33 Best Coffee Shops near Isla Vista

“Two friends of mine recommended I try my first-ever Matcha here at the Old Town Coffee, so we ordered the raspberry matcha. When I tell you, since then I have tried raspberry matchas at many different coffee shops, but none of them are as perfect as the ones here. It does not have a strong grassy taste to it, and they put the perfect amount of raspberry flavoring to it. On top of that, the service and the people working there are 10/10. Very friendly, helpful, and always down for a good conversation. Not to mention, the $2 pastry deal after 2 pm...it's just my favorite coffee shop in America!“

“The people that work there are great, coffee and delicious desserts !“

“Excellent authentic Mexican food served quickly by a very friendly staff.“

“Ive gone to Kozy 2-3 times a week this quarter! I love this place, best coffee and pastries around! I get the honey vanilla iced latte and they always make it to perfection and so yummy. Staff is super friendly and get my order out so quick.“

“Best bagels in the entire Santa Barbara area! Real New York style.

Parking: We have been to Yetz’s at least 10 times, we have never had a problem with parking.

Kid-friendliness: We take the grandkids there often. They love the bagels and we love the choices of breakfast sandwiches.“

“Stopped in before a long day of mural painting in the sun,
I ordered the lavender matcha, it was made with hate, it was the worst I ever had. I couldn’t even drink it. That was fine I didn’t need the calories I guess. Just a waste of money since I have to pay extra for oatmilk.“

“Love this place so much. Staff is chill and awesome. The crowd is so friendly and fun. Wonderful place for a quick coffee or a relaxing hour in the sun. Can’t recommend highly enough“

“Everyone seems to have their favorite coffee shop. This one’s mine. The people are nice, the coffee is good, and the seating is plentiful.“

“ordered for my mother in law. excited to gift it to her!“

“Great coffee and a fun venue.“

“This place is awesome. All the Dune's are awesome really. Can't go wrong at any of them. In my experience, this Dune has the most "interpersonal" customer service. For example, they have consistently asked about my day, etc., or made small talk that goes a bit beyond the basic kindness you'd get at any of the other Dune's. Basic kindness, as in, they are really friendly there, either way, during your transaction, but this Dune seems to do a little extra with customer interactions. The coffee (what I usually order; e.g. lattes) are excellent.“

“Professional place. Been a barista in Kauai for 5 years at a cafe where you get to know the source/ roaster and it inspired me to always try roasters in west coast. So far this place wins for price and quality. Tried many places between Seattle and SD. So far only tried the lightest and the Italian. But wow.Bean is obviously freshly roasted with consistent color and size throughout (no pieces). They have a wide variety of high quality ORGANIC and FRESH ROASTED coffee at a killer price. Highly recommend, it beats my local goto place where many swear by them. Will return.“

“Such a chill place to get coffee (best in town) and work. Amazing food and even more amazing people ❤️“

“The cafe has the usual selection for a coffee and tea spot. I had a smooth "iced chai latte with oat milk."

As a plus, they use biodegradable straws and the service was friendly. Not too many seats for dine-in though.“

“10 de 10, me encanta el pan y el servicio, Lore es la mejor“

“We got black sesame matcha and black sesame coffee, cookie butter cheesecake brioche and berry chantilly mochi donut. Everything was absolutely delicious!

Sth to consider: there’s a permanent enormous line to order. It took us over an hour total to get our drinks and desserts.
But I would still love to come back and try other things from their menu.“

“Iced, oat milk matcha is delicious! And the goats on Date sourdough toast hits the spot! Sweet and savory with just the right about of kick.“

“The baristas strive to remember your name and drink. They provide "extras" and seem to enjoy their work. I feel like it is "home."“

“Amazing breakfast sandwich, great coffee and friendly service. I was in town staying nearby and came here every morning for breakfast and coffee (hotel breakfast was easy to skip). The service here is so friendly, prices are reasonable, food is truly great, and the space has lots of indoor and outdoor seating for individual or a communal table. Thanks Lighthouse team!“

“Starbucks La Combre is a cozy tall seat cafe in Santa Barbara. The baristas are amazing and kind hearted and I had a great discussion with them while my coffee was prepared about the other services I heard about first time, so I am also giving a hint to your events!

This cafe has a lot of beautiful mugs for instance for parties and great coffees for events.

Believe me, people want to have coffee even after the dinner with the dessert. In the events where the event order hasn't contained coffee with dessert after the dinner has been improvising from something out of nothing so it is better to br prepared.

Starbucks coffee beans can be ordered in so called travelers boxes, where fresh brewed beans are delivered to events or even for an office for summer time picnic, get together, brainstorming event, private luxury buses with espresso machines etc., so your event team do not have to brew the coffee onsite.

People do love coffee and high quality coffee is indeed one of the high lights with any event dessert.

The mug prices pays itself back as the coffee when you "bring your own mug" has a discount for the coffee in most of the places.

With Love,

Joanna“

“Peet's has the best coffee in the area. The espresso is hand pulled and consistently high quality. I especially like the whole milk mocha. Baristas are always trained. They seem to have improved the snacks offered, they were mediocre until recently, but really, you go to Peet's for coffee. No longer offer teas.“

“We were celebrating our anniversary and wanted to stay on property so chose The Bistro. From start to finish, everything about our experience was absolutely incredible. The service was warm and attentive, the ambiance was just right, and every dish was beautifully prepared and full of flavor. We had the seabass and beet salad, both of which were perfectly executed. The chef and team ensure you have a wonderful experience with delicious food and impeccable service. Whether a special occasion or a just looking for a great meal, go to The Bistro, you won't be disappointed.“

“We were looking for coffee and breakfast to go. The staff consisted of two lovely UC Santa Barbara students. The espresso and cappuccinos were wonderful, and they agreed to put smoked salmon on their toast with cream cheese, cucumber, and dill, which was delicious. It fully not our needs. The place is clean and while lighted. You can’t go wrong.“

“Wonderful French pastries in California with beautiful setting.“

“I had wonderful customer service from all 3 baristas working today (Saturday)! Just wanted to give them props. I had 2 drinks added to a drive-up target order, and one drink was accidentally made iced instead of hot. Not a big deal. I went in to ask for a hot one (it was for my son). They were SO kind about it, and they even threw in a banana bread for him to apologize! They were lovely.“

“Good lighting, lots of space, comfortable outdoor area. It’s exactly what you would expect from a chain coffee shop. Plenty of people quietly tapping away at laptops. The single stall bathrooms are clean and locked with a code. Years ago when this was a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf the Santa Barbara Go Club met here weekly. They may still do so.“

“Food is outstanding at Jeannines's always and no complaints, however having your service staff re-trained to attend to customers in need of something is needed and with so many working at the same time no excuse not to...If you can get them in line with your kitchen staff you'll get a full 5 stars for service...“

“All they had was pizza slices - which were good! But not sure if they recently stopped with the larger variety of food.Edit - Owner reached out and said they are dealing with permitting and construction projects. They expect to have a full menu again come Summer '24. There was no information about this anywhere so hopefully this saves someone a trip.“

“Great stop when travel the coast line in California“

“It had been about 5 years since my only time going to eat here. I was pleasantly surprised how good my food was. I have started to eat nopales or ( cactus ) recently. I saw it on the menu and tried it. It was very tasty and cooked properly. I didn't remember all the decorations, which I truly enjoyed. Will definitely be going back soon“

“Everyone seems to have their favorite coffee shop. This one’s mine. The people are nice, the coffee is good, and the seating is plentiful.“

“Went twice on the same weekend. Had a Gibraltar (cortado), cappuccino, honey lavender latte, and a drip coffee/black and all were good. The breakfast sandwich, lox bagel, and acai bowl were also all tasty and well made with good quality ingredients. In particular the salmon/lox was great and not even a hint of fishiness that often happens when breakfast places leave some of the dark meat in it.

Has plenty of seating inside and out, and ample parking. Indoors they have acoustical panels on the ceiling that cut down on the noise from lack of other soft surfaces in the room, a nice touch. Prices reasonable for coastal California/Santa Barbara.“

“Always been a very good place to get together and have great food and beverages ☺️“