Flavor of India Santa Barbara — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

Flavor of India has been in Santa Barbara for as long as I can remember - and I was born and raised here. Now that I am in my mid-thirties I have seen it go through a few changes. Mostly cosmetic and some functional but the food seems to be getting better with time.

Which is why FOI has lasted so long in a town where new restaurants come and go as quickly as the staff in the Trump Administration! But seriously, as a local, a good tip for how good a place in town might be is to find out how long they have been here. While not definitive it is a solid clue. It's too expensive and there are too many amazing restaurants for anyone with bad food and bad service to last very long here.

Back to India... I mentioned their look. They were always delicious but I think the recent opening of other Indian restaurants as well as Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine in town has caused them them to step up their game. I was pleasantly surprised a few nights ago when I walked in to see the entire place had a makeover from their dingy white walls and faded menus. (I still went for the food not the atmosphere.)

Logistically they got rid of their all you can eat buffet. I think this was probably a shrewd business move on their end and I am very happy for them if it is helping their business. It also elevated the entire experience in my opinion and gives the main dining area a more open feel.

Everything about the new look of Flavor of India is why I decided to spend some time today writing this review. It looks great! I also wanted to reiterate the fact that the food has not changed in all these years that I have been going there. If anything it has gotten better.

There is only one small issue I think the owners and management should address for the sake of their customers. It seems like it should be an easy fix too.

The lighting. It's too dark!

I'm only 37 years old and I actually have decent night vision but I struggled to read the menu without my cellphone glow or awkwardly angling the menu in the any direction that had some light in it. There is simply not enough light at the tables to adequately read your menu.

Might I suggest a fake "candle" or adding a brighter bulb to the overhead lights at the tables?? Perhaps instead of 40 watts just 60 instead??

That's it! The food and atmosphere are great and you are a solid institution of Indian cuisine in Santa Barbara that has been around the longest.

Let that light shine bright so I can give...

Attention - Avoid this shady place.

Having stayed in Bay Area for almost and decade and visiting Santa Barbara for vacation, its awesome to have a place like this. The food quality was good, service was nice. Price little up but I am fine as it's once in a while case. They should broaden the lane to enter the parking, need little space in all. Overall I am happy. Thanks for everything.

Edit of 2022 visit - Seems the owners had been wearing a "nice mask" for the customers who order big, are of a particular ethnicity and order directly over the call with them (to avoid paying stakes to the vendors like UberEATS or Door dash). I was travelling with my toddler and a young kid who are picky eaters, so had ordered food via Door dash ( thinking it will save the time of calling). I was notified that the order is ready to pick up and I reached there. After reaching there I showed the order info to the lady at the front desk ( presumably the owner), she asked me to wait for 15-20 minutes. After waiting for more than 20 minutes outside at this cluttered place, I went inside to learn where is the order, the same lady asked me to cancel the order, she stated that she would need another 20 minutes at least (she assumed I was a dasher), that was super rude, she was talking nicely to the natives by the way. But her tone was switching while talking to people of special ethnicity. Anyways, the guy, of below average height passed a really weird smile while his owner was rude with the customers. As soon as the lady learnt that I was not a dasher rather a door dash customer, she asked me to cancel the order and reorder it with the front desk. What kind of shady business is that, why discrimination with door dash or UberEATS customers ?? This lady and her staff (the guy) kept my family hungry. I will go to every possible extent to get this stopped.

Humble suggestions to people who are non local and non natives, avoid this place. There are better restaurants around with better behaving people.

Food quality - 3/5 (previous experience) Food quantity for price - 1/5 Behavior - 0/5 Shady practices - 10/5 Ambience - 0/5 Ease of parking - 0/5 Possibility of getting infection in today's time - 20 out 5...

Great service, nicest staff, terrible food. The service is fast, friendly and very efficient, so no problems there. The food, however, is simply terrible. It has to be the blandest Indian food I have ever tasted - and being a Brit, I have eaten a lot of Indian. They seem to confuse "spicy" (meaning hot), with "tasty" (meaning full of flavour, regardless of the heat). Generally, Americans do not like Indian food to be too spicy, beause throughout the US I have found that one has to order it as hot as they will make it, to get something that qualifies as medium anywhere else. Anyway, the Tikka Masala my wife ordered had to be about as bland and tasteless as is possible to make. We suspected the sauce was a cheap, pre-packaged catering mix. It looked as if it had been enhanced with food coloring, as it glowed red in an unnatural way. The pilao rice looked more like Mexican rice, and had also been colored, rather than flavored. Everything was missing the wonderful naunces of cardamom, clove, ginger and turmeric that make this cuisine so desirable and delicious. I know for a fact that it doesnt cost more to make a good curry than to make a bad one, and the prices here are not cheap. Years ago, the food here used to be really quite good, then it went downhill, so we stopped coming. We thought we would give it another chance, but sadly its really hit rock bottom. Hugely disappointing. Time to get a new chef and kick it up a notch in...