Julienne

Let me start with the positive. The food was really good. We got four dishes and wine. Everything had great amazing flavor and worth the high prices.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t excuse the terrible service. We waited an hour to get our appetizers (we ordered two — one being toast with some mortadella hoping it would come relatively quickly). They gave our apps to us at the same time, which was awkward. The elderly couples beside us, that were clearly spending more than $ 200, both came later than us and got everything before my boyfriend and I. They made us feel like second class citizens because we were in our twenties and only spending about $ 100.
If it wasn’t for the guy just serving water, we would have never had a refill in the 2.5 hours we were there.

Excellent appetizers and entrees. Very nice wine list… ambience allows for intimate conversation. Attentive, but not over-​bearing service – overall a lovely (and pricey!) dining experience.

I took my boyfriend here for a pre-​valentines day dinner celebration. We had to wait 10 minutes past our reservation time. I told the hostess we had a show to catch in an hour and a half. She sat us as soon as she could and sat us by the kitchen. Our server however took our order at 6:45 and I had let him know that we were in a rush and he guaranteed that we’d be out by 7:30. He also kept pushing us on ordering extra courses even though we declined, which made us feel extremely uncomfortable. He never came to check on us and 40 minutes later, the chef noticed we were waiting and yelled out from the kitchen jokingly that our food is coming. When we looked around– NOBODY in the restaurant had food on the table. Around 7:53– I notified the server that we had to leave in the next 7 minutes, he blamed it on the quail for being a difficult protein to cook. 2 minutes after that (nearly 45 minutes) our food had arrived. This quail was maybe the size of half of a small chicken breast (doubtful that it took long to cook). When I had asked for the bill, the busser had to help cash us out because the server never cared to come back. After taking my credit card, they didn’t come back for another 15 minutes. We ran so behind. The food was good but I will never come back due to the awful service. It was extremely disappointing given the price– we spent close to $ 70 on two small entrees and drinks– we didn’t even get any bread for the table.

This establishment is overrated. NYT, you let me down.
Smoked mussel tostada: where’s the smoke? Hardly any mussels, topped with wilted shredded lettuce. Most expensive and underwhelming tostada I’ve had.
Dining room was unbearably hot due to the open kitchen and insufficient AC.
Toilet didn’t flush that night.

Amazing the most beautiful food in santa barbara! The bone marrow was spicy and intense, the octopus was cooked perfectly and the ramen was the best I’ve ever had

A beautiful experience!
The service was great and the food was even better! Very gourmet and delicious.

This is my second attempt to eat at Julienne. My first visit a year ago was plagued by poor service. We waited 45 minutes to be served appetizers and after inquiring were told it was on its way, only to wait an additional 25 minutes.
This year we decided to give Julienne a second shot and made a reservation for 6 in advance. An hour before our reservation, we received a call from the restaurant to say the party before us arrived 30 minutes late and our reservation was being pushed back. Upon returning the call to inquire, the hostess hung up on us.
Clearly, this establishment has no appreciation for good service. I do not recommend eating here unless you have 5 hours to spare and don’t care to be treated with respect.

I think this might be my second review. This time the food was great but service was not so good.
Come on Mr. Waiter you can’t seriously be upset if one of your patrons doesn’t like meat or spice. She doesn’t like it. Accommodate her. Figure it out. You make the whole table uncomfortable.
Plus if we sit down at 7:30p I’d like to be out by 9p or 9:30p. When it’s close to 10p (2.5 hours for three people?) and you haven’t come back to pickup my credit card… I’m doing the quick math for a new tip amount.

Unilocal let me down with this one! I’ve been wanting to try this place for a long time, and finally got around to it, but boy, that was disappointing.
We got here around 7pm on a Saturday and it looked empty, so we thought that we’d get a table. Didn’t get one, we were placed at the bar instead. Was expecting the restaurant to fill up but it only really filled up halfway.
We started with the charcuterie board, expecting some sort of wow factor. Everything was good, but the pairing was bizarre. Everything was far too rich and decadent; we were hoping that there was something light to round out all that richness but, nothing.
I ordered the top sirloin medium rare, partner ordered scallops. My top sirloin was served to me rare, the spinach was way too salty. My partner’s scallops were not seared enough and were so salty that they were nearly inedible. Bleh.
Service was also inattentive. The people next to us at the bar got far more attentive service than we did, not sure why.
We won’t be back.

This place is overrated, overpriced and needs to learn service!
Came to celebrate my birthday weekend in SB and the night of my birthday came to Julienne to have dinner with my husband. The hostess, I will give it to her, was very nice, the only nice person we encountered at the restaurant.
We had reservations but we were seated 20 minutes late.
Once seated our snobby waitress was not nice, she didn’t explain the food very well. She pretty much looked down on us the whole dinner and I am still unsure why. She didn’t come around to see how the food was going. I told her the harissa sauce was very spicy for my app and said ‘hold on’ walked away, came back with a sip of wine and left. No follow up, no caring if it was edible after that. nothing.
Our second course was dropped off, she never bothered to come check and see if we liked it.
Third course, my entrée, I had 1 bite and she walked up as I was telling my husband that was it ‘funky but I guess I should try it all as one bite’, she said yes and walked away. She NEVER came back to check. I had 1 more bite and it was so disgusting I didn’t eat the rest of my entrée but she would never know. The bus boy came by and took my full plate of food and my waitress couldn’t be bothered. I paid for 3 courses, none of which I liked and 1 of them that I DIDN’T EVEN EAT! That entrée was foul, it should immediately be taken off the menu and never put back on. Parts of my meal were charred and left a burnt taste in my mouth. Disgusting.
When asked if we wanted dessert we had had enough of the palate torturing for the night so we passed, she then said to me ‘it’s your birthday so if you would have ordered something I would have stuck a candle in it’ and walked away.
I left a 10% tip of out pity, but really? Why did I spent $ 175 on a terrible tasting meal, why being treated poorly, and no consideration for the fact that course after course we didn’t like our food.
This place is rude and unnecessary. You should save your money and torture on your mouth and eat some place where the food tastes good and someone will bother to come and ask if it does.
p. s. Julienne, you should really reconsider your wait staff.

Great dinner here. Service was solid. Pace was nice and comfortable. Tables are a little tight but that’s ok. Food was delicious with only a couple slight misses.
The yellowtail poke was ridiculously good. It looks small at first but the flavor packs a good punch. The arugula and winter fruit salad with housemade ricotta is really really good. The «special» small entrée/​mid course surf and turf was half scallops and oxtail. I saw half scallops and oxtail broth. Not sure you can say that little meat was «turf» but it was so good that we forgave. And the pork belly was enormous. Like unnecessarily so. More like a bacon steak. Delicious but just too big. Cut the portion back… no one will miss it :)
So loved this place. Want to get back soon and experiment more!

Julienne is one of my favorite places in SB.
It is a small space, not in a bad way, just small and welcoming.
The service is fantastic. The food is top notch. I love the arugula salad and the foie and donuts.
My now husband took me on my birthday (last summer) and arranged to have flowers delivered to the restaurant. Justin, the owner worked with him to arrange it. I have to say thank you men, you really made my day special. Brayden was our waiter and he was awesome.
Julienne is a special spot and should definitely not be missed!

Gave it another try. The food was exponentially better and the service too. I need to go back again, but my faith has been restored.

Oh Lordy was this place super overrated.
Came down to Santa Barbara from the Bay Area for a weekend and only 2 nights/​2 dinners. We chose Julienne for one of our dinners because based on the descriptions of the ambiance and menu options it was a good match for what we enjoy.
The weather for the weekend was unusually warm for this time of year, and even at 9pm, it was still 80 degrees outdoors. The restaurant itself was tiny and really, really hot inside. Very little ventilation but we dealt with it because we were excited for the meal to come.
We opted to sit at the counter because we arrived a bit too early for our reservation. Although, in retrospect, this was the right decision for us as the tables were set a wee bit too close together. This in addition to the restaurant having poor acoustics control, it was loud. Imagine being seated close to the table next to yours and having to shout at your dining partners across the table. not fun.
The menu looked decadent and not knowing what to choose, we opted for the 4 course tasting menu. Without hesitation, we both opted for the Foie Gras and Donuts. I could spend ten minutes explaining why this dish was such a huge disappointment. The proportion of sugar on both the donut and within the preserves over powered the foie in a way that made it really out of balance. I mean, do you really need ½ cup preserves with one slice of foie?
The rest of the dishes were so «bleh», including the street corn. I can’t believe they charge $ 8 for a bowl of corn kernels as a standalone menu option. The pork belly with kimchi was just so underwhelming.
Ok, I’ve said enough. The waiter was nice enough and made sure our water and wine glasses were kept full.
One last complaint though, I witnessed one of the chefs use a spoon to taste from a pan, then placed the spoon back into the same pan. :-)

Pure Heaven. Came here while on our honeymoon in November 2014 on recommendation from the owner at Municipal Winemakers. On a Tuesday night, a reservation was easy to come by. The ambiance was romantic and laid-​back. Interesting and fancy food, but not fancy-​weird, fancy-​delicious! Great service, too.
According to my husband, the ravioli tasted «like a sunset.» He’s not usually a poet but the food was downright inspiring! I would LOVE to go back.
(Also, just a note… it was warm inside, the kitchen is kind of close to the dining area, so if you wear a sweater be prepared to take it off! Street parking was no problem.)

Honestly-​we would say 3.5. The service and ambience was great but the food was ok
We ordered mussels-​delicious but SPICY. we are Indian so i cook and eat very spicy food and this took the cake. The waitress was so kind and brought us a reisling to cool our tongues. (But did charge us for it)
Main courses were halibut and burger. Both tasty but over done. We even asked for medium but bread was burned and meat was over cooked. Fries were the best part.

I had a really great dinner at Julienne the last time I was in Santa Barbara. Judging from the patrons, Julienne seems to be a local favorite because many of the diners were regulars. From my memory, Julienne is generally closed on Mondays, but I was fortunate enough to dine here because of some conflict with the holiday schedule.
Their menu changes on the regular. I ordered and shared the following:
–chicken liver toast: it’s a steal at $ 3 bucks. The chicken liver is creamy and retained just enough flavoring to where it wasn’t too overpowering. And unlike other chicken liver toasts I have eaten before, the bread that accompanied the pair had just enough chew and toast to it. Delicious. Order this.
–smoked mussels: smoked mussels served in a little capped jar and served with waffle chips. These were great. The smokiness of the mussels were offset with the waffle chip.
–crêpe filled with house-​made pork sausage and topped with béchamel sauce… which I liked, but did not love. I felt like the crêpe to sauce ratio was off– more crêpe than sauce, but at the same time, I didn’t like the béchamel sauce with the dish. There was something a little off with the combination which made for a good bite, but not necessarily a good entrée.
My favorite dish of the evening, hands down, was the smoked duck breast which was beautifully cooked and seared. It was served with duck wontons, shell beans, kimchi (a little strange, but trust me, it works), broccoli, all on top of a lemon grass sauce. The duck was divine. Honestly, I still think about this dish because each bite was so flavorful, fragrant, and robust without being too overwhelming. This dish was so, so, so good. I can’t get over how good this is.
Julienne is a staple to the Santa Barbara dining scene. It might not the hot buzz on whatever blog everyone is reading, but I honestly think any meal here would be worth your while if you’re in Santa Barbara.

Came here on the recommendation of a friend and enjoyed a most wonderful meal. Being a Saturday night, the small, intimate restaurant was filled. From other Unilocalers, I knew I could possibly get a spot at the bar without reservations. It was the perfect spot for a solo diner, right where I could observe the action in the kitchen.
Started with a nice glass of wine and chose two appetizers for my dinner — the pan-​fried octopus withe root vegetable slaw, almond salsa verde and red cabbage gazpacho & the special lamb flatbread of the day. Both delicious and beautifully plated. I particularly loved the flavor of the almond salsa verde.
For dessert, I had my first Baked Alaska ever, which the chef served me and took the time to describe his version of it. The excellent coffee served at Julienne is from Handlebar Coffee Roasters a couple doors down (I went there the next day for my morning cappuccino; it was that good!)
All in all, a perfect dinner with great service. I look forward to my next trip to Santa Barbara and dinner at Julienne!

Has the service slacked from one of my top picks in Santa Barbara? Maybe a bit but the food is just as delicious and well thought out.
Reservation on Open Table for 2 @ 8pm on a Friday. Only seats available were at the shared table. This was a special occasion (noted in the reservations) so we’ll waited at Jimmy’s until it’s ready. 8:24 the phone rang. This is someone understandable and I don’t judge too much. Guessing when and how many people will flow in and hang out for how long is luck. I did it for a number of years and you can still get it wrong. Unfortunate it was 24 minutes wrong but I’ll move on to the star of the show.
Food was fantastic as usual. Enjoyed the beet salad, trout and cheeks with a good bottle of wine at a more than fair price for this high quality. The table service was good but not what it used to be. I felt rushed with quick explanations of each dish and without frequent visits to refill water and wine.
A good note, the menu is not extensive and always features fresh fish and more exotic dishes. If you have a picky eater looking for bland food, this is not your place. If you’re a foodie and want an explosion of love in your mouth, Julienne is your kind of place.
I love the food and will keep coming back for that. No question. Justin runs a tight kitchen and Emma is always there with a smile. Their creativity to bring you fresh and local food is tops in Santa Barbara.
Perhaps it was an off night. Hopefully it’s not a trend.

Julienne stole my heart and belly about 4.5 years ago when I visited Santa Barbara for the first time, to catch up with an old friend and SB native. You can see my original review from 6÷22÷10 below.
Let’s just say I fell in love! Not just with this quaint, family-​owned, restaurant, but also with the «friend» whom I am now happily married to for the pas two years, and this amazing city that I have called home for 4 years.
Throughout this time, I’ve dined at Julienne on dozens and dozens and dozens of occasions. The consistently amazing food that Chef Justin creates keeps bringing us back. And we love the Julienne family!
I’ve celebrated some of my most precious mild stones at Julienne’s table, engagement, significant birthdays, promotions, etc; and not so fabulous moments, when I’ve had a long day at work and want to go some place that feels like home. This is the restaurant I come to when I know I need a guaranteed great meal and wonderful dining experience.
Julienne always delivers from a culinary perspective. I highly recommend trying the chicken liver toast and anything with Chef’s jerk sauce! You also must try the rabbit when it is available! And don’t leave without the chocolate mousse. You cannot go wrong when ordering here, everything is carefully crafted, beautifully balanced and mouth watering.
All that being said, why did my review go down from 5 stars to 4 stars? Let me tell you, it has nothing to do with the food; it’s the sometimes lack luster service. The first couple years of dining at Julienne the service was incredible!!! Best I’ve ever experienced. The waiters were warm, personable, attentive, and seemed passionate about the menu. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen some turn over in the front of the house staff and experienced poor attitudes and/​or neglectful service. It doesn’t happen every time but it has happened enough times that I sometimes think twice before coming in and have gone to other comparable restaurants in town, when Julienne used to always be my top choice. Most recently, it was a very small detail. My husband was taking me out for my birthday to my favorite restaurant, (you guessed it), Julienne, and made a reservation using Open Table. I guess he put something in the notes that we were celebrating my birthday and asked if that could be acknowledged in some way (chocolate HB written on the plate or just the waiter saying HB) but our waiter said nothing, the hostess said nothing. No one showed any care or concern. A similar thing happened a couple of years ago when we got engaged. The now hubby proposed at Alice Keck (great story, ask me if you see me in town some time and I’ll spill the beans! ;) and immediately after took me to Julienne to celebrate. I was all shakey, and nervous and excited about this commitment to one another that was to come and the sparkly new ring on my finger, but, no one said word. Lemonjelly happened to be seated next to us and I’d been a huge Unilocal fan of her reviews and pictures so I introduced myself. She was so sweet she sent us a dessert after she left as a congratulations. LJ, you are too cool! Thank you again! After we left the restaurant, someone must have mentioned to Chef that we had just got engaged and he ran out the restaurant and called out to us and said congratulations too. That was really sweet and meant a lot coming from an owner whose business we frequently regularly! So those aren’t huge grievances or anything, they are just the types of things that used to be attended to and noticed by the front of the house that get missed at times now.
Regardless, the great food will keep us coming back and who knows, service may pick back up as well. Whether you’re visiting SB or a local, Julienne should definitely be a dining experience at the top of your to do list!
Here are some tips:
— Sign up for their email list online! You’ll get notices about special events and updates about the happenings at the restaurant that the general public often doesn’t know about.
— Sit at the bar! (This is one tip I’d rather keep to myself because space is limited and it’s on a first come, first serve basis, so I might have to race you to a seat if I see you there at the same time…;) but, it really is the best seat in the house because you can see the incredible work as it’s in progress. And if you’re lucky, and polite, you can interact with the chefs! It’s fabulous and fun!
Now stop reading and make a rezzy already! :)

Tip to brazilians in Santa Barbara. Nosso objetivo foi sair um pouco da região dos turistas e comer onde os locais comem. Totalmente por acaso encontramos o Julienne e fomos surpreendidos pelo atendimento e pela comida. Fomos atendidos pelo Braydon e ele foi fantástico conosco, indicando mais dois lugares interessantes em Los Angeles.