Jane — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

My wife and I came down to Santa Barbara to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We spent an inordinate amount of time trying to find a quaint place to have dinner & finally arrived at "Jane". This restaurant, named after the founding "grandma" and passed down through generations, did not disappoint. Seriously, just go, you will be amazed & love it!

Ambiance: When we arrived, they let us choose where to sit. We opted to sit in the second floor balcony at the front of the restaurant. It was so quaint and fun. We could see the street and it was relatively quiet with a table next to the window. The decor around the restaurant is full of artwork and keepsakes that our waitress told us were from all of Grandma Jane's travels around the world. Such a unique view of her life experiences.

Food: Okay, we loved it. It was nearly perfect!

My wife got the chicken piccata. She frequently gets this when she goes out to eat & she said this is the best she's ever had. It was the perfect level of crisp on the outside with amazing flavor throughout. Paired with scalloped potatoes, this was the perfect blend of flavors and the perfect portion size. The night before she had gotten chicken piccata at another Italian restaurant in SB & this one blew it out of the water. If you like chicken piccata, guaranteed you will love this!

I got the Halibut. I was vacillating between salmon and halibut, so I asked our waitress for her opinion--there was no hesitation, she said to get the halibut. I was not 100% sure I would like the orange sauce on it, or the pistachio crust. She assured me it was great. She was not at all wrong. I have traveled around the world and gotten lots of different fish dishes at all sorts of restaurants (from hole in the wall to 5-star). This was among the best, if not the best. The fish was perfectly cooked, the unique flavor mix of orange and strawberry left me wishing I did not finish. Again, the pairing with scalloped potatoes was amazing.

To find out that most of the ingredients were locally sourced was also very cool--that would explain the fresh taste throughout.

We closed out the evening with dessert (of course). My wife got the chocolate dessert and I got the lemon dessert (don't recall the actual names). Both of them were a good portion and the flavors were again amazing. My wife is a chocolate connoisseur and absolutely loved the rich dark chocolate flavors. I love lemon and appreciated the mix of lemon and berry mixed together.

All in, this was an amazing dinner and a great way to celebrate our anniversary. Our waitress was very attentive and answered all of our questions. I would highly recommend this as your first choice...

I came here years ago and enjoyed it and the service, so thought I would return for a special occasion. Unfortunately, it's a miss for many reasons. We booked reservations and indicated in the notes that it was a birthday. The host (female owner?) seated us behind a very loud group of women, so we asked for a quieter table. She led us to the back of house to a table just at the end of the kitchen alley. The other option, she said was upstairs. Given that two people in our party were elderly, the suggestion to sit upstairs was obtuse. I called her out on not being very thoughtful about this being a birthday. She exclaimed, "OH! I'm sorry!" almost with sarcasm. Despite there being a better located four-top and the long table, she pushed the kitchen alley table on us, saying, "It's going to get very busy soon," urging us to just sit down. The host sets the tone when guests walk in the restaurant, so we weren't pleased going forward. Our waitress was polite enough though, but honestly, didn't offer much creativity either. Other wait staff seemed aloof and annoyed, so at least our waitress was nice and polite. But despite it being a birthday, we had to ask for the dessert menu. She just asked if we wanted boxes, lol. Fine, we took the leftovers home. But you'd think our server would have offered the dessert menu for cake. Anyway, two dessert items weren't even available, since they were "reworking" their dessert menu. Same thing with appetizers and wine. No suggestions on her part, so we just ordered side salads to accompany the entrees. When asking about the wine, she was like, "well, do you want red or white? We have a pinot, which is kinda sweet, a syrah, which is less so, and then a cab." Is that how the server is supposed to describe the wine choices? You tell me. This was more like dining at Denny's or the Olive Garden; not fine dining, despite spending just over $200. Btw, they charged $2.00 to change penne to linguine - Way to nickel and dime your patrons. When walking home, we said to ourselves that we should have put the $200 towards a more expensive and rewarding dinner at...

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ An Unforgettable 40th Birthday at Jane – Perfection from Start to Finish!

I recently hosted my 40th birthday celebration at Jane Restaurant and Event Rental Space with 35 of my closest friends and family, and I can honestly say it was one of the best events I've ever thrown, and I’ve planned quite a few over the years!

From the moment we walked in, the ambiance was warm, stylish, and inviting, the perfect blend of upscale and comfortable. The space is beautifully designed, and the staff made everything feel effortless. Every detail was thoughtfully handled, and I never once had to stress about anything during the event. They were professional, attentive, and genuinely kind. They even had a delicious mocktail for me since I am expecting.

Now let’s talk about the food — WOW. Every single dish was out-of-this-world delicious. Our guests are still raving about the flavors, presentation and how perfect everything was for serving so many people at the same time. From appetizers to desserts, everything was absolutely top-tier.

What truly sets Jane apart is the unbeatable value. The quality of the service, ambiance, and food far exceeded expectations for the price. It’s rare to find a venue that checks all the boxes, and then some, but Jane nailed it.

Whether you’re planning a milestone birthday, a corporate event, or anything in between, do yourself a favor and book Chase. It was a 5-star experience in every possible way, and I can’t wait for the next excuse...