Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

Went to grab lunch with a coworker and experienced the worst customer service that I have ever had here. There was no line, the counter seats were full, we went right up to the register and were not asked if we wanted our food for there or to go, we ordered our meals and drinks and waited. We were then told we couldnt sit down in an extremely rude manner when two seats opened up at the counter and were interrogated about our order. When I explained that we were not asked if we wanted our food for there or to go and expected to eat it there, we were greeted with a sarcastic "well you shouldve asked" even though my job is not to do someone elses job for them. I mentioned that the seats were also first come first serve and she just started repeating herself. She refused to back down, and began arguing back and forth with me. Not really sure why people work a customer service role if they just are going to be condescending and rude. We waited for quite a bit for our food, noticing that other people who ordered the same dish after us were getting theirs. We finally got our food and i asked for no chili oil in my khao soi, yet it was very obvious they had put a good amount of chili oil in mine, the crunchy noodles were completely crushed up, almost to a dust as if someone had intentionally crushed the noodles in their hand. Chicken was dry and the piece of chicken was extremely small.

Not sure what is going on with this place. The last few months the quality has gone down, they have forgotten to put the crunchy noodles in my order twice, and the workers are so rude and look like the last place they want to be is there, they always have an attitude. Disappointing, especially when you're spending almost $20 on a noodle dish. Meal was barely edible due to the absurd amount of chili oil they put in, 4/10 stars. Customer service...

The Empty Bowl has been one of my favorite spots for a long time. Whether it was grabbing lunch during work, dinner during my college days at Westmont, or just a casual lunch with friends, it has always been one of those go-to places that never disappoint. The food is consistently good, and the prices are fair for the quality and amount you get. The Drunken Noodle, Hangover Noodle, and Tom Yum Noodle are packed with flavor and the perfect amount of heat. You get a solid portion that usually leaves you feeling full, and if not, their dumplings, egg rolls, or even their seasonal wings are great add-ons to round out a satisfying meal. Their Thai tea is definitely on the sweeter side, maybe a bit too sweet at times, but it pairs perfectly with the spice from the noodles and helps balance everything out. It is one of those combos that just works. The place is always busy, with the staff moving fast in such a tight space, but they still manage to keep things flowing smoothly. And being in the Santa Barbara Public Market adds to the whole vibe. It is a fun, social area that is always clean and full of energy. If you have not been to The Empty Bowl yet, do yourself a favor and go. It is the kind of spot that becomes a regular in your rotation...

We got the khao soi, hangover noodles, and a thai iced tea today.

It was pretty busy today and the service wasn't very good. When we received the order they had a bit of a mixup and had to ask for one of the items we received back. Also the seating is a bit difficult since it's the public market so if you aren't sitting at the bar, you have to get it to-go.

Anyway, the thai iced tea was the first thing we tried and it was great! Better than most places, I would say. Next, we received our main items. Because most people ordered the khao soi, I ordered it as well and it was to expectation and was very good. I would just say that the chicken was a bit dry so I was a bit surprised seeing other reviews saying theirs was moist and melting in their mouth. My boyfriend ordered the hangover noodles and the noodles weren't prepared properly and were stuck together and the sauce was a bit oily, although the taste wasn't bad. The chicken in this was also pretty hard. He ended up adding the rest to my curry because the curry was great. It was definitely on the expensive side though

Khao soi: 9/10 Thai iced tea: 10/10 Hangover...