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Los Arroyos - Montecito
1280 Coast Village Rd, Montecito
Phone: (805) 969-9059
- Category: Mexican
- Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-9pm, Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 9am-8:30pm
- Price: $10 - $20
- Serving: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
- Reservations: No
- Map
- Web Site
- Menu
- Write a review of this location!
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Reviews by the General Public
So So, 9/2/2010
Reviewer: Elena
from Santa Barbara, CA
While this place used to be our favorite Mexican, both for proximity to home and the food, we were a bit disappointed the last couple of times we were here. The menu hasn't changed, though the portions of some items have gotten significantly smaller. The $7 large guacamole is more or less the same size the small portion was last year. The chips are still great (warm and fresh), though not really sure why a basket is over $2 when at most other places, great chips are included in your order. The service was a bit slow, especially for a week night, and not as friendly as it has been in the past. However, this could be simply coincidence for that evening. While this place is still fun to go to, we will not be going here as much as we used to. There are a couple of other great Mexican restaurants that seem to be a notch better than Los Arroyos is right now.
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Yum and Great Chipoltle Salsa, 6/21/2010
Reviewer: Mikey
from Santa Barbara, CA
The other $8 goes towards many things. For example... rent (in Montecito), payroll (the server, the prep cook that made the guacamole and cooked the chicken, the cook that made your quesadilla, the busser that cleared your plate and refilled your water, the hostess, the morning/night cleaner, the bartender), payroll taxes, taxes to the city, state, feds, linens, phone, internet, advertising, utility bills for the water that cleaned your plate and utensils, refrigeration of the food that went into your tortilla, the heat that melted the cheese and cooked the chicken in your tortilla, maintenance of the restaurant, permits, and oh maybe a few pennies for the owners, lets not forget that they're not just in it for free! Chips cost money too, so does the complimentary salsa, why should they give it to you for free, because chain restaurants and places that can afford to do? Their food is outstanding but I think they could use some good food service training for some of the employees that work there.
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Break it down, 6/19/2010
Reviewer: Mike
from Santa Barbara, CA
Ok, they charge $11.75 for a chicken quesadilla.... two flour tortillas .35, one tablespoon of sour cream .15, a tablespoon of guacamole .25, cheese .50, some shredded chicken .75 - labor .75 - what is the other $8.00 for?! Get rid of the cheesy harp player and give us some complimentary chips instead! Rudy's has the same food without the "entertainment".
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Overpriced and Snooty, 6/18/2010
Reviewer: Paul Harvey
from Silt, CO
If you like overpriced Mexican food, small portions, and bad margaritas, Los Arroyos is the place for you. Any Mexican restaurant that charges for chips and salsa should be avoided on principles alone. The margarita had so much sweet and sour mix that it tasted like a 99 cent margarita off the Vegas strip. My wife and I walked out hungry, disappointed, and with our ears ringing from the noisy harp player right next to us. Honestly, chains like Chipotle or Wahoo's have comparable food to this place, but at a much lower price. If don't drive a BMW and play golf at Pebble Beach, then Los Arroyos is not for you.
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Minute portions, 5/14/2010
Reviewer: Hermas Ceifus
from Santa Barbara, CA
I will never go there again and I live about 1.5 miles away. Primary reason - exhorbitant cost of chips - without warning.
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First Rate Mexican Restaurant, 10/27/2009
Reviewer: Charles Hall
from Boise, Idaho
After fifty years of searching for a consistently high quality Mexican style restaurant during periodic visits to S.B. I think my search is rewarded. Having sampled their service and cuisine twice while in town in October I found this place the best so far.I look forward to my return in May to enjoy the Seviche Tostada,great margaritas and Coconut sorbet!
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Never a bad meal, always kind, 10/10/2009
Reviewer: matt shanaberger
from Santa Barbara, CA
A great menu of the basics, good prices, wonderful salsas, can we talk Tequila for a second, and the best guacamole in town. Any questions?
They get busy, yes, but we have always had really attentive service. The foods have always been served piping hot, prepared as ordered, and the flavors are always consistent. Tony is a great guy, he loves the business and it shows. Lorenzo is a charmer and hell of a cook. Live music night makes this a fun, fun place. Been here easily 100+ times, will keep coming back
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Average food, below average service
Reviewer: Tera
from Santa Barbara, CA
I've been to this restaurant once and honestly don't think I'll go back. I heard rave reviews from coworkers, which prompted me to go, but the food was very bland and the service was non-existent. We were seated on the patio and no one came to check if our food was ok until half of our meals had been eaten. We never received an offer to refill our drinks because the waitress never returned to the table after my companion asked for salsa except to bring the check.
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Great Food, Great Service
Reviewer: Col. Tony Montalvo
from Santa Barbara, CA
Some people were born unhappy. However, if your a normal person, the service at Los Arroyos is terrific. The food is consistently good and the harpist is fantastic!! We are regular customers and have NEVER been disappointed. If you're looking for a great meal, at a reasonable price, with smiling staff who go the extra mile, this is the place for you. If your grumpy, take a deep breath and have a glass of Sangria - live just got better!!
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Good restaurant gone bad
Reviewer: Jeff
from Santa Barbara, CA
We used to eat at Los Arroyos about 2x/week as it is so close to our house, and sadly we have watched what was otherwise an excellent restaurant become an overpriced run-of-the-mill mexican spot with very little service. Just last week, we returned to give the place another shot, only to have our opinions confirmed - The food was still good, however it was sad to see how small the portion sizes have become, and the wait staff didn't seem to care one way or the other that we were there. Rather than running the restaurant, we watched the manager along with an occasional waiter spend the much of his time at the hostess table keeping her company.
From now on, if we choose Los Arroyos, we'll stick to what they're best at: take out.
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Snarky response should have been a warning!
Reviewer: Fymi
from Sausalito, CA
Wish I had read the Los Arroyos management's response to the 1/31/09 reviewer (Eric Conwell) before going there. The snarkiness of it (wow, what cheapskates: they ordered water to drink!!) would have told me everything I needed to know about the restaurant and would have spared me the experience of an, at best, mediocre meal.
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Four for A Sunday Dinner
Reviewer: Michael
from Santa Barbara, CA
Absolutely average. American style Mexican cooking, heavy on the melted cheese. Pricey, but it's Montecito. Drive a few blocks to Little Alex's for sit-down (not the same decor as LAM) or El Sitio for take-out or a few more blocks to Milpas.
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Weekly Visitor - Fed Up with the Service
Reviewer: Eric Conwell
from Santa Barbara, CA
The food is good but the service is unprofessional and inappropriate. We usually go 1-3 times per week, but no more. I do not recommend going to this restaurant. We ordered our food and when the bill came out we had been charged extra for chips that the wait staff had offered to refill for us (with no mention of an additional charge and nothing on the menu to forewarn us.) When we asked that the charge be removed, the manager made us feel as though we were a burden for having made the request and then sent the owner over to our table to deal with the issue. The owner then proceeded to refer to the lady discussing the matter with him as "honey" in the most condescending of ways and refused in a very aggressive manner to remove the charge. It was also uncomfortable for us that he made a scene and embarrassed us in a loud way in front of all the people at the restaurant. We don't usually make complaints at restaurants, and so it was hard to be treated so poorly in such a public way. I agree that customers should not exploit the golden rule of sales, but Los Arroyos has actively disregarded an essential principle of quality service: "the customer is always right."
Los Arroyos - Montecito writes:
Thank you for your comments! We appreciate all customer feedback and reviewed the above situation with our manager and staff. Our chips are freshly made to order with one complimentary refill, while a third basket of chips will incur an additional charge. Considering your party ordered water to drink and split one burrito three ways, it seems you were trying to keep your costs down as much as possible, and we apologize for the misunderstanding when your server explained our chip policy to you. We hope you have a better experience next visit and thanks again for your comments and feedback!
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This Place Is Amazing
Reviewer: Kristine
from Santa Barbara, CA
I love Los Arroyos! The food is very inexpensive and amazing every time. I agree that they should not charge for the chips and salsa but as far as I'm concerned, $3.95 is worth it! The service has always been adequate, though my friends and family usually go there to enjoy each other's company and not to speed through our meal. If we are in a hurry we get our food to go. We will keep coming back to this amazing restaurant with the best guac ever!
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