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What's It All About, Alphie?
updated: Feb 07, 2013, 8:18 PM

By Edhat Subscriber

What is going on with Alphies Restaurant in Goleta? They have been closed whenever I have tried to go there.

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 372068	2013-02-07 08:51 PM
Who knows? I stopped going there a long time ago. They don't pay attention to service.
COMMENT 372072P	2013-02-07 08:57 PM
Where are they located?
MOARTS51	2013-02-07 09:02 PM
Alphie's is only open for breakfast & lunch. You don't mention when you went... but if after 2 - you're outta luck.
MOARTS51	2013-02-07 09:03 PM
Located on Hollister Ave - btw Goleta Community Center and the Hamburger Habit.
NATURE BOY	2013-02-07 11:46 PM
I always wondered about that place. It seemed so old-school. Meant to eat there, never did. Anyone have any reviews of the place?
COMMENT 372085P	2013-02-08 02:54 AM
Moarts51...Thanks for telling me the answer and not making me feel like the biggest Moron in the world as so many others do to other posters with innocent questions.
COMMENT 372094P	2013-02-08 06:24 AM
When I was in High School my Dad & I used to go there all the time for breakfast. They had amazing hot chocolate and their food was good too, and they had a neat feel. That was 25 years ago though, not sure what it's like there now.
COMMENT 372096	2013-02-08 06:41 AM
Good riddance...The first and last time I went there, the food was obviously frozen and re-heated, and the service was horrible.
COMMENT 372098	2013-02-08 06:48 AM
I've had better service, but I love this place. It's a unique spot, and their breakfast and coffee has never let me down.
COMMENT 372105	2013-02-08 07:10 AM
Alphies is for the locals only. Its' an acquired taste.
COMMENT 372111	2013-02-08 07:22 AM
Looking for breakfast/lunch in Old Town try the Goodland Market on So Magnolia Ave - not Alphie's to be sure but pretty darn good AND the service is great!! We love Alphie's for its old style, acquired taste.
FLICKA	2013-02-08 07:23 AM
085P, Glad you got a nice answer. No one should feel like a moron when they get some of the nasty remarks posted in response to a question; they are made by insecure, low self-esteem people who need to fluff their feathers and inflate the ego by trying to degrade someone else. Pay no attention, just feel sorry for them. This is a community site where we can get information and have questions answered; a valuable asset.
COMMENT 372115	2013-02-08 07:26 AM
Alphie's was the bomb in the 80s! I remember biscuits and gravy which I never ordered anywhere else.
COMMENT 372120	2013-02-08 07:28 AM
Look, its a family owned, family operated coffee shop. Its not fancy food, but if you want a bite to eat for breakfast or lunch at a reasonable price, try it out. My wife and I have gone there for breakfast on occasion for years and have never had a bad meal or bad service. Be flexible... sometimes they're busy, sometimes not. Saturday morning you can expect longer wait times because they're super busy. I'd give Alphie's a thumbs up.
COMMENT 372129	2013-02-08 07:42 AM
Very good home style breakfasts. Good brunch on Sundays with live music (Ali plays piano), Alphies named after Ali and his wife Ophelia are the the owners. Ali Tagatac is a long time resident and business owner in Old Town Goleta and at one time or another the whole family was working there. Although the atmosphere is a little funky, the breakfasts are outstsanding.
REXOFSB	2013-02-08 07:49 AM
I always thought the food at Alphie's was kind of so-so, but it was quite reasonably priced and I went there maybe a couple of times a month. One day I ordered a cheese omelet and was amazed/appalled to discover on first bite that the "cheese" they used was Velveeta. Velveeta!! And this was a couple of years before Honey Boo-Boo and her family's creative use of food products. As I was paying the check, I remarked to the cashier that I had just had the most awful omelet I'd ever tried to eat and that it was truly the yardstick by which all dreadful omelets would be measured in the future. She mistook my complaint for a compliment. "I will tell the cook," she beamed. "He will be very happy." I didn't go there much after that.
COMMENT 372142	2013-02-08 08:03 AM
My husband and I used to go there whenever we took the car to get serviced at Nissan. Not the greatest food, but not bad - average breakfast/diner fare. I loved that it wasn't crazy busy, like trying to go to Cajun on the weekend!
PATRICK	2013-02-08 08:03 AM
Never been to Alphie's, but after reading these posts, I think I'll check it out...
COMMENT 372145	2013-02-08 08:09 AM
We still go to Alphie's every so often and it's wonderful -- the last colorful old school family-owned restaurant of that type anywhere I know of on the southcoast. The food is better than Cajun Kitchen (I've been dining at both for over 20 years) and the cultural experience -- both the authentic Polynesian decor and the NY-esque servers (one grandma is sweet, the other grandma is sour) is a bit of reality that we don't get much in our skin deep town where only perfect-bodied college students get to be servers at restaurants anymore. The dining is leisurely and the restaurant affords space, acoustic paneling (never too loud), and scheduled live jazz music on certain Sundays. It's civilized in a Polynesian beatnik family diner sort of way.
COMMENT 372154	2013-02-08 08:23 AM
Alphies is more of an "experience" restaurant, like Harry's. Go for the funk and expect food you could prepare better yourself at home. I'd give Domingo's a try first if you haven't...different kind of cool in the old hangar and food that's more worth paying for.
COMMENT 372155	2013-02-08 08:23 AM
Polynesian decor? I thought it was Filipino. Anyway, it's a good place for breakfast in a greasy-spoon kind of way.
COMMENT 372157	2013-02-08 08:26 AM
the one time i went, several years ago - i had to explain to the waitress what "sunny side up" meant so... theres that.
COMMENT 372175	2013-02-08 09:03 AM
Awww..... Alphie's = makes me nostalgic. I'm surprised it's still there. They must own the building 'coz they are just too low-brow to make it on what most restaurants pay for rent.
COMMENT 372184	2013-02-08 09:31 AM
Domingo's is not in an old hangar. You are conflating your Old Town history: Santa Cruz Market across the street was an old airplane hangar (as Tom Modugno will verify). The building that Domingo's has recently come to occupy (after being located at the Orchid Bowl) was originally built as Goleta's "new" post office to replace the original post office that is now occupied by the Natural Cafe. I disagree about Domingo's food -- Alphie's is much better, no question. I've had food at Domingo's that was inedible. Domingo's uses poor ingredients from a box or can like Carrow's. Alphie's tastes like home cooking.
SQUIRREL FRIEND	2013-02-08 09:47 AM
I've only been there once, about eight years ago, but I thought their food was excellent. I would return except I usually skip breakfast. I don't remember what the demeanor of the workers was like other than for serving a large group of people, the proprietors really had things running smoothly. We did give them advance warning by about a week. As far as greasy spoons go, it's very tame here, on the west coast. I've yet to come across a place where the cooks shout at you if you order something that they've run out of or the cashier yells at the standing room only crowd waiting for their food-to-go to, "You talk too much, BE QUIET!!" or, "Move, move, MOVE! You're blocking my new customers!" At one place, in particular, if you choose to dine in, you have to share the table with others. No one could have a table to themselves. And, people are encouraged loudly to leave when finished.
COMMENT 372195	2013-02-08 09:49 AM
OP hasn't stated what time of day they've visited, so we still don't have an answer as to possible closure. I'll walk up there around noon and check it out and report back. Noon on a Friday - I expect them to be open. I'm not eating there though. 20 years ago the food was good. 5 years ago it was crap.
COMMENT 372196	2013-02-08 09:49 AM
Alphies is good I hope they are not closing. They used to be a part of my weekend routine when I was a kid. Alphies for breakfast, hit the waves at Campus point, lunch at Habit, then sleep until it was time to party again.
COMMENT 372204	2013-02-08 10:04 AM
I *heart* Alphie's!!!!! Lotta food for a reasonable price. I generally eat organic, but will always make an exception for this little place. The whole family uses it whenever we get our cars worked on. Makes the smog notice from the DMV a little more pleasant. Al's playing is awesome! Sort of like Booker T. and the MG's.
COMMENT 372206	2013-02-08 10:05 AM
I was eating at Alphies, before I could even eat solid food. It will always have a place in my heart, not matter how bad the service is.
COMMENT 372213	2013-02-08 10:19 AM
I'm moving to old town soon and looking forward to a good ole fashioned greasy spoon breakfast. YUM! Goodland Cafe is also very good, but on a healthier level.
COMMENT 372222	2013-02-08 10:27 AM
No matter what restaurant, some people hate it and post nasty untrue things. Hard to figure. I've been to Alphie's a few times. The atmosphere... A+. Food, well, above average, but it is really the atmosphere that is exceptional.
COMMENT 372226	2013-02-08 10:36 AM
Alphies is a favorite in Goleta, especially for breakfast. Egg or Chile stuffed Potato skins are a specialty you won't see elsewhere. Add the biscuit's and gravy if you want, but be prepared to waddle out of there. Lunches are only so-so, but very reasonably priced.
COMMENT 372231	2013-02-08 10:45 AM
I think it's settled: Alphie's is the most hearted breakfast spot in Goleta!
COMMENT 372237	2013-02-08 10:51 AM
@231, that's what your arteries say.
COMMENT 372245	2013-02-08 11:04 AM
I think it's settled: Alphie's is the most hearted breakfast spot in Goleta!
COMMENT 372246	2013-02-08 11:04 AM
Had the bisquits and gravy there yesterday. Yum, good as ever. Heard Al saying to some other customers that they have been there for 37 years. His son went to culinary school at City College and I think he will take over when Al decides to call it quits.
COMMENT 372260P	2013-02-08 11:21 AM
shots of alphie's : http://www.flickr.com/photos/guzzleandnosh/sets/72157626675010701/
COMMENT 372324	2013-02-08 01:18 PM
Commenter 372195 here. I wimped out with the weather and didn't walk to check if Alphie's is open. Sounds like it's fine though, if someone was there yesterday.
AUNTIE S.	2013-02-08 01:24 PM
Nice post. Flicka. You sound likea very nice person, from the posts I've seen over time.
COMMENT 372330	2013-02-08 01:31 PM
@ 157 That was funny !!!
TMO	2013-02-08 06:14 PM
Alphies is the bomb. A little dirty, but get over it. And the service suffers at times. But the chorizo and eggs calls my name often, as does the Shipwreck.Seriously unique and good. Domingos is good too. Support Old Town!!
ROGER DODGER	2013-02-08 06:18 PM
Just from some of these reviews I wanna go there I'll have to put it on my bucket list.
COMMENT 372663	2013-02-09 05:04 PM
Wasn't the original thread about Alphie's and their hours of operation? How did it turn into whether their neighbor restaurant Domingo'sCafe has good food or not?
COMMENT 372669P	2013-02-09 05:28 PM
Alphies is horrible. We were there in the early 90's and had horrible service and OK food. It was really rude that we entered through the front door and got seated near the back door. We asked if we could sit up near the window and the woman just said, "No. You sit here." There were other people sitting up front. Then she forgot about us and never came back to refill coffee or see if we needed anything else. The poorest service by far! One and only one visit for us.
COMMENT 372739	2013-02-09 08:13 PM
I love Alphie's breakfast! Make sure you get the biscuits - SO good & fresh! Yummy :)

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