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Santa Barbara Italian Cafe
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- None
5 reviews for Santa Barbara Italian Cafe
My first impression when walking in to the restaurant was "This place is Teeny-Tiny!"
The restaurant is a little bit of a tight-squeeze, but we were quickly seated, which didn't make the restaurant seem so claustrophobic.
Our waitress was very polite, and quickly got us our drinks and bread with garlic herb butter spread. The spread was so yummy! It's a nice change from plain butter.
The food is pretty pricey, but I didn't pay (my aunt took me here) so I can't really complain.
I got the Pasta Primavera - Fettuccine with alfredo sauce & grilled vegetables on top. It came with salad. Since everyone at the table chose Caesar, we were presented with a large bowl of salad & plates to help ourselves.
Everything was delicious! I'd love to come back again!
Just a solid little Mom & Pop Italian eatery in Pearland!
And like reviewers before me have stated, very hidden away of the beaten path. Thankfully, I was introduced to this place by native Pearlander.
Santa Barbara Italian Cafe is a thin shopping center restaurant. Just two rows of round tables and not really too fancy. My dinner party caught them close to closing, but they were happy to serve us.
The veteran of our group informed us that the daily seafood specials like salmon always impressed, but he wasn't eating this night. I went for a little more standard pasta fare and selected off the menu. The Penne Cabrese served in a very spicy, creamy tomato sauce with a breast of blackened chicken was highly recommended by our server. It was very tasty, very spicy and maybe just a little too salty (there are a number of items on the menu listed as spicy). It was served with a nice little salad.
Our other diner ordered the Peppered Shrimp & Scallops appetizer. I'll have to say that it was on the average side. As a side dish she ordered a delicious creamy risotto (I think it was with finely diced asparagus). This dish really stole the show. I'm definitely ordering it on my next visit (though it might be a special).
The portions on all of our servings were very generous. Prices run from $10 to $20. Santa Barbara has all the standard Italian dishes and plenty of chicken, veal, pork, beef & seafood. Never got to try Ben K's highly recommended Carrot Cake because we were stuffed and had plenty of leftovers.
After dining here, I read on the website that the owner is Croatian and cooks "Italian food with a Croatian touch". It works for me!
So my tip for you: Avoid the chains in Pearland and pop in for some nice Italian at Santa Barbara. And bring a bottle of vino or booze as they do BYOB ($2 setup per person).
The prices are a little high for Italian food in my opinion but the food is amazing! I like the fact that it is BYOB and I also love that it is authentic Italian food, and huge servings! Friendly staff and very private! I love this little place!
I was in Pearland (aka Big Box Land) on business recently. In an attempt to locate some fun & unique (i.e., non-chain) restaurant to try, I surfed Yelp and Chowhound, but was only coming up with steak or BBQ, neither of which I was in the mood for. There were a few mentions on Chowhound of some favorable Chron review of Italian restaurant Santa Barbara, so I thought I'd give it a try. Not sure what that reviewer was smoking, but I was not impressed.
Santa Barbara is located in a run-down looking strip mall that looks like it's seen better days. The interior of SB more or less matches the exterior - teal vinyl chairs, fake hanging ivy plants, bad "Italian" muzak.
I was seated by a very, very sweet but very, very inexperienced waiter. He brought me a basket of bread with garlic butter. I ordered a seafood risotto, which was described as "crab risotto topped off with grilled shrimp and vegetables" ($19), then dove into the bread. The butter tasted _exactly_ like the butter on those foil-covered loaves of garlic bread you buy in the freezer section and warm up yourself.
Caesar salad arrived (your choice of salad comes with the meal). It was DRIPPING with dressing - so much so that I couldn't really eat it, even though I was pretty hungry.
A while later, the waiter emerges from the kitchen with what is obviously my risotto. He proceeds to take it to a couple sitting near the door that has had their food for some time. Obviously, it's not theirs, and they turn it away. Then he tries to give my dinner to a four-top that has been there for so long that they have a to-go box already. Nooooo...not theirs, either. I'm waiting for him to try taking it to the only other occupied table in the restaurant besides mine, a couple that had walked in the door about a minute earlier, but instead he finally figures it out and brings me the food, apologizing sweetly.
I dig in. No crab in sight (not even krab), although I will say that they were very generous with the shrimp - I counted twelve medium-sized ones atop the pretty sizable bed of crab-less (or, at least, not noticeably crab-full) risotto. The risotto was mushy and swimming in garlic butter. Honestly, the whole meal felt very much like "least common denominator" food. The flavors were all butter and garlic, as if the philosophy was that everybody loves butter and garlic, so if you were to overwhelm the entire dish with just that combination of flavors, everyone would love it. The meal went perfectly with the "foiled garlic bread" I had received earlier.
The food here reminded me of so many of the meals I had growing up in suburbia at the homes of my friends, cooked by hard-working folks who didn't eat out much and were proud to put a "fancy" meal on the table. Only back then I didn't know any better...and instead of me paying $19+ for the meal, they were paying me in friendship and hospitality.
When I review restaurants, I try to rate them in context. Unfortunately, this is the only time I've ever been to Pearland, so I have nothing to which to compare my experience. But honestly? I think I would've been better off going to one of the chain restaurants in town.
Sorry, Santa Barbara.
An absolute hidden away jewel! Although it's on Broadway, a major Pearland Boulevard, it's set back from the street in a shopping center in such a way that it is difficult to see from Broadway. This is a small intimate restaurant , quiet with good service. Excellent Italian food with award winning world class carrot cake dessert. I recommend starting with the carrot cake. No, actually I recommend the seafood pasta, the Veal Genoa and the Eggplant Parmigiana. The Catch of the Day usually is also excellent. Ratings on a 10 point system:
Food 9
Service 8
Ambience 7
Carrot Cake 10
Value 7
Price $$
Reviewed by Ben Koshkin
