Eller’s Doughnut House & Bakery

The clerk, of Asian descent, ignored us standing there and kept talking on the phone. When you finally asked if we wanted something, we started to speak and she walked away. We asked the other clerk to help us and all she did was fetch the first rude clerk; when she finally helped she acted as if she couldn’t be bothered. I honestly felt like it was racist, as she kept speaking to the other patrons in the store around us. She’ll never see me again; California is full of donut places.

Stumbled upon this spot while waiting for my car to get new tires a few doors down. Came in for a donut and coffee and was very impressed with the unique ambiance. Got an old fashion and a coffee, they threw in a few free donut holes and I liked those the best! Fun to kick back and watch the varieties that people order! I don’t eat donuts often but this is the spot I plan to come to when I need my fix!

This review is for their Thai food at lunch.
Service is a blend of rude meets oblivious.
Value is low. $ 12.95 for soup served in styrofoam.
Taste was fine but all the other aspects trumped it.
That all said, I have been getting their donuts for years, which I will continue to do. I would never have their lunch again.

NEVER EVER GO HERE! The owner or whatever is the rudest and has no customer service! I went in and he got my order wrong, when I ordered an additional boba drink, he said he wouldn’t take my card because I was $ 1 short of the credit card minimum. Fine, you will never had to worry about taking my money again. The workers run back and forth between Eller donuts and this shop. Will be writing a review on both.

I’ve been coming here off and on through the years and as with many restaurants (especially smaller ones) the quality of the food seems to depend on who’s in the kitchen that night. They had a phase a few years back where they were dumping bags of frozen peas and carrots in the curries … took a break from them then. Ordered a yellow curry tonight (be sure you give them enough time. this is not a 15 minute pickup!) and despite ordering it spicy three times … it wasn’t. But I’m resigned to the fact that when they look at me they figure «Yeah sure… no way…» so I just keep serranos and Siracha at home always!
The curry/​coconut sauce in this dish is extremely tasty … very good. The chicken also had a good flavor. Given that the curry/​coconut sauce was the vehicle for the other food items present … I can’t say that the onions, carrots and potatoes weren’t tasty … but were they Thai ingredients? I know there is a curry based largely on potatoes… but it wasn’t this one. There wasn’t anything GREEN in the dish, no bell peppers, serranos, basil, baby bok choy, snap peas, cilantro or baby corn. So while I enjoyed the curry, I couldn’t help feeling that it was missing something. The portion is large but I think I ‘ll be trying out some other curry places next time…

Was recently in this place and won’t return. Very bad and rude service. Not a friendly place. Walked in and ignored for a couple minutes. I ordered a dozen donuts and as I was picking them out the lady started to rudely yell out how many picks were left. When she tried to tell me something it was hard to understand due to a very thick accent. Donuts were ok but not worth the rudeness you receive.

This review is for the donuts and the donuts only. I’ve had the Thai food, and was not impressed. But back to the donuts. Forget Spudnuts, forget Anna’s; this place has the best donuts in Santa Barbara, bar none. I’ve eaten my fair share of donuts in this great big world of ours, and I have yet to come across a better glazed buttermilk bar (with a hint of… citrus? So good.) Their raised donuts (glazed and chocolate) are the perfect mix of light and chewy; their cake donuts are fluffy yet dense on the inside, and slightly crisp on the outside. And they have cream-​filled donut holes! Eller’s isn’t really close to anything, but it is worth. the. drive.

I was kicked out today because I asked a question. It appeared the woman was trying to switch a bagel from the fridge with the fresh bagel from the case. I asked if they could use a fresh bagel. They told me I was complaining, returned my money and I left. We have been patronizing this place for years. It was absolutely the worst service/​experience I’ve ever had.

Walked in the store and greeted older lady behind counter… she ignored me… I browsed the menu but there was no prices… lady told me «what do you want» without making eye contact while she did some paperwork… I ordered some rice and noodles…27 bucks!!! She told me girl was on the phone and to wait 30 min… I waited 45 minutes to get really bad noodles that seemed overcooked and rice that had no flavor at all… first and last time here! Need better customer service and food is overpriced.

Thai food was bland. No prices were listed on the menu board. I asked to see a menu and then was charged more then what was written there. The not overly nice lady told me that prices had gone up,. I should have left but was hungry. 2 take out dishes $ 28! Fool me once, but not twice.

Holy noodles! Not only do I love their doughnuts but this is honestly the best Tom kah and pad tai of my life. We also requested extra spicy that came out just perfect. My stomach will thank me later. I regret waiting so long to try this! It’s a tad pricy but very worth it.

best nuts made from dough that you can find in SB. The service sucks and the staff sucks. But they still make a good doughnut after this many years. A pretty well kept secret and you must have grown up in the area to know about them.

Ellers is the best donut shop in town! You can’t beat their donuts when they’re hot and fresh. Friendly staff and great prices!

Damn good donuts and a friendly staff. I come here often and highly recommend their donut holes! Yum!

The ladies that run the counter are really great and nice. Always puts extra donut holes in my bag (not that I need them…)
It’s by far the best donut place in Santa Barbara.
But that’s not saying much.
That’s like saying you’re the skinniest kid at fat camp.
That’s not really a knock on Eller’s but the quality of donuts in Santa Barbara.
I haven’t tried their Thai food yet.
But — I don’t know how I feel about getting Thai food where I get donuts… it just doesn’t feel right.

Really good Thai food. Seriously… — in a doughnut shop! They often give free donut holes with your order.
Good Thai good is hard to find in Santa Barbara. I suggest ordering to go. Easy parking and convenience too.

Extra star for friendly service but the thai food tastes like dog food. Was getting an oil change next door with my boyfriend and decided to grab some lunch here.
I ordered the chicken lunch box and my boyfriend ordered the shrimp pad thai. Fifteen minutes later the lady comes up to us and said the cooks made chicken pad thai instead. Hungry, we accepted the chicken pad thai and got a couple bucks back. Both were absolutely terrible.
Also, the cooks aren’t in the actual deli/​thai place. Pretty sure the lady kept running next door to a kid’s haircut business unit. GROSS.
bad, bad, bad.

The Thai food here is alright. But call in prior bc you’ll be waiting till Christmas for it. I asked for beef; I got chicken pad Thai.
I’m writing this review waiting for my food to cool, it’s literally like lava in my mouth.
Booooo. But it’s ok bc their donuts are like whoaaaaa. The bomb.

Impressions of Eller’s Doughnuts: Thick. Soft. Generous glaze. Very broad selection. The buttermilk was so totally obscene– it weighed at least a ¼ pound and the flavor was that thick rich buttermilk flavor that Chicago so sorely needs to learn a lesson in.
Plain donut — crust is better-​than-​average, but still in the middle range. Delicious dough. I could gorge on these.
Maple is okay. Lighter crust, heavy glaze, decent flavor.
Yeast are average.
Overall, a very good middle-​of-​the-​road donut for people who don’t like greasy donuts, but don’t like a lightweight taste, either.

The donuts here are pretty decent. Fresh and Tasty.
The owners have made this a combination donut store, convenient store, clothing/​accessory store, and thai food store. The thai food is okay, just the typical food geared towards american. It takes a while to cook it but you get plenty of it for the price.
The workers are definitely thai, when I was by the last time, thai drama was playing in the waiting area/​dining room. The parking lot is a bit small but is typically empty with high turn over.