Elephant Bar Restaurant

Horrible service! Waitress was rude and impersonal from the beginning. Never once checked on us but rather chatted with the bar guy and other waitress all night. Took forever to get any service, had to try to get her attention. My dish came with chicken or shrimp and chicken. Menu said 20 cal difference (Which has to mean more chicken if no shrimp) between the two, but my chicken only dish came with skimpy amounts of pasta and half a chicken breast. Cherry mojito tasted like a strong cherry soda, could not even taste a hint of alcohol. I asked for a regular instead and that took 10 mins. When she got our plates she asked if we wanted desert and walked away as we answered! In the end we thought they charged for the cherry mojito she took away that I did not drink. We asked and she said «Oh no it was taken out at the bottom, your bad». Your bad?! That was when we decided 0 tip and don’t feel the least bit bad. Usually leave generous tip. First time I ever haven’t. My friends and I are never coming back!

I came here on a Thursday night ordered the mahi mahi which was ok and my friend ordered the surf and turf which was horrible. I would never come here again. The food was low in quality however the service was friendly. They don’t have much of a selection on their menu. Also way overpriced for what is served. I think the only way this place is still in business is their location. They are located right by a hotel which makes it convenient for guests staying there.
I did really like the raspberry lemon drop and the mojito was decent.

Jay M is a 5 star jerk… You must be the horrible one, these people had 4 days notice and now have no jobs.

Sad to see them close after 26 years. Had one final dinner there with my wife on Wednesday.
There were certainly problems that day. Servers who no showed or quit mid shift and running out of food and drinks being the biggest.
But what I’m going to remember is that the staff who remained still gave us the best dining experience they could.
Special thanks go out to Debbie Pluez and Hailee Powell. Both really went out of their way to make us happy, in what could only have been a terrible and stressful day for them.
5 stars for great service despite the adversity.

It’s easy to forget Elephant Bar even exists in Simi. Tucked on Madera by the new Target, it has been there forever, yet I seldom ever think about it.
Probably because it inst that good.
I feel like Elephant bar is a second-​rate BJ’s, or Cheesecake factory. They kinda have everything, and they’re nicer than Chilis, but nothing is great. They do have a strong Asian inspired portion of their menu, but even something as corporate as PF Changs puts them to shame.
I had a little tri tip slider. It was okay but really nothing great. My Acai Mojito was so sweet that I suspect half a bottle of syrup was in there. The wait staff was nice, but at the end of the day I just never really see myself eating here.

Happy hour prices are pretty decent, drinks are NEVER consistent. The bartender thay have been working there forever, don’t pour eclipses correct, say something and they still don’t care but expect a good tip. been here so many times usually for group outings and birthdays. Good place for get togethers. Food ALWAYS is only simple, made with unfresh ingredients, to put it short and sweet, don’t go here if your hungry and wanting a decent meal. Only items they make that’s decent is the Cesar salad… I wish they would make their entres better or have a better head executive chef, such a nice restaurant/​bar, has so much potential. Service is very great though! Servers all are so nice and patient and have a warm friendly attitudes.

Nice menu, but horrible service multiple times. This last visit I ordered a drink and since they didn’t have sprite, she decided on her own I would like club soda. When I sent it back and asked for what I ordered again she was insulted that I dare asked for what I actually ordered. She came back with my drink still with club soda but this time more ice and a lemon. I thought I was on a TV show to see if Id lose it. I actually just got up and left in disbelief.
Ill never go back and if friends or family invite me I kindly decline.

Stopped in for happy hour. Got the E Burger and a couple of cold
Ones. Sat in the bar where it was real busy. The server, Kristina, was outstanding. Really personable a fun. The burger was great! Solid performance by the staff. Keep it up.

Came in for lunch! Service was amazing, food was delicious. Great atmosphere… definitely recommend for anyone who wants great service to come in.

Awful!
The drink I ordered was watered down heavily — It was half off because, well… it was literally half off!
It took forever to get my food (just 1 entrée) but the check came in a split second. The food itself was very basic, low quality, and bland. The place is way too loud and overpriced. There are practically no entrees under 1000 calories.
I’m definitely NOT going back.

I received the standard response for negative customer comments from Joanna from Elephant Bar. I am not sure if you read my comments, but I am sorry but I am not giving you a second chance and my comments should be enough information for their corporate office to do something. Seeing the constant negative comments with the same theme should get someone in charge an inclination that they need to change. Sorry Joanna, a standard response made my experience that much worse!

Ordered top sirloin steak and baked potato, steak came out well done and potato was cold, sent it back, steak now came out almost raw and potato was still cold ! Manager took $ 3 appetizer off total check ! Big whoop ! Also, beer selection was very limited, I’m not going back. Why is it so hard these days to get your meal cooked properly?

My group of Red Hats from Camarillo ate here yesterday, was wonderful. the service was excellent, food arrived all on time. The waiter/​waitress that served us also were great. This is about my 5^th time here in Simi Vally always such a positive experience.
Thank’s for making our event so wonderful!

One Liner: Great atmosphere and good cocktails with friendly service that put it over the top.
Seating was quick and easy within 15 minutes. Everybody was friendly and the restaurant had a loud but vibrant atmosphere. The Asian food is necessarily authentic but they prepare it well and have all of your favorites.
Would definitely go back and can’t wait to try more things on their menu as they do have a lot. A+ for service.

Pleasant atmosphere, as usual.
The salads were quite tasty. I had an Asian inspired theme and I plan to have it again.
I ordered a Sangria and there was more ice than anything in the glass. I should always remember to ask for no ice, or very little ice.
Overall it was a lovely dinner.

So I signed up for the Elephant Bar email club recently. Earlier this week, I received an email about their lunch specials. Buy one get one free it said. I told lunch buddy we were goin here, and his response was less than optimistic. But we went anyways. Knowing it was on the other side of town, and would be a haul from work, I perused the lunch menu and figured out what I’d like so I could call and order while en route.
Noon arrived, and I launched myself from my cube. Lunch buddy and I walked out to his car. While he was clearing the shotgun seat of it’s various baby paraphernalia, newspapers, and other random things, I dialed up the restaurant and asked to place an order for when we got there. There was no confusion at all; no ‘I’ll have to ask my manager” no nothin. Girl on the phone was Aces with my request. Orders placed, I hopped in lunch buddy’s vehicle and we left.
Fast forward twelve minutes later, when we pull up to the Elephant Bar parking lot. I guess we parked in the back, because we had to walk ¾ the way around the place before finding a ‘front door’. It had an elephant as the door handle, it’s shiny trunk formed the door handle. We walked in, and I informed girl behind the counter that we had placed the call-​ahead order. She lead us past a life-​sized rhino head hanging on the wall to a table right away, and told us our food would be right out. We sat down, and waited a little bit. I looked around, and there were many empty tables. I guess lunch isn’t their normal thing? (Why a Rhino? I have no idea.)
Waiter guy Trevor came out and asked us for our drink requests, and then said again how our food would be right out. He went away to get our drinks… a few minutes later, he came back, completely overwhelmed by 2 plates, and the drinks balancing precariously in his arms. I was honestly a bit concerned for my lunch as he balanced his way out to our table.
He unloaded his arms, and I got my Wood-​Fired salmon in cilantro-​citrus sauce placed in front of me. It looked healthy, and also pretty tasty. I’d have honestly preferred a big burger, but I’m trying to be good, so this was the healthier option. I tentatively flaked off some of the salmon, and swirled it around in the sauce. There were a combination of sauces goin on. I honestly missed the flavors of citrus and cilantro, but I more picked up on a peanut taste of some kind. Weird. It was still good though. There was in addition, a small bowl of a yogurt/​cucumber sauce that I wasn’t 100% sure what to put on. My veggies were tasty, but I imagine boiled. The broccoli was not the kind I’m used too. It was actually kinda pretty.
Lunch buddy was eating his Macau Shrimp noodle soup stuff and salmon rolls. He said how he enjoyed them both. He followed up with ‘I’m glad we came here.” When the check came, it was about twenty bucks, which we split and paid about twelve bucks each. After we finished eating, we hopped back in the Screamin’ Honda Civic and drove back to work. I sat down in my cube with 1 minute to spare.
All in all it was a fairly positive experience. Calling ahead was a breeze, getting there wasn’t too terrible, the food was pretty good, and we handled our lunch effectively in a lunch break. Good job Elephant Bar, good job. I may be back for lunch!

My review will be based on the Sunday brunch offering.
I will also preface this review with saying I’ve never been to an Elephant Bar prior. We arrived Sunday at about 12 looking for lunch, and we got sucked into brunch. Our server seemed to have missed our arrival, as we didn’t see her for the first 5 or 10 minutes, to the point where we had to ask the hostess for our silverware. To her credit, once our server did show up, she was on top of everything.
The selection was nice for brunch. The usual breakfast fixins and fruits, along with a decent selection of things you might consider ‘last nights dinner repurposed hangover breakfast’. And then Chicken Parm, which seemed like the odd man out. For being a buffet, the food was middle of the road to just under par, which I expect at any place that isn’t a dedicated buffet. Food that gets staler as it sits, or is hurredly prepared. The chicken meat made for ‘tacos’ and the waffles were good examples of simply ‘meh’ attempts. The jambilaya was good, as were the bacon and sausage. The blueberries were obviously improperly defrosted, but the rest of the fruit was great.
All in all, a very middle of the road experience. I wish I had tried the main menu, as it looked like there was lots more care put into the plates off of that menu that I saw heading to other tables…

We really enjoyed Elephant Bar. We went with family while visiting the LA area. We got there and we’d been told a few things but the place was amazing. It’s nice and big so we didn’t have to wait long even with our larger party. We had a very kind waitress who put up with our silliness. She was very helpful and recommended great things. We all shared two of the spinach artichoke dish. with a really good bread. Then I got the sirloin burger which was amazing there was so much food! It was prepared really well and it was pretty quick to get out to us. We also had amazing drinks. I had a good pineapple something (non-​alcoholic but amazing!) Turns out we also have one in the south Denver area so I can’t wait to go see them and make sure they are still as good.

The buffet was inadequate. I understand that I showed up in the last hour of the buffet, but the food was old and stale. We asked them to replenish and it took twenty minutes. Once they did, the food was burnt or greasy. Overall I was disappointed. You could tell that the food was from a box.
The servers were pleasant enough, but they didn’t seem to care. The omelette bar was probably the best thing, but that still seemed to take a very long time. Not to mention it was nearly $ 20 a person.
On the plus side, kids five and under eat for free and they don’t know any better. Also, they serve decent free champagne.

This review is for 01/​26/​2012. Our company had a meeting in the nearby area and after several hours in training, WE GOT HUNGRY! Our company SUPERBOSS took us all out to a regular place called the Elephant Club. Wait… Did my SUPERBOSS say, «Elephant Club»?! After I followed our SUPERBOSS, we arrived at the Elephant Bar.
Our company arrived around 2:30pm to a late lunch since we had a meeting. We had a party of 20+ people and the staff gathered all the tables. As our table waitress was going around, I’d say 80% of the staff ordered alcoholic drinks. Oh boy… here we go. Unfortunately, I was driving and played the safe route and ordered a Diet Coke. In a way, our meeting was a celebration since every one ordered 2 – 3 alcoholic drinks. From Mojitos to Corona, drinks came coming every couple of minutes.
I kept thinking… I thought this was lunch and there was the waitress asking for orders. I went for the Smokehouse BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Potato Fries ($ 9.50). You got to love those Potato Fries. Its one of Elephant Bar’s signature food items. With our table taking up most of the kitchen service, the wait was about 20 – 25 minutes.
Once I got my order, I saw a delicious amount of trouble. I saw the sandwich was drippy with the sauce, but I could smell the BBQ and the bacon. I just ruined my diet for the year. It was delicious, but too greasy. Yes, I am supposed to spoil myself with a company paid meal, but GEEZ, the sandwich was just a mess. The size of the sandwich was average, but it was a little tall. Did I finish it? Of course, I did.
Ugh…So much for trying to lose 25lbs for the 2012 Year. I still got 11 months to go and Elephant Bar did not help. Oh well, I guess I can shoot for 2lbs a month instead of 20lbs a month. What do you think?
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