Batya Kemper

Review of Santa Barbara Roasting Company

I'm not usually one to give bad reviews online, bu...

I'm not usually one to give bad reviews online, but I was straight up lied to by SBRC. I paid $11 for the 16 oz iced mocha mason jar with a flavor shot. I especially wanted the mason jar, because I was biking home and a disposable cup, in addition to not being eco-friendly, would spill everywhere on the ride. When I picked up my order, it was half ice and it was in a disposable plastic cup. I tried asking about it and challenging the ridiculous price to get something that I had not ordered, but I was informed that the $11 was not about the jar, but the 4 shots of espresso. This is simply not true. A normal 16 oz iced latte with 4 shots of espresso is only $6.35 at SBRC. That is exactly what I received, except with a $5 surcharge.

I understand that restaurants sometimes run out of things and that can't be helped, so normally I don't make a fuss. But the appropriate response to that is informing the customer so that they can order something else, or offering something of equal value. It is not giving the customer something they didn't order and overcharging for it, and then lying to the customer about it.

And yes, it did leak all over my backpack on the ride home, making it an even worse value proposition. I will be taking my business to Dune or one of the other great coffee options in SB from now on.