Busy Bee Cafe

The motif is very nice. The staff was OK. The chicken fried steak tasted like Burnt Chicken wings with gravy poured over. The «FRESHLY SQUEEZED OJ» is not freshly squeezed. When I asked the waitress if it’s freshly squeezed she said it says freshly squeezed on the bottle. Definitely not freshly squeezed, however we had to pay the fresh squeezed orange juice price. The Honolulu pancakes were suppose to include bananas and coconut, however the cook must of had a tough time with daylight savings time and forgot the bananas and coconut.
Skip this 50’s Diner. Food, fruit and OJ taste like it was made in the 50’s.
One more thing the owners really figure this out. You have to pay to use the restroom, he has figured out all angles. TP is one ply and feels like sandpaper… This owner should come out of his bomb shelter.

I had to go inside and grab a random
Waiter anytime we needed something (water, order food, get check) so maybe don’t sit outside, they won’t see you. Then the food had hair in it. The phatcakes where good tho. We didn’t complain or tip. Ventura is a dump.

There are a hundred ways to tell a diner that you won’t accept a 15% off AXXESS even though the sticker in the window said they do. NOW, Had we known that they did NOT accept it on Presidents Day we would NEVER have dined at this rude man’s Restaurant that day or any day period.
The owners name is Ray who has owned the restaurant for years. AND, I don’t think we have bothered to eat there since 1995 because of his unsunny disposition so we thought after 21 years, he would be more pleasant. WRONG.
And to add insult to injury, their $ 14.95 London Fish Fry is terrible First, the breading tastes frozen (maybe it is) but the COD is non-​existent.
I still can’t believe he told us rudely even though I have given rave reviews to ones who did wrong a right on Unilocal that he would get a FACTUAL REVIEW of what happened by not accepting the $ 30.00 card that gives a patron 15% off. their bill for the calendar year.

im from santa barbara and there is nothinh that compares to this place. The food was amazing and In huge portions, service was awesome and the décor brought me back to the 50’s. I will def eat there agin. My geilled cheese was so good nd my sons shake and pancakes were really tasty. Big thumbs up!

You know you step back in time when you walk in here and it is fun, the staff was friendly and the food looks great. I only had an Oreo Milkshake when we came in, but to sit amongst the nostalgia and listen to oldies and drink a milkshake on an rather warm February day was still entertaining and fun. They have quite the menu that ranges from breakfast and beyond and all of the food coming out of the kitchen looked great.

How can you not like the old school diner? Wait staff carting the push button coin dispensers real milkshakes and all around really good food and service. This has been s go to spot of mine for many decades.
So if you want a no frills hot excellent meal this is the place

This place certainly has character with its old school diner booths and décor. I came for breakfast while in town on business and sat myself at one of the many open booths. The problem is that there was only one waitress and she was running around trying to take care of several tables on her own. This caused a pretty timely delay even getting coffee, and several customers were standing and waiting to pay, and one guy even left.
When my poor waitress was able to get to me she quickly apologized and tried her best to keep my coffee full and did get my meal to me pretty quickly once I ordered.
I had a really good omelet with a side of delicious hash browns. I think this would be a fun place to come with a group of friends on a Saturday morning when you’re not in a hurry and can sit and relax. I did notice that they have a full bar and serve Bloody Mary’s as well.

This is a great restaurant in the middle of Ventura’s downtown shopping district. Parking is available on the street (metered) or around the corner at a municipal, multi-​story parking structure (free).
It’s a Johnny-​Rockets, 1950’s-type diner, with period posters on the wall and mini-​jukeboxes at each booth. The food is good, the food servers are hard-​working, and the bathrooms are clean.
I would have given the place five stars, but MY JUKEBOX DID NOT WORK. I selected two songs («Little Darlin’» and «Runaround Sue»), but neither song would play, despite the valiant attempts of our food server. He did refund my two quarters, but that was little consolation.
Still, I would go back. Maybe if the songs play, I’ll write a better review with five stars.

Water tastes like its from the bathroom sink. Ordered breakfast it wasn’t very good. Kids ordered pizza, and it was garbage. Cooked in the microwave for sure. This place is awful.

I realized every time I visit Ventura, I eat here for breakfast. I love 50s music so the jukebox is a big plus. But the food (at least what I’ve had) has always been really good. Eggs and bacon are cooked near perfect and the extras like pico and apple butter are a nice addition. Lunch menu looks decent and the pies look good. They’ve got whiskeys too. Whiskey and pie me oh my. Wish the bathroom was cleaner. Root beer candy or bazooka gum come with the check!

Frozen microwaved food and the most rude and audacious wait staff I’ve ever encountered. They acted like they were paying us to be there! Best part of the place is the jukebox. We’ll never visit again. I can’t believe it was given four stars.

I only order 2 things on the menu, and one is healthy while the other is decadent.
The vegetarian omelet is great; I’ve had it as an omelet and also scrambled. It’s huge and full of broccoli, cauliflower, squash, and whatever else is in season. There’s more veggies than eggs, and no puddles of saturated fat. I like it with a side of pico de gallo, some corn tortillas, a little Cholula sauce, home fries, and 3 cups of coffee.
The decadent choice is the whole apple baked in a crispy dumpling (pie crust) and served with cinnamon caramel sauce and a scoop of ice cream. It’s really good.
Service is attentive and friendly.

This is the place to go when you want a classic American breakfast the employees are really nice there is no waiting and as soon as you sit down they take your order and serve you your breakfast!

Great for an old school diner type atmosphere. I had the chicken fried steak and eggs, Mrs Phillips the Hawaiian pancakes…
CFS was LEGIT!!! Crispy crusted beef, with a homemade gravy that was seasoned «just right», Homemade biscuit the size od a softball, and the home fries. OH THE HOMEFRIES!
The Mrs liked her pancakes that were filed with bananas. pineapple and nuts, and topped with the same and some coconut. Super sweet, and pretty damned good.
The only hiccup is the restroom situation. it requires tokens, which Im sure is because there is a back entrance and Ventura «urban outdoorsmen» are in huge supply. The problem is (per Mrs P) the ladies restroom doesn’t lock. so if you dropped in a token, you can randomly stroll into the ladies room. seems to me like it would be a liability issue and would be a high priority fix.

This is the 3^rd time I had been here. I ordered the meatloaf club, although the presentation was OK and the serving size huge, it wasn’t that good. There was a sour taste to the meatloaf. My companion who ordered the chicken fried steak wasn’t happy either, the chicken was a bit hard. I think we go back here for ‘ol times sake and the «50’s diner feel» Honestly, I was never really impressed with the food from the beginning.
Sad to say, that although the waitress was courteous, we really didn’t have that welcome with a smile feeling. The other waiter was a bit rude. When we entered, he did ask if he can help us but he seemed annoyed, and told us to sit anywhere and turned his back. To think I was with an elderly handicapped lady. This will definitely be our last time eating here.

Cute diner, not as clean or bright as say, Ruby’s chain but still alright. My friend and I got pancakes and waffles, chocolate chip and covered with fruit and whipped cream.
Food was good, service was fast. I think the only thing that kind of turned me off was that it didn’t look especially clean towards the back where the restroom was. But hey, we felt fine after eating haha! Prices were good, much less than some places around there.

Best fresh made turkey patty melt evah!!!
I was humbled to provide a meal for another who life is on the streets. How great the Creator is. Providing for me to provide for another.

Where you are greeted by unhappy waitresses and the atmosphere is better than the food. We’re things really like that in the 50’s?
I’ve been coming to Busy Bee since the mid 90’s. It was never amazing but it was good. And now its slightly less than good. Also keep in mind that parking on Main Street is a nightmare so you’ll have to walk quite a distance from your parking spot to the restaurant. When I walked in the door I was greeted by a very unhappy looking waitress who seated us. The service was really good. Granted the place was just more than empty. We ordered fairly quickly. We all got milkshakes because it’s the best thing about Busy Bee. If you’re there, get a milk shake. They are fantastic.
I ordered the chicken wings as an appetizer. They took quite a long time to arrive. and when they did the waitress made a snarky remark along the line of «He’s just gonna eat these all by himself but here’s some plates.» That wasn’t cool. The wings weren’t bad. Although they were most likely microwaved. Bleh.
The real problem I had was when my entrée arrived about a minute and a half after my appetizer. I just started! Give me a minute to eat my appetizer before you bring my entrée! So my entrée just sat there getting cold for 4 or 5 minutes getting cold while I finished my microwaved wings.
Then I got to my sandwich. I ordered the «Beef Eater» which was thick cut beef with cheese and peppers on a toasted bun. It simply tasted bad. The Bun wasn’t toasted enough so it was really soggy with butter. The beef itself tasted ok I guess. A bit like left overs. The pepper that was inside though was horrible. It was cold and tasted bad. And I don’t mean cold because I had to make it wait while I finished my appetizer. I mean cold as in it went straight from the fridge to the bread. I was bummed. I had friends visiting from Germany and I really wanted them to experience the Busy Bee I experienced when I was a kid. The pancakes are really small too. About a 4.5 or 5 inch diameter. Compare that to Mrs Olsons in Oxnard and their 8 inch cakes. My fiancée really didn’t like the scrambled eggs she got with her pancakes. They were flat, old and doused in pepper.
We pretty clearly asked the waitress to split the bill between me and my fiancée and my friend and his lady. 2 bills. She brought us 4. Whatever. It happens. But then on the way out she was having a pretty heated argument with another employee about something. That’s not something you want to do when customers are present. It makes your already kind of trashy looking waitress look a little worse.
All in all. If you’re on main street and want to hit a close by diner with a good atmosphere, go ahead. Just don’t expect to experience great, or even very good, food.

I have been on a hashbrown binge for a month now, and this is my go to spot. They have great 50s music on the juke box, comfy booths, pleasant service, and there is not usually a wait for a table like most of the other breakfast places in town. Breakfast is served all day, along with cocktails and mimosas. What more do you need?
When I want hashbrowns, I want them now, and when my friend’s daughter was having a low blood sugar cranky moment, she needed a real milkshake stat. Busy Bee delivered both with friendly service.
Food is made to order so it takes a moment, but my hashbrowns were perfectly browned and fresh off the grill hot. The quesadilla is huge, but ask for salsa, it only comes with guac. It is a fun little downtown Ventura stop with real cherry coke.

Very cute, very 50’s themed!
Normally I find themed restaurants a bit saccharine, but this somehow manages to pull it off with a healthy dose of authenticity. Neon abound, booth selectors for the juke box, just gorgeous.
We came for breakfast: banana & walnut pancakes were amazing, Eggs Benedict was decent, hash browns a little dry but I like ‘em like that.
We were too early for $ 4 Mimosas unfortunately. Apparently you can’t booze before 9am.

This place is the shit when you’re in middle school. I think every single person in my 7^th grade class had their birthday party here. Of course, now my taste buds realize that all their food comes prepackaged or from a box. Oh well. You live and you learn, and I learned to never go back and visit your old childhood haunts because you will end up disappointed. But for nostalgia’s sake, I still say 3 stars.