Top 15 Affordable Restaurants in Ventura, CA

Heather Ellison Ventura’s best kept secret! We live in the neighborhood and love the food here. We get it for takeout often to eat at home with the kids and the food is always perfectly cooked and seasoned. I get the chicken limon and it is delicious, it tastes like a home cooked meal. My husband loves the lasagna, the calamari is so good & the kids love the pizza. So spasso is always a win for us!

Dr. Abdullah AlHomeadan Good restaurant inside the Crown Plaza hotel, Ventura, California. They serve breakfast (menu in enclosed in the pictures) and dinner. They are closed for dinner on sundays and Mondays. On Fridays and saturday nights they have live music.

Kitty Padilla “Bad” Attended a wedding and the reception was beautiful.

Ariel Moseley When looking for a restaurant with a good wine selection that was convenient to our hotel, my husband and I were fortunate to fine The Cave in Ventura. One could never tell from the location or parking lot that such a neat place was there. The atmosphere was that of an old wine cellar in Europe! There’s even a patio. The Cave has wine dispensers where customers can try many wines by the ounce or glass which looked like fun for curious customers. Our server Gilbert was knowledgeable and made a great recommendation when we wanted to try a particular type of wine. He has been there for many years and it showed in his professional manner. Our meals were also very good and came beautifully presented. Lastly Michel helped us choose a variety of wine to take with us, all at very reasonable prices which was just icing on a wonderful evening.

Lara What an absolute gem! My husband and I were looking for a new place to try in Ventura and we found Cafe Zack and decided to give it a try based on all of the great reviews. Cafe Zack did not disappoint! The restaurant has a small cozy interior space, a beautiful bar area and a lovely outdoor space that can accommodate small or large groups. They even have cute little chair shaped purse hangers at each table on the patio which was such a special little touch. The wait staff are incredible. Very friendly and attentive. Thank you to our awesome server, Matt, who truly made us feel welcome. The food was excellent. We started with the split pea soup which was flavored perfectly. I had the Norwegian salmon which was cooked perfectly and included roasted potatoes and mixed vegetables. My husband had the filet mignon which was seasoned and cooked to perfection. We were so full that we did not have any room for dessert but we will definitely be back again to enjoy this amazing restaurant.

Meng Qi Our dinner at Lure last night was the perfect highlight to a deliberate detour. We’re on a road trip to Los Angeles, but purposefully chose Ventura as a mid-point stop to visit Patagonia’s headquarters. My partner, a graduate student at UCB, is researching a capstone project on Patagonia’s business philosophy. For us, this visit is about more than research, and it’s about physically connecting with the city and the ethos that Patagonia embodies. A huge shout-out to the team at Lure! We thoroughly enjoyed our experience. The food was excellent, the ambiance was perfect, and the service was outstanding. Highlights: The weekday happy hour (3 PM–6 PM) is a true gem. Standouts include the amazing charbroiled oysters ($8 for three) and the delicious crab cakes served with greens. Don’t miss the chowder. Its an absolute must-order at just $3. I’ve attached the menu for reference. Overall, it’s a fantastic offering of great food at an affordable price. Service & Atmosphere: The staff was wonderfully welcoming and efficient. Our food arrived incredibly quickly, with virtually no wait. As someone who often gets nervous ordering and tends to mispronounce things, I especially appreciated our waitresss patience and kindness as she helped confirm my order. Another highlight is the space itself. The decor strikes a perfect balance between modern and cozy, with comfortable bar seating. It was lovely to see several solo diners there, genuinely enjoying their meals. My experience at Lure was truly memorable. I feel lucky to have dined there, and it certainly made Ventura feel all the more likable. I can’t recommend it enough.

Akiko Pealatere This seafood restaurant was absolutely delicious! The clam chowder was creamy and flavorful, the fish and chips were perfectly crispy, and the beer paired really well with everything. I also ordered calamari — it was tender and cooked just right. The complimentary bread was also very tasty. Next time, I’d love to call ahead and reserve a table with a harbor view!

Grant Leichtfuss I’ve been a few times and it is always great. If you’re looking for flavor packed, elevated Mexican in Ventura, try Mother’s Tacos. On my most recent visit, I had the new Milanesa Torta sandwich. My god was that sandwich incredible. I’ve also had the chips, guacamole and salsa, several tacos, beans and rice. All A+ so far. Best elevated Mexican restaurant in Ventura County!

TERRY BRAY This is a charming restaurant that is open for breakfast and lunch only closing at 2 PM. Its a favorite of the locals and fills up quickly. The food is exceptional as well as the service. Parking is a challenge. They have a very small lot or you have to park on one of the streets, but all parking is free. The menu has a nice variety.The salad that I had was exceptional and the pumpkin biscuits are to die for!

Sarah Kaufmann We recently had our daughters first birthday here in the event space and it was perfect!!! Although the room was a little warm because of the kitchen it was the perfect day. Everything was amazing. The food, service, and space was just excellent. Linzy was great to work with and was very prompt in her responses to me with working out details. Also a great place to just come in for lunch on the weekends. Always mellow and great food and great for families.

Eric Garland This was the best Thai restaurant I’ve ever been to in my life (I’m 49 years old and have been to Thai restaurants all over the U.S.). Not only was the food authentic, it was also gourmet. The presentation was like something you would get at a super high end Michelin star restaurant. The service was wonderful. The owner was kind and friendly. I can’t say enough. Stop searching and choose this restaurant! You won’t be disappointed.

Maggie Flynn What a great experience. Kiley was super attentive and friendly server. Broke up our bill 3 ways, asked several times if we needed refills and just checked in to see if we needed anything. Food and drinks were delicious. The adult beverages were not watered down, sad that I feel I needed to mention this but so many restaurants are skimpy with the booze. These drinks were tasty and beautiful. The food was flavorful and fresh. Highly recommended and would definitely return!

Jeff S Really good breakfast in a very quaint cafe. The food is typical breakfast fare, but feels like its prepared with some extra special care. Portions are generous and the biscuits are enormous. They arent like any other biscuit Ive had - kind of like if a dinner roll and a biscuit had a baby. And the jam was the sweetest Ive ever had. Also, I actually like the simple decor with white picket fencing and I noticed just how clean everything was. No dust on the walls or trim. Very nice place

Ishan Kumar Me and my family (party of 4) went to Cafe Fiore and had a decent time. To start off, the atmosphere was lovely with nice lighting. The waitress was very polite and the food came with only a little wait. They also gave us some delicious complementary bread. We ordered the Shirley temple, gnocchi, the Pasta Integrale, and the Pollo Parmigiana. The Shirley temples tasted a bit too artificial. I would give the food a higher rating but I think my family just made the wrong choices in terms of what we liked, so can’t really rate it properly. But we really liked the pasta intergale. It had a really nice pesto flavor.

Blanca Fernandez This was my first time here very cute place. We were waiting for 15 minutes to be seated. We placed our order. We were a party of four. My husband order the Chilaquiles with Chicharron , so good. I ordered the chicken fried steak with gravy, eggs, and hash browns. My friends also ordered their plates. We ordered a couple of Michelada’s. Very tasty our waiter was David. Very nice man very pleasant happy funny and very attentive. All in all everything was fun Tasty and pleasant ! I highly recommend this little spot and I hope you all get David. He did a wonderful job.