Cody's Cafe — Restaurant in California

Like many places in Santa Barbara, Cody’s has had to make adjustments for Covid 19 reasons, and are no longer attached to their sister restaurant on the Mesa , and the menu has slightly changed, along with the prices. But the people are the same, awesomely nice and the drinks are very strong , something that have kept the locals loyal and it won’t disappear like Goleta Coffee across the way. Something the scientists from the reality show Bar Rescue could learn from. The Breakfasts are hearty and used to be a favorite of the working fisherman back in the day . The Californian Benedict, with its perfectly cooked poached egg and tomato and avocado is a known favorite of the local Santa Bar-barbarians and for a slight fee , add those to the Fairfax Benedict ( I think it’s a wink to Canter’s Deli in LA on Fairfax) which is Smoked Salmon on a bagel, cream cheese,poached egg, Homemade Hollandaise sauce and is served with a choice of potatoes , cottage fries or their perfect hash browns and homemade salsa. I can’t eat like that anymore, so I got the grilled Fresh Salmon that I photographed ,because it looked like a perfect still life painting ! Healthy too ! Sadly, because of the Covid, the price was $20 and with tea and tax , plus a tip ,well, I can’t afford to eat there everyday like I had for the past 20 years. (Maybe when the Covid 19 is over ; prices will go down again )🙏The Salads and Hamburgers are just as good as they were decades ago. I especially enjoyed the $13 Gorgonzola Salad with its cheese and mandarins , and for $7 extra , you can add a piece of grilled Chicken or Salmon. Now with outdoor seating, they also have a cozy banquet room and side bar (although I haven’t seen it used much since the Covid ) and for the same reason, it is no longer open for dinner . 😔 Sigh , it’s the end of an era in Santa Barbara. But for Breakfast and Lunch it is still one of the best “Local Favorites...

10/06/23 Update: so we thought we'd give it another try, we ordered Yaters sandwich and the Cobb salad. The chicken in both was rather tasteless and I'm pretty sure it came from a large compressed loaf of chicken that was cut into slices for the sandwich and cubes for the salad. The beer was good until I realized there were a food-like substance stuck on the bottom of a glass, which I didn't notice until I drank all the beer. But it was nice sitting on the outdoor patio.

It was ok, good not great, not much atmosphere, but they do have a full bar. Hostess seated us at a dirty table with the check still on it which didn't get cleaned until we asked. Taking advantage of the full bar, I ordered an Irish coffee for this cold rainy day, but all I got was cold coffee with whiskey and whipped cream on top. Looked good but not even close to a real Irish coffee. But it was strong! My Cobb salad was a generous portion, but poor with bland chicken, cold limp toast, and thin, gray colored blue cheese dressing. On a high note, the tri tip sandwich was tender and we'll cooked. Fries we're also good. Our server was attentive but I couldn't help notice the couple across from us trying to get their servers attention for too long. They have an extensive breakfast menu so I'm thinking this may be a better...

So to continue our quest of trying every restaurant in Santa Barbara, we ended up at Cody's. We have been here several times because it is so consistent in it's service and quality of food. It is what you expect when you think of diner. It's fast, loud, and serves a great breakfast any time of day.

I thought I would try something different, so I tried their "Cafe Favorites", Hot Turkey. The turkey is moist and seems like it is carved right off the bird. Big thick slices, it's a lot of food. The vegetables were cooked to the right tenderness, but a little too much butter for me. Good to dip bread in though. The potatoes were a little too cool for mashed potatoes. It is great comfort food.

The Punk stuck to breakfast, scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes. She ate it all and didn't share, so I'm guessing it was good. She said she, "didn't like the air." She says she will go back if she can wear leggings. I suppose she was a little cold.

We have been going here for several years and you always see the same people working there, so you know management is doing something right. I really like that they are treating their people well and will support that all day...