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Sojourner Cafe
134 E. Canon Perdido St, Santa Barbara
Phone: (805) 965-7922
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Reviews by the General Public
Bland, Uncomfortable, but good veggie juice..., 1/5/2013
Reviewer: Steve
from Santa Barbara, CA
Love the veggie juice (beets, carrots, parsley & cucumber), but not much else. Wait staff seem demeaned having to provide service; more interested in chit chatting amongst themselves. The dahl was bland and served with too much brown rice. They were polite when I asked for a little more dahl, but even the waiter commented that it was watery. It wasn't just watery and without flavor, but it had undercooked chunks of eggplant and squash in it, not to mention sour cream and a sickly sweet "chutney" which tasted like orange jam. Yuck. Who cares if it's been around forever? The food and service are very substandard!
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Slipping
Reviewer: Matt
from Santa Barbara, CA
We have been going to Sojourner for years and it has always been consistent. I have a couple go to dishes that I would go to if the specials didn't entice me. Among these are the Gazpacho and the Biryani stew. Last week we dined here and I ordered the Gazpacho (always ask for extra horseradish sauce). When it comes to the table the server informs me that they changed the recipe and no longer serve with horseradish so he didn't bring any extra....which turned out not to matter since the sauce and soup were bland and boring anyway. Really bummed, next comes out the Biryani which is even worse. Hardly a stew, very thin broth and just not the same flavor. Service wasn't bad just not that interested in our table. The whole dining experience was just sort of flat.
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BOOOOOOOORRRRING
Reviewer: Whitney
from Santa Barbara, CA
It should be a rule that if you are going to specialize in vegetarian and vegan food, you should have to make it GOOD. No meat eater is every going to go to a vegetarian place when the food lives up to the bland, boring stereotype. This place does exactly that. Bland and boring food, and amenic, unhappy waitstaff. Edible. But do you want to go out to dinner to have a meal that is just edible?
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Attitude Issues
Reviewer: carolyn
from Santa Barbara, CA
I agree with the previous poster about the attitude problems. I feel so uncomfortable about it and it's so negative, that I don't even consider that restaurant when we go out. The food is decent, nothing like what it used to be. With other veg. options around, even at mainstream places, the Soj. can't rest on merely offering vegetarian food.
It really doesn't have to be this way, seriously!
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Its time to write a review......
Reviewer: Francis Ruggeri
from Santa Barbara, CA
I have been going to this restaurant for a few months now, the food is good....thats it. I keep going back in hopes to proove that I am wrong but now its time to write a review. The place is a bit run down and could use some remodeling...... the service is straight up depressing. I have NEVER seen a smile on any of the 4 waiters faces. Today 3 servers walked by me without even saying hello or offering me a menu. It seems as though they hate what they do and would give anything in the world to be somewhere else. I bought a gift certificate for some friends knowing they would appreciate the Vegan/Vegetarian style food, but they had the same thing to say about the service. Wake up guys....if you don't like what you do leave the job for someone who does.
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unhappy wait staff !
Reviewer: m.l. genovese
from Santa Barbara, CA
The waitstaff never seems to smile. We have been greeted with frowns. The service takes a while, though the food is good. From the moment we walked in we were met by a frowning face. Is anyone happy that works there? Even questions seem to annoy them. Been there many times and had the same experience. Not too fun for a nice time dining out.
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Never Again!!!
Reviewer: John
from Santa Barbara, CA
Went in last Friday night a little after 10pm after seeing a show. The food and dessert was very good. Our waiter was very friendly and attentive. But the manager who greeted us made it clear that he did not want to seat us or anyone else. Looked bothered that we entered the door. He even yelled at a large party that came in after us. Told them how dare they come in to the restaurant and expect service so late. It was a little after 10pm and the place closes at 11pm. About 10 or 15 til 11pm, manager would walk by and give us the evil eye trying to get us to leave. Our waiter didn't rush us though. But still we finished dessert and left asap. We paid for service and got chased out before closing. Never will return again!
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service?
Reviewer: Erica S.
from Santa Barbara, CA
The food here is decent--I'd call it typical "Santa Barbara" cuisine, with lots of healthy options and fusion-cuisine ideas. Great Mediterranean torta salad! Unfortunately, for one late lunch on a Saturday, I had rather flakey service. As soon as we were seated, we requested water and ordered a lemonade, as we were quite thirsty. The water didn't show up until about 5 minutes later, and the lemonade never materialized until we had to remind him after our food orders arrived that we had ordered lemonade. I found the service to be pretty spacey.
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cooo-kies on Friday or Sunday
Reviewer: Chris C
from Santa Barbara, CA
We had lunch at Sojourner on Sunday. Service was friendly and attentive, as usual. For those expecting whip-crack discipline, this is the Soj and a little flakiness is part of the ambiance. The Conehead salad with ginger-orange-sesame dressing is a green feast with roasted seeds and Parmesan, and the chile relleno casserole a square of comfort food deliciousness. But the essential treat is their pumpkin chocolate chip cookies baked only on Friday and Sunday. They use local produce and compost the leftovers, so healthy for their customers and healthy for the environment.
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Lunch once a week and always good!
Reviewer: Craig
from Santa Barbara, CA
My wife and I have lunch at Sojourner once a week and we like it.
I am truly surprised at the negative reviews regarding price and service.
If there was a recent change... thankfully we missed it. We like the food,
the service, the price-value relationship. Sojourner alone showcases the
Santa Barbara 70-80's cafe vibe with prices and service for today.
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i totally agree with the last few reviewers...
Reviewer: prue
from Santa Barbara, CA
and it makes me soooooo sad. the soj used to be one of my fav go-to restaurants, dine-in and carry out. then they decreased the portion size and doubled the prices. we went a few times to keep trying but had to spend a baby fortune just to get enough food to feel satisfied. i wish the owners would read these comments...i miss you sojourner of days gone by!
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A good thing gone bad
Reviewer: Ben
from Santa Barbara, CA
It's too bad that The Sojourner was turned over to new owners a couple of years ago. It has been a painful experience to watch it slowly decline while the prices steadily increase. My wife and I were regulars 2+ times per week, knew all the staff, but no longer even consider it when deciding where to dine.
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