PETRA CAFE — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

Terrible pick-up experience, very disappointing food. We ordered Pietra bowl + chicken shawarma and Kash bowl + kofta. Some of the chicken was still RAW. The Kash bowl was missing its falalel. The quinoa was bathing in a sauce tasting like wine (?!!). The "mango" was so fibrous it was probably scrapped from the kernel of a used mango. The falafels in the Pietra were super mushy. We also ordered 2 mezze: babaganoush and pita, and za'atar. The pitas were stale, at least unwrapped for 2 days. The za'atar really mediocre.

-- Service was pretty poor as well, the guy at the card machine that works (the pickup one doesn't...) couldn't have cared less for our patronage. After some confusion transferring my order from the other machine, he didn't bother asking if I wanted my receipt or telling me the paiement went through. Waited long minutes while watching him wash glasses after paying, and my food was getting cold. Finally went to grab my food myself. Their card machine will only offer you tip options 18% and up (or press the tiny button to enter a custom amount...) so I gave them with an 18% tip for takeout and left with a bitter taste in my mouth. I will NOT come again, and I will advise my friends AGAINST going.

Decent babaganoush tho, that's what the...

Our experience tonight seemed like something off of Kitchen Nightmares. We shared the mixed mezza and mixed family platters betweem 3 people. The hummus, baba ganoush (moutabbal) and labneh were cold and tasted like they were taken out of the fridge minutes before being served. The dolmeh were falling apart. The pita was clearly from a bag and was comically cut in little pie shapes. The family platter was even worse. The rice was quite dry (probably rewarmed in the microwave), and the lamb had clearly spent too much time in the freezer as it had no flavour whatsoever. The outdoor seating is comfortable, but I couldn't help notice the strong scent of urine (probably someone used the booth as a bed the previous night). I really hope their drinks are good, because if people are coming for the food alone, this place...

The food and portions were very unsatisfactory. We visited Petra Cafe for lunch based on the reviews, but it didn't meet our expectations.

I ordered the Shawarma Bowl, which consisted mostly of yellow rice, a few pieces of protein, lettuce, tomatoes, and a drizzle of mayo. It cost $18, but the portion felt too small and wasn't worth the price. I also didn't like the taste YMMV. The Petra Salad had an adequate portion of falafel but was otherwise average.

The music was on the louder side, typical for a bar environment. I didn't appreciate some comments made by the server. It seemed they were trying to be humorous, but it came off poorly. Otherwise, the service was ok.

We didn't try the hookah, outdoor...