La Playa Azul Cafe

One of S.B.'s remaining classics!! Same as it always has been, only keeps upgrading. Clean, fresh, inside or outdoors, with a friendly and fun staff always to please! Best Preminium Margarita around, they know how to make them right! Appetizers during Happy Hour are so reasonable, (Tues-Sun. 3-6!) very filling and delicious. Recommend the Rajas Con Queso, (add Halibut or Shrimp for $4~!) or Chicken Quesadilla with veggies.......Fresh delicious Salsa and guacamole as well! On a sunny day, nothing is better than their famous patio, and keep those Margs coming! :)

Delicious Mexican food. Good service. Beautiful patio area.

I came here with a group of friends for happy hour and I must say I was very happy with La Playa Azul's margaritas. I tried the classic and the spicy margaritas, both were really good. Also I loved how often they came to table with free chips. The nachos and the guacamole was pretty good too. The restaurant has beautiful decoration. The outside patio is very welcoming. Honestly next time I come back to Santa Barbara I'll go to La Playa Azul!

Paola Rossaro

We don't come often to Santa Barbara but every time we come we go to this restaurant. The setting is great and the food is really good.

Sabrina M.

EXCELLENT service! Tasty food, yummy drinks! La Playa Azul Cafe is one of the oldest, and one of the BEST Mexican Restaurants in Santa Barbara! It's on Santa Barbara Street. I went with an out-of-town guest who wanted "good Mexican food " and this places checks all the boxes. Food=5 Stars, Service =5 Stars, etc. Located in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. Lots of things to see within walking distance. Check them out!

Jason Ball

Amazing place in a great setting. Makes you feel like you’re on holiday. We had chicken fajitas which were super fresh and sizzling hot. Margaritas were great too. Free nachos and salsa are a great touch too.

Grace P

Wonderful Happy Hour indoors, although most activity was focused outside. We were there for Happy Hour Saturday early evening and had a wonderful House Margarita , at HH prices! and with a real kick!! Delish! Ordered the HH Halibut tacos and the chili Relleno a la cart, and one veggie quesadilla. Served with complimentary chips and salsa! Fresh and just a perfect heat blend! Yum! The indoor service was a little slow for our small table of 2; they were very attentive to a table of 8 who came after us. Nonetheless, the kitchen made up for the inattention. The halibut taco was bursting with huge pieces of perfectly grilled fish with fresh cabbage, seasonings and sauces. OH, MY MY!! Really a lot of food! But I also tried the Chile rellone; a bit less puffy on the outside and sauce was a little more tomatoey than I like, but fresh and yummy. My friend's veggie quesadilla made me drool when it came! Grilled mushrooms and onion and other flavors were fab!!! HIGHLY recommend Plaza Azule anytime, but was delighted with a Happy hour pricing!! Reliable! Street parking and a great vibe!! Missed picturing the Margarita...def had booze in it!! ,

Merritt L

Great food! Super delicious with variety fish, chicken, beef, veggie. Floor was sticky.

Jaime Heer

Best patio & margaritas in SB!! This is one of our absolute favorite places to enjoy an afternoon in Santa Barbara. Family owned and operated with great service, yummy food and fun ambiance. I recommended the steak/shrimp combo fajitas and cucumber margaritas! Say “hi” to Nacho & Victor when you’re there!

Stacey Brashears

We had my Grandmother’s 97th birthday party here and it was just wonderful. They let us decorate a special dining area, we had about 25-30 people and the service was exceptional. Grandma got her chile relleno, it was delicious like always and flan for all!

Jenell S

Great menu, reasonable prices, big portions. The chips and salsa were delicious as well. The many vegetarian options were appreciated as well as delicious. We got the veggie enchiladas, halibut, and crab enchiladas. For drinks, we got the roasted pineapple margarita. For parking, we parked at one of the Public Parking garage, some are 5 or 10 walking distance.

Faro Prestigiacomo

A great, local spot off the crowds on State Street. Best Mexican food and other dishes.

Ray K

Firstly, the outside patio at night is the prettiest in downtown Santa Barbara. Burrito was spicy and delicious. The meat and veggies on the fajitas were hot and fresh - no chewy pieces! Staff was very friendly and attentive. Pitchers of margs were a little pricy for the size, but they were strong and did the job! Will definitely be back

wes Mitchell

Great food. Excellent drinks. Come here 2-3 times a month. Highly recommended.

Leilani Lua Hale

One of S.B.'s remaining classics!! Same as it always has been, only keeps upgrading. Clean, fresh, inside or outdoors, with a friendly and fun staff always to please! Best Preminium Margarita around, they know how to make them right! Appetizers during Happy Hour are so reasonable, (Tues-Sun. 3-6!) very filling and delicious. Recommend the Rajas Con Queso, (add Halibut or Shrimp for $4~!) or Chicken Quesadilla with veggies.......Fresh delicious Salsa and guacamole as well! On a sunny day, nothing is better than their famous patio, and keep those Margs coming! :)

Martin Mulvihill

Delicious Mexican food. Good service. Beautiful patio area.

Enjoyed a recent weekday lunch on the street-facing patio, which is set up following Covid protocol, tables 6-feet apart. Service was good. Decent chips and red salsa can be augmented by a green salsa upon request. We enjoyed our two seafood entrees of sautéed scallops and crab enchiladas, both accompanied by beans and rice. If you want a relaxed and slightly upscale Mexican meal in a pleasant atmosphere, you would do well at Playa Azul.

We had a great family dinner. We will definitely go back again. All the food is good. I tried everything people had. We tasted the tequilas and still my favorite is the clase azul. The atmosphere is awesome and the staff is very helpful. Another great place in Santa Barbara to visit for some great dinning. We had family come from Oregon, Santa ynez, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria. Such a great time with all of us getting together and having family fun. I cant wait to explore more of the new restaurants in my home town of Santa Barbara. Lots of fun and more to come.

The service here was pretty poor, even for a relatively quiet night. Had to flag someone down to get seated after waiting at the booth, then my friends flagged someone down to turn on a heater, then had to flag them again to order food. What saved the experience was the quality and speed of the food from the kitchen. It must have taken fewer than 5 minutes from ordering to getting our meals. The burrito was quite good and the rest of the night went fine.

P W

Enjoyed a recent weekday lunch on the street-facing patio, which is set up following Covid protocol, tables 6-feet apart. Service was good. Decent chips and red salsa can be augmented by a green salsa upon request. We enjoyed our two seafood entrees of sautéed scallops and crab enchiladas, both accompanied by beans and rice. If you want a relaxed and slightly upscale Mexican meal in a pleasant atmosphere, you would do well at Playa Azul.

Brian Coker

We had a great family dinner. We will definitely go back again. All the food is good. I tried everything people had. We tasted the tequilas and still my favorite is the clase azul. The atmosphere is awesome and the staff is very helpful. Another great place in Santa Barbara to visit for some great dinning. We had family come from Oregon, Santa ynez, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria. Such a great time with all of us getting together and having family fun. I cant wait to explore more of the new restaurants in my home town of Santa Barbara. Lots of fun and more to come.

Justin Dao

The service here was pretty poor, even for a relatively quiet night. Had to flag someone down to get seated after waiting at the booth, then my friends flagged someone down to turn on a heater, then had to flag them again to order food. What saved the experience was the quality and speed of the food from the kitchen. It must have taken fewer than 5 minutes from ordering to getting our meals. The burrito was quite good and the rest of the night went fine.

Zoe Metz

Really yummy food for a good price. Perfect place to bring family and friends for lunch or dinner. Great atmosphere with heaters and fairy lights. Service was alright, they don’t really check in on you when you’re outside but some people prefer that. I recommend the fish tacos.

9/19/23 Update I continue to go to this restaurant because I love the atmosphere on the patio. The margaritas are good, and the shrimp enchilada ranchera I had today was excellent. Unfortunately, the chicken piccado was not edible. The chicken tasted like it was a few days old that they heated up and chopped into chunks, tough and tasteless. The manager said they have a new chicken distributor which doesn't account for this. The dish was replaced with the shrimp tacos, which had exactly two shrimp per taco for $20. Much better, but the shrimp was rather bland compared to my shrimp in the enchilada. And nobody bothered to check back with us until after the meal was over. But we'll continue to go back, for the atmosphere if nothing else, just keep in mind that it's going to be a 50/50 shot whether your dish is good. This used to be one of my favorites. Good service, friendly staff, nice outdoor area, good food. We had high expectations for the "server favorite" Camarones Borrachos. It was fairly bland. And $22 for 5 shrimp? $17 for a tostada wasn't the bargain of the day either. Their $10 house margaritas were small but tasty, even though they use mystery tequila. A $70 light lunch ought to be better. Update 9/7/21: 4 star day today. Shrimp enchiladas were excellent and salsa is spicy and tasty. They've changed house tequilas more times than I can count. It used to be a respectable 1800 brand tequila and now it's bottom of the line Montezuma. $12 premium margaritas with Sauza were drinkable but not great either. But I'll be back. Great ambience on their outdoor patio.

Greg

9/19/23 Update I continue to go to this restaurant because I love the atmosphere on the patio. The margaritas are good, and the shrimp enchilada ranchera I had today was excellent. Unfortunately, the chicken piccado was not edible. The chicken tasted like it was a few days old that they heated up and chopped into chunks, tough and tasteless. The manager said they have a new chicken distributor which doesn't account for this. The dish was replaced with the shrimp tacos, which had exactly two shrimp per taco for $20. Much better, but the shrimp was rather bland compared to my shrimp in the enchilada. And nobody bothered to check back with us until after the meal was over. But we'll continue to go back, for the atmosphere if nothing else, just keep in mind that it's going to be a 50/50 shot whether your dish is good. This used to be one of my favorites. Good service, friendly staff, nice outdoor area, good food. We had high expectations for the "server favorite" Camarones Borrachos. It was fairly bland. And $22 for 5 shrimp? $17 for a tostada wasn't the bargain of the day either. Their $10 house margaritas were small but tasty, even though they use mystery tequila. A $70 light lunch ought to be better. Update 9/7/21: 4 star day today. Shrimp enchiladas were excellent and salsa is spicy and tasty. They've changed house tequilas more times than I can count. It used to be a respectable 1800 brand tequila and now it's bottom of the line Montezuma. $12 premium margaritas with Sauza were drinkable but not great either. But I'll be back. Great ambience on their outdoor patio.

I was seated promptly, brought chips and salsa, and ordered a drink and water and it was brought right away. It all went downhill from there. The waitress who took my order had difficulty understanding me. Then, when she brought the food, it wasn't what I ordered but she disappeared and I never saw her again. She never came back to check on me. No one ever came to refill my water or asked if I wanted anything else. I ended up eating the food. It tasted good, but it wasn't what I wanted. I did not leave a tip.

Victrola Tipperary

I was seated promptly, brought chips and salsa, and ordered a drink and water and it was brought right away. It all went downhill from there. The waitress who took my order had difficulty understanding me. Then, when she brought the food, it wasn't what I ordered but she disappeared and I never saw her again. She never came back to check on me. No one ever came to refill my water or asked if I wanted anything else. I ended up eating the food. It tasted good, but it wasn't what I wanted. I did not leave a tip.

This place was really awful. I was so excited to eat good Mexican in Southern California and I was so disappointed. It was flavorless. Any hole in the wall in the area is 10 times better. I would have rather not eaten anything.

Lindsay Lowenthal

This place was really awful. I was so excited to eat good Mexican in Southern California and I was so disappointed. It was flavorless. Any hole in the wall in the area is 10 times better. I would have rather not eaten anything.

A warning to potential customers: I found a short black hair underneath a slice of tomato in one of my tacos. I have long light brown hair, so it clearly wasn’t mine. The item was removed from the bill, which I appreciated. However, when I asked to speak with the manager, he flatly denied it was even possible that it could have come from the kitchen and suggested it may have been my own hair. He then told me that if I didn’t like it, I didn’t have to come back. Being dismissed and accused rather than taken seriously was far more upsetting than the initial mistake. I won’t be returning.