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    Bistro Amasa

    4.7 (27 reviews)
    Open 5:00 pm - 9:00 PM
    Updated 3 weeks ago

    Bistro Amasa Photos

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    Came for a Happy Hour Margarita...Stayed for dinner
    Angela R.

    Came for happy hour margaritas and stayed for the food. Two margaritas later and I knew I couldn't leave without dinner. The only con I had about happy hour is that they offer light fare, such as warm marinated olives or bread and butter for food. Hopefully they can extend on the light bites, but in any case the margaritas were perfectly crafted. I'm not a huge fan of mezcal tequila, but the one used here was by Derrumbes, which had a light smokiness that wasn't overpowering. I really enjoyed it! Happy Hour is offered Wednesday to Sunday from 4-5pm. Bistro Amasa is located at the Upham Hotel a few blocks away from downtown on the corner of De La Vina & Sola. It's a casual yet beautiful setting that blends victorian charm with modern warmth. I recommend reserving a table outside. Now, on to the food! I ordered the hot smoked salmon, which is layered with everything bagel cream, dill caper gremolata, crispy shallots, farro, and a delicate tomato water that brought everything together perfectly. I honestly never heard of tomato water, but it definitely worked with this dish! The salmon was fresh, light, flaky and perfectly seasoned. I loved the subtle smoke flavor it was giving. I've never had a salmon dish like this and it is now one of my favorites. And of course...dessert was a must! The Angel's Affogato was pure indulgence yet still light and not overly filling. Made with fior di latte gelato drowned in espresso with a splash of sambuca and topped with whipped mascarpone. Great presentation and it was the perfect way to end my solo dinner date. Pro Tip: Check your receipt thoroughly! I was charged full price for happy hour drinks, but the manager kindly fixed it. Also, the amount taken from my checking account was over by $2.00 more than what I signed for. Not sure what happened, but it's only $2 and I can live with that. Despite the mishap, I had a great experience and would still come back. The food was great, and now they are offering weekend brunch from 9:30am to 2pm. Looking forward to checking that out!

    We ate the gnocchi up before I got the picture of it ! Haha!! Just know it was THAT good.
    Jasmine R.

    Came upon this lovely tiny restaurant. We came for dinner, and never been here before so didn't know what to expect. We got the Waldorf , Gnocchi & Cheese, and their special of the day which was this delicious tomato like pasta. The Waldorf was good. We've never had it before, it was sweet and super filling. The Gnocchi was amazing. It was flavorful and melted in my mouth. The pasta was my favorite. It was saucy and the noodles were cooked just right. Service was good. The woman bringing out the food was sweet and quick. Overall, great experience.

    Wedge Salad
    Ingrid V.

    Very good! Excited to have another amazing dinner options in SB. The marinated olives were very good. I loved the carrots and the salad. The fries were strange and not great. The size of the French fries were too thick and soft. The burger had a sauce on it that had a strange texture. The service was fast and kind and accommodating. The decor was very charming and suited the building well. I'll go back!

    Salmon and chicken dish
    Kimmy B.

    Everything here was amazing from the service to the food. We started out with the gnocchi which melted in your mouth and I had the chicken entree that was absolutely delicious. Our server Erika was fantastic and extremely knowledgeable!

    Burger & carrots
    vanessa y.

    Highly recommend, the food was fabulous! Devoured our gnocchi so quick. I've never loved a burger so much it was the perfect size and absolutely delicious, the fries were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside so delightful. And the carrots were so good! It was the perfect meal!

    Steak Frites and Salmon

    Everything we had was amazing and Jenna was so friendly & had great recs from the menu! Some of our favorites were the Waldorf Salad, Caesar Croquettes, Twice Baked Potato, Steak Frites, and the S'mores for dessert. We also tried the margarita, old fashioned, and espresso martini from the cocktail menu and enjoyed all of them - the old fashioned especially. If you love Barbareño you will definitely love Bistro Amasa. We're so excited there is a sister restaurant in the area and can't wait to come back to try other menu items!

    Amaretto sour, bread and butter

    10/10! The amaretto sour was one of the best cocktails I've had in a long time. My server Nicole and runner Oliver (if I got their names correctly) were absolutely fabulous. We tried nearly everything on the menu and it was all spectacular. My group's plates were spaced perfectly and all dropped at the same time. Can't wait to come back!

    S'more dessert. Amazing AF!

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    This restaurant has a wonderful kitchen and the food is superb. Their outdoor heated terrace is a lovely spot.

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    Absolutely stunning dinner at The Lark last night on our only night in Santa Barbara and I feel…read moreglad to say we picked the right restaurant! The place was full, including indoor and outdoor seating, great ambience and light level, and lovely string lights above the seating outdoors. To start they bring over a delectable dill popcorn which was a rich, salty, dill and butter creation. Totally set a fun tone for the meal. Then we had the crispy Brussels sprouts (ORDER THESE!!!) they were divine, the sesame and lime combination was reminiscent of a great pad Thai, with the perfect amount of sauce and tiny bites of figs which all worked together in a way I wouldn't have expected. For the mains we had the shrimp toast and the pork ribs, both fantastic both well portioned and both 10/10s. Pork ribs fell off the bone easily and were spicy and tangy without overdoing flavor and the shrimp toast tasted like a great gumbo sauce and the shrimps were big! This is a meal I'll be thinking about and recommending to others for a long time, thank you Lark!

    We are at the Lark tonight and had a good experience. It's a fairly casual and comfortable…read morerestaurant. We were greeted and seated immediately. I was glad we made reservations. The restaurant was busy. Our server was great. She introduced herself (Giana I believe she said) and helped us understand that the intent of the menu and dining approach is a sharing format. The plates and portion sizes vary depending upon the item. Cocktails: The Lark has a very interesting (in a good way) cocktail menu. Our party tried 5 different cocktails. Everyone loved their drink and commented on how well made they were. Food: The restaurant provides complimentary dill pickle popcorn (10/5) as a snack to get your appetite moving. This unique popcorn flavor was one of the best things I had all night. Everyone in our party agreed. We ordered 40% of the menu. The standouts were the fried chicken (5/5), the duck confit (5/5), and the pork ribs (4/5). Dessert: The chocolate pot-a-crème with banana cream (5/5) and donut holes (5/5) were both very tasty. We had a real good experience at the Lark. My only comment as a first timer was gauging how much food to order. We found the menu items in the Farm and Ranch sections were entree sized plates, while the Ocean section plates varied in size considerably. We consequently over ordered and wasted some food. Although our server Giana was helpful, we could have asked more specific questions to assess the quantity of food better. We enjoyed the restaurant vibe, cocktail program and many of the plates. If I lived in SB, I would have dinner here every other month and enjoy the dill pickle popcorn and the fried chicken with their signature Paloma to wash it all down.

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    One of the BEST service experience I've ever had. All the staff were so friendly, knowledgeable,…read moreand attentive. Outdoor patio seating is also a very nice and you can hear the other person talking vs other restaurants where it's super loud. The menu has a lot of local items & everything was delicious. I think out of the few items we ordered, we liked the smoked tri tip and the mussels the most. The mussel soup was SO good and we needed more bread to eat it all up. The tri tip was also cooked perfectly and I loved the sauce that came with it. This is certainly a great date night spot and also bit pricier than I usually go for. The food might not have been what I crave but it was a great experience.

    We had dinner here at Barbareno tonight. The wait staff and support were on point. However, we…read moreweren't impressed with the food nor its presentation/plating. Food: we started with the bread service (4/5) and the Scotch eggs (4/5). Both were good. We then had the mussels (4/5). Although I'm not a fan, my buddy powered through the entire bowl...so obviously he liked them. The sauce was spicy and flavorful, which I appreciated. I used the bread to soak up that flavorful sauce. Then we had the Santa Maria grill (3/5) and the pork rib plate(4/5). The presentation and seasoning for the Santa Maria plate was just boring and lacking. We chose not to finish that plate as it was not real flavorful, nor interesting. The pork ribs (3/5) on the 2nd plate had really good seasoning and flavor, but should have been cooked longer. This was a pretty significant miss, as the ribs needed to cook at least another hour. The meat was pink??? This is an oversight for cooking ribs. Dessert: we ordered all 3 desserts and they were all just okay. Nothing craveable or exciting. The service team was a strong 4 stars all night. The kitchen was maybe 3.5 stars. I was surprised that our party of 6 didn't enjoy the meal more based upon the reviews and previous restaurant recognition. Maybe the kitchen had an off night and we need to give it another try. There are so many great restaurants in SB, we may or may not make our way back to Barbareno.

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    Visited Finch & Fork with my girlfriend. We had a lovely breakfast. Service was attentive and…read morefriendly. Our food was delicious. I'm normally not a yogurt person, but I really enjoyed theirs. I'm pretty sure the granola was homemade or at the very least sourced from a whole food brand. The baked pears added the perfect amount of sweetness. Pancakes and Avocado toast were also delicious. The cocktail is dangerous; I could have sipped on it all day. The restaurant is located inside The Kimpton. It's a beautiful property. Shoutout to Robert who was a pleasure to meet. Oh, and PARKING is COMPLIMENTARY if you dine at the restaurant, how awesome is that! (don't forget to tip the valet)

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    Last night was the first time in many years that I've eaten here…read more I cannot believe I waited so long to come back. Our food was phenomenal. Each dish had its own unique flavor. No dish seemed to have any crossed ingredients. Fortunately for us as well was that we were there at one of two times during the day when they have an entire restaurant participation sing along. Most Outstanding Dinner outing !!

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    We went to Bouchon Bistro to celebrate our 25th anniversary, and the experience was outstanding…read morefrom start to finish. We did the Foodie Stroll & Dinner experience, which included a trip to the farmers market with the chef, Vick. Vick was a pleasure to spend time with--personable, knowledgeable, and genuinely engaging. We had a great time at the market with him and then enjoyed exploring it on our own afterward. When we arrived at the restaurant, our table was ready and beautifully set with rose petals to mark the occasion. The staff was attentive, helpful, and professional--always aware of when we needed something, but never intrusive. My wife ordered the Salade Lyonnaise, Juniper & Rosemary Venison, and Lemon-Berry Upside Down Cake. I had the Forest Mushroom Ragout, Braised Kurobuta Pork Flank, and finished with the Chocolate Molten Lava Cake. Every bite was excellent. My wife raved about the venison, and my pork flank was incredibly tender in a rich, flavorful sauce--the meat practically fell apart. Portions were generous; we couldn't finish everything, though we tried. Each course was paired with a different wine, and every pairing was spot-on. One especially thoughtful touch was that they presented us with custom 25th anniversary menus that we created with the chef. The menus highlighted our anniversary and listed the exact dishes we ordered--it was a really nice keepsake and made the evening feel even more special. All of this was done during a packed service, with only four people in the kitchen, which made the experience even more impressive. Thank you to Vick and the entire team for making our anniversary truly memorable.

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    Bistro Amasa - newamerican - Updated May 2026

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