Habit Burger & Grill

After buying hamburger from a cheerful staff and being seated behind the restaurant, you can enjoy a great freshly made hamburger .

While I don’t consider this to be a local business anymore, the burgers and fries taste as good as they did when it was. This location, being directly on State Street feels a little bit more touristy and a little less local to me. The dining area is OK and generally clean, though being outside in a busy area means it never feels perfectly clean. My preferred items at all locations are the regular charburger with cheese, bacon, and raw onion or a BBQ chicken sandwich on French roll, and a side of onion rings with ranch dressing. And by the way, for many years when this was a local business I don’t ever recall seeing a Santa Barbara burger on the menu so I wouldn’t consider that anything local. 😉

This was my first time trying The Habit, and it was just as good as I'd hoped! Delicious burger at a reasonable price, and fast and friendly service. Really liked having a buzzer to know when my order was ready, rather than just a number.

Absolutely unbelievable. Would highly recommend

This place is usually great. Food is awesome Unfortunately today I arrived 10 minutes before closing and the people inside acted like I wasn't there then acted like they didn't understand me. Very unfortunate because this was one of my favorite places

This hands down is the worst hamburger habit I have ever been too. The customer service was horrible. I left the place so unsatisfied and was very offended by the staff. When I received my order the hamburger was incorrect, so I went back up to the window and said my hamburger was not made as I requested. The guy asked for my receipt and then proceeded to tell me that what the girl put down as my order was what I received. Obviously there was a language miscommunication and she didn't understand what I said cause that's not what I told her. He basically told me oh well that's what you ordered and refused to correct it and said it was my fault. I know what I said and know I was very loud and clear, but he said too bad and refused to take anymore of his time to talk or do anything about it. In addition all of the straws were broken at the tops. The back patio straight smelled like someone pissed all over the area and smelled musty like a homeless guy lived in planters. Hopefully the photos will explain my dissatisfaction further.

General manager mexican guy is horrible. They made my burger wrong from a few days ago and he took it from me, pulled apart my day old burger and told me I was wrong when there was clearly onions on it. Very disrespectful and rude.

No doubt food is good. Service can improve. As for the place, be warned: there's no toilet facilities to wash your hands before eating your meal...well, if you find a table in the very limited dining area first, and if the table you find is wiped clean. Good luck if you need to use a toilet for other 'jobs' besides being able to wash your hands before you eat.

All outdoor seated location. Order at the counter and you get a buzzer that will alert you when your order is ready. The soft drinks, ketchup and the peppers are right to the left of the pick up counter. Line moves fast.

Woah, The Habit completely lost all quality since the Taco Bell corp buyout. Highly not recommended. I hadn't eaten here in a few years, and stopped by yesterday to remind my tastebuds how good a charburger was.. Key word here is 'was'. The burger wasn't even close to looking, smelling, resembling, or tasting like an original charburger. Grey, wet and soggy meat patty, smashed flatter than a pancake... And on top of all of this, half of the fries were still frozen! Like actually frozen - as in, not cooked.

I ordered online and received a text that my order was ready for pickup. I arrived and the owner told me he had no fried items so I asked for a refund which he refused. He said I had to contact corporate. I asked why he couldn't contact me and he said that his system doesn't allow for that which is a total lie. Additionally, he could have cancelled my order or chosen not to accept it but instead, he accepted the order and hoped I wouldn't dispute the issue. I did call corporate and I reported this location to the better business bureau.

If you have Burger in your name, you ought to have a really great burger but, alas, it is just OK. The ordering is easy, and I like the little buzzing pagers to signal that the order is ready, the service is quick and friendly. The Burger itself is cooked well-done, and doesn't have much flavor of its own. The fries are good, though.

Pretty good Cobb salad, except I'm not a fan of blue cheese. I should have read the details online. I ordered the Santa Barbara Cobb, which is a Crisp shredded iceberg and Romaine lettuce, diced tomatoes, avocado, blue cheese crumbles, hickory-smoked bacon, and egg, tossed in their red wine vinaigrette, topped with chargrilled chicken breast. They have a choice of their House Dressing (balsamic & olive oil), House Ranch, Sweet Mustard, Thousand Island, Blue Cheese, Vinaigrette, Caesar or fat free Italian. There was enough parking even though it was packed on a Sunday afternoon and the service was friendly.

I usually get a Santa Barbara char with no mayonnaise, no cheese and sub the meat for impossible. For some reason they said it wasn't possible today and that if I wanted that I would have to get it with the impossible burger but it would be $2 more. I'm very disappointed in this location I've never not been able to get my sandwich at the same price

The person at the pickup desk was extremely unpleasant when I asked if my food was ready twice, about five minutes apart. She then came out to hand a large order to another customer. Frustrated, I asked someone else who worked there about my order. The first person returned and curtly told me, "You need to wait a few minutes." I understand waiting, but a little kindness wouldn't hurt. On top of that, the drink fountain was dirty and empty. When I asked if I could change my drink, she pointed to the fountain and said, "The drink is in there." I explained that the lemonade was empty. The Pepsi tasted off as well, and another person standing nearby agreed. Overall, this experience was disappointing, and I don't think I'll be returning--at least not to this branch.

This is a great casual spot, but I wouldn't go here for anything more than a quick meal. Their veggie options are decent, but the onion rings and coffee shake steal the show.

I had waited for a long while to try the burgers at the Habit Burger Grill Santa Rosa since it's menu had a "veggie burger". We came back to Santa Barbara after 4 months and I seized the opportunity. To my dismay, at the time of placing the order the person taking the order said he was not sure what the veggie burger pattie may be made of (I don't eat meat). So to be absolutely certain, I ended up ordering an Impossible Burger as I was too tired to go to another food place. The burger was bland, I hardly have ever liked an impossible burger and Habit Grill made it no better. So not a good burger experience, and all that excitement and wait for having a good veggie burger went wasted. Surprisingly, burgers at this place don't come with any sides so I ordered a set of Onion Rings, too. We also ordered one Chicken Grill sandwich which was also average tasting. The place is a fast food joint in its strict sense so no table service and has very basic facilities & ambiance.

Good evening my name is Mr. Green. I had supposedly received an email from you guys from previous about myself and my other manager getting the wrong Food twice. I apologize you sent me an email. I might've deleted it because I get a lot of emails and I apologize if I deleted it when you sent me an email can you tell me what I'm looking for so I can retrieve it and read it once again I apologize because I believe I deleted the email you sent to me, thank you for understanding. My email is dangreen148@msn.com Sorry for the miscommunication Thank you * Second review went to the habit again because the habit gave us a voucher I still had to pay two dollars and some change i'll try to send you the receipt ask for a chicken sandwich with mayonnaise. They messed that up. They need to be trained better as far as the balusters go. I still end up paying for as much money as we spend there myself and the other manager, I don't know, bummed about it. It used to be one of our favorite places to go, but I'm getting tired of complaining so we're just not gonna go there anymore sorry. I don't understand what what good is about your they still charge you for a chicken sandwich as I expressed the first time myself and another manager went to order food that both orders were wrong both times voucher did us no good very disturbed.

I didn't think their burgers could get any worse. However, after this latest experience, they have proved me wrong. Worst driest, burger meat, and bun ever. This is really the last time I'll ever order from them again.

Nice place, good food, nice staff, always come here for a consistently burger Mike M. - Pasadena

I came for lunch and decided to try their new ahi sandwich, I was little surprised when it came out on a burger bun. I was expecting the sandwich bread, nevertheless it was quite delicious though I wish I'd been asked what bread I preferred. The fries were cooked to golden perfection. It was still early when we came and it wasn't busy at all, tables were clean, and service was good.

If you don't want to honor your posted hours, fine - just change your hours. If you post that you close at 10, don't be closed at 9:50.

when i got some water the machine was half lemonade! disgrace! i was thirsty the rest of the afternoon before i got home! do better.

This is one of the best fast food places in Santa Barbara. Great burgers, onion rings and fries and I love that they have Coke Zero in the soda machine. I also like their Mac and cheese. If you want a great snack or dessert, their soft ice cream costs less than $2. The inside tables may be full at prime times but there is always plenty of seating outside.

. What happened to the habit. They are charging for ranch now. OK, no biggie. But I got my burger. I feel like that Wendy's commercial where's the beef. I couldn't even see the patty. I was so bummed. I was expecting my regular habit burger. And it was not.

This location is Still very closed up due to Covid...They've taken the doorway's out to make windows of "place to order" another window is the "fountain drinks".... No inside entry.... No restrooms available..... Burger & fries were okay .....but....just okay ??? We people watched as the location is on State street in Santa Barbara..... weird thing is..... it was 11am and most of the retail shops & restaurant's were still closed‍‍‍ Parking is always crazy, we found a public parking structure a couple blocks away....

Great service...employees at this location really care about keeping the outside area clean. My meal was hot and tasted fresh. It was kind of a hot day so the shaded umbrellas at the table made it so much more enjoyable. Thank You Santa Barbara Habit Burger

They use frozen patties now. And charge you and arm and a leg for it. Also, the sides portions have shrunk.

Hamburger Habit is the best-tasting burger in town. I don't think I have ever had a major problem eating in person at various locations in town, but this is the third time a delivery order has disappointed. We are a multi-generational Santa Barbara family and my first Habit burger was probably in the early 1980s at what I believe was the first, or one of the first locations, in Isla Vista. I realize it's challenging to deliver a hot and delicious hamburger even when the drive from the restaurant to our door is only about 10 minutes. Buns get soggy, fries are never quite the same, and you really hope the driver is fast and doesn't get lost. But last night, that was not the issue, as our order contained three entrée salads and only one Santa Barbara char burger. When something goes wrong with an order, as the patron, it's hard to know exactly who to blame when there is a third-party delivery service like Grubhub involved. In our case, it's entirely possible there were 3 small bags that comprised our order, and the driver only grabbed 2. But no one has contacted me from the Habit to confirm or deny this was the case. So I can only speculate it was either driver error, or an order error on the part of the Habit. If the latter, I'm particularly disappointed because I took the time to write a note of praise to the Habit about the many decades we have loved their burgers, and their oddly delicious ranch dressing. It's only been in the last two or three years that I became aware of how delicious their barbecue chicken salads are, especially once you add ranch salad dressing. So I waxed poetic, full of praise, and shared with them about an injury that was preventing the full use of both of my arms (I'm dictating this review with only two fingers to edit, so apologies for any syntax errors) and how excited we were to use some gift certificates friends had given us so we could order in. It's funny how certain things affect you. While (of course!) I was disappointed the order was missing entrée salads, I was equally bummed the only one that was delivered had no salad dressing of any kind to accompany it. It was sort of akin to emailing or texting a business to rave about their incredible responsiveness, only to never hear back from them. It's been a difficult past couple of years for all of us on the planet. Restaurants were hurt badly, while delivery services of any kind boomed. But as we begin to emerge into a post-Covid world, good communication amongst those of us emerging from our foxholes, is crucial. The Habit is a major success story and on a corporate level now has the ability to spend a little more time and money on messaging when things like this go wrong. I hope they will take the time to do so. The quality of their food deserves that. They really are the best burgers in town and an admirable local success story. The original owners have recently sold the entire franchise and are well deserving of the multi-millions they got for it. I probably should've gotten more! The half of our order that arrived was good, but the experience was a huge letdown that left us very hungry.

The Habit makes one of my favorite burgers so I knew I would be happy with a stop here to relieve my nighttime hunger pangs. This location is actually a walk-up window. There is no interior seating but there is patio seating both out front along State Street and also to the rear. I ordered a double char burger with cheese and a Coke. You're handed a pager to let you know when to come to the pickup window. The Habit is consistently delicious no matter what location I visit. Here was no exception. The downside to this location? No restrooms.

Great service as the team seems very well run and always friendly. The food is always made quickly and with exactly what I asked for- often at other places ignoring requests such as no pickles. Never dine in - outside but seems well taken care of.

By looking at the picture you can see this burger is not what it usually looks like. It tastes very stale and rubbery. This is not the habit I'm used to. Also I asked for the fries crispy and they were the opposite. I'm a Habit fan but not if this location as the performance is usually a bit and miss which means to the miss. I'm changing it to one star because it didn't just tastes stale, the bread was stale and hard. Pokemon, you lying.

I like this franchise usually predictable with acceptable food. This location never got to putting in an order. Hey, I'm old and really do not hear as well as I'd like. They have an order window with outside seating. At the window, attempting to communicate with the girl at the register, thru z window. Screen. And I could not understand her. On the 3rd try. I figured out that when i covered my mouth she would take the order.

The sweetest guys work there and I've never felt more welcomed at a food place before haha. Food wasn't bad. I would go back just to see them all again. My baby liked them too :) They even made him a happy plate !

Horrible customer service. No one answered my calls ( 5) or responded to the 2 voicemails left on 10/27 pm after my husband and I returned to our hotel and found our take out order to be incomplete. I contacted Sergio, manager on 10/31 am; and he stated that customer service would be contacting me. No one has yet to contact me and it is 11/1 after 5 pm.

Didn't like this Habit Burger as much as the Serramonte location in No Cal. Hubby and I did a chocolate malt taste test. We paid $7 for a tiny one at McConnells ice cream down the block made with Valrona choc ice cream and I got a double the size mocha malt at this HB for under $4. The HB one was too sweet, hardly any malt flavor and I had to scoop off the cheap whip cream from the top of it. Hubby agreed it didn't have as good a choc flavor. We shared a char burger which was good as well as the onion rings. The tempura green beans were a disappointment. The batter wasn't crispy enough and the beans tasted as if it was first parboiled and then fried. The flavor was lacking and the inside tasted like boiled veggies. Wouldn't want to go back to this HB. It only has outdoor seating.

Do you know how bad a place has to be for you to give it a one star when the food had been comped? Yeah, really, really baaaad. The grub is the grub, and Habit could be really good, and it was good when the joint first opened. Since that first year or so quality has taken a nosedive. Whether for delivery or using a corporate comp because of that horrible delivery, the food arrives cold. I was in my car outside the restaurant. Why are the burger and fries ice cold? I know it (allegedly) took 40 minutes to prepare three burgers, an order of fries, another of onion rings, one salad, and three drinks because everything is prepared to order, but you couldn't call me when the order was ready? I told you it was the white Honda when you shooed me out for asking about the food. You're asking for a lot of money for cold fast casual food. I've already been comped so, no mas with this location.

I have vary bad experience with this location. I always eat Habit in Glendale and the stuff is so nice to me , but these especially ladies were so rude and nasty that never happened to me before in any place . I've been . will never suggest anybody to go there to eat Burger. You have to ask them to put ketchup inside of the pocket, I ordered 2 fries they put just one . No professional at all.

The only reason I am writing this review is because of their short dark skinned/dark haired woman who was working the Make Up station between 7pm and 745pm. We stopped at the Habit after a long 16 hour road trip back home, ordered a kids meal and a Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich; All was well up until I noticed there was a strand of hair between the sandwich. I know it happens, I wasn't making a deal of it, I simply went up and asked their manager (a young woman) and showed her the sandwich, and asked for it remade. She didn't seem to have an issue with it, she took it, called out a remake, and walked over to her kitchen to show them why the remake. As she showed the cooks, the woman working Make up laughed, and I guess this lady thought I didn't "look" like I'd speak Spanish and very grossly exclaimed in Spanish "Oh why is she complaining, she should've just eaten it, it was free anyways!" At this point I grew very annoyed and I exclaimed back in Spanish, "No thank you, I like my food without hair in it. You can keep it, Thank you though!" I'll admit, the look on each of the Spanish speaking employees was priceless. They all knew they had messed up, but not one person apologized. I noticed an older gentleman sitting in the back end booth having lunch, which I assume was another manager on break and let him know about the situation. Though he was no where near the situation, he apologized and asked if I needed anything, to which I said no. I'm not asking for anything other than for that woman to be taught your Habit Standards, Hospitality, Attitude, Be the Best, Integrity and Teamwork, because I can honestly tell you that from my experience, she it lacking 4 of the 5 pillars.

they did not change my order when I asked if they can switch the bread horrible place the staffs are really bad at taking orders.

i usually never have "fast food" or when i do it will be something more macro and "health" oriented. i decided to treat myself with habit's chicken club on sourdough and boy was it good! i got the mayo on the side but the sandwhich was honestly great without it. only thing was the chicken was a little dry but besides that it was awesome!

The Habit Burger Grill: One of my favorite fast food burgers. Except if you're in the Santa Barbara HBG and have to pee. You'd better hold it because there ain't no restroom. When I asked the counter worker "where's the restroom?" he pointed north and said, "2 blocks." So: 4 stars for the food and 1 star for the experience.

Basically the In-N-Out of SB, their menu is pretty simple so if you're craving a good ol' burger this can definitely be your fix! We came on a Sunday early afternoon and it was pretty poppin' so the outdoor seating was a hot commodity. Turnaround is pretty fast though so eventually you'll get a seat. We got the teriyaki burger and fries, though the burger was very tasty it needed more of the teriyaki sauce (at first I thought they gave us the wrong order due to lack of sauce ha). Fries were standard good. We didn't realize until after we ordered, but apparently they had fish burgers (albacore I think) as well which I want to try next time. Great place to stop by and grab a quick, delicious bite before shopping or early bar-hopping in SB. Apparently this burger joint is popular amongst local college students.

The Habit, oh The Habit. To me, a Charburger with cheese is superior over every national fast food chain, over Shake Shake, even over In-N-Out. SB is its home, even now that it's spread all over the state and country. This State Street branch is often bustling, but the outdoor seating, the paging system, and the fact that it's freaking State Street in freaking perfect SB means it's easy to enjoy your meal. Just try it. A nice smash patty, melted American, shredded lettuce, tomato, bread and butter pickles, mayo, a toasted sesame bun. It's so standard yet somehow it captures that fresh and relaxed California beach vibe.

Tasted good, wait time was normal, prices were decent, and is healthy compared to fast food. I got the normal char burger which tastes like what you could imagine the standard burger to be.

Price aside, I would prefer a Charburger over a Double-Double. The meat is juicy and grilled to perfection, and the portions are generous. This particular location isn't outstanding, but it's still good. All the tables are outside here. If you sit towards the back, you will be under a roof, but the front tables are exposed. The weather should not be a problem most days, and you do get a great view of State Street as you eat. You order through a small window, and then pick up your order at another window. The line can get long, and it can take a while until you eat. The Charburger is delicious. all the ingredients are fresh and tasty. I also like the fries, it's not as firm as other fries, but still crunchy. The onion rings are perfect as well. I did order a milkshake once, it was decent but I probably won't order it again. I paid $8.30 for a charburger, fries, and drink. If I get a milkshake instead of a drink, the price goes up to $12.15. Kind of pricey for someone who grew up with In N Out, but it's fair. Service was great, the workers were very nice and friendly. It was once voted the best fast food chain burger in America, and for a very good reason. If you're into quality, and you're willing to pay a little more, Habit is the way to go.

Yum! I wanted to order one of the sandwiches, but since they're known for their burgers, I decided to do it right. Thus, I ordered the BBQ Bacon Charburger at the window and grabbed one of the tables in their outdoor seating area. (It's outdoor seating only btw!) Reminded me very much of 3rd street promenade in Santa Monica. I was so hungry that I devoured that burger when it came out! Well, half-devoured, half-savored. There was an ample amount of crispy bacon and tangy bbq sauce (and lettuce), and they tasted perfect with the charred beef! Yes, it's charrgrilled, but it's not like it's overdone or burnt, so you can appreciate the flavor. Some people complained about their burgers being dry, but mine wasn't at all - probably because I ordered the bbq one. The burger itself was a good size - I was stuffed. If you're in the area looking for something fast, cheap, or just plain good, I'd totally recommend The Habit! :)

Simplicity is always a winner when it comes to burgers. The winning combination always has 2 of 3 of these items. A great burger. Great fries. A great milkshake or malt. Burger, fries and a shake. This place is really inexpensive. The burgers at The Habit are simple with clean flavors. The fries and onion rings are perfectly greasy and full of flavor. The milkshakes are tasty and large. It's street side, large groups of students but also families here on a late Sunday afternoon. it's got a great vibe and lots of character for a burger joint. It's purely American. I do love a tasty burger.

Came down to SB for business and decided to check out some eateries downtown. Despite using navigation, The Habit is tucked in from the other shops on State St so it may be a challenge to locate. Charburger w/ Cheese - Fresh and tasty, although not out of this world tasty! Onion Rings - Slightly over-fried The Vanilla shake was delicious but super heavy... I tossed out half the shake in an effort to not double in size! ;)

This is great food as always but not what I am use to. There is only outside seating with a decent amount of seating. The staff as always is very friendly and helpful if you dont know the menu. I was sad though that they did not have mushrooms. Lately I have been loving mushrooms on my burger. The other is they only have paper straws. The ones that after a few minutes in your drink it starts to designate. No there is no plastic behind the counters. Over all, if weather permits it, a nice place for a good burger! There is NO BATHROOMS

This State Street downtown location is consistently good, but also consistently busy. Grilled Cheese sandwich was exactly what I expected, simple and buttery. My family enjoyed the burgers and grilled chicken sandwich. Don't forget to add avocado and grilled onions. Low points: Fries were droopy and Not much seating space. Get your order to go and head to the beach nearby!

Sadly the food isn't what it used to be. Had a bacon bbq char. Overcooked and dry. Sad turn of events.

Great charburgers BUT their fries are always undercooked, even if you ask for them "cripsy". They should find out how McDonalds makes their fries and clone the process!

The worse habit in sb lol. I have no idea why but they can't ever get the order right. I door dash a burger and get no cheese??? Maybe some quality check should be implemented. Go to the habit on milpas it's way better

They don't answer the phone. Online orders are set for 30 min and are done early. If you show up at the time they set burgers are cold and soggy. Horrible service and system.

We were just walking by this little place when we got hungy because of the sweet smell of fresh burgers. We took the doublecharbrg and the charbrg. Both with cheese and all the vegetables. Exelent, simplistic burger with good bread and juicy beef All well worth the money.

If I could give zero or negative stars I would. Worthless and most unhelpful staff I have ever had the displeasure to encounter. Tried ordering a chicken sandwich with teriyaki sauce on sourdough and was told repeatedly it was a burger. Specifically said, I do NOT WANT A BURGER, I want a sandwich multiple times. She still rang it up as a burger and then had the audacity to tell me that's what I ordered. Her manager had to come fix it. Zero apologies. PASS!