Joe’s Cafe

Ordered the sirloin sandwich. I’m a normal guy… Who likes standard, normal things like a steak sandwich. I received two slices of toast with a block of rubber on the side… On Valentine’s Day. Can you say aphrodisiac?

This was my first time eating at Joe’s. We had amazing service. Antonio was fantastic! If you can sit in his section I would request him by name. He made our experience one to remember. We will definitely be back!

Joes is AWESOME! Great food and phenomenal drinks!!! Frankie ROCKS and the management is so professional Will definitely be frequenting this restaurant often. Thank You :))

Absolutely adore Joe’s Café. We had an amazing server named Carol who truly must have been the hardest working server I’ve ever seen! My coffee was always kept hot and my water was always full! She had great recommendations and was just so fast and helpful.
I highly recommend the au jus sandwich or the spicy chicken strips! So tasty!
Have never been here at night, but I do hear they have the stiffest drinks in Santa Barbara! :)

Came here for drinks before going elsewhere. I’ll make it simple.
Pros:
Drinks are Cheap
Drinks Strong
Will do the job
Cons:
Tight space
Not many sitting areas
Can be a struggle to order drink
Got yelled at by an old drunk lady (50+) while ordering a drink
P. S. the people who witnessed the above act all agreed that she was crazy

Joe’s is my favorite restaurant anywhere. I live out of state and drive to Santa Barbara once a year. I make it a point to stop at Joe’s at least twice every trip. Service is good but the food is incredible. The space looks very cool and if you’re in for lunch the lighting is incredible

Excellent service.
The French dip has changed no longer thin slices of roast beef’s it is now thick slices of tough tri tip. We are in search of a French dip with thin piled high roast beef!

Fun atmosphere with a varied, good old fashioned breakfast menu.
Service was a little slow, but it was pretty busy when we came in.
Fresh squeezed oj was appreciated, as were the prices. 9.75 for eggs benedict? Totally reasonable if you ask me.
I had the garden omelet with hash browns and asked for it well done, which is exactly how they came out.
The whole experience gets a 2 thumbs up from me.

Weekend Christmas shopping on state street and stopped in for breakfast. Very busy happening place. I dig the upside down Christmas tree from the ceiling, so cool.
Ordered eggs Benedict, it took longer than I prefer but they were busy and overall it’s not a big deal. My order was good, we also had fresh oj and the garden omelette which she was very pleased with.
Nice breakfast overall, an expeditor might help speed things along when they get busy but who am I to say this place has been around since 1928 for a reason.
I would def come back.

We thought lunch started at 11 and oops! it starts at 12, so we had to choose from the breakfast menu (the Bloody Mary was already in front of me). Joe’s Scramble is new on the menu and it’s a motley mix of ham, bacon, potatoes, eggs and fresh spinach. With a splash of house-​made salsa — it is utterly delightful.
With football on the TV, we dined, drank and relaxed in the retro dining room with perfect service, fair prices and a relaxed atmosphere. State Street is ideal for a stroll and some window shopping after yolur meal. The street parking and city lots are free (or cheap), making this a perfect spot for a local or anyone driving through Santa Barbara.

I had dinner with my friend on last Saturday night, and the waitress wrote down «service fee is not included «15%=(10). Is it means we have to leave tips for 10 dollars?!? We are Chinese, and she was worried Chinese don’t leave tips or she Discrimination about us? Let me know manager of Joe’s café.

The food is really homely and hearty. The kind of stuff my grandparents would cook (meatloaf, roast meats etc.).
The ambience is pretty boomy as the dining room is huge and ceilings are high but sitting in the booths gives a nice isolation.
The slow cooked beef brisket roll with gravy is going down as the best beef roll I’ve eaten. Incredible meat.
Super chirpy older staff made the vibe even more homely.

Ambiance: Noisy
Comfort: Cold
Food: Good but one dish is served lukewarm
Do I recommend this place or ever come back again? NO

Their breakfast burrito is tasty but it is a bit hit or miss. For the cost I would like a more consistent burrito and a side of homestyle fries that aren’t undercooked.
That being said, they are very quick to make your meal and the staff is always pleasant.

Great atmosphere, good service. Fresh squeezed oj yay!
Order traditional benedict sauce on side with house potatoes. Eggs perfectly cooked. Potatoes were a little salty for my taste bt no salt on eggs so I guess it goes together.
It was good nothing special. I’d go back.

Joe’s Café is located right in downtown Santa Barbara. I went in to this café yesterday afternoon and upon entering, we were immediately seated. We were then greeted by our waitress about 5 minutes later.
Our waitress was only as friendly as she needed to be. She didn’t really go out of her way to make sure we were more than happy to be there. She was just your average waitress… nothing unique that made me want to comment about.
I ordered a cheeseburger, medium-​well, and a side of potato salad. The food came and the burger was a big enough size to where I felt full at the end of eating it. However, the burger was more well done than I would have liked… Almost like it was charred on the edges. The potato salad wasn’t cold enough… It wasn’t warm, but it tasted as if it was sitting out for a while.
Nothing great here. Just your average restaurant.

My first and only visit to Joe’s was technically on a blind date since we’d never met other than passing emails from an online dating site… But I digress, the atmosphere was hopping and seemed a bit chaotic, but the service was great and I really felt for our waitress who was just so personable you couldn’t help but smile.
The wait time between drinks and ordering our meal was short but even as I sat there trying to focus on the conversation of my date I couldn’t help but have my attention diverted from by passing patrons and staff, it just seemed a bit like a mad house.
I ordered the herb roasted chicken, it was cooked well and I found the flavor good but nothing rather memorable about the meal that would make me want to come back for more, which is pretty much how the date ended up too.

Everything about Joe’s felt off putting to me. It took me almost 20 minutes to decide that eating here, even after we sat, would be an alright decision. The interior felt dark and out dated which was extremely off putting. The menu is long with almost every item you could ask for, which also turned me off as I felt there was no way their kitchen could turn out so many different dishes so well.
Well, I was wrong. With my party of three, we ordered a Philly cheese steak, a prime rib and a cheeseburger. I highly recommend the prime rib!!! It seriously MELTED in my mouth!!! It was cooked perfectly medium rare! The side salad had a few dirty greens, which was my only complaint on the dish. That and my piece was a little fatty. Overall good food! Philly cheese steak was authentic and cooked to perfection! The cheeseburger was ordered medium, and came out well. It was sent back but on the second cook still came back medium. A little disappointing.
Otherwise, Denise was our server and she did an excellent job!!! Overall she was very knowledgeable, friendly and kind. She gave us plenty of time without ever feeling rushed. Then at the end she recommended delicious homemade pie. We enjoy the blackberry pie and had smiles on our faces with every bite!!! Thank you Denise for great service! I would come back just for the service… okay, and maybe that prime rib too…

Come here for the strong drinks and not the weak food
The native Santa Barbarians love this piece of history and get enjoyment from sharing it with their friends. I get it holds a place in your heart but it does not hold a place in my stomach. My liver on the other hand…
Lets start with breakfast. The chili omelet, well the chili part was fine but the egg part was bland and flavorless. Take eggs, make an egg pancake but leave out any seasonings, onions, tomatoes and chives (to be accurate, there was a very small amount sprinkled on the top as if an afterthought), you know, omelet fillings. Leave it flat and dead like road kill. Now plate it, pour on some chili, sprinkle with cheese and fold over. And there you have a Joe’s Chili Omelet. As simple as it tastes.
The chicken fried steak is on par with the omelet. The steak is as I would expect for the dish and the breaking, ok. The issue here is the weak gravy. It’s light and runny. Im looking for thick and creamy.
The Ruben and Philly are ok but not the meatloaf. It’s just like Mom used to make and that’s not a compliment.
Joe’s has its place in SB history and local awards for the strongest drink in town. Let’s stick to what works.

It’s like diner food but a lot more flavorless. Everything needed more salt n seasoning, I couldn’t tell one dish from the next if it wasn’t for texture. I ordered the fried chicken that was fried perfectly but just super bland.
Service was good though and cool atmosphere. Good social ambience but food definitely needs improvement.