Backyard Bowls State St - Santa Barbara

Glad there is something vegan around the mall, but ... Service was really bad. Five people who came in after me got served before me. The food felt low quality like Cost Co bulk ingredients. The bowl I was made was mostly granola and very little açaí. Not sure the granola is vegan. The honey def appears to be cut with corn syrup, though I didn’t eat it so I’m just saying based on appearance. Anyway, if there are ZERO vegan options otherwise, this place has a few: smoothies and bowls. But they gotta work on their service, quality and prep consistency.

I had read about this place on HappyCow and was in town (June 2014), so I went in for a look. Here's my Backyard Bowls review. Not so much a restaurant as we would expect but an acai bowl and smoothies bar. You could get a variety of toppings with your bowl. We got a basic one with acai berries and fruit. Tasted good.

I had read about this place on HappyCow and was in town (June 2014), so I went after a look. Here's my Backyard Bowls review. Not as much a restaurant as we would expect, but an Acai bowl and smoothies bar. You could get a variety of blows with your bowl. We have a reason with Acai berries and fruits. Well tasted.

I absolutely enjoyed the mushroom toast at this restaurant. They offer a wide variety of vegan options on their menu.

Despite the fact that there were about 10 people working at the restaurant, none of them seemed to know what items were vegan. I felt like I was the first person to ever ask such a question. Initially, they informed me that the granola was not vegan, but later corrected themselves. When I inquired about honey, they mentioned that honey was indeed vegan. A customer made fun of me for not knowing that honey was not vegan, and the staff seemed surprised as well. They prioritized serving male customers who arrived after me, leaving me waiting for half an hour for my açaí bowl and smoothie. I didn't make any special requests because I assumed the honey was the only non-vegan ingredient. I also found it unsettling that the staff wore gloves, but frequently removed them to use their bare hands. One employee even scratched her head and touched her hair before cutting strawberries without gloves or washing her hands.