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University of California - Santa Barbara - Off-Campus Dining

Off-Campus Dining:

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Quick Stats

Best Pizza

  • Giovanni's
  • Woodstock's Pizza

Best Breakfast

  • Bagel Café
  • Café International
  • Cajun Kitchen
  • Rosarito’s (breakfast burrito)

Best Chinese

  • Pick Up Stix

Best Healthy

  • The Natural Café
  • Silvergreens

Best Wings

  • Dublin's

Best Place to Take Your Parents

  • Hollister Brewing Company

College Prowler Take

This tourist city has anything that you might crave—and then some. In Isla Vista, go to Freebirds for 24-hour Mexican food or Woodstock’s for unique pizza concoctions that everyone loves. Cantina is the best for breakfast burritos—even locals like Brad Pitt know that. Students enjoy the variety and the quality of restaurants in Isla Vista. There are good Mexican and Italian places in abundance, and plenty of spots to get good sushi. It is also easy to find a restaurant that serves healthy food, like Silvergreens.

Goleta, the city that encompasses Isla Vista, features a couple of good restaurants, such as the Habit, a good and greasy hamburger and milkshake place, or the Natural Café, an inexpensive and healthy restaurant. Santa Barbara, which is about a 10-minute drive from campus, has what seems like a million restaurants to choose from. A good place to go for a dinner that’s under $25 a person is the Palace Grill on the Harbor. This modest list just scratches the surface of all of the great restaurants to try, but the downside is that Santa Barbara is very expensive. You can get away with less than $10 for dinner in Isla Vista, but plan on at least $20 downtown.

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Students Speak Out

Love your school more than free food? Hate your school more than term papers?
Somewhere in between? Show the world what YOU think of YOUR school:

Anonymous says:

The restaurants in Isla Vista and...

The restaurants in Isla Vista and downtown are great. There’s a lot of variety and some wonderful places to choose from. Just about all the little places in IV are worth going to at least once, and most of them I am going to dearly miss once I move away. Bagel Café and Silvergreen’s are two of the best. When the parents come to visit, there are great places on the harbor and pier downtown.

Off-Campus Dining
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Anonymous says:

The food in Santa Barbara and...

The food in Santa Barbara and Goleta is awesome. Your only decision will be which place to eat. Isla Vista has some legendary and great quick-eat places. Goleta has some great finds, too. If you like good Mexican food or sushi, you’ll be in heaven in this town.

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Anonymous says:

You can’t find a better place to...

You can’t find a better place to eat than Santa Barbara. Downtown has millions of great restaurants like Palazzio’s and Brophy Brothers.

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Anonymous says:

Off campus, like two to four...

Off campus, like two to four blocks away, are plenty of pizza (Woodstock’s is the best) and sandwich places. Everything seems to be pretty expensive. Santa Barbara is one of the wealthiest areas around, so bring money.

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Anonymous says:

Off campus in Isla Vista there are...

Off campus in Isla Vista there are a bunch of good places—Woodstock’s for pizza, Freebirds World Burritos for burritos, Sam’s for subs, and Silvergreens for salads. There are also tons of food places in Goleta, but that is a 5-10 minute drive. The food places in IV are a walk from campus, or a bike ride away.

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Facts

Student Favorites

  • Café international
  • Freebirds World Burrito
  • The Pita Pit
  • Rosarito’s
  • Silvergreens
  • Supa Cucas
  • Woodstock's

Other Places to Check Out

  • Fresh Start
  • Palazzio
  • Sushi Teri

24-Hour Dining

  • Freebirds World Burrito

Grocery Stores

Trader Joe's
5767 Calle Real, Goleta
(805) 692-2234

Vons
175 N. Fairview Ave., Goleta
(805) 683-8764

Albertsons
7127 Hollister Ave., Goleta
(805) 968-3558

Isla Vista Market
939 Embarcadero del Mar
(805) 968-3597

Restaurant Listing

Bagel Café
Bagels and coffee
6551 Trigo Rd.
(805) 685-7114
Price: $1-$5
Good bagel melts and sandwiches
Hours: Daily 6 a.m.–4 p.m.

Brophy Brothers
Seafood
119 Harbor Way
(805) 966-4418
Price: $10-$20
Great view overlooking the water.
Hours: Sunday–Thursday 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Friday–Saturday 11 a.m.–11 p.m.

Cajun Kitchen
Breakfast and Creole
6831 Hollister Ave.
(805) 683-8864
Price: $8-$15
Louisiana-style cuisine
Hours: Daily 6:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.

Cajun Kitchen Café
Breakfast and Cajun
1924 De La Vina
(805) 687-2062
www.cajunkitchensb.com
Price: $5-$10
Coupons offered online
Hours: Daily 6:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.

China Pavilion - Montecito
Chinese
1070 Coast Village Rd.
(805) 565-9380
Price: $10-$20
Trendy atmosphere
Hours: Monday–Saturday 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m., 5:30–9:30 p.m., Sunday 5:30–9:30 p.m.

Deja Vu
American
966 Embarcadero del Mar
(805) 968-8888
Price: $2-$8
Delivery service
Hours: Daily 11 a.m.–1 a.m.

Freebirds World Burrito
Mexican
879 Embarcadero del Norte
(805) 968-0123
www.freebirds.com
Price: $5-$8
Huge burritos, all-you-can-eat contests
Hours: Daily 24 hours

Giovanni's
Pizza, pasta, sandwiches
6583 Pardall Rd.
(805) 968-2254
Price: $5-$10
common meeting place
Hours: Daily 11 a.m.–11 p.m.

Javan's
Sandwiches, grill
938 Embarcadero del Norte
(805) 968-2180
Price: $2-$5
$2 hamburgers
Hours: Daily 11 a.m.–11 p.m.

Sam's To Go
Subs
6560 Pardall Rd.
(805) 685-8895
Price: $3-$8
Outdoor patio great for people-watching
Hours: Daily 10 a.m.–11 p.m.

Silvergreens
Salad, soup, sandwiches
900 Embarcadero del Mar
(805) 961-1700
Price: $5-$10
You can order smaller portions of combined menu items (half & half and threesome orders).
Hours: Daily 11 a.m.–1 a.m.

Sushi Teri
Japanese Grill and sushi
909 Embarcadero del Mar
(805) 685-4822
Price: $5-$15
Take-out
Hours: Monday–Saturday 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m., 5 p.m.–9:30 p.m.

The Cantina
Mexican
966 Embarcadero del Mar
(805) 968-2862
Price: $5-$10
Best breakfast burritos
Hours: Daily 8:30 a.m.–10 p.m.

The Habit
Hamburgers
5735 Hollister Ave.
(805) 964-0366
Price: $3-$7
100% lean meat, bread baked fresh daily, milkshakes use real ice cream, fries made with 100% vegetable oil
Hours: Daily 11 a.m.–10 p.m.

The Natural Café
Sandwiches, salads, soups
5892 Hollister Ave.
(805) 692-2363
Price: $5-$10
Healthy
Hours: Sunday–Thursday 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Friday–Saturday 11 a.m.–10 p.m.

The Palace Grill
Cajun and Creole
8 E. Cota St
(805) 963-5000
Price: $10-$20
Great food without pretense; tamborine-playing dancers perform while guests wait to be seated.
Hours: Sunday–Thursday 11 a.m.–3 p.m., 5:30–10 p.m., Friday–Saturday 11 a.m.–3 p.m., 5:30–11 p.m.

Woodstock's
Pizza
928 Embarcadero del Norte
(805) 968-6969
Price: $5-$15
Cinnabread
Hours: Sunday–Thursday 11 a.m.–12 a.m., Friday–Saturday 11 a.m.–1 a.m.

Did You Know?

The Web sites www.nippers.com, www.diningsantabarbara.com, and www.santabarbara have many good Santa Barbara restaurant reviews. Despite Santa Barbara’s population, there are hundreds of restaurants to try.

A version of Shepherd’s Salad was invented in Santa Barbara. In fact, you can meet Mr. Shepherd at his farmer’s market stand on Saturday mornings.

Anything called “local’s favorite” or “Santa Barbara style” will include avocado and sprouts.

Every year, Goleta has a lemon festival, Carpinteria has an avocado festival, and Oxnard has a strawberry festival.

The owner of Freebirds is cousins with Kinko’s founder Paul Orfalea.
 

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