Bibi ji
734 State St, Santa Barbara
(805) 560-6845
Recent Reviews
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Best Indian food I've had, ever. Only complaint was the noise level: very loud making it difficult to have a conversation with my meal mates. I guess that's required now for places to be considered "hip" but it's not for me.
First time eating at the new location (formerly McDonald's). First, the good news: The food is excellent, tasty, spiced well. Very consistent every time we've dined here. The wine list is great and has many well-curated options. The not so good: --Our reserved table was not ready and we had to wait about 10 minutes. --They were very busy and the noise level was very loud, likely due to the high ceilings. --The service was not good. Maybe they were just too busy or having an off night, but the servers were not very helpful with recommendations and seemed a tad annoyed we were asking questions. --We were brought two dishes we did not order, and the food we did order did not arrive at the same time. --This place is very expensive for what we got. It's hard to see any value here. I really want to like/love this place, but I am left with the feeling of not wanting to go back anytime soon.
First off, the food is excellent. I went back and service was MUCH better second time. They don't carry a non-alcoholic beer, which is disappointing. Their wine pour is meager for $18, but bottle is more reasonable. It's VERY loud. Some sound mitigation would help. I will go again.
I love Indian food me and my kids eat it quite frequently. The food was bland not flavorful.The ambience was OK if you're in your early 20s the service was wonderful. Everyone who worked there was lovely but overall, I did not have a good dining experience. 
This is one of my favorite places in Santa Barbara. I am so happy to see that they are thriving in their new location. It's very upbeat. I love all the staff that work there everyone so nice. The only thing is I have mixed reviews on the pink.?. I love the upbeat vibe and maybe they should just dim the lights a little more make it a little more cozy feeling. Last night we went it was super crowded so that helped a lot just overall the food is what's important to me and and it's super good and unique one of my favorite Indian food places. Even over my very favorite Indian food place in London.Dishroom!
Excellent food. Really delicious.Very good service especially as the staff seemed young. Host was very professional. Servers friendly and attentive. Only criticism is that it is rather loud - I did see sound tiles on the ceiling but perhaps they need more. Cute decor. I think the long tables are probably fun for large parties.
Paying for one thing of naan and having to ask and pay to have any rice in the meal even when you get an entree is ridiculous especially considering the food was so un flavorful the chef must be white... was very disappointed.
Really nice food. Some dishes are a bit spicey...so be aware of that. But, super tasty. Be sure to get one of the Riatas to calm down the spice level. We had a beer. I'm not a super fan of the style of wine offered. The only down side was that it is REALLY noisy. One of those high ceilinged places with no sound absorption. Maybe done by design. But, difficult noise level for older ears. Regardless, the food was delightful. Will definitely go back.
The food was fresh and delicious. the staff was so friendly and happy (which is so rare lately). the owner introduced himself and helped us with the wine and couldn't have been nicer. It was just a fantastic vibe all around! We will definitely be back and soon.
Bibi Ji is such fun! All of the food hits you with flavorful explosions! Drinks are fire and the staff is super friendly! Get yourself a table and prepare to be impressed! Great for families and groups!
Restaurantji Recommends
Not really Indian food. Stew like dishes like butter chicken seemed way over cooked like they been sitting on a stove or pre made. Began bartha not close. Relatively few choices. Unfortunately there are no other decent Indian restaurants in Santa Barbara.
New location is fantastic, light and bright ! Staff very responsive. Food was delicious and waiter great making recommendations. Was very noisy - the 80 year old in our party struggled to hear.
Food was delicious, albeit overpriced. Small bowl of butter chicken for $25 is really pushing the limits. But yes it might have been the best butter chicken I've ever had. Ambience was nice but really loud. Maybe it was the obnoxiously loud group in the booth behind us. Overall recommended
Was so loud that it was hard to have a conversation and really annoying. Food was very good and our primary server was very good (others not so great) but we ate and got out as fast as we could because the noise was painful. Hard floor, walls, furniture made it much louder than any other restaurant in my recent memory - nothing to soak up the sound.
We had an early reservation so it was not very busy when we arrived. The decor is clean and modern and the music made for a very upbeat atmosphere but was almost too loud for conversation. We ordered the butter chicken, coconut curry and malai kebab with sides of rice, naan and cucumber raita. The portions were a good size though I wish the raita was bigger. Everything we had was delicious and the service was very attentive. I will definitely come back!
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