Santa Barbara Cigars

SB Cigar is a nice, small and quiet place to get a cigar and take a break. Well ventilated. Bring your own beverage.

The humidor is unique in that you actually walk through it and shop in there and smoke in the room behind it.My main two complaints are the seating and there's no exterior lights from outside, thus being a little dark in smoking area.It's a small mom & pop store with family running it most of the time. The staff are patient and are not there to watch a clock or get back to a TV show - they spend the time with you until you have made your selection.They have a medium size selection of cigars, but not a lot of sticks that I personally smoke a tremendous amount of. I think most smokers can find something they like here.Pipe tobacco and pipes and supplies are in stock - not a large selection but more than most.

There is an urban legend (designated by Snopes as false) that reads as follows:A contestant on Groucho Marx's 1950s TV quiz show tells him that she has 10 children, and Marx asks why she has so many. The woman answers, "Because I love children ... and I love my husband." Marx replies: "I love my cigar, too, but I take it out of my mouth once in a while."Ref: http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/grouchocigar.aspUnlike Groucho, I suspect I'll never have to worry about a misattributed remark from my lips becoming an urban legend. I do want to set a few things straight here to preclude against that possibility. Please know that the guilty pleasure I receive from keeping a cigar in my mouth doesn't come close to the not-so-guilty pleasure of not taking other things out of other places. In addition, I have an easy and effective remedy for the inevitable consequences of leaving that other thing in another place (please see my rave review of Dr. David Mobley).Ref: http://www.yelp.com/biz/mobley-david-f-md-houston#hrid:QAv1TI0Tdp3aKCl5InAJ7gI am a cigar enthusiast, not a cigar aficionado. Between visits to Downing Street Pub and evenings smoking a cigar in friends' backyards whilst sipping a good single malt, I consume between one and two cigars a month. As a recent birthday present, my cigar smoking buddies gave me a very nice and large cigar ashtray. Reading between the lines I understood this to mean, "Okay, Dolph. You've been mooching cigars off of us for long enough. It's time for you to step up to the plate and supply your own." Because I'm not yet an aficionado, I needed some help in outfitting myself with the cigar essentials. I asked my friends where I should seek it. Without hesitating, they recommended Santa Barbara.I visited and understand why they were so enthusiastic.I had to find it first, however. Don't try to travel to it using the street address unless you have a GPS navigation device. It's not visible from Westheimer. You just have to remember it's hidden behind P.F. Chang's.When you walk through the door, you'll be warmly greeted by Ken Jacobs who runs the place. It will also become immediately apparent that he is a font of information when it comes to the genteel art of smoking fine tobacco. I told him I lacked experience but really enjoyed Dominican Cohibos and I'd like to use that as a starting point. We browsed his wall of cigars from one end to the other and I received a mini-course on the virtues of Connecticut, Broadleaf Maduro and Cameroon wrappers.After about 1/2 hour which he devoted almost solely to me, I walked out of the store with 10 cigars ranging from a Tatuaje Regio to an Oliva O Toro to an Ashton Magnum in a new traveling humidor along with a Xikar cutter and a dual flame lighter. He also threw in a butane container and showed me how to refill the lighter. If you purchase 10 cigars (of any variety) you get a discount. You get a further discount if your cigar count totals 20.I would have happily paid a premium for all this because of all the help I received but when I got home, a quick check of cigar deals on the Internet showed me that Santa Barbara's prices were very competitive. I'm sold and at the rate I'm enjoying my new cigars, I may have to modify my average monthly intake upwards.

Great shop great selection. Guy manning the shop was super knowledgeable and did a great cut on my cigar.

So this place was originally going to get the winner of a coin toss for 3-4 stars, BUT the incompetent cigar salesman brought them down to a 2 star rating.Anytime you come stumbling out of the back...that is a problem. This man that looked like he had never touched or been touched by a woman came flopping from behind a door that appeared to be a living room-esque setup, with a TV and a McDonald's cup... Now what was in that cup is up to speculation but we will get to that in a second..He was in some regular denim jeans and a faded black tee and tennis shoes....ok, ill let you slide on that, this isn't downing street pub or anything... and Gio asked him for a great tasting cigar for an affordable price. He guided us to padron line of cigars.. but the only thing he could say about it was that it was SOOO good, and that's his fallback cigar when he cant afford what he wants..So i probe him...i'm not going to buy something no one can sell me on..."what kind of flavor would you say it has?""well...it's really good.""ok...well can u tell me more? is it sweet, spicy, leathery, earthy?""um..cedar tones to it...it's just really good"i proceeded to get it ONLY because i do majority of my cigar smoking at downing street, when the wild hair rears it head to do so. and it was $4.80 per cigar at this place so i bought us 2.Now we go to the register, and the salesman trips over the flat carpet? idk but he stumbles and i look at G like wtf? lol he proceeds to take my card and swipes it...and i put it back in my wallet...we wait...and wait...and wait...Then he asked for it again, saying that the transaction was cancelled.. i waited until he showed me the slip that stated that before handing him my card again...now anyone that has ever worked retail knows you only can cancel a trans if YOU hit CANCEL. He was punching a bunch of buttons and i at this point knew he was drunk...his mannerisms dictated that.Reluctantly, i had him my card again...he swipes, and swipes....turns the card the other direction and swipes again...then he DROPS the card, and struggles to get it and then get back up.He punches in the amount, which he only put $4.80. Gio having a momentary blonde moment asks "is this for 2 cigars? wow thats a good price!" i proceed to shoot her a look from hell like shut up woman lol.No tax, and he didnt even realize that he only charged us for 1 cigar instead of 2. so i paid for it and we left.Good thing it was a two-fer cause the cigar tasted like crap. the 5 dollar fatty that my other friend had bought from specs was smoother. so that says alotword to the wise...make sure ur sales guy isnt drunk when he sells u a cigar.. and if you are relatively new to the art of cigars like we are go to downing street. The staff is so knowledgeable about tobacco. this cigar shop had a great selection just incompetent workers...

I was looking for a place to watch basketball, have a beer, and smoke a cigar while on business in Houston and this place had good reviews. I was pleasantly surprised by this gem that is basically in a strip mall. We arrived around 8:00 and I picked out a few smokes for us while my co-worker went to get us a six-pack of beer. They had a great selection and the woman working the counter was helpful, although I can't attest for her knowledge as I knew what I was looking for. Prices were around average, but I also don't price shop much... I only notice when they are VERY high or VERY low.I asked about the lounge and she said it was free (some places charge) and there were a few people back there watching the game already. The game was Michigan State vs. Kentucky... I'm a Spartan and there was guy in there from Kentucky, plus various people from Ohio and Texas. We were able to sit down, talk smack (which is sometimes even better than a cigar), and have a few drinks while watching my beloved Spartans crush Kentucky.The game started at 8:00 so wouldn't be done until after 10:00 and because the woman knew we all had a stake in the game, she stayed open until well after the game was over, allowing people to finish their drinks and smokes.Sometimes the ambiance makes the experience, sometimes it's the product. In this case it was the service. I can't say enough about the staff.

I popped in yesterday because I was given a humidor as gift. Nicole at the store was so helpful and going through all the set up and care for both the humidor and cigars. Great service all around. I look forward to going back again.

My business trip got extended so I stopped in to augment my single, remaining, stick to see me through the end of the trip. While they may not have the widest selection, what they do carry is quality. The real star was the staff. Worth a trip if you are in the area.

I got stop by this awesome shop a few weeks ago. I love always getting greeted by either, Nicole or Ronnie! They're both very knowledgeable tobacconists! Always very helpful!

Nice surprise. Good selection of popular quality brands. Relaxing area to enjoy your purchase.