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The Ellwood

4.0 (250 reviews)
Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Updated 2 months ago

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THE ELLWOOD ATMOSPHERE

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Recommended Reviews - The Ellwood

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Fish and Chips
Chantel S.

We came in for brunch for the first time since they opened and really enjoyed the experience! Service was great and attentive. The ambience is chic coastal and very comfortable, especially loved the ocean view we had on such a beautiful day. Started with the shareable cinnamon which is huge but delicious! The cinnamon crunch toasts as a topping was a surprising but tasty addition, definitely recommend trying this sweet treat for the table. The burger was great, flavorful, juicy and well-cooked with lots of fries on the side. The asian salad is good too, refreshing and tangy. The fish and chips was the only thing we did not like as much, the fish was small for the portion size and overcooked while also lacking flavor. Overall would come back to try some of the other options and enjoy more of the views! Tip: request the fully covered patio on a sunny day as there is another part of the patio that had little shade and got hot quickly.

Wine cellar
Cassandra F.

The good and the location of this restaurant are amazing, the service left a lot to be desired though. Located next to the pier at Goleta Beach, this is a beautiful location. Was there for sunset and it was lovely. The pier is just outside, so take the time to walk down it and see the view. The food was amazing. Tried the following and loved it all: oysters, burrata, crudite, sourdough with butter, and scallops. Some of the people with me got the short tub, salmon, and branzino as well. All of them loved their meals. The service was quite inattentive though. Left menus all over, didn't refill waters, etc. so don't plan to move fast or efficiently and just enjoy the food.

Clam Chowder 4/5
Aundrea Z.

This restaurant is gorgeous. The inside and outside patio are so beautiful. This is definitely a classy brunch spot. The food was pretty good too! The brunch/breakfast items looked amazing! We got an order of Oysters, a burger, and the clam chowder soup. Oysters: taste very fresh, kind of small. Burger: solid burger, sauce was the peak. Clam Chowder: good, more water than i'd prefer but it did NOT lack in flavor whatsoever. Service was good too! The establishment reached out to me as well to make sure we enjoyed our experience which I greatly appreciated! Lovely place, highly recommended.

Fantastic Fresh Sour dough
Michael R.

The long awaited rebuild on Goleta Beach! The Elwood is both casual yet sophisticated! Exquisite food, great ambiance and a killer location! Sunset was incredible! The special find was the Cha Su Pork shank! oooh so delicious! A great place for a summery happy hour or an elegant dining experience! A must! Our service was also EXCELLENT!

Fish tacos and steak frites
Emeline L.

Gorgeous restaurant, gorgeous view, yummy expensive drinks, and that's all you're paying for. Service was awful. Our first dish took almost an hour to come out and it wasn't even that busy. A party of 10 sat after us and received their food before we even got our appetizers. Presentation was pretty but the food was incredibly bland. We ordered the Bad Bunny, expensive $19 cocktail for a shot of Mezcal. Potent carrot flavor, some might not enjoy. For apps, the clam chowder has a big potato in the middle with very little substance and was not very creamy. The bread is probably the only good thing about the meal because how can you mess up bread and butter? To close it off, the entrees really hit the nail on the coffin. The fish tacos and the steak frites had no seasoning. Was the dark sauce on the steak frites for show? Super disappointing to pay for a whole lot of nothing. God, this place makes LA street tacos deserve Michelin stars.

Jennifer H.

Being Gaucho alumni from back in the 90s, we were excited to revisit one of our favorite places that had been revitalized after a big storm some time ago. The Elwood did not disappoint. We didn't have a reservation, but we were early enough to get a beautiful table on the outside patio and enjoy the sunset. The service was wonderful with multiple people attending to our table. The food was outstanding and it was a delight to enjoy new takes on typical dishes. I highly recommend you visit The Elwood.

Bathroom
Evelyn C.

What a nice calm brunch place. No loud music, the views amazing! The food was actually very delicious, it was a group of 6 of us so we tried each others food. The chilaquiles was the start of the show (we ordered them with the green sauce instead) the burger was also amazing (we added an extra patty) the cinnamon roll was enough for the whole table! The service was great! They were quick to bring the food and anything extra we needed. The place was beautiful, we gave it a 4 star only because one of the dishes had a hair in it & we kept asking for water which I feel the waters need to be getting refilled constantly specially if the table keeps asking for it.

High Fashion (Old Fashion)
Rebecca G.

What a lovely surprise finding out the old Beach House Restaurant has re-opened (now The Ellwood) and more bougie with the same incredible atmosphere and views being right on the beach! Plenty of parking and seating especially on the patio! We came on a a Saturday during happy hour (3pm-5pm) which offers a very limited food menu and a decent selection of slightly discounted drinks. Wish they offered more to choose from to eat during happy hour? We asked our server but he said not until 5pm I would have given 5 stars but I just couldn't because we had some small issues with our food/service. Our server was a nice young man (*young) a little "flighty". Very nice and gave some excellent drink suggestions but wasn't as attentive as he could've been. A food runner brought out our short rib appetizer WITH SESAME SEEDS!! And my husband cannot have them and told our server and we sat there waiting forever for him to come our way to check on us so we could have it corrected. I finally saw him from a distance and made eye contact-he was truly miffed as he positively told them not to put sesame seeds on the order. Took a while for the corrected order to come... Also we wanted to order more appetizers and our server was very slow to come around and check on us. Everything was so good! The short ribs were a little over cooked but tasty! The oysters were amazing! The shrimp cocktail was also delicious and then we shared an order of clam chowder which was tasty but different! A food runner brought out the bowl with scalloped potatoes at the bottom and then poured from a small pitcher, the chowder over it. Again very different... The chowder was kind of watery off white w/a yellow hue. Not creamy white like most clam chowders. But tasty! All in all everything was delicious and we enjoyed just chilling and taking in the ocean view from our table right overlooking the beach! Strangely, our server never came to see if we wanted to order anything else - assumed we were done and brought us our check? We even said "oh are we done? Guess so!" Made a joke out of it and then he scrambled off. Highly recommend dining here and I look forward to coming back for dinner! Suggestion, for your younger inexperienced server...? A little more training would be wise! Keeping your head in the game, sharp and attentive at all times *KEY!

Branzino up close and personal!
amanda o.

I had the most wonderful time last night celebrating my birthday! From the moment we entered we were greeted right away and seated on the patio with a great view of the ocean. Our reservation was 5pm so they weren't too busy. The timing of the pouring of the water, taking our order, bring out each of our dishes was really perfect. My water glass got refilled with me not even noticing it! So service was spot on. Everyone was attentive enough without being distracting. Each dish was presented beautifully and was flavorful and tasty! No salt needed. See pics. We will definitely be going back!

Clam chowder
Robert C.

A slice of heaven in Goleta Cocktail was great Food was amazing Sitting on the patio is a must to get the amazing view of the ocean Service was outstanding!

Dry Aged Ribeye
S B.

Have visited multiple times and have had wonderful meals each time! The clam chowder is the best! Not a huge fan of dry aged steak but tried the dry aged ribeye this time and was pleasantly surprised. The ocean views never disappoint! Reservations are recommended!

Braised Beef Short Rib
Areial R.

Scrumptious! We dined here last night to celebrate a friend's birthday, and everyone loved their cocktails and meals. I had the braised beef short rib and the El Jefe Espresso Martini both were excellent. Our server, Mila, was fantastic and even took a few group photos for us.

Chinese Chicken Salad
Brian H.

Stopped here for lunch on vacation near the Santa Barbara airport. BEAUTIFUL views by the ocean and you're greeted by a sign saying you agree to being filmed by entering the restaurant though I never saw any indication of that. :) I ordered the club sandwich which was quite good highlighted by the fresh sourdough bread. My cocktail, Coastal Caviar, had a very overpowering passionfruit flavor but the foam texture was amazing and one of the prettiest drinks you'll ever see. My fam enjoyed their meals as well which I didn't get to try because my baby had a reaction to the tomato soup (cashew cream) - whoops we're still figuring out her food allergies. Recommend checking it out!

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Page 1 of 7

Ask the Community - The Ellwood

Are dogs allowed?

Yes! Very friendly

Do you have a Happy hour??If so where can I find a menu

it's between 3 and 5 PM. They're offering salads, soups, Hamachi Crudo chips and dip, wings , and other items ! All well cocktails $10 all beers 7

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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Oh boy the amount of times I have been inebriated here. Birthday parties, coming home celebrations,…read morecheeky post-work cocktails that accidentally turn into two in the mornings; New Years Eves, Potlucks, Aloha Sundays, Halloweens and everything in between. This is a great bar and there's just no way around that. The drinks are tough, the vibes are immaculate, the bartenders have teeth and the regulars are absolutely bananas. I love it here. It's probably the only bar you can roll into by yourself as a woman and feel comfortable. As if things couldn't get any better, there's a treasure of a human in there who spins vinyl on Friday nights (maybe Saturdays also, but don't quote me) and you really shouldn't miss that experience. Thank you Imperial and staff for your phenomenal service. You've truly cultivated something wonderful.

What an amazing hidden gem in Goleta!…read more While visiting the town, we were looking for a lounge walking distance from our hotel. We found this cool spot via yelp. A for atmosphere. You are transformed into a tiki/tropical/ vintage/bohemian not sure what to call it atmosphere. Super mellow and chill. We sat at a corner couch across from the bar. Comfy and relaxing, and dim lighting. Drink menu was diverse. Great selection. From cocktails to all types of alcohol. With an average price range of $15. Bartender knew his craft. All drinks ordered were great! C for service. The service dept needs some help, and I get it, with one person serving 15+ people. It is impossible to provide a5 star service. Initially service was great with a smile when we first arrived @ 6 pm. But soon after the bar became super busy. The wait was 20-30 minutes for an order. It was time to leave. We asked for our check and it came non-itemized. If it was 2 or 4 drinks that would be fine, but we were party of 3 with over 10 drinks. Then we had to wait again after asking for an itemized check. Waiter stated they need to hand write as their "machine" was not working. That took more time than needed. Ahhhhhh.... Ah well.. you can't get it all. Hence the 3.5 stars. I recommend, to sit at the bar and maybe pay cash to avoid hurdles I experienced.

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Gracie

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We went for brunch and I had fish tacos and they were very good…read more $21 for 3. My two dining companions had eggs Benedict with potatoes; they both commented how much meat was on the Benedict. Why are the five stars? Anyone who reads my reviews knows, I hate being offended by prices. The pricing was in line with the experience. It was a nice restaurant experience. The outside patio is a beautiful setting on the harbor. The service wasn't overbearing. We were able to visit and have a lovely ladies birthday brunch.

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CAYA Restaurant - WINE WEEK RETURNS MAY 8 - 14!

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The Ellwood - breakfast_brunch - Updated May 2026

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