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The Palace Grill

4.3 (1.8k reviews)
Closed • 5:00 pm - 9:30 PM
Updated 1 month ago

Order The Palace Grill Takeout or Delivery

The Palace Grill Photos

THE PALACE GRILL ATMOSPHERE

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

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Recommended Reviews - The Palace Grill

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Birthday dessert
Jeserine G.

This restaurant exceeded my expectations, from the food (No notes!!!), drinks (strong but enjoyable), service, entertainment and ambiance -- everything was a 10/10. My favorite part was the welcoming hospitality and their surprise song, making the entire experience dining there memorable and special. My favorite was the jambalaya, which tasted just like it would in NOLA. Their palace pasta and crawfish pasta were also delicious. You can't skip out on the bread pudding. If you celebrate a birthday here, they go out of their way to make celebrants feel seen. Definitely give this restaurant a try!

Signage from the side..
Shushanik P.

Right after we checked into our hotel, we were looking online for a good place to dine. My son found this restaurant and it was 10 minutes away from our hotel. We were mostly in the mood for some good seafood with affordable prices. This Palace Grill restaurant is Creole/Louisiana cuisine. Walked in on the 6th of this month close to 6pm and was greeted by Angela (the host). She seated us at the corner and Brandon B came to take our order. We ordered 3 items from their menu to share: -Bayou Greens Salad that came with pecans, tomatoes, red bell peppers and creole vinaigrette. -Fried CrawFish Tails - For the main entrée we got Jumbo Grilled Shrimp with sautéed veggies, mashed potatoes, artichoke & mushroom rice pilaf. The bread basket had 2 different types of bread and they were: Jalapeño Cornbread & Banana Walnut with creamy butter. Thankfully it was complimentary!! Both breads were to die for. They were soft, warm and just delicious. The food was also pipping hot, fresh, delicious and came out pretty quick. Didn't get drinks nor any dessert. Our server checked on us about 3 times and everything was SPOT ON!! Ambiance gave me the Mardi Gras vibe and it was beautifully curated with nice lights, yet dim and vibrant colors, beautiful artwork all around and most importantly the place was clean. I would love to visit this place next time I go to Santa Barbara. It has a lot of entrées to choose from. It has no parking and was a challenge to find a spot on the street. Clean gender neutral restroom and that's about it for now.. Thank you all!!

Gumbo Ya Ya oysters and Pasta Pontalba
Shawn B.

Last night was the first time in many years that I've eaten here. 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 !!

Bread Pudding Soufflé (order early, takes 20 mins)
Janelle L.

It's been a while since I've been here. I used to really love this place. The food isn't bad by any means, it's just not as tasty as it used to be or as I remember it. It's like they threw out the old pots that used to give flavor beyond any seasoning they shook in. The menu is much smaller. The food presentation is better, the plates are definitely more cleaned up and picture ready. Previously, the food used to all run together. We ordered my all time favorite all, the Cajun popcorn. The recipe is definitely different, the breading is fluffier and softer. Personally, not a fan, I prefer it a little crunchier to my liking. The redfish special was good, make sure to get it with the Pontchartrain sauce, it MAKES the dish. The lamb was good, prepared medium rare perfectly! The bread pudding soufflé was excellent. I'd come back, the food is good, just not as great as I remember it. Street parking is your best bet, but you can drive around the corner and find a public parking lot nearby.

Janice C.

Nowadays, there are 3 main qualities I look for in a restaurants when dining out with family. Food quality, family friendly and service. The palace checked all the boxes. Reasonable prices, well seasoned dishes and their bread/ muffins are delicious.

Blackened Redfish
John A.

On a recent visit to SB, I wanted to try something different than the usual standouts and The Palace Grill was recommended - for good reason! Upon approaching the restaurant, I could tell it was going to be a good and authentic experience by the live Zydeco musicians playing outside. The host was very welcoming and showed us to a table in one of the two somewhat separate rooms in the restaurant. From appetizers through dessert, every single dish (Cajun popcorn, gumbo, blackened redfish and salmon, bread pudding soufflé and key lime pie) was outstanding and authentic. The highlight of highlights was the blackened redfish (aka drum) that was apparently flown in from New Orleans - a must for its delicate but firm texture and mild, somewhat sweet flavor. Everything was so good that only remembered to take one photo (the redfish, of course). Service was attentive yet unobtrusive and reminiscent of the famous hospitality in the Big Easy. Now I have another excellent SB establishment to add to the rotation.

Redfish dish
Brandy G.

I quite literally have no idea why this place doesn't have the highest rating I have ever seen. It should be rated 5 stars, nothing less. The reviews said it was dog friendly but since the patio seating wasn't set up, they didn't let them in sadly. It's okay though, we came back without them and wow are we so happy we did! We celebrated our 6 year anniversary here and it was an absolutely perfect experience! We ordered the coconut shrimp and soft shell crab as an appetizer. Then I ordered the jambalaya and my fiancé ordered the redfish dish. Every single thing we ate was 10/10!! We also ended with their famous bread pudding and it was exceptional! Our server Star was so very nice and all the staff were friendly and helpful. The restaurant is super cute and looks like something you would find in the French Quarters of New Orleans.

Brad J.

Wow. We've been coming to the Palace Grill once or twice a year for over 30 years. Never had a bad meal, never had a bad experience. .....last week was no exception. The food was on point. The customer service was fantastic. Everything was delicious. And they still sing the song and do the glass click. I think it's on every hour. I know they are under new ownership within the last year or so .... it was very sad to hear Errol, the long manager had passed shortly after retiring. But everything runs as it should and you will notice no changes whatsoever. Everything on the menu is delicious, every drink on the menu is delicious. Every dessert on the menu is delicious. What more can I say. Every time we get up to Santa Barbara from Rancho Mirage we make sure to stop at least once or twice at the Palace Grill.

Oysters
Marina M.

Oh my god this food was AMAZING!!! Everything was so fresh and hot. I loved the oysters!! Instead was decorated very cutely for the Christmas time. Our server was also so kind and knowledgeable about the menu. All the dishes we ordered were so good I can't even tell you what was better than the other. 10/10 highly recommend if you're in the area. Oh and there was a magician!

Jambalaya Sauce Piquante Plate
Gustavo E.

I was looking for something to eat before heading to the Hollywood Bowl for a show but wasn't too sure what to have. There are a large amount of Mexican restaurants in Santa Barbara, but I feel like I can get that in LA pretty easily lol. The Palace stood out to me because of its emphasis on Cajun dishes. I remembered that it had been a long time since I'd had jambalaya so I decided to give this place a try and I liked it alot. I showed up exactly at 5, right when they opened, so they were able to seat me right away. The server, Brandon, was really cool and recommended a few of their best dishes. I ended up ordering the Piquante as he said it was one of the dishes most rife with flavor. Needless to say, he was right. The jambalaya piquante was delicious. Served on a bed of dirty rice with an assortment of meats like chicken, shrimp and sausage, I was really impressed by what I ordered. I tend to have jambalaya in pasta form but this was just as good. Also, the little bread basket of mini muffins they give you before the entree is awesome. I can't say I've seen that before at any other restaurant haha. I especially liked the jalapeño muffin and the rosemary one too. One other thing that I enjoyed about this place was the aesthetic. They play a lot of jazz and music relevant to the New Orleans/ Mardi Gras setting, and the decorations and paintings they have up are cool to look at.

Complimentary Muffins
Vivian T.

Got the Palace experience when we came to dine in before a night out. We were greeted by the friendliest staff and were delivered a warm basket of muffins to the table. They were delicious with butter! Louisiana style dishes are served here, and our waitress recommended the Crawfish Pasta. I saw pictures of the Cajun Popcorn Crawfish and it looked delicious! Upon ordering it and having a few, I was expecting them to be more crunchy, so if you are also expecting that too before ordering consider this! Their portions were fair to split a pasta between two and I would have loved to try more items, but the two items we got were plentiful in crawfish and we were crazy full by the end. Overall, this is a really good find for authentic Louisiana food!

Cajun martini
Elena J.

What a fun little spot in Santa Barbara! Unexpected creole food that makes you feel like you're in New Orleans for a brief moment. We ordered a handful of things on the menu but the highlights were definitely the crawfish pasta which had so much flavor and was seasoned just right! And another highlight was the bread pudding soufflé (make sure to order it at the beginning of dinner bc it takes 30 min to make). I also got the Cajun martini with pickled cherry peppers and it was delicious if you like those kinds of flavors. Service was great except they forgot about us at the end when we wanted to pay. Overall I'd go back in a heartbeat!

Dark Chocolate SoufflE

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The Palace Grill Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - The Palace Grill

Thought you had closed down?

Closed? I was just there for dinner.

What is your corkage fee?

Its $20

Can menu items be made gluten free?

Yes, most items can be made gluten free, including the pastas which we can serve with vegetables. Feel free to call the restaurant for more details on specific dishes. We open at 5pm today.

Are you still serving your delicious Chicken Marsala?

Hey Chris, No we do not serve chicken marsala. We serve authentic Louisiana recipes like Jambalaya, Crawfish Etouffée, Soft Shelled Crab, and Blackened Filet Mignon, as well as many other specialties that include Pastas, Salads, Gluten-Free dishes… 

Do they take reservations?

Yes, you can call the restaurant or reserve on the website.

Where is parking?

There is a city lot across the street, behind Cost Plus World Market. Easiest entrance to the lot is off of Anacapa St.

What's the outdoor seating like during Covid?

We have a parklet out front with 22 seats total, and have recently created an outdoor courtyard out back...kind of a New Orleans courtyard with 100 year old exposed brick wall and newly constructed pergola, another 22 seats. Courtyard only open on… 

Are they no longer open for lunch? My husband and I drove up from Oxnard to celebrate our anniversary and there was no one in the restaurant. We called before hand and the message said they were open. We knocked but there was no one there.

We are open for lunch Friday thru Sunday. Monday thu Thursday dining room is available as free meeting space with an option for food from the kitchen.

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Amazing food and service! If you want a truly local small restaurant feeling that provides some of…read morethe best seafood made, this is the place!!!

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The Palace Grill - cajun - Updated October 2026

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