Zaytoon

by Tanya C.

The food here is very tasty! The atmosphere is great and the service is awesome.

by Donna S.

Maybe I am giving the extra star just because I was so relaxed and knowing I was in SB.  Maybe it was the beautiful night and watching the fire pits on othe tables flash warm glows on happy faces.  Maybe the fresh air makes me generous and nice.  I dunno, but I really liked it here. We didn't get a table with a fire pit. I think you need parties of 4 or more for that. But we still sat outside up on othe deck which worked out great as we were able to look down and people watch and enjoy the belly dancer. She did come up to the deck several times to give me the opportunity to slide a bill into her gyrating hips. We started with the Halloum cheese in filo dough. They looked like eggrolls, which was startling, but oh boy, were they good!!  For our meal a chicken dish was ordered that came with salad and pilaf. The garlic paste was like a whipped cloud of tasty, strong heaven. It came with the chicken my friend ordered.  Thankfully he took a big bite of it straight w/o knowing what it was and it scared him.  I took it. And yea, I ate it straight thinking it could be garlic mashed potatoes. Silly me.  I took it.  It went well with my vegetarian sampler platter of hummus, babaganoush, falafel, tabouleh, and grapeleave roll.  The hummus was wonderfully flavorful. Everything was really. And the Lebonese bottle of wine we ordered completed the meal perfectly. Unfortunately, we didn't have room for dessert. A wonderful ambiance, wonderful food, and entertainment. Definitely worth a visit.

by SBFoodie ..

It's summertime in Santa Barbara! Other than the beach, the next best thing in town is dining alfresco. After living in Santa Barbara for more than 10 years and have dined at 95% of the restaurants in town, Zaytoon has probably one of the best alfresco dining experience to offer. The setting - Patio seating with comfortable couches or chairs around fire pits and there are heat lamps for the ladies. :) Indoor seating is available. Note: not all tables have fire pits.The food - a wide variety of meat and vegetarian dishes.  I love their baba ganoush and cheese arayis. For the entree, I always get the mashawi combo which has a little bit of everything. The lamb salad is also great. Oh...be careful of the garlic paste. It's not for everyone but for garlic lovers, it's so good with the meat. The service - it's not the highlight of this place and sometimes, they can be slow and not very attentive. Because the ambiance is so great, I adapted to not worry about it too much as long as I get what I want. One time, my party stayed there an hour after they closed. They were really gracious about it and never did asked us to leave. The price - not cheap nor very expensive. For 2 people with booze and food, our check came to about $60. We also had a box of leftovers to take with us. Overall - good food and beautiful setting. It's romantic, fun, and a great place for all occasions. Oh...don't forget the Happy Hour (Tues Wed 5:30 - 8pm). It' is a pretty good deal.

by Katelyn A.

This was one of the places I wanted to visit thanks to fellow yelpers.  This place is pricey first off, I would reccomend going for lunch.  I unfortunately just missed lunch (ends at 4).  If I hadnt been stopped by ttraffic and forced to look around I dont know if I would have found the place.  We walked into the patio and didnt see the inside of the restaurant.  Five stars for the ambiance, I am sure it would have been even prettier at night.  At 4:20 we were the only ones there, needless to say everything came out very quickly.  Beware, if you get a soda, you only get one free refill.  We were given water and pita bread with dipping sauce, the pita bread was just ok.  We ordered the potato appetizer that comes with loads of cilantro.  It was a bit too citrusy and the amount of cilantro was a bit overpowering, but it was still a nice starter.  We both ordered the chicken schwarma with rice and salad.  The chicken wasnt exceptional alone so I mixed in the rice and loaded it into a pita.  There was also a yogurt sauce that I didnt quite care for, but all in all it was a satisfying meal.

by Timmy G.

I can't tell you how much I love this place! I like everything about it. They have an outdoor patio with fire pits at all the tables. They have an indoor/outdoor banquet room and an indoor restaurant. I even liked my waitors funny little accent and the way he said everything was, "really really good" and I agree. I've eaten there several times and everything is delicious! Right off the bat the Zatar is so good I could eat that all night long as my meal, and that's a free dish you get when you get when you sit down. Okay that's all I can take, I'm placing a to go order.

by Michelle L.Pauline L.Holland H.moosedog i.Jacqueline W.

Where to start?  We found this place from Yelp reviews and decided to give it a shot.  It's a little off the main street of Downtown Santa Barbara in a less crowded area so it's definitely a hidden jewel (unless you're a local I guess).As soon as we walked in, the atmosphere was very comforting with plenty of firepits in the middle of group tables (how awesome is that?  I want one for my house!).  We took a smaller table next to one of the heating lamps since there was just two of us.  The service was great.  We had to wait a little long to get our final check at the end of the night, but that is a minor oversight compared to the rest of the service that evening.  I admit the food for dinner was a bit more pricey than we were looking for at approximately $20 per dish for dinner.However, the food was beyond any expectation that I had coming in...and I had high expectations of the food with all the previous reviews on Yelp!  I got the Salmon Basil Cream ($20.95) dinner which was probably one of the best cooked salmons I'd ever had.  I love salmon so I get it pretty often and this salmon was absolutely superb just by the way it was cooked.  And then add the seasonings and cream and it's a food orgasm in every bite.  My boyfriend ordered the Kebab Combo ($19.95) plate and the meat was very tender and delicious.  Everything tasted great.  Also, they give you pita bread and a sort of herbal dip before your food comes out which is also quite a treat in itself.  With all that, you'll have enough food to fill you up and take home afterward.You can also order hookah here and smoke right at your dinner table on the patio.  The beer list is kind of weak.  And the one they recommended (can't remember the name for the life of me) had a nice taste when you sip, but then has the dull empty taste of a cheap beer for the aftertaste.  I think next time we'll get a glass of wine instead.  Not a deal killer though.  Check this place out.  It's absolutely amazing in venue, atmosphere, and most importantly...food!Round table with a fire pit? Belly Dancers? Hookahs? Wine? Great Food? I had so much fun at Zaytoon! We got seated at their outdoor seating area where it wasn't too hot nor too cold, it was such a beautiful night in Santa Barbara where there was a nice breeze . Service was fantabulous, they were accommodating, nice, and all that good stuff. As for the food, it was amazing! I ordered the Chicken Shawarma - $17.95 (Strips of chicken breast marinated and slowly broiled on a vertical rotating grill, served with the house salad and rice pilaf) and I also ordered the Baba Ghannouj appetizer - $8.95 (Charbroiled eggplant, pureed with lemon, garlic, and tahini sauce) - the chicken was so tender and flavorful, definitely marinated to perfection. And as for the Baba Ghannouj, it was just yummy!Really Really love this place! A summer afternoon on the patio around the fire pit enjoying a vegetarian feast for 4 with a few bottles of wine and great friends, I'm pretty sure that's how heaven is. Monday is half priced wine night, we had a bottle for less than what it would cost to buy it at the market, so of course we had 2. The food is super yummy. I'm not an expert on middle eastern cuisine, but the 4 of us had no complaints. I've dined there many times and have never had a less than great experience. Coffee and desert also a must! Especially if you have a taste for Turkish style coffee. The Hukka may not be for everyone, but it is part of the experience and adds to the relaxing dining and hanging out feeling. Because of that you can also smoke on the patio, they bring you an ash tray and everything! This place is ideal for sharing meals with friends, and spending a long time snacking drinking and enjoying the beautiful atmosphere.Really, really good.  We went on a Monday night, when they have a special where any bottle of wine is half-price with dinner.  (Try their nice Lebanese white wine.)  Anyway, before dinner came, they brought out pita bread with zaatar sauce, which is kind of like a very thick pesto, with a little garnish of tomatoes and onions, and saturated with sesame seeds.  I could not stop eating it -- which they picked up on, since they offered to bring out a second batch unbidden.Dinner itself was tremendous.  The lamb kebab, which from the name could have been kind of mundane, was a colorful plateful not only of lamb, but a baba ganoush with a great smoky flavor; a nice tomato, greens, onion and radish salad; tabouli; and saffron (?) rice.  My honey had a plate (name temporarily forgotten; started with an "M") full of lamb, chicken, sausage baba ganoush, a zingy Middle Eastern cheese with the color and consistency of yogurt, and hummus.  Very nice indeed.  I can report that we waddled home in contentment.The outdoor space they have (we didn't go inside) was very relaxing, especially on a balmy summer evening.  There's a little low, quietly bubbling (of course faux) waterfall along one wall, which sounds tacky, I know, but it's well executed and was properly calming and Zen.  The servers were attentive and knowledgeable (and, as a note to my fellow Yelpers, made plenty of eye contact).  And in Santa Barbara, it's refreshing to find a nice place that seems worlds away from State Street.Oh, it's also a hookah lounge, but I don't smoke, and neither should you.3.5 stars... it's overpriced, but the patio is a gorgeous place for lunch. Don't order wine - it's exceptionally overpriced.The hummus is excellent. The tsaziki is superb. Chicken kabobs are tender and delicious - the chicken shawarma is very dry, and just ok at best. The pita is just ok. The baba ghanoush is solid, but not exceptional.Vegetables were fresh and tasty.Very pricey for lunch, but it's a lovely space. If you order the chicken kabobs lunch plate with tsaziki as your side dish, it's a great meal in a beautiful atmosphere. Service was very good.

by Chrissy L.

Beautiful outdoor setting: rocking chairs around a pit of fire, lights hanging all around the restaurant, good friends to talk the night away under the stars.The five of us ordered the Vegetarian Feast and wow was it a feast! Soo yummy - falafal, hummus, salad, eggplant and plenty of pita bread. It was a lot of food! Although its just for four, it fed all five of us. And what a deal $35.95!Other than this, the restaurant is quite pricey but it has some good lunch deals that I want to come back for. And I want to try the Hookah Lounge!

by Pauline L.

Round table with a fire pit? Belly Dancers? Hookahs? Wine? Great Food? I had so much fun at Zaytoon! We got seated at their outdoor seating area where it wasn't too hot nor too cold, it was such a beautiful night in Santa Barbara where there was a nice breeze . Service was fantabulous, they were accommodating, nice, and all that good stuff. As for the food, it was amazing! I ordered the Chicken Shawarma - $17.95 (Strips of chicken breast marinated and slowly broiled on a vertical rotating grill, served with the house salad and rice pilaf) and I also ordered the Baba Ghannouj appetizer - $8.95 (Charbroiled eggplant, pureed with lemon, garlic, and tahini sauce) - the chicken was so tender and flavorful, definitely marinated to perfection. And as for the Baba Ghannouj, it was just yummy!

by Diane T.

Oh man, was this place good! I mean super yummy. Everything on the menu sounded so good it was difficult to decide. Our server brought out pita and zaatar for us to nibble on while we perused the menu. I love stuffed grape leaves so we ordered some of those to nibble on, as well. Since I was having trouble deciding on an entree, I went with the Kebab Combo. It's lamb, chicken, and kafta (or is it kofta?) kebabs. Yum, yum, and yum! Most of the entrees also come with a salad and rice, which were also good. Hubby had the Lamb Shanks. He said they were delicious. They must have been good. He didn't offer me a bite! The portions are large. It was so delicious, I had to eat it all. Unfortunately, we didn't have room for dessert. The service was attentive. We opted to sit indoors since it was a little chilly outside, but most of the outdoor tables on the patio have fire pits in the middle so it probably would have been warm enough. The outdoor area is also strung with mini lights that give a sparkly look on the patio at night. This place is a little hard to find. We didn't see it the first time we drove by (thank goodness I had the address). You have to walk up some stairs to get to it and it's not until you do so that you actually see that it is a restaurant. This is another restaurant on my list to visit the next time I'm in the area. It's really good.

by moosedog i.

Really, really good.  We went on a Monday night, when they have a special where any bottle of wine is half-price with dinner.  (Try their nice Lebanese white wine.)  Anyway, before dinner came, they brought out pita bread with zaatar sauce, which is kind of like a very thick pesto, with a little garnish of tomatoes and onions, and saturated with sesame seeds.  I could not stop eating it -- which they picked up on, since they offered to bring out a second batch unbidden.Dinner itself was tremendous.  The lamb kebab, which from the name could have been kind of mundane, was a colorful plateful not only of lamb, but a baba ganoush with a great smoky flavor; a nice tomato, greens, onion and radish salad; tabouli; and saffron (?) rice.  My honey had a plate (name temporarily forgotten; started with an "M") full of lamb, chicken, sausage baba ganoush, a zingy Middle Eastern cheese with the color and consistency of yogurt, and hummus.  Very nice indeed.  I can report that we waddled home in contentment.The outdoor space they have (we didn't go inside) was very relaxing, especially on a balmy summer evening.  There's a little low, quietly bubbling (of course faux) waterfall along one wall, which sounds tacky, I know, but it's well executed and was properly calming and Zen.  The servers were attentive and knowledgeable (and, as a note to my fellow Yelpers, made plenty of eye contact).  And in Santa Barbara, it's refreshing to find a nice place that seems worlds away from State Street.Oh, it's also a hookah lounge, but I don't smoke, and neither should you.