Jill’s Place

Had an amazing Valentine’s dinner here with the hubby and my toddler. Unilocal came through with a great spot once again! Great staff, I think we even encountered Jill herself! My little girl loved everything we put in front of her including Jill’s split pea soup! My husband had the sirloin steak and I had the Valentine’s special surf & turf. So bummed this place is so far from home. Unforgettable night for sure, thank you for making it so special Jill’s.

Cannot beat the relaxed and personable atmosphere except maybe with their food. I was out of town for work and looking for good food and a bar that I could enjoy. Could not have found anything better.
If you go get the jalapeño poppers (best ever). If John is bartending say hi and I’m guessing that you will meet Jill… wonderful owner = wonderful place.
I give four stars occasionally but this is a FIVE!

Nicole is the bomb and bacon wrapped jalapeño’s as well as the shrimp cocktail TDF.
I don’t write reviews but I wanted to pay respect for this lovely place.
Visit and enjoy…

Excellent all around ! Service was lovely. The meal was so tasty. The atmosphere was really calm and warm. I really enjoyed the steak !!! It is a bit pricey but what else could you expect for a steak house !? Lol. The one nice thing too was that the waiter gave us a 10% off promo thing which was awesome ! More tip for him lol

They recommend having reservation, but me and the hubby were able to be seated at a table right away. Amazing service, amazing food and the price was right!!! Watch out on garlic bread it’s to die for with ranch to dip it with. Yum yum yum

Went to Jills place last night
Very bad service the waiter was rude I understand he was busy because they were short handed. but when he was attending to us he was also on the phone
We also asked to fix the table that was uneven he was bothered
So we all ordered steak and it wasn’t cooked as we requested

In town for a meeting. Ate dinner at Jills. I had the 8 ounce fillet. The meal came with a small split pea soup, salad, veggies and a choice of potato side. I had fries. Everything was cooked to perfection and had tons of flavor.

Enjoyed the drinks…
walked in without reservations and was told the restaurant was full that night but was offered a small table in the middle of the room… ok. Just wanted some drinks and some appetizers and to try the pea soup.
Enjoyed the drinks…
I knew something was amiss when mama reached for the salt shaker when her pea soup arrived. This is supposed to be a house specialty.
Enjoyed the drinks…
Ordered the combo platter app. Mama said if you cant say something nice then you you shouldnt say nothin at all
Enjoyed the drinks…
The restaurant never did fill up, still we endured that tiny table in the middle of the room… still…
Enjoyed the drinks

Disappointing! Took my two girlfriends here for lunch today to celebrate their birthdays. We arrived just a few minutes after 12noon. There was just a single woman sitting at a table and 2 – 3 people at the bar. There were two servers a man and a woman working. We were greeted and got menus, but it took 20 minutes for someone to come back to the table and take our order and 20 more minutes for our food to arrive. They certainly don’t cater to working people! And The place was basically empty!
My friends ordered a BLT and split it and each ordered a bowl of soup. Looked pretty good. I ordered a salmon salad. Forgot to say salad dressing on the side! When my salad came, the greens were completely drenched in dressing. Delicious dressing but greens were just wilted. The salmon was also completely raw. We had to flag down the server and give him back the salmon. I was grateful that my friend suggested that I keep the salad to eat as when I hadn’t gotten the salmon back in 20 more minutes and had to flag down the server again to ask about it, he just laughed and said that the Cook had forgotten about the salmon and it had burned up on the grill. Seriously. No apology!!? What I wanted to hear…“I’m so sorry; we’ll make this right!“
I should have just cut my losses at that point and said just forget the salmon and to reduce my meal price on our bill, but instead I said to go ahead and cook me another piece of salmon even though we had already all finished our meals. When the salmon came back, it was cooked just right… it was also less than half the size of the original piece. Just puny! He gave it to me in a to-​go container. Again no apology; he just brought the bill. No thank you.
Summary– poor customer service, very slow, and food nothing to get excited about. Disappointing experience today. I won’t be back.

They do a good job on the steaks — I’ll give them that. But most of the sides are mediocre at best with no real flair. If this was a cheap place, then that would be OK, but it is not. I consider it over-​priced for what it is and the fact that it is off-​State. Regardless, I expect this to remain a «locals favorite» type of place.

We arrived at 6:30 (because we spent 5 minutes looking for parking on the street.)
They would not honor happy hour prices — and gave us the standard «it is our policy» line about the computer locks us out.
NOTE to the owners who programmed the computer: annoying your guests before they even have the chance to become guests is a bad idea.
The food was good, and the service was good too. It is a shame they are so rigid about policies and caring more about the $ 2 we would saved on happy hour pricing Really just $ 2 an item).

So two kids from NJ are doing the San Fran to LA road trip. Ive plotted out spots to eat and have tried to avoid tourist spots cause I want my wife to have the best food around. Tonight we ate at Jill’s and all I can say is … HOMERUN ! From cocktails to apps to one of the top 3 steaks Ive had in my young 36 year life I wish this spot was in NJ ! Service was outstanding and the food was spot on … Thanks for a great dinner

I have been going to Jill’s place even before the remodel and I will continue to go as long as they keep serving up that delicious burger or tri-​tip sandwich! I usually get it to go since it’s super easy to call in an order and I can park right out front. On the occasion that I have my lil one with me they always take care of her even though they technically don’t have a kids menu. See you again soon Jill’s Place!

Over the past 2 years, the food has steadily gone downhill. I love the ambience, the history of this place — I so hate to say something negative about Jill’s, but after so many disappointing meals, It’s time. The «butcher’s daughter» should know better.
Steaks? Took my family of 5 and parents here for my son’s graduation party, we ordered a lot of meat — New Yorks, Rib Eyes, Fillets, etc. As with a few visits over the past year, the meat was gray, thin and somewhat tasteless. A couple years ago the steaks were thick, with a beautiful charred crust on the outside… not anymore. My theory is that when they did the kitchen re-​build, they put in gas grills that don’t have enough heat to cook a steak properly. As a result, the meat is like it was boiled, a little chewy and lacking in flavor. In addition, Mom’s lamb chops were completely uncooked inside, below rare — yuck. The pea soup is always great, but the vegetables and other sides were lacking in enthusiasm. You feel violated when you spend quite a lot of money for such a mediocre meal and can do SOOO much better BBQing at home.
On another visit a few months ago, the burgers were thin, dry and expensive. In a town where pretty much anyplace has a big, juicy (and expensive burger), this was a small, dry and expensive burger. How difficult is it? I will say that at least the service is always good and very friendly, bumping my review from one star up to two.
Jill, if you are out there, do something about this! In the meantime, we’ll be going back to the original Chuck’s for steak.

This restaurant is fabulous! I had the petit lobster tail, it was cooked to perfection. My waitress was wonderful very personable, I also had their split pea soup, I think Anderson split pea soup better look out! Jills flavors are far superior than that of its competitors.
I had the bacon wrapped jalapenos and the loaded potato skins super yummy, I highly recommend this establishment, excellent service & excellent food.

Jill delivers a place like home with good food in a friendly neighborhood joint filled with regulars.
I recently attended a get together at Jill’s Place which turned out to be the best way to eat our way through the menu, family style. I’ll break down the food, cost and notes. Let’s go.
Sliders $ 8.95 good. I would get these little juicy devils again.
Grilled Artichoke $ 11.95 ok. Messy to eat and not much there for the price. I’ll stick to steamed.
Bruschetta $ 7.95 ok. This are fine but there’s better snacks on the menu. You can make these at home.
Potato Skins $ 7.95 great! Loved these suckers. great appetizer.
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeños $ 7.95 fantastic! The clear winner of snacks. You may find yourself ordering two rounds.
S.B. Sirloin $ 22.95 grilled medium rare is delicious. This is a steak family so when in Rome. Someone at the table should order the sirloin and hope they share a bite.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken Breast $ 18.95 is my favorite. I’ve been ordering the fried chicken for years. It’s not something I can make easily at home and I’m sure if I tried, it would not be as delicious.
Cup of Split Pea soup $ 5.95, I’m not a fan. I like soups and those of the split pea variety but Jill’s lacks in umf. It’s not thick enough for me and no spice jumps out. Bland.
Sausage Bites (part of the combo plate $ 11.95) are good. Little wieners that I would like to see offered as a side of their own. My guess is they would if you asked.
Bananas Shaloob $ 6.96 is the bomb. I’m not a sweets person but I must tell you, this desert is a must for all. You will not be disappointed.
The price points are fair and the service is standard for Santa Barbara. The perks are a mostly local crowd of devoted regulars in a family atmosphere where Jill Shalhoob makes the rounds, getting to know you know.

On Friday I visited Jill’s place for the second time, I’ve been bragging about this resteraunt since I visited in June and wanted my friend and fellow foodie to try it out as well. Arriving in Santa Barbara at 4:30 we had a relatively easy time finding parking, just a word of advice for new customers, the lot directly next door is not for Jill’s place customers, you will have to locate parking on the street, and if you get there at a relatively early time its easy to find one.
Upon entering the restaurant it was relatively empty, the bartender greeted us and let us know that someone would be coming up to help us, which within seconds she did.
Friendly and upbeat our waitress gave us the option of where we wanted to sit, and after we were seated she let us know that that they were not serving dinner until 5:00 but that we could order appetizers off the Happy Hour Menu.
I mentioned that it was my second visit and that I’d attended an event in June, I told her we were going to see Jim Gaffigan at the SB bowl and she right away wanted to know if we needed to put a rush on our meal. We told her we had time and went ahead and ordered the Bacon wrapped Jalapeño poppers and Loaded potato skins, drink wise I opted for the JP Margarita which consisted of reposado tequila, agave nectar, fresh lime juice and was a citrus lovers dream come true (yea me!) .
Our waitress returned with our drinks and the appetizers followed quickly, the Jalepeno popper definitely has a kick, if you are sensitive to heat, this would not be the best choice for you, but if you are heat junkie… bring it on!
The loaded baked potatoes are just that, they don’t scrimp on the the cheesy, bacon goodness and its accompanied with a side of ranch.
By now the it was after 5:00 and we opted to order a bowl of the split pea soup and another appetizer to split.
I chose the Sliders which are three mini-​burgers with a spicy mayo spread, grilled onions & cheddar cheese, The meat is tender to the bite and loaded with flavor. Sandy ordered a bowl of soup as well, along with the Petit Lobster Tail, wow… the Lobster was so tender and bursting with flavor, I cannot even express just how good it was, your going to have to try it for yourself.
Our waitress kept checking on us, and even gave us drinks to go knowing we were headed to the bowl.
All in all I’m still impressed with my second visit, and ready for my third… if I lived in SB my waistline would be in serious trouble.
And now a word to the person reading this review, uh why are you still reading? Decision made, get your fanny to Jill’s Place today!

Jill, thank you for sharing an array of your delicious dishes with us Unilocalers on 6÷17÷15. Jill’s is real comfort food, and more satisfying than most offerings along State Street central. In particular, I enjoyed the shalhoob beef sliders and stuffed jalapeño peppers. The potato skins were very good too. I like the crispy skins and lots of green onions. My table commented that the pepper poppers and garlic bread were better the second time they came out. This is because they were hotter and the bread had more cheese on each slice. Keep this up and I would love to return!
Two people from my work adore Jill’s and said Eric on Saturday makes great Manhattan cocktails. Also, the location burned down a year ago, and I wouldn’t have guessed! Comfortable, warm, and down to earth environment here.

Two Words: Happy Hour
Come here for happy hour, they have great deals! Monday to Friday from 4:30PM to 6:30PM. You can get a draft beer for just $ 4. Their potato skins are crispy and come with cheese, bacon, and some ranch dressing.
For entrée, I chose the filet mignon. Their cuts of meat come from an incredible local meat company, Shalhoob! The flavors just melted in my mouth and it was cooked to perfection.
Great atmosphere, amazing staff, and reasonably priced!
Stop by Jill’s Place for delicious dinner!

Jill’s Place is a wonderful place to eat. The service is very friendly and they are very accommodating.
I had the Bacon Bleu Burger and it was delicious. The bun is flaky and it’s alright. The burger has an incredible array of spices in it and is cooked pretty well. The bacon is some of the best around it’s thick yet crispy. The ingredients are fresh and you can certainly taste that. I wouldn’t say it’s the best of burgers but it is a good burger.
The fries are pretty amazing though. I would recommend Jill’s for happy hour, it seems like a good time to come.