Matthew R.
Yelp
I would give this place zero stars if I could. My experience at Buena Onda was absolutely pathetic from start to finish. I was expecting a decent meal, but what my family got was a total disaster. The food was a joke, cold, flavorless, underfilled, and definitely not worth the price. It felt like they didn't even care what they were sending out of the kitchen, because when my oldest daughter took a bite of her meat empanada, she found a fake nail along with small plastic contaminants in the chimichurri sauce!! WTF, along with all that, they have all their empanadas frozen from weeks ago, nothing there is made fresh! Not even the simplest desserts, they were all frozen and from Cheesecake Factory, but the worst part of the entire night wasn't even the bad food, it was the service. The manager, Matias, is hands down the rudest person I have ever encountered in the hospitality industry in 35 years of being in the Santa Barbara community. When I tried to politely bring up an issue with our order, he was incredibly condescending and acted like I was inconveniencing him just by being there. He was dismissive, arrogant, and had zero professional bone in his body. He continued to speak over me and my wife. He didn't offer a single apology or attempt to make things right, he just made the situation worse with his terrible attitude. This guy is a loose cannon. Then, making my family get up and leave! A restaurant is only as good as its leadership, and with Matias in charge, Buena Onda is a sinking ship. Save your money and your sanity and go literally anywhere else. If you want real, authentic Argentinian food, you will have to go to LA or Argentina. This place is a joke, Maradona and Messi would be ashamed!