Jill's Place Restaurant — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

We were visiting Santa Barbara for the weekend and we wanted a nice meal to finish off our little trip. We were recommended to eat at Jill's in order to get a Santa Barbara native dining experience and we were not dissapointed. I like how the restaurant is a little bit hidden and not planted right on state street in the more touristy area. Of course, it was valentine's day weekend and the evening before valentine's day (Saturday!) so we were greeted by a little bit of a wait. We arrived at around 7:30 pm but we were seated at 8 pm. It was quite crowded and for a while, it seemed like the rest of the waiting customers were getting disgruntled. Thankfully, a woman (who I think was the owner) promptly greeted everyone and even handed out free cocktails to all of us waiting for a table! It was chilly outside so it was very nice to have a little alcohol to warm us right up. The servers were very fast and friendly, they were also very knowledgeable about the items on menu. My fiance ordered the lambchops with french fries and I ordered the new york strip steak with mashed potatoes. The NY steak was a LITTLE bland and unfortunately did not come to the table cooked the way I ordered it. My fiance enjoyed his lamp chops but they also came to the table undercooked. I liked the split pea soup and garlic bread that came with our dinner, the side salad was very simple. I appreciated the freshness of the sauteed veggies that came with our entrees (they were tendercrisp and had beautiful color) but they were a bit bland. I also ordered an appetizer, fried brussel sprouts with bacon. The flavor was delicious, fatty with a hit of vinegar to cut through the richness. Overall this was a very cute restaurant and I would come here again to try other things...

August 31, 2018 Friday at almost 8pm:

Parking: Street (not too bad) but I can imagine it to become difficult on busier times on the weekends.

Time to get seated: less than 5 mins.

Host/Hostesses: Awesome!

Food: We ordered Appetizers: Combo plate (steak, chicken and sausage bites) Tater Tots

Combo plate was good. I especially liked the steak bites. Serving was great for 3 people. Tater Tots were sprinkled with cheese on top and crunchy on the outside.

Entrees: Sirloin Baseball Cut Lamb Chops T-Bone Rib Eye *All Entrees come with: pea soup, garlic bread & salad (with whatever salad dressing choice you like) *Also included is your choice of sides from: rice pilaf; French fries or Spaghetti for an additional $2.

Sirloin was the size of a fist but it was thick. It was Excellent! Lamb Chops T-Bone was bland. We had to ask for Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco. The way it was cooked though was very good. The Serving was big which made it worthwhile. Rib eye was the most amazing of them all. Thickly cut and cooked to perfection. Very tender. Huge portions. Sides of French fries were crispy. Sides of Spaghetti was just okay. Pasta was not al dente. Sauce was bland.

Ambiance: Wonderful! Not too crowded. Beautiful interiors and design. Crowd was hip, comfortable & no snobby-discriminating feel.

Staying for the Labor Day weekend at Santa Barbara. This quaint and cute little restaurant is a...

My first visit, and now kicking myself for not coming sooner. Plates are slightly expensive, even by Santa Barbara standards, but it is well worth it. Three course meal, served by a surprisingly flawless wait staff. First course, garlic bread with soup. Absolutely excellent, though some might think the bread could be a slightly higher caliber for the money, combined with a soup that was nothing short of exceptional. Second course, salad, was a great amount of freshness with a slightly thick and beautifully tangy balsamic. As a longtime fan of Shalhoobs meats, I knew what to expect with one element of course three. The petite filet minon was very good, if not great. Slightly more rare than I expected from a medium rare, but since I had mentioned chef's discretion, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the higher blood content. The steamed vegetables were a perfect compliment and, if I had a larger appetite at the time, I would have loved to enjoy more of my rice pilaf. For 27 dollars, plus the cost of a obviously fresh iced tea, I will most certainly...