Guichos Eatery — Restaurant in Carpinteria

It was Sunday 1/5/24 at guichos at the Carpinteria Location I had order a Cesar salad with chicken. It was the worst salad I had ever tasted , it was gross! Dry chicken cut up in 1/4 in squares, topped with stale croutons, string shredded Parmesan cheese and also tossed with more cheese and diced 1/4 in tomatoes . Dressing on the side. I was very disappointed, because my family and I always order from guichos and is always good. But my salad was terrible.. so I called guichos to let them know that I was dissatisfied with my salad. I was speaking to a young lady who said her name was penny , but she could be giving me a false name. As I was telling her about my salad , she was apologizing and said that there was nothing she can do. I was not asking for an exchange or my money back, all I was doing was letting her know that she should let her manager or owner or the cook know, so they maybe want to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else. The young Lady tone turned very rude and aggressive and told me that I can tell them myself and there was nothing she can do about it. I told hey hold on how can you treat me like this ? And she started to talk back to me and an even more aggressive tone and I told miss penny that she should never talk to customers like that! I told I am a chef that works in a five star hotel and would never ever talk to a guest like the way she talk to me! She didn’t care and said it is not her fault or her problem!!! I WAS IN SHOCK!!! Omg!!! I am also Carpinteria Local as as well as a small business owner and involved in this community. I will not go back to guichos ever again!! And I will my community know , about the terrible young Lady who was working on Sunday 1/5/25 named penny! If that is...

I ordered the lentil soup and the fusilli/sausage and I ordered it without mushrooms. The soup was 95% broth, hardly any ingredients at all, way, way, way overpriced for the amount given. Like $12 bucks for broth, really??? The fusilli's sauce was so watered down, it leaked all the way home and into my cars seat. It was still so watery that the pasta was swimming in the carton. I had to pour it into a pan and add corn starch just to thicken it up so it would stick to the pasta and become a "sauce" and the grey looking "sausage" omg, don't even get me started. You would think their one saving grace would be the garlic bread... not in this case, mine wasn't even toasted, soaked in butter and chunks of garlic, basically my bread looked like a sponge. Yuck! Sadly, I didn't realize any of this hot mess until I got it home. This place is deceiving, it smells wonderful but I feel ripped off, I ordered it once before, maybe 3 years ago, and was not impressed then either. Way, way too much garlic, I cannot even believe I am complaining about that, there can never be too much garlic... But, oh contrary to my personal beliefs, yes, YES you can add too much GARLIC, Guichos ...Ugh! I am so Bummed I even stopped in. I shouldn't have to recook my takeout, let alone spend a good amount of time trying to sop up the mess in my passenger seat from the " soupy sauce" that leaked on the drive home. Especially when the two out of the two items I purchased were both awful. Not even worth driving back to get a refund. NEVER AGAIN will I ever let temptation get me to waste good money on 'pasta soup with grey sausage' aka the Fusilli with sausage and broth with a few carrots, 1 slice of zucchini and maybe 2 Teaspoons of...

Light, airy, high-ceilinged space with statement light fixtures that would intrigue pretentious types who believe themselves to be at the avant-garde of all things lighting+design, but hey, we are here mostly for the food, right?

And the food MacReeves and I enjoyed on a quiet Linden Ave Friday night was chef’s kiss if your chef is into simple yet scrumptious seafood pasta that is perfectly sauced and delightfully al dente.

The fettuccine was our favorite by a hair because of its luscious yet not heavy cream sauce. The linguine was also delicious and featured shrimp and bay scallops in a light tomato-based sauce. Yummy garlic bread accompanied the pasta in a little paper packet.

My regrets about the meal? Even dine-in customers are served food in paper boxes and cups. Aesthetically and ecologically, that’s an unfortunate business decision. Secondly, the shrimp were over-cooked and lost the texture and flavor that could’ve taken both dishes over the top. Finally, the cold garlic bread could use a quick pass through the oven.

Small but important details signal to customers that the food and its presentation are as important as your lighting choices. Even so, I will return for yummy pasta.

Tab was about $45 before tip for two Pellegrino, a plastic cup of red wine and two pastas. Probably a little steep for counter-order, disposable dishes atmosphere, but not unfair considering the cost of doing business. Service was pleasant...