Do not bother making a reservation at Bouchon. We did and were sorely disappointed. My husband and I traveled to Santa Barbara to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. About one month in advance, we made reservations for dinner on a Sunday at Bouchon using Open Table. We noted that we were celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary and would appreciate a special table. We reconfirmed our reservation through Open Table two times as the date neared.

We arrived 5 minutes prior to our reservation time of 7PM. There was one couple at the hostess stand in front of us. They did not have a reservation and were given the option of inside or out. They chose inside. When we checked in next the only place they could seat us was outside in one of those make-shift wooden patios sitting on top of the asphalt street directly next to the road. When we mentioned our anniversary, how far in advance we made the reservation, and that we asked for a nice table we were told we didn’t request inside so there was nothing they could do for us. Open Table did not offer inside or outside so it appears Bouchon can’t communicate well with their booking app either.

This is the worst customer service we have ever received from a restaurant. Had this restaurant been managed properly, they would never have given our table away to walk-up guests. Further, they did nothing to get us to stay. They didn’t say how long we would have to wait for an inside table, they did not offer for us to sit at the bar to wait for a table (and certainly no offer of a free drink for their screw-up). When we asked for a recommendation as to where we could go, they told us to go next door. We did go next door to Olio e Limone where we had a great dinner, great service and a terrific bottle of Flying Goat 2014 Pinot! We explained what happened at Bouchon and they were more than happy to accommodate us. This recommendation was the only thing Bouchon got right that night. I would definitely return to Olio e Limone but would never consider Bouchon based on their rude and cocky attitude. Clearly, they don’t care about their patrons. There are lots of great places to eat in Santa Barbara. Choose any one of them but here.

We would have given zero stars if that had been a choice.