Pura Vida Coffee Society — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

Went here after camping at El Capitan canyon for the weekend. Me and the missus were hankering for a good cup of joe after 2 days of instant.

The store was very clean and had a good vibe. Smaller indoor are but there was adequate indoor and outdoor seating. Only one barista / employee working there and he was apologetic about the wait but was extremely helpful.

I got 2 cups of pour over of their lightest roast. It was a bit too dark for my taste but smooth and not bitter at all. My oldest got the creme brulee latte and loved it.

The bacon avocado toast was the BEST! The toast, avocado, bacon, hard boiled egg and sauce was so delicious. I didn't want to share it with my partner it was so good. The breakfast sandwich with sausage was one of the best my youngest ever had apparently. He said it was better than a McDonald's cheeseburger and that WAS his favorite food of all time. Lol. He even asked when we'd be going back.

In summary. The coffee used was on the darker roast side and would probably have been better as an espresso/milk drink in my opinion. If you like darker roasts then this is the place for you. The food there was excellent and I especially recommend the...

The place looks nice and has an impressive selection of specialty coffees and snacks, but the service I experienced was beyond awful. I ordered in advance for pickup using Grubhub. The estimated time of completion was 10:20-10:30. When I arrived at 10:25, the order wasn’t ready, which was fine, except that the barista was super rude about it and made it seem like my order was an inconvenience to him as he claimed to be “super backlogged” (there was one other party in the store at the time and they already had their drinks). Around 10:35, other customers started coming in, ordered, and started receiving their orders around 10:40. Still no sign of my order placed at 10:04 and a non-apology from another barista, who assured me my order would be right out. Additional drinks delivered to other customers over the next 5 minutes but no sign of mine, so I finally left at 10:45. Avoid this place at all costs. There is a nice place called Caje around the corner with...

Coffees | 3/5 |

Viennese Coffee - 4/5 | No complaints. Matcha latte - 0/5 | This was an undrinkably sweet. In their menu they claim to use "AA matcha" but the drink seemed like their matcha powder was a dull, yellowish/brown and not a bright green like ceremonial grade (or high quality) matcha should be. I can enjoy a Starbucks matcha latte but this was way too sweet. Unsure of how this is one of their more popular items.

Service | 3/5 | Average. When ordering they explained a bit about the Viennese coffee but missed the part that we asked for both drinks iced. Not sure if the drink can only be served hot but it wasn't addressed.

Ambiance | 4/5 | It's tucked away from State Street, in the Paseo Nuevo shopping mall. It's dark, cool, and not too busy. The bathroom is for paying customers and requires a code. They have tables and comfy...