Bibi Ji is not your typical Indian joint.
Bibi Ji of downtown Santa Barbara, is the latest of the collection of acclaimed restaruants, Babu Ji of NYC, Horn Please and Babu Ji of Melbourne, Australia and Dhaba of Kyneton, Australia who are all known and loved for their signature creative and fun approach to Indian dining.
The Hindi term, Bibi Ji is an honorific title used to offer respect to the mothers and grandmothers of India. The Bibi Ji’s of India have been our teachers in hospitality. She welcomes every guest at any minute into her home, like she had been awaiting your arrival even if she never could have expected it. Upon entering, an immediate offering of a delicious treat and drink is in your hand. Her joy, gift and highest honor is being of service to others. Being served by her is an experience like no other. We love, honor and are grateful for this type of hospitality and have created Bibi Ji, the restaurant with this ethos in mind.
Chef Jessi Singh is the man behind the pots in the kitchen. As a boy in India, he fought all cultural pressures to stay out of the kitchen as it was considered a place for only females. But simply, he never wanted to be anywhere else. So he spent his childhood in a humble North Indian village kitchen, where his love of cooking for others emerged. The path he followed stretched from that kitchen to many ends of the globe, leading now to Santa Barbara to open Bibi Ji. We’ve stocked the beverage fridges well too. The thoughtful, unique yet always approachable wine list could only have been created by the legendary Rajat Parr, Bibi Ji partner, wine maker, author and friend. There are not many people in the world that can be recognized by their first name but in the wine world, say Raj, and they know and love the man. Then there is also beer, where we offer a 40+ selection of mostly small, local beers in our fridge and on tap.
The New York Times, WSJ, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, Time Out, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, San Francisco Chronicle, The Infatuation as well as Australia’s The Age Good Food Guide, Broadsheet, Cheap Eats, and The Australian have all agreed that the Singh’s restaurants and comprehensive offerings across food, beverage, service and design have filled a void in the Indian dining scene and have credited the duo for pioneering a wave of “New Indian” dining.
In Santa Barbara, Bibi Ji is first and foremost a good time place. Come ready to join in our fun. We hope as you pass through our doors, you will feel the hospitality spirit of our beloved India, where it is always an honor to feed a guest.
We look forward to sharing a meal with you, Jessi, Alejandro, Raj, Gary, and the Bibi Ji Team!
