I gave this restaurant 2 tries.......1st - the menu was confusing and unfortunately our waitress didn't give us much help trying to understand it. Food was very good, but we did not recognize many of the food items. And I really hate it when an appetizer only comes with 3. Of course there were 4 of us, lousy marketing ploy to get you to buy 2 orders. 2nd try.......my husband ordered the fish special (snapper) and it was only the fish, no side, vegie or even garnish?? The kicker was when we got the bill.......$75 for snapper!!! That is absolutely ridiculous. We will not be back......... read more

Fantastic restaurant. Delicious food. Extremely professional, friendly staff. We participated in a dinner and a movie night. Great experience, highly recommend. Funny night great atmosphere. 10/10 Going back to try their usual menu which looks amazing read more

Firstly, congratulations to Chef Dom & the team. The ambiance is amazing. It's definitely Spain meet Santa Barbara without being too much. The contrast of the oak and blue tile is so eye pleasing. Menu is great for snacks at the bar or dinner with a whole crew at a table. It was my boyfriend and I and we felt we had an amazing meal at the bar top with drinks for a very surprisingly great price. Hats off Chef! We'll be back. read more

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Second time back, sat at bar, bartender and staff very friendly. They don't have happy hour but do bites and happy hour like prices. Didn't explain what the house wine was, tasted like a Spanish Albarino...good enough The few appetizers they had (Bites) were not great, seemed like an after thought, Luke warm and a little soggy. So for one drink each (my wife and I) and a bite each was $52 rounded, I guess not bad but this is my second time there, last time (first couple of weeks of opening) the service was bad and too noisy, so wanted to give them a second chance... Shame, but we won't go back... read more

First I want to talk about the ambience and staff they are all so lovely and personable and welcoming. We had a reservation and we're sad immediately our waiter was Prompt with saying hello and then coming over to take our drink orders. We asked what he would recommend for cocktails and he suggested the La Puma is his favorite so we both ordered that and it was delicious! Next, we enjoyed the Chicken Coqueta's which we absolutely loved and practically licked our plate for more of the special sauce. Then we enjoyed the artichoke appetizer. For our main, we shared the cioppino, and after prompting on how it was, we shared that the fish was a little overcooked and we were a little disappointed, but knowing this restaurant they took the feedback and are going to make it better. The basque cheesecake was bomb!! Highly recommend this restaurant and we can't wait to go back to try more dishes. read more

My girlfriend and I sat at the bar at this new restaurant. The décor is fantastic, and the bartender was extremely kind and respectful. Unfortunately, part of the charm of the Basque region is the traditional service of Txakoli (Chocoli), which is poured from high above the glass to help aerate the wine -- a fun and memorable ritual I enjoyed while in Basque Country. The bartenders here didn't seem familiar with that tradition, which was a bit disappointing. The croquetas were also a miss; in Spain, they're typically very creamy on the inside, but these didn't quite capture that texture. On the other hand, Dom's Louie Salad was absolutely delicious -- a great play on a California favorite and beautifully executed. Overall, this is a very good restaurant with lots of potential. With time, I think they'll nail the seasoning (especially on the gambas) and hopefully embrace some of the Basque techniques a bit more authentically read more

If you like fresh, local seafood and really flavorful dishes including the best steak frites in town, you will love Dom's. Such a fun, buzzy vibe, friendly staff and delicious Basque dishes -- my favorite is the whole fish Basquaise that's got this subtle smoky flavor due to the Josper oven it's roasted in. The oysters are delicious raw, but also grilled -- and the prawns, the PRAWNS. Also obsessed with the Basque cheesecake and especially the La Cuchara, just a spoonful of that cheesecake with the burnt top swirled in - and topped with Osetra caviar. Love love love this place. read more

Food was exceptionally tasty, the service was also very warm and hospitable! We both would return in a heartbeat. Fun place to check out and want to return for late night happy hour too. read more

Dom, since you decided to comment on my review and leave your own negativity, I will give you some feedback. Instead of focusing on any spelling errors I may have had, you should focus more on improving the service and food that you're providing. I was very upset to have spent as much money as I did only to received the worst service and mediocre food. I leave plenty of excellent reviews when they are warranted and earned. read more

We had an early reservation (630), and we were wondering why the restaurant was not full. By the time we finished (8), it was packed. So plan accordingly. When we go back we will try to get a later reservation because it was a lively and friendly scene - which fit the food. We had the tomato salad with cashew butter, then the steak bites and the squid with beans. Our main course was a whole pacific snapper, broasted in their special oven. Our friendly and helpful server coursed everything perfectly. Every bite of our meal was extraordinarily delicious. The combination of tastes and textures, the perfect firmness (moist and sweet) of the fish was magical. The restaurant was nicely decorated for the holidays and the open kitchen was really interesting to watch. We sat along the wall, in a row of "date night" tables which we normally don't like, but our waitress and the hostess suggested we turn the table so we could sit side by side. That was much better. It is a noisy restaurant which I don't usually like, but in this restaurant, I enjoyed the people watching. We were older than average, but were treated great. We shared a slice of Basque cheesecake (I don't usually eat cheesecake) and it was the best dessert I've had in ages. Got to say hello to Dom. He was right there in the middle of the kitchen, working hard. I watched him portion out a strip loin into steaks, which was good to see as most places buy their meat pre portioned from Sysco and the beef has no flavor. Not here. An outstanding experience all around. read more

Went last night--excellent cocktails, very good food, and attentive, knowledgeable service. One of my better meals in SB in some time.

What a weird and disappointing experience. My husband and I decided to try this restaurant over the weekend, and I was excited because it looked so cute online! Even though it was extremely loud inside, I was still optimistic since the menu looked good. We were quickly given water by someone who wasn't our server, and then waited about 10 minutes before our waiter came to take our drink order. We knew the place was new and a little busy, so we were patient. But after our drinks arrived, our waiter disappeared again for another 10-15 minutes. By then, we'd finished our drinks and were getting hungry. When he finally came near our table, he spent several minutes chatting with another table about sports before even glancing our way. When he finally approached, we ordered everything at once--drinks, appetizers, and entrées--since it seemed like we might not see him again for a while. Our appetizers came out, but no drink refills, and we didn't see our waiter for another 20 minutes. When he returned, we asked for refills, and he said, "So, would you like to put in your main course order?" My husband and I looked at each other and laughed - we said we had already ordered our entrées at the same time as the appetizers. He said nothing and walked away to put them in. It took another 10-15 minutes for our food to arrive--brought out one plate at a time. In those 10-15 minutes, we had various people check on us (a manager, another server, even a cook), to which we just told them we were simply waiting for our entrees. My husband's steak frites came first and was cold by the time my cioppino pasta arrived. His steak was drowning in sauce, making the fries soggy. We ate, disappointed, but understanding it's a new restaurant with kinks to work out. Afterward, we sat for another 15 minutes before anyone checked on us again. When a cook came by, we asked for the check, which took another lengthy amount of time to arrive. Finally, the manager came over. My husband asked if certain items were comped because of the delay, as items were missing from the check, and had told her she should ask our waiter what was missing, as he had written down everything we ordered. She looked confused, then suddenly defensive, saying, "I will not be asking your waiter, as he said you were mean to him." We were completely taken aback. We barely interacted with him and were unsure as to what made him feel that way. My husband asked what he supposedly said that was mean, and she couldn't answer--just said she'd bring the owner. When the owner came, we explained the situation and our confusion. We told him how no one, aside from when there was an issue, had checked on us or acknowledged us throughout the meal. Nothing was really resolved--he offered to comp our meal, but it felt like he was just trying to make the problem go away. We declined, paid our bill, and left. I'm honestly so bummed. The restaurant itself is adorable, but the service and handling of the situation were awful. We had high hopes, but after that experience, we won't be returning. read more

The food was pretty good! The hostess booth is in the middle of the restaurant, so don't forget to walk all the way into the restaurant, as they may not notice you if you stand right by the door. Great seafood, great wine list read more

The Wagyu steak with french fries but I substitute for a salad. Phenomenal food, great atmosphere good wines with a lot of good local friends. read more

had dom's bookmarked for quite some time now been wanting to try this place out the ambiance was nice upon entering, was greeted by warm staff, and we were happy to find out that they were willing to seat us on a saturday at 8pm with no reservation. Jorge the bartender was awesome ordered 2 drinks at the bar and two apps before proceeding to being moved to a table. the service from our server the older white lady could've been better we felt like her presence a little bit nonexistent. throughout our meal, she probably only came to our table twice and we had to request for our server from other servers multiple times. the two other young ladies were great they were able to help us by taking additional orders when our server wasn't present and also provided us with the check and packed up our leftover meal and dessert for us. idk if it's bc we're a younger crowd but we ordered quite a bit for two people. towards the end of the night our server clocked off and left and she didn't even notify us that she was leaving and that we would be assisted by a new server so we sat around waiting for some time. Now moving onto the food, the steak bites and oysters were good. The ganbak had good flavor but was missing salt. I know that you guys have been having issues about certain foods being oversalted so you guys had dialed back on the salt but it was missing salt to balance the whole dish. The tomat was great. The cioppono pasta was probably one of the best cioppino pastas I've had. Everything was good about the steak frites the only issue was the steak was too burnt it wasn't overcooked but it was overseared on one side which made the whole thing taste very burnt and the burnt flavor was overpowering the entire dish I should've spoke on it then and there but I wasn't sure what it was exactly until I brought the leftovers home and tried it again later. And lastly the dessert the grappas tarta vasca was bomb read more

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Went to Dom's with a friend and had a friend and had a great time and meal. We started with gin martinis and it is by far the strongest martini I have ever had. Followed by steak frites and the fried artichoke. Both were fantastic and would recommend both highly! read more

Food is perfection every time I dine there! Staff are incredibly friendly and very knowledgeable about the menu. Also some of the best cocktails in town read more

Unfortunately, I had high hopes prior to eating here based on the menu and the photos... but it was a bust- the crab claw was cold to the point that it was almost frozen, the baguette was impossibly tough, the carpaccio left lots to be desired. The menu seems to be good in concept but poorly executed. read more

Food was excellent, the octopus and tomat were delicious. I had a glass of basque white wine that was delightful. My mate had the fish carpaccio with chips and we shared the tomat. It was small but intimate even as crowded as it was. Because it was 'Jerry Seinfeld' night at the show, the restaurant was packed and servers were a bit overwhelmed resulting in us getting a delicious bread with sauce and steak bites in error. We assumed the bread was free and the bites were an amuse bouche..... They were gracious and did not charge us and our server, James, was so very nice and accommodating! We will definitely go back! read more

This is a tough one. Dom's is doing a lot of good things. I feel like the burden of the restaurant business in the US, the bottom line, in general is playing out specifically at Dom's--small plates, big prices, arguably not enough servers. With that, I loved the blood sausage, great but small steak with meh fries, squid and beans being served as fried calamari with just ok beans is not great, dry sweet potatoes. Whole fish was small (although I saw a plate that was not small) at $80 with burnt garlic is a sad. Times have changed, expectations must too. I still might try the chicken one day. read more

It was clearly very popular and crowded, but they need to get a little more organized. I saw many people waiting for tables, and could see they were about 25 minutes behind on seating. Food wise everything we had was good. The fries were excellent, as were the oysters. The mussels appetizer was great, although we ordered just mussels and it came with both clams and mussels. I could have sworn the menu says "or" but I could be wrong. We got the bone in rib eye and it was a very good cut of meat....however... it was wayyyyy over salted. I am pretty tolerant of salt, and I understand the cooking style they were going for, but clearly the cook went way too heavy with the salt on this. It was overwhelming. It was cooked very well, and the flavor of the meat was on point, but it needed half as much salt. For $150 steak, you have to get that right. The octopus also was cooked very well, but it came out lukewarm even though I think it's supposed to be a hot dish. All of the drinks we had were great. But please..someone look into the salt issue. The steak alone is one of those things I would come back for because I know it would be a 11/10 steak but for it tasting like pure sodium. read more

Best steak in Santa Barbara. Best seafood in Santa Barbara. Dom, the chef owner has it going on!!!!! He's doing it right! This might become the best in SB! read more

Dom's Taverna - Steak frites - Basque Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I was a little skeptical. I'm from Chicago where we have fabulous restaurants. But Doms exceeded our expectations. Not only is the food great but the atmosphere is lively. The market fish (red snapper ) was very special and our server was amazing. She guided us in the right direction without overselling. We will be back with friends!! read more

Audrey was amazing and barely surpassed the amazing food! Will be back many times! Try the tomato especially, the whole fish, clam pasta and the basque cheesecake was to die for read more

Had a great time! The staff was very accommodating and everything we ordered was amazing.

We are so excited for their late night bar menu, the food was delicious and prices were reasonable. We wish there were a few smaller appetizer style bites on the late night menu, but maybe that will come once they're more settled! The staff was super friendly. The only downfall is the music is insanely loud so wasn't quite the vibe we were hoping for. We couldn't really hear each other talk so kind of just sat there. Will definitely be coming back though, excited to try the full dinner menu. read more

I wanted to give a shout out to this brand new, inventive and amazingly fun restaurant--best eating out experience I've had in a long time! From the basque shashuka to the crudo to the wagyu, it was one episode in tastiness to the next. And my mind was *blown* by the basque cheesecake/caviar. IYKYK. Highly recommend. read more

wow! this place brings the vibes and you can't go wrong with anything on the menu! From Mark who adds his own twist on drinks, to Audrey making you feel like family at the door and Dom and his team in exceeding expectations in the kitchen..we can't wait to come back!!!! read more

I LOVE DOM'S!!!!!!!!!! No kids menu, but they were going to make one with SUCH YUMMY FOOD!!!!!!!!!! The bathroom was beautiful!!!!!!! Alexea was our waitress, and she was so nice and helpful!!!! Go to Dom's!!!!!!!!! The steak bites were SO good!!!!! And the grilled cheese!! This was critiqued by an eleven year old!!!!! read more

My friend and I went to Dom's Taverna for the first time to have a glass of wine in the afternoon and find out what the place was all about before going there for dinner with a group. The waiter was very friendly. We both had a nice glass of house Chardonnay and Merlot and some delicious french fries. The atmosphere is nice. However, they have a beautiful lighting system which at one point was dimmed to a cozy level. Immediately afterwards, it was brought back to neon level Russian interrogation room harsh lighting. We motioned to the bar tender to dim it again, however he did not do so. Please owners, not everyone likes glaring bright lights. Most of us want more of romantic, cozy atmosphere which is comforting while we have a great meal. We are looking forward to having dinner there in the hopes they will do something about the ambiance! read more

This place was incredible! I was skeptical of the menu at first but I am pleasantly surprised. Nothing let me down. Truly incredible and I will be definitely be coming back. Robin our server was so amazing and kind! She suggested great drinks & food. 100000/10! New favorite spot in town :) read more

The food was good! The service was 10/10. I would come back to just have Robin serve me. Thanks for a good dinner.

Wowza Dom's--what an evening! You made our celebration of a birthday and life a joyous and delicious one! We loved all the creative and flavorful food, attention, warm welcome and service of these gifted chefs and Audrey and her team. Thank you for such a fun and memorable evening. Can't wait to come again soon! read more

What a gem! Four of us shared a bunch of plates. Everything was extraordinary. James, our server, made perfect recommendations and took great care of us. For those Martini lovers, don't miss the Frozen Martini. Simply beyond delicious. The place is rocking with energy and is now on our favorites list. read more

There were 4 of us. While waiting for our table we ordered drinks at the bar. Everyone including other patrons were friendly and welcoming. We loved the vibe. The menu is different and we needed help to decipher. Our waitperson was knowledgeable and helped us. We tasted each other's food and all was delicious. The bill was a little higher than what we typically spend but we'll be back for special occasions. Maybe for Happy hour like the late night one, I think from 9:00-11:00pm. Thanks everyone! read more

Such a fun place! Altho the client vibe was more young professional, I felt totally welcome and comfortable as a senior. Bartender Mark was full of energy and knowledge of his craft, the salads and the shareable small bites were just right. I will be back! read more

There was no part of this evening's dinner that was not perfect and excellent. We arrived early and they were able to seat us. The waiter was able to answer all questions about the specific ingredients in any dish we questioned. The food arrived on time, was hot and everything was absolutely delicious. I was curious about how the cashew cream was made in one of the appetizers. Immediately the waiter went to the chef, and returned with the list of ingredients and how it was made. But then shortly afterwards, the chef came to us and explained it in detail. Although I asked if I could buy a container of the cashew crema and he was willing to do so, but was running short for the remaining evening... Immediately he then wrote down the entire recipe for me explaining it in detail. What chef will take the time out on a Saturday evening to even do that? We met the owner who told us all about his background, and about how his staff is just one giant family supporting each other. This was truly a unique experience of Basque food from beginning to end. There was no room for improvement from the moment we walked in until evening was over. All I can say is run don't walk to enjoy your experience from wine selection, appetizers, sharing plates or not, and the delicious famous Basque cheesecake. read more

Highly recommend Dom's Taverna. I had the best dining experience there. The food was amazing, my palette experienced flavors I have never had before. The cheesecake with caviar was incredible. Our cocktails were also amazing. The staff were friendly and very helpful explaining the menu. I cannot wait to dine there again. read more

We finally made it to Dom's for lunch and were glad we did - food was delicious nad prices were reasonable - we can't wait to go back for dinner! read more

Normally, these reviews are easy to write. This one will take some time and patience on your part to read. First off, Dom and his staff have some VERY big shoes to fill, taking over the old Trattoria Victoria, which took over the old Pasqual's Mexican restaurant. Both were serious local legends for drinks, food, service and atmosphere and both were my favorite places to eat in town. Dom and his staff have not only met the bar, but they've also raised it considerably. First off, when I made the reservation with one of the managers, Chole, I knew that this was going to be a great night. Unbelievably, she's actually MORE sweet, kind and funny in person than she was on the phone. What a gem!!! Mark, the bartender is an excellent bartender and knows the correct way to make cocktails - some shaken, some stirred, depending upon the main alcohol, just like he's supposed to. We both had our favorite meal - cioppino, and it was the best we've ever had, and we've had a LOT of cioppino over the years. The service was wonderful - unfortunately, I can't remember our server's name, but I'm sure Dom will respond with her name :-) The prices were very reasonable and the atmosphere was great. The wood for the new bar came from Dom's family farm!! Great spacing between the tables and the bar so you're not cramped together. Overall, one of the best dining experiences we've had in years. read more