and medium Diet Coke. I wanted to eat at the restaurant.
After placing my order I went inside the enclosed patio dining area and sat at one of the picnic tables. I waited and waited, checking my watch as I was on my lunch break and did have to get back to work at some point. After ten or fifteen minutes I went back out to the counter and the lady said my food was almost ready. I asked if I could change my order to «to go» and she said she already had my to-​go box set up. In conversations between the owner and various customers and other employees I learned that they had run out of meat. They had turkey, but did not have hamburger meat. They had gone through three days worth of meat in one day. I stopped in on a Wednesday and the proprietor commented that today had been more like a Saturday.
She commented to another customer (someone it appeared she knew personally) that she wasn’t going to be there come this weekend. He asked what that meant but she wouldn’t elaborate much. She made a vague comment that, to the best understanding of someone completely ignorant of the situation (me) sounded like the restaurant was closing at the end of the day Friday.
One customer initially offered to wait for his cheeseburger, but then asked for a refund since the wait was expected to be another 15 minutes before any meat arrived from the nearest city. Another customer asked to cancel their chili cheese fries. The restaurant owner was very polite and professional throughout all this, even though it looked like a stressful spot to be in. She promptly offered refunds to those who wanted one, and offered me a free drink due to my long wait. I responded, «I thought I already paid for a medium soda?» not understanding. She offered to refund the cost of my soda since I had waited so long. Under the impression it would take longer to get my money back than to just get my soda (the last part of my order) and go, I politely declined.
Sadly, just getting my soda took another 3 or more minutes! The second employee I saw had to go outside the back to get a couple cans of Diet Coke. She was definitely not in any hurry. She came back and … I really don’t know what took so long to put ice in a cup and transfer canned soda to the cup, but even the store owner got a little frustrated, saying «She’s waiting for her Diet Coke!» The employee responded that that’s what she was doing right then. Somehow it still took forever.
I finally had my complete order and jetted out, only 30 minutes late getting back to work. My turkey sandwich was tasty (the owner had apologized for the extra delay, commenting that she’d had to use frozen patties rather than any already thawed because they’d been so busy). So 2 stars for the turkey sandwich and the store-owner’s graciousness and professionalism. No more stars for the extremely slow service, including the employee who had no hustle going on even when people were in a rush to get their tardy food. Also no stars at all for the french fries — they were horrible. 75% of my fries were overcooked, old and dry. The other 25% were extremely hot, but only barely cooked. No outer «skin» to them. Just a stick of underdone potato. I threw most of those away.
Well, I don’t know if this restaurant will be here next time I drive over the summit, but at this time I have no desire to stop back in. Total cost for turkey burger (no enhancements) plus small fries and medium soda = $ 13. Last comment — CASH ONLY here. Just to note.

This is a long cherished establishment in Upper Ojai. The very friendly new owner worked here in the 80’s and brought back the original secret sauce recipe for the corn burritos. The burritos are home made using fresh hand made corn tortillas made locally! My family had been coming here since the 70’s and having moved away it was wonderful to discover the craving I’ve had for 20 years was satisfied and true to memory!!! Great place. Come check it out!!!