Sizzling Lunch - Goleta

I enjoy the food at this restaurant, but my recent experience picking up a to-go order through Grubhub was disappointing. After waiting for 25 minutes, I was told I would have to wait an additional 25-30 minutes for my order, even though it was marked as ready. I had to call my coworker to cover for me during my ten minute break. The staff should have updated the order time on the app to avoid this inconvenience. The lack of training in customer service was evident when the staff member was rude instead of being helpful. I was impressed by Raven, the general manager, who went above and beyond to cover for the employee. He truly deserves recognition for his hard work.

The service at this restaurant was outstanding! The atmosphere was clean, open, and functional. The food was a little tricky to navigate, but the owner came to our table and assisted us. I was curious as to why they sliced the wagyu beef so thin - it seemed to lose some of its tenderness that way.

Food was good but the server had a bad attitude when there was a problem with the ordering system placing an extra 2 plates we didn't order. Also place DESPERATELY NEEDS ventilation. Super smoky inside and stuffy. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $10–20

Pretty gas to be honest, just expensive. You're pretty much just paying for the experience which is valid because it's kinda fun. Just get the garlic pepper beef on rice, it's the most basic and pretty good. It gets pretty smokey inside so idk kinda weird. Every item seems decent but if you get the fish i would personally think you're sus.

Based on the reviews and verbal recommendations, I have been looking forward to the opportunity of trying out Sizzling Lunch for myself. I came in during the summer and on a weekday. Given it 's close vicinity to UCSB being in Isla Vista, there were a decent amount of groups dining in and the online take out orders kept piling up. The menu is a bit odd... They either have a mobile QR code menu to scan or a tablet electronic menu on each table, yet no paper or posted menu. The employee was easy going and friendly, but appeared to be waiting tables and cooking in the kitchen. He was very busy, however, was willing to answer one question I had which was: What is the top dish ordered? Based on the response and Yelp reviews, I went with the Garlic Pepper Beef on rice. In all, plus tip, it ended up coming out to around just under $20. My order was ready in a reasonable time--roughly 10 minutes. This is where things go downhill... I had my meal for take out which could have been my first downfall. At Sizzling Lunch you usually come with others, use a tablet to order, then cook your own beef, rice, broth, noodles and whatever else you order. Perhaps it 's about the experience. Second, I didn 't have the opportunity to put what spices or sauces on the dish myself; these are provided on the table. Instead when I opened up the box, it was smothered with a thick layer of garlic flakes. So much that I could barely see the meat or rice beneath. If it were fresh garlic it may have been different. Yet this would kill Dracula immediately! I tried to scrape off what I could but was unsuccessful. The dish was basically inedible, plus I couldn 't taste the meat by itself due to the overwhelming garlic flavor. Perhaps these two reasons were why I had a mediocre experience... who knows? I 'm up in the air on whether I want to try it again but this was simply a meh. Note: This is unassociated with the chains Sizzling Platter or Pepper Lunch franchises, yet has a similar dining concept.