Reviews for Buena Onda Empanadas | Restaurant in Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, CA

How did I live here so long without knowing about this gem? They have a wide selection of tasty morsels and the prices aren't... bad. We sat outside in the pleasant patio area and tried a variety of empanadas and every single one of them was delicious. Thebad? There are three tiny parking spaces, and if they are taken you may have to circle the block a few times until a spot opensup on the busy street. That's it, my only complaint. It can be hard to find, and I'm good with that. If too many of you startshowing up I may not be able to find a parking space. Read more

I hosted a dinner here last night for just under 20 people. Our experience was nothing short of phenomenal! The owner was... amazing to work with and incredibly accommodating! The food was FANTASTIC! The outdoor setup is really cool and different fromanything else I?ve experienced in Santa Barbara. You can tell the owner and staff are very passionate about providing the bestquality empanadas! Hands down the best empanadas I?ve ever had, and all of our party agreed! Do yourself a favor and goexperience this place! Highly recommend! Read more

?Buena Onda?!! Was an amazing food experience, and the service was excellent!!! The team works incredible synchronized because... they want share, their cultural and traditional style of food with everyone!!! The acomodación it?s a beautiful patio, illuminated by the Sun and the stars with a touch of string lighting and candles. Shared that moments with friends andfamily!!!???? Read more

??? WOW! Just wow! Hands down the best empanadas that we have had and probably the sweetest restaurant of our current road trip!... The staff are all so friendly and helpful! And the empanadas??? NEXT LEVEL!!! Lots of options for vegan and vegetarian food too!My son and I both indulged and had the 3 empanada and side dish plate! We both opted for the chimi papas with a spicy aioli...delicious on there own. But the empanadas? SUBLIME!!! We tried 6 different varieties and all of them were stellar! I loved thehumati empanada - a seasonal specialty with sweet corn, caramelized onions and scallions! They are handcrafted on site with thefreshest and finest ingredients! I peeked into the kitchen on a bathroom visit... I can't say enough nice things about thisplace. The owner is Argentinian and knows his empanadas. Also their chimichurri sauce is nearly perfect! ???? We were stuffedbut picked up a dessert empanada for the road: goat cheese and fig! Nuff said! Don't miss this place!!! 6 stars out 5! Read more

We decided to do a day trip from Orange County to Santa Barbara and the first stop was going to be lunch. After the miserable... drive in bumper to bumper traffic this first stop for lunch had better be amazing to save the day and it was. I've only hadempanadas a few times in my life but I really like them. This restaurant can easily be missed driving through this neighborhood.Everything about it is very cute and relaxing. We ordered some chicken empanadas and some carne empanadas. We also ordered aside of little potatoes. To be honest, the potatoes were nothing special to us. The carne empanadas were amazing. They wereabout as good as I've ever had. The chicken, not so much. They were a little plain and could have used some kind of a sauceinside. The carne made up for them for sure though. Next time I come to Santa Barbara this will probably be on my food itineraryas well. Read more

first time in this cafe. we enjoyed it very much, nice atmosphere, friendly staff and delicious food. they gave a discount for... the first visit. very tasty pies Read more

Small, hole in the wall type establishment with outdoor patio seating. Fresh baked empanadas in various flavours including a... flavour of the day. We had a dozen empanadas between 3 people with made for a reasonable meal. We tried the ham and cheese,chicken, feta quinoa and chili verde (which was the flavour of the day). Chicken was definitely the least satisfying of the lot.You may find Buena Onda Empanadas on sale at Old Town Coffee in Goleta and at their other location, but those do not stack upagainst these fresh from the oven. Enjoy with a good amount of their house chimichuri. Read more

A huge variety of non-traditional empanadas to choose from. I ordered the mushroom, spinach, and vegan potato empanada combo... with a side of chimichurri papas (potatoes). I wish the latter were crispy, but the chimichurri sauce is amazing. Recommend themushroom, but do not recommend the vegan potato one. Read more