Third Window Brewing Santa Barbara — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

First & last time visiting. I ordered 2 burger combos and was handed one bag. I asked the woman (who seems like the owner/manager) who handed me the bag if both burgers were in there. She said yes. Started eating my meal when my nephew told me he didn't receive his burger. I looked at the order ticket and realized the burger was missing so I thought the cashier didn't charge me, so I ordered another burger and paid again. It wasnt until I realized the price was outrageous & talked to the cashier to let him know what happened. I'm not entirely sure what was said between the woman who handed me the bag and told me both burgers were in there and the cashier, but she told me "Next time, come to the window to show us the bag" insinuating I was lying about not getting a burger when it was HER who I asked if both burgers were in the bag, and she assured me they were. She seemed confused during the whole interaction so I explained again what happened since it seemed the cashier didn't explain well. On top of the snarky tone and frustration I was given because her employee messed up, the burgers did not live up to the hype. My smash cheeseburger was overly salted and nothing I can't do at home. Fries were thin and bland. I was better off going to 5 Guys for the price I paid for 2 combos & a milk shake. I get it, ppl make mistakes, it's the way you fix mistakes that matters. No apologies for the mix up or for my nephew having to wait 20 min for his burger, but plenty of frustration....

I am always skeptical that people are being hyperbolic when they say something like “this is the best thing I’ve ever had in my life” like yeah ok Jan, sure, until the next one. Right?

This is the best gosh darn burger I’ve had in a long time. Like maybe not my whole life, but I’m having a hard time coming up with a better one. Perfectly seasoned patty with delectably crispy edges. Cheese melted with the onions into the delicious salty topping that couldn’t be more perfect. I oscillated between wanting to scarf it down and wanting to eat it so so slowly to savor every bite.

Also you can eat this thing entirely sauce less. I always get my burgers with sauce on the side and take the first bite with no sauce. I want to know if the basic burger is good or if it’s just the sauce. This one won. I almost ate the whole thing before I added sauce. The special sauce is mustard and mayo based and I don’t love mustard but I still enjoyed. Maybe my only complaint (and this is being picky) is that all of my sauces (bbq, chipotle, special. I’m a saucy girl what can I say) were way too runny. Like they diluted it a bit too much. Besides that this was an excellent gastronomic experience that I hope to enjoy one more time before I leave Santa Barbara....

Admittedly I am not a big brewery person, however I had read about this spot while planning a trip to Santa Barbara over Memorial Day weekend. To secure a reservation you have to email the restaurant and they got back to me confirming my request within 24 hours. This is an open air brewery so there was not a hostess or anyone giving instructions. Upon asking for assistance to be sat at our table because we had a reservation I was told to just go look for my name on any given table. There was a QR card on the table for menu, drinks, etc. After waiting a bit and flagging down a staff member to try and order we were informed we had to go and wait in line to order which was not explained to us from the start. By the time our party finally got to sit down after ordering it was over 45 minutes past our reservation time. Food took well over an additional 30 minutes for our burger and 45 for our pizzas (from time of order). We also repeatedly asked for flatware and napkins from staff with no response. The good news, the food is great. So if you have all the time and patience and plan to make a whole afternoon or evening of it this is probably a great spot for you. I was unprepared for this type of experience and would not...