China Pavilion — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

SHOCKING and HORRIBLE !!! My husband ordered Capital Spareribs, I ordered Salt and Pepper Spareribs for lunch. No meat whatsoever on any bone in either dish Mine was even deep fried (yet another reason to avoid Chinese food). Before ordering I tried asking the waitress about the difference between the dishes, but she clearly didn’t comprehend nor did she seem to care. We rarely eat Chinese food and I rarely eat pork. We were visiting Santa Barbara and I remembered this restaurant from when I went to school there over 40 years ago! I thought for old times sake we would try something different- BIG MISTAKE!! After a few bites, I realized there was literally nothing to eat and lost any appetite I had as did my husband - we were in utter shock!! When the waitress finally returned, we explained there was literally no meat on the bones we had been served. She offered no alternative, said the cook was gone, apologized, and brought us a mango pudding to share while standing over us as she continued to insist we try it, which my husband finally did to appease her. At that point I was so discouraged I merely wanted to leave. My husband paid for our food and like the gentleman he is, even left a tip. We have been continually disappointed with both food and service ever since COVID. It is forcing me to rethink eating out at all considering the cost is high and quality (both food and service) so poor-it just doesn’t make...

This place ain't no Panda Express! This is one of the better Chinese restaurants in Santa Barbara. Very well made food. The selection is vast yet somehow not overwhelming. You can choose from Authentic Chinese cuisine or your American classics! I decided to go the authentic route and started with scallion cakes and ended with peking duck. Unfortunately the scallion cakes did not even compare to the ones I had on the streets of China. I shall compare. I believe it was the base they used. Somehow it was glutenous and therefore, came out chewy and almost tasted stale, while the one in China was light and fluffy, yet was surrounded by a crispy exterior. Good news is, the one at China pavilion still came out slightly crispy, but I think it was a bit oily as well. What helped was the sauce it came with. It was almost like hoisin, but more ingredients added. Next was the peking duck, this also required a crispy taste. I remember coming here the first time and to my recollection I believe it was done right and to perfection, but this time around, again with the oil. There was just too much grease. I feel like if the greasiness could be cut out then this dish would deserve five stars. I feel like it can be done. Perhaps there was a chef change since the last time and the first time I came in. I still give it a 4 star overall because it is definitely better than the majority of Chinese places...

We ordered 2 large takeout meals for Chinese New Year's eve dinner and weekend dim sum. The food was good for Santa Barbara, albeit greasy, with a few unexpectedly deep fried dishes that is not usually served as deep fried (sauteed shrimp for the shrimp noodle dish, deep fried taro cake). The portions were small.

Dim sum was ordered on sunday, aproximately 20 separate dishes. We did not receive 3 dishes (triple order of shrimp cheung fun, which is a steamed rice noodle dish with shrimp and specialty soy sauce) that my grandchildren liked. In addition, shrimp chow mein, which I had specifically requested as one of the party liked crispy chinese pan fried noodles, was misordered as shrimp lo mein, a soft noodle dish.

When I called to have them rectify the mistake, the receptionist initially told me the dishes would be refunded, as the dishes as requested were charged. I received a second call from the restaurant that the manager refused the refund as they claimed the 3 triple order of shrimp cheung fun was sent in the order. No explanation was offered for the shrimp noodle dish cooked wrong. A further communication that triple order shrimp "chow fun" was sent is also wrong as that also was not sent.

This left a bad taste for what should have been a nice meal for an extended...