Busy Bee Cafe — Restaurant in Ventura

My friends and I had such a nice experience here last night. I visited this restaurant years ago and was really hesitant to eat here agai when it was suggested because my last experience was not so good: The chicken tenders were terribly dry, and the restaurant smelled of cleaning products, which didn’t make for a good overall experience. I’m glad I did end up coming because we had a great time.

The restaurant boasted a full bar so 4/5 of us had alcoholic beverages: One Mexican mule, one blue Hawaiian, one pińa colada, and one sunrise in Ojai. I was happy to report that each of us experienced a head change/good buzz. The drinks were good, especially my sunrise in Ojai! The middle mixed fruit made it super refreshing.

Our dinner was amazing. Everyone except for me had some kind of burger, and they all loved them. They also raved about the fries, which were potato wedges. I had the Breakfast Combo with a Belgian Waffle and three sausage links. It was DELICIOUS. My friend ordered the fried chicken sandwich, and she was happy to report that the chicken was NOT dry :)

The only feedback I will provide is that I wish the restaurant could get a deep deep cleaning or newer, brighter equipment because everything seemed a little drab/kind of dirty looking in there. There was also only one toilet, and waiting in the tiny hallway was not very comfortable.

Overall, I would definitely return here again. Thank you for the...

They frauded my credit card.

Daughter and I had a bill of about $20. We were charged for that. We were also charged, on the same day and time, for another $60 (there was a table near us that was paying around the same time). They put both meals on my card.

Naturally, I complained. I was told they would refund, so I gave my credit card again. No refund after a week. I called and the manager first promised again to refund. I sent a screenshot of the relevant portion of my bank statement.

A month went by. No refund. The manager got belligerent when I called. Said there was no reason to believe me. I should have gone all the way to the fraud department of the bank (this was a couple of years ago), but it was too late to deal with it through the credit card. If you read the reviews here and on TA, you'll see that this is not the only time this kind of thing has occurred. They are disorganized and they are impolite and lack common sense in dealing with patrons.

Their shakes are good. Their fries are consistently floppy and greasy (we had been there a few times, kids like it). Turnover of staff is high and the waitress spent a great deal of time at the next table throwing shade on the management (no manager was present at the time).

So, check your bank statements, because you might not even notice such a mix-up if you weren't aware that this happens at Busy Bee. I've never had this happen...

A great little retro diner in a busier part of sleepy Ventura. I was passing through town from West LA and had been wanting to try this diner for quite some time so finally got my chance today. It’s located in the downtown district around a bunch of other bars and walkable shops. We were able to find a free parking spot in a parking lot across the street so parking is very easy in this area. Inside is quite small, but in a really homey and cozy kind of way. They have a long counter as well as a lot of booth seating. Inside is as you would expect it, a total throwback to 1950s Americana. I loved all of the neon and retro signage decorated all throughout the inside. It’s a sort of place that is fun to stay a while, especially because you can take control of the jukebox. Our server was also very polite and everything that we ordered came out very fast.

For my breakfast, I chose the Chicken Fried Steak and thought it was fantastic. It was larger than I could even finish so definitely make sure you’re hungry if you order this one. It comes with three eggs which were cooked perfectly and overall, I was really happy with it and would recommend.

I would stop in to Busy Bee again in the future next time I am in Ventura and would recommend to anyone else in the area or passing...