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    Santa Barbara FisHouse

    3.7 (1.5k reviews)
    Closed 11:30 am - 9:30 pm

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    SANTA BARBARA FISHOUSE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Santa Barbara FisHouse

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    Fish and Chips
    Ian L.

    Francesca was our server, and she did an excellent job guiding us through the menu. She recommended the macadamia-crusted sea bass with broccolini, which was absolutely outstanding. My girlfriend ordered the fish and chips, and we started with the crab cakes and clam chowder--both were spectacular. The service was truly five-star from start to finish, and the food was simply some of the best we've had. This was my second visit, and it definitely won't be my last. Highly recommend--this place is a must-try. -Ian Lantz

    Cod fish tacos. Pro tip: The spice mix around the plate is a kind of Old Bay blend. A yummy add to your bite!
    Kevin E.

    This should be a ten star restaurant! It was absolutely spectacular. The setting and views are outstanding, the service and value are top, but the freshness and quality of the food are epic. We will never visit Santa Barbara without making at least one trip to the FisHouse!! (PS: Save room for a brownie sundae if you can!)

    7'26 - Rockfish Ceviche, DEElish
    Nonie B.

    We were here for 4 July '26 and had a GREAT time. We had people meeting us here, and they showed up an hour and a half late, but they didn't kick us out. Really appreciate that! We mostly had libations, but I did have their ceviche and it was fantastic. Giving it five stars because of the customer service. A truly friendly establishment, which goes a long way.

    the FisHouse menu
    Shushanik P.

    The Santa Barbara FisHouse is a nice restaurant located right across the pier. My son and I have been here once before, about 10 years ago, so we decided to give it another try today. It was still as good as we remembered it. We walked in with no reservation and Izzy sat us within 5 minutes. Our server's name was Anthony and he was very friendly, kind and provided great service with a nice smile. All our food came out on time and exactly how we ordered it. Also, thank you to Holden who took our picture. For drinks, we just stayed with water. For appetizers, we got the Jumbo Coconut Shrimp and the Beet Salad. The salad came with mixed greens, sliced almonds, diced mango, and a basil vinaigrette. It was very tasty and FRESH. The shrimp was juicy and the breading was nice and crispy. We both got the same entrée, which was the Sea Bass with Broccolini, Roasted Potatoes and Lemon Beurre Blanc sauce. It was delicious but in my opinion, the portion size didn't match the price ($38). I was still hungry after I finished my food. Also, I asked for some bread + butter for the table but was informed that they no longer offer that after COVID, as a way to cut costs. The only option was some garlic bread for $5, which I didn't want. To me, that is a red flag at a restaurant! Bread and butter should always be complementary, in my opinion. The bathrooms were somewhat clean and needed some cleaning and tidying up. There was no toilet paper in the stalls, but before I could say anything, an employee came in to refill them with some new rolls. The ambience of the place is nice. It's a good spot for a romantic date night or a business lunch in the afternoon. They have a nice patio with a fire pit and heaters if you'd like to enjoy the Santa Barbara air. The restaurant itself also wasn't spotless clean and the floors could have used some sweeping in the area we were sitting in. Between that, the missing bread basket and the state of the bathroom, I'm gonna stick with 4 stars this time. It just didn't hit the mark the way it should have. I may or may not come back the next time I'm in Santa Barbara. Thank you Anthony, Holden, and FisHouse.

    Yevhen T.

    The food was delicious, the service was good, and the average wait time for the dishes was around 15-20 minutes, which was reasonable. Overall, a good experience.

    Salmon
    Paul C.

    Father's Day weekend and my wife and I were on the road to Santa Barbara. On the road 5 hours, parked and before heading to the pier we stumbled across this place. We were hungry so we figured why not? I'm so happy we stopped here. The food was great! My wife ordered the salmon. I ordered the mixed seafood and chips and we started with the mussels and clams. And it did not disappoint! The setting was nice. Perfect for Santa Barbara. Service nice and attentive and food was good! Nothing more we could have asked for after being on the road for 5 hours lol! If you're reading this, definitely give this spot a try.

    Mixed seafood with fries
    Clifford W.

    Walk on E. Cabrillo for arts craft. Ate here since nearby. Food was average. Appetizer squid and chili was salty and tough. Tip to cook: they should use baby squids instead of tougher mid size squid. The breading on squid was very heavy, salty, unlike Japanese panko. Mixed seafood with fries was average, same heavy salty breading. Squid tasted same as appetizer. Cod fish tasted like frozen block breaded in heavy breading was average. Two shrimps bread in same breading was average. Fries under seafood were medium thickness. Ceviche cod was average, lemony vinegar, tomato juice tasted average. Overall food was pretty average. Service was good, ask how was food. Nice ambiance for scenery outside. 3 stars out of 5.

    Lobster Tacos
    Christopher B.

    Super experience at Santa Barbara Fishouse! Delicious crab cakes and lobster tacos. I had the Funk Zone Mule and it was a perfect complement to the meal. The staff was friendly and Emilee was a great server! Thanks for a nice experience. Highly recommended.

    Ahi Poke
    Nestor Z.

    The Santa Barbara Fishouse is an absolute staple if you're looking for quintessential Santa Barbara dining. The location right across from the beach means the views are unbeatable, especially if you can snag a patio table. ​I stopped in for a business lunch, and it was the perfect setting impressive but relaxed. You have to try the Ahi tuna sandwich, the fish was incredibly fresh and the flavor was spot on. You can really taste the quality of the seafood here. ​It's definitely a must try for dinner as well, but take my advice: make a reservation! It gets packed, and you won't want to miss out.

    Fish & Chips
    Katherine N.

    I would NOT recommend this spot if you are visiting and want to try a spot that is representative of the great seafood scene that Santa Barbara is apparently known for. I left this place underwhelmed and disappointed. FOOD: Fish and Chips (2/5) - Some strips of fish were nice and flaky, but others were pretty tough and hard. It was overall very inconsistent. The fries were also really nothing special. It came with cocktail sauce, ketchup, and tartar sauce. The tartar sauce was also notably bland. The real crime to me, however, was that there were raisins (and possibly even pineapple) in my cole slaw. Fish Tacos (3/5) - They were nothing special. You would expect more from a place that specializes in seafood. SERVICE: We chose to sit outside, which was an absolute mistake. We felt rather neglected because it took forever to order, receive our food, and get the bill. We had also placed an order of truffle fries, but I guess that was never registered because it never came out. We were already disappointed by the food we received, so we did not bother clarifying. The only really redeeming quality about this place was the view while sitting outside. We enjoyed a really beautiful sunset as we waited for anyone to acknowledge us.

    Elizabeth N.

    Nice lil indoor outdoor right on the water rustic restaurant. Nothing fancy...just amazing food and view! Ambience is very casual and serene. Definitely an AT SEA FEEL. Jennifer was our server and she was amazingly bubbly and thorough from the first moment! Great personality!!! There is limited inside seating, we sat outside right by the water. Beautiful view but a bit breezy during this season. Good Rating 5 Highest Clam Chowder 5 We had to stop here for the clam chowder! So friggin good! It is filled with clams and seasoned so well. It actually tastes like seafood and milk! Oysters 5 absolutely fresh and yummy with all the compliments! Kumomotos and East Bays were ordered. Scallop and shrimp pasta 5! Extremely tasty and the scallops and shrimps were a great size. Portion was good and great for family style meals with different dishes to try. Variety deep fried seafood 4. Very yummy with a great variety of scallops, shrimps, oysters, calamari and an onion ring. Only reason why it didn't get a 5 was a few of the pieces were overfried so they were dry. Iced tea 5. Perfectly brewed. Not watered down. Has a flowery taste! Yummy! The service is our favorite! Jennifer really made it awesome even though it was crazy busy. She took care of us! Unfortunately, there was a gentleman there that didn't share the same customer service level as Jennifer.

    3/27/26 HAPPY HOUR menu  Monday - Friday, Sunday 4:00pm - Close Saturday 2:00pm - 5:00pm
    Tony B.

    It seemed too good to be true but we were walking around Santa Barbara by the beach at 8pm and saw that FisHouse had a happy hour on a Friday until close. We had good sangria and a martini and few menu items. Nothing felt like happy hour portion food. What seemed like a full dinner with two rounds of drinks came out to only $103 before tip. Excellent service, drinks and food! Also, I rarely order bread bowls but this was the best I've ever had.

    Dozen oysters
    Jaz M.

    Absulotely loved this place. Located off Cabrillo right across the street from beach, you will find this resteraunt. A couple of co-workers and I stopped by for an early lunch at 11:30am and this place was empty. We took advantage of outside seating with a nice little view and we felt like we were in paradise. I ordered a dozen oysters, an order of fish tacos and the coconut shrimp. The coconut shrimp first of all were AMAZING, 10/10. The oysters were very fresh and of great quality. The tacos were good, my least favorite of the 3 but still tasty. Overall, I really loved my meal and I would defenitly come back again. I did end up paying about $100 bucks for my lunch but it was worth every penny. Make sure to keep FisHouse in mind when selecting your next lunch/dinner spot.

    Ahi Poke

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    26 days ago

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    9 days ago

    We sat there for 30 minutes and no one even came to ask for our order or even any drinks

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    5 months ago

    Just ok really. Food bland but good portions. Atmosphere was a little stale. Was expecting more. Feels like it's stuck in the 1980's.

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    Ask the Community - Santa Barbara FisHouse

    How do you place a reservation for this location on their Yelp page?

    I called on the phone for my reservation.

    Is Happy Hour back now?

    yes it is! but you can only get it at the bar

    Would you serve the Mark Wiens special?

    IDK.

    Can you bring pet?

    yes you can! On the out door patio!

    Wheelchair accessible for this location?

    I believe you can access the deck from the back parking lot, however I would suggest you call the restaurant to confirm wheelchair accessibility.

    Do you take reservations?

    They took mine and then we got in earlier.

    View All 8 Questions

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    Santa Barbara Shellfish Company

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    Having lived close to the beach for most of my life, and having visited many piers for food, I give…read moremy honest review. SBSC does not accept reservations. Even so, we were seated at our preferred outside table within 30 minutes. It was crowded but the team is efficient. Our table outside had beautiful views. Our server came immediately to ask for drink orders and questions about the menu. She was very kind and made our dining experience excellent. We ordered: 3lb rock crab special $60 as of 8/2926: 5 stars! The crab was sweet and delicious. They serve the crab heads cleaned so if you want the tomale, be sure to mention when ordering. It was a treat to eat seafood at its origin; the taste was exceptional. Lobster pasta: acid forward with a good amount of lobster Dozen Laguna oysters: excellent Lobster bisque: rich and buttery, very good Fried combo: our least fave, ymmv! Kids meals are available. Highly recommend for the ambiance and food quality. The 800m walk to the end of pier is fun with lots of historical tidbits. Happy eating!

    Our 4th time here, and Santa Barbara Shellfish Company continues to be a must visit every time…read morewe're in Santa Barbara. Between the great service, incredible ocean views, watching the people dive into the ocean and the consistently delicious food, it's an experience you don't want to miss. This visit, I tried the Laguna oysters. Our server mentioned they're on the saltier side, and they definitely were. My boyfriend loved them, but I personally prefer the smaller, sweeter oysters. It really comes down to personal preference. We also ordered our usual clam chowder, which is hands down one of the best I've had. It's packed with clams, rich, creamy, and full of flavor. We couldn't leave without getting the scallops and uni as well. Always fresh, simple, and always excellent. The combination of fresh seafood, unbeatable waterfront views, and consistently great food is why we keep coming back. Already looking forward to visit number five

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    Clam chowder in sourdough bread bowl
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    The Palace Grill

    The Palace Grill

    4.3
    (1.7k reviews)
    0.6 mi
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    If you're looking for some tasty Cajun-Creole cuisine and a good time in Santa Barbara, definitely…read morecheck out The Palace Grill! The decor of the restaurant makes you feel like you've stepped into New Orleans--murals, Mardi Gras themed items, and cards on the ceiling! I was so excited that they bring out complimentary mini muffins! They are SO good! They have a few different flavors like banana nut, jalapeno corn, a rosemary one, etc. Definitely a highlight! For appetizers, we ordered the Cajun Popcorn and the Soft Shell Crab. I haven't had a lot of crawfish before, so I really wanted to try the Cajun Popcorn. These crawfish tails are dipper in cornbread buttermilk batter and fried. They're crispy and fun to eat! They give a sherry wine dipping sauce, which was also yummy! Would recommend getting these! We also wanted to try the Soft Shell Crab, and you can get it as an appetizer or an entree. The appetizer comes with one soft shell crab that's been stuffed with Bienville crabmeat dressing, coated the cornmeal flour, and flash fried. It has just the right amount of crispiness! It's served with a jalapeno beurre-blanc and rice. For our entree, we shared the Crawfish Pasta Lafitte. We couldn't get enough of the crawfish tails so decided to get the pasta that had them as well. The pasta also had caramelized onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, cream, and creole seasoning. Very tasty! Would recommend this pasta! For the fun part that I mentioned--they have a magician that walks around and does magic tricks at each table! It was entertaining and very cool to see some of the tricks up close! They also have a Sing-Along moment in the evening where they'll had out lyric sheets to everyone, turn on the music, and everyone sings the song together. They were playing "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong on the evening I was there, but the song changes and they ask you not to open the lyrics book until right before the song, so it's a surprise!

    The Palace Grill is a great spot to grab cajun food and share a meal. The service was amazing and…read morethey are dog friendly on their outdoor patio! That was a big plus in my book. The ambiance on the outdoor patio was cozy and gave New Orleans vibes. I absolutely loved the muffin sampler that they give as an appetizer. We had the hurricane margaritas, crawfish étouffée and redfish pontchatrain.

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    Santa Barbara FisHouse - seafood - Updated August 2026

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