Bibi Ji

Bix King

Amazing dishes and the best natural wine selection in all of cali. Please tell me a better spot for food and wine pairing and i’ll happily go a / b test and report back. Music and atmosphere is always on point. I hate being on my phone at dinner but I always find myself shazamming songs! 🍛🍷🪩

Carlo Lucchesi

Everything was absolutely fantastic!! Definitely coming back!

Fantastic, interesting food. Amazing wine list. Lovely atmosphere and service. I never miss a stop at Bibi Ji when in SB

This is one of my favorite spots in Santa Barbara. Amazing food, amazing service, and such a cool vibe. Alejandro is the best!!

Came for wine and atmosphere. The wine was great, the owners gave great personalized recommendations and had us try several varieties we wouldn’t have otherwise. Very knowledgeable, we had a great experience!

We had a great dinner, with really good dishes. We had the lamb, their signature brown lentil curry, the coconut rice, the chicken (not butter chicken), and the cauliflower appetizer. Service was great and the atmosphere was nice, clean, and light-filled. They have wine and beer (not hard alcohol).

Aubree Kayl

This is one of my favorite spots in Santa Barbara. Amazing food, amazing service, and such a cool vibe. Alejandro is the best!!

D. Alexander Phillips

Came for wine and atmosphere. The wine was great, the owners gave great personalized recommendations and had us try several varieties we wouldn’t have otherwise. Very knowledgeable, we had a great experience!

Sydney Vincent

Fantastic, interesting food. Amazing wine list. Lovely atmosphere and service. I never miss a stop at Bibi Ji when in SB

Leilani Latimer

We had a great dinner, with really good dishes. We had the lamb, their signature brown lentil curry, the coconut rice, the chicken (not butter chicken), and the cauliflower appetizer. Service was great and the atmosphere was nice, clean, and light-filled. They have wine and beer (not hard alcohol).

Good food with nice flavors and solid service. Everything we tried tasted great, but the prices are on the higher side, especially for the entrées, naan ($6–7), and paste. Overall a good experience, just a bit pricey for what you get.

We visited this place on a recent trip to Santa Barbara. We were craving Indian and this place had a good rating. Some of the reviews recently have been mixed. Here is our take. It was good - nothing special, fairly basic, but good. We ordered the butter chicken - it was flavorful, the chicken was cooked really well and the gravy tasted good. For those who are used to the butter chicken with tons of sour cream and other fillers, this probably will not match that vibe. We really liked the paneer kulcha, potato paratha, and the mango lassi… the paneer was fairly basic, but the presentation was good and the paneer quality was fairly good- contrary to some other reviews. The portion of butter chicken may seem small due to the size of the bowl, perhaps? But the bowl was sufficient for 3 of us to share. Our server was helpful and pleasant. We went on a Tuesday evening. There were three other tables and we were served quickly and out of there within an hour. we didn’t have any other drinks or appetizers this time. Would I be back? Probably not. But if you are craving Indian food you can’t go wrong with this place.

Chiara Gallo

Good food with nice flavors and solid service. Everything we tried tasted great, but the prices are on the higher side, especially for the entrées, naan ($6–7), and paste. Overall a good experience, just a bit pricey for what you get.

J Shah

We visited this place on a recent trip to Santa Barbara. We were craving Indian and this place had a good rating. Some of the reviews recently have been mixed. Here is our take. It was good - nothing special, fairly basic, but good. We ordered the butter chicken - it was flavorful, the chicken was cooked really well and the gravy tasted good. For those who are used to the butter chicken with tons of sour cream and other fillers, this probably will not match that vibe. We really liked the paneer kulcha, potato paratha, and the mango lassi… the paneer was fairly basic, but the presentation was good and the paneer quality was fairly good- contrary to some other reviews. The portion of butter chicken may seem small due to the size of the bowl, perhaps? But the bowl was sufficient for 3 of us to share. Our server was helpful and pleasant. We went on a Tuesday evening. There were three other tables and we were served quickly and out of there within an hour. we didn’t have any other drinks or appetizers this time. Would I be back? Probably not. But if you are craving Indian food you can’t go wrong with this place.

Menu “looks” good and is a twist on traditional Indian dishes. The flavor and taste just didn’t hit the spot and seemed to be missing the spices and richness. The beer and wine selection is really good though.

Mixed feelings about this place. The atmosphere is good and they have a great wine selection. We had the paneer tikka and coconut curry with prawns. The prawns were oversalted same as the cucumber salad. The curry was nice though. They brought the side cucumber salad as an appetizer and brought the main dishes one after the other as a course which was a bit odd instead on family style to share. The table for 2 is small but it could fit. Not food related but the lighting is not great for a romantic dinner(this is just a lighting design pet peeve nothing bad) the overhead lighting creates bad shadows on people's faces which is not great.

Food was decent. The starters were good. The main course was average. The spice level was toned down to meet American tastes but that is understandable. Saag Panir was a weirdly bitter (probably mustard greens). Black Daal was ok.

This is a difficult review to write. The flavors are amazing and the starters - bonda and crispy cauliflower - were stellar and came to the table hot. Then we waited and waited. Our waiter came once to say the food would all be coming out at once and then we waited some more. We should have timed it but we believe it was 30 minutes. When the food arrived it was Luke warm. We ordered lamb chops which were delicious but barely warm!!! How we waited that long only to be served cold food is beyond me! The Bibi ji dal was delicious but please, it was barely warm. I will not beat this dead horse any more. There appeared to be only one waiter in the full restaurant and then a few young bus staff to deliver food and remove plates. GET SOME MORE STAFF and a decent manager or host. Our meal with one bottle of wine was $300. At that price point you will need to up your game.

Guillermo

Mixed feelings about this place. The atmosphere is good and they have a great wine selection. We had the paneer tikka and coconut curry with prawns. The prawns were oversalted same as the cucumber salad. The curry was nice though. They brought the side cucumber salad as an appetizer and brought the main dishes one after the other as a course which was a bit odd instead on family style to share. The table for 2 is small but it could fit. Not food related but the lighting is not great for a romantic dinner(this is just a lighting design pet peeve nothing bad) the overhead lighting creates bad shadows on people's faces which is not great.

Joie Watson

This is a difficult review to write. The flavors are amazing and the starters - bonda and crispy cauliflower - were stellar and came to the table hot. Then we waited and waited. Our waiter came once to say the food would all be coming out at once and then we waited some more. We should have timed it but we believe it was 30 minutes. When the food arrived it was Luke warm. We ordered lamb chops which were delicious but barely warm!!! How we waited that long only to be served cold food is beyond me! The Bibi ji dal was delicious but please, it was barely warm. I will not beat this dead horse any more. There appeared to be only one waiter in the full restaurant and then a few young bus staff to deliver food and remove plates. GET SOME MORE STAFF and a decent manager or host. Our meal with one bottle of wine was $300. At that price point you will need to up your game.

F M

Menu “looks” good and is a twist on traditional Indian dishes. The flavor and taste just didn’t hit the spot and seemed to be missing the spices and richness. The beer and wine selection is really good though.

The food was tasty, and the location on State Street, Santa Barbara, is fantastic. However, the value for money fell short. While the quality of the food was good, the portions were disappointingly small, and the prices were approximately 50% higher than expected for comparable quality. Expect to spend $60-$70 per person. Unfortunately, this pricing makes it hard to justify a higher rating despite the otherwise positive aspects

Food has an ok taste but prices were way too high for the portion. You get 5 tiny pieces of chicken for 25$ and raita sauce for 6$. The waiter lied about the portion size. The food was overall mediocre for the price. Nothing about the feel and look of the restaurant looked like an Indian cuisine and almost copy and paste. I recommend going to a more authentic Indian restaurant like Apna.

I came here on a Friday night with my partner and friends visiting from out of town. When we arrived, the restaurant was nearly empty but had required my partner to put a credit card down when making the reservation in case we were late. The restaurant is quite loud, even when empty, and our server spoke incredibly softly so it was hard to hear what she was saying throughout the meal. The restaurant has an extensive wine list, but my partner was met by somewhat passive-aggressive pushback when he asked for a tester. Our server explained she “gets in trouble” when she gives out testers without asking for more info on what a patron is looking for in their wine. Odd, but ok! The food was fine - very mild spice-wise (again, ok) but the portions were SMALL. Not at all the family-style dining we were told to expect by our server. I wouldn’t drive out of my way to eat the food again. The server and other staff members that brought our meal out couldn’t properly pronounce the majority of the order, which is such a tiny complaint but should be the bare minimum. Overall, if you’re on the fence about dining here, I’d consider other options. It’s fine and shockingly overpriced for the quality and amount of food you get. Management should consider ensuring the staff knows how to pronounce the dishes they serve and reevaluate the policy on trying wine before spending $$$ on a bottle.

Avishek De

This is a shadow of the original Bibi Ji. Used to love this place but the new restaurant doesn’t live up to the expectations. Didn’t quite like the food or the ambience. Service was fairly good. Tried the Kolkata Papdi chaat, daal makhani - both were average. The butter chicken was good but not like how they used to make it before. Overall quite disappointed with our recent visit.

Jordan Weaver

I came here on a Friday night with my partner and friends visiting from out of town. When we arrived, the restaurant was nearly empty but had required my partner to put a credit card down when making the reservation in case we were late. The restaurant is quite loud, even when empty, and our server spoke incredibly softly so it was hard to hear what she was saying throughout the meal. The restaurant has an extensive wine list, but my partner was met by somewhat passive-aggressive pushback when he asked for a tester. Our server explained she “gets in trouble” when she gives out testers without asking for more info on what a patron is looking for in their wine. Odd, but ok! The food was fine - very mild spice-wise (again, ok) but the portions were SMALL. Not at all the family-style dining we were told to expect by our server. I wouldn’t drive out of my way to eat the food again. The server and other staff members that brought our meal out couldn’t properly pronounce the majority of the order, which is such a tiny complaint but should be the bare minimum. Overall, if you’re on the fence about dining here, I’d consider other options. It’s fine and shockingly overpriced for the quality and amount of food you get. Management should consider ensuring the staff knows how to pronounce the dishes they serve and reevaluate the policy on trying wine before spending $$$ on a bottle.

Haza Mat

The food was tasty, and the location on State Street, Santa Barbara, is fantastic. However, the value for money fell short. While the quality of the food was good, the portions were disappointingly small, and the prices were approximately 50% higher than expected for comparable quality. Expect to spend $60-$70 per person. Unfortunately, this pricing makes it hard to justify a higher rating despite the otherwise positive aspects

Nakos Sarkar

The portion size of the curries is about a bowl of oatmeal, or about a large fist size. The prices are high even if the portions were normal size. The atmosphere and staff are nice. To reserve a place for more than 5 you have to go in and put a deposit down. I personally will never be going there again. There are much better Indian restaurants in town for a much better price. If you do go, I would say try some of their drinks, the passion fruit drink was great.

Food didn't have a whole lot of flavor that I would typically expect from Indian food and they gave us the smallest side of raita which cost was too much for what it was don't both ordering it. All together entirely unimpressed with the food for the cost, recommend going someplace else for Indian.

Ricky Rieckenberg

Food didn't have a whole lot of flavor that I would typically expect from Indian food and they gave us the smallest side of raita which cost was too much for what it was don't both ordering it. All together entirely unimpressed with the food for the cost, recommend going someplace else for Indian.