Harry's Plaza Cafe — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

My family has enjoyed Harry's for many, MANY years! My grandmother had a regular booth by the bar every Tuesday night. Rene was an absolute gem, and treated my grandma with such respect and kindness. We miss her dearly...

The last few months have not served Harry's well... the managers are absolutely horrible, and the restaurant is suffering under their supervision. Not only do they appear dirty and unkempt, but they are unable to effectively hire, train, and manage their staff. Tonight, our experience was awful, and in reflecting back over the past few months, we haven't had one pleasant visit.

Our visit began with the hosts unable to identify whether they had tables available or how long the wait would be. They took our name & number down and let us know they would call when a table was available. Our family decided to browse Chaucer's while we waited, but my son had to use the restroom, so we headed back. When we arrived, my husband took my son inside while the hosts laughed to each other and said that our table had been ready, but yet they had neglected to call? I was confused... I then stood at the door while two hosts argued over who would take us to our table, both refusing. The manager just stood there watching them and didn't give either of them direction or feedback. The other two hosts were dressed in dirty clothing, not the typical uniforms, rather baggy band sweatshirts and distressed jeans -- not that I'm judging, I just didn't know they actually worked there by their appearance. On our way to our table, there was a very nicely dressed host who excused himself as we passed, and I appreciated his kindness.

When we sat at our table -- the closest to the back kitchen entrance, our waiter arrived and while he was efficient, he was very rude and off-putting. He rarely checked on us, rushed our orders to clear the table for the next customers, and just was generally unpleasant. Looking around the restaurant, I saw a few waitresses that were kind to their tables and wished that they could have been helping us instead. I also observed the managers standing around again, not helping their staff bus tables, serve food, or check in with customers -- this is VERY typical of our experience at Harry's. The managers typically stand around gossiping with other waiters or regular customers, rarely actually working or supporting their staff.

There were a few busers that worked hard, and a few who looked rather filthy, sneezing into their hands as they washed tables, only adding to the rather dirty environment that has been festering for the past decade. Which if you like cleanliness, don't EVER use the bathrooms at Harry's; they are always DISGUSTINGLY filthy, smelly, and often broken.

Harry's is a staple in Santa Barbara, and I want to see local restaurants succeed... BUT, unfortunately, the service here is just awful, and the food is just regular bar food. They make a good stiff drink, and it's always nice to run into familiar faces, but it's just not worth it anymore. My family will not be returning after years of disappointment. Sadly, I still left a 20%+ tip this evening as I know restaurant workers are grossly underpaid and need their tip money to survive in Santa Barbara, and I didn't feel like taking out my frustration on our rude waiter.

My hope is that the management will see this review and begin to change their practices and attitudes. Good luck in the future, Harry's!

P.S. As we were waiting in line at the entrance, a 75 year-old gentleman who was GROSSLY over-served at the bar, struck up a rather disturbing conversation with our 7 year-old son. My husband and I were surprised that the bar staff would serve someone until they were obviously inebriated, and we were shocked to see him stumble out to his vehicle without the manager, who was standing close by over-hearing our conversation, offering him a cab ride home. We know Harry's serves stiff-drinks, but enabling a clearly drunk person to be in the position to harm others is simply...

I read all the good reviews and this looked like my kind of place, plus it's been in business since 1968. My wife was a little skeptical. They only had outside dining. While walking to my table, I knew this place was going to be great. All of the food I saw looked great. They had a special for Taco Tuesday, so I ordered the crispy taco and enchilada combo with beans and rice. I usually don't order mexican food at non mexican restaurants. But the taco plates I saw looked very good. I was right. The crispy taco and enchilada were hot when it arrived. The taco was nice and crispy not greasy at all. The ground beef was hot yet the lettuce and tomato were fresh. The cheese enchilada had plenty of cheese and not chintzy on the red sauce. The beans were homemade and the rice was good. I was very impressed with the mexican food. My wife ordered the chicken pot pie with mash potatoes. Oh Boy! It was Great! Homemade all the way and the crust was great. We knew it was going to be good because we saw several being served while waiting. Plenty of chicken and vegetables inside. The menu says "made to order" and I believe it. The pot pie and mash potatoes were hot. The food wasn't sitting under a hot lamp, served right away. The mash potatoes were very good, nothing fancy just great tasting mash potatoes. I highly recommend this restaurant. If you visit Santa Barbara...

First let me say that I really hope and pray this was an isolated incident. Secondly my Family and I have been going to Harry's for 40 years. I ordered to go - Prim rib and spaghetti It took me several phone calls to get through. I would either get hung up on or I could hear the person saying hello hello (Note: I was calling my a landmine - my office) After finally get a person I was disappointed to hear this person repeat what I asked for over and over to a second and third person working close by. The person on the phone kept saying where is the prim rib at then where is this and that. It sounded like all three were on their first week of work Eventually they took my order. When I arrived I found that someone had placed my straw in my Pepsi (meaning one of them touched the straw - covid) I asked if they placed silverware, salt and butter as per I asked - they replied yes. One person looked at the other and I felt like I should double check. There wasn't any of what I asked for. When I got to the office I got the food out and the prim rib wasn't medium rare The spaghetti had the wrong sauce and there was gravy on my mash potatoes after asking for just butter - no gravy Long story short - I was very disappointed to pay over $73 and not enjoy my meal. Again - I hope this was an...