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Blackbird, Santa Barbara, CA
Award-winning

Blackbird

3.8
3.8
178 Reviews
$31 to $50
Californian

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2 people
19:00
Booked 4 times today

About this restaurant

  • Fancy
  • Great for creative cocktails
  • Good for special occasions
Blackbird offers an inventive take on dishes, highlighting hyper-local and hyper-seasonal offerings. Leaning into the locality and freshness of the fare continues to be a focus of the restaurant’s story. In 2025, we will focus on redefining and developing the personality of Blackbird, including highlighting the talent to create the semblance of a relationship for locals looking for somewhere to go. A revamped cocktail menu will aim to drive additional local interest and traffic into the spaces. We continue to strive to position Blackbird as a favorite in town, and to that end are finding new ways to activate the venues each night and draw both locals and hotel guests in.

Complimentary hotel valet parking with validation.

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Award-winning
    1. MICHELIN Plate 2022
  • Phone number
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Bar / Lounge / Bottle Service, Lounge
  • Hours of Operation
    Tue–Sat 17:00–22:00
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Parking details
    Hotel Parking
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Travis Watson

What 178 people are saying

Blackbird reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

3.8
3.8 based on recent ratings
  • 3.9Food
  • 3.9Service
  • 3.9Ambience
  • 3.5Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • California Central Coast

    Lively

  • Santa Barbara

    Romantic

  • Santa Barbara

    Good for special occasions

  • Santa Barbara

    Lively

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Blackbird in Santa Barbara delivers a vibrant dining experience with "amazing talent" from the chef and "attentive" service from staff like Maddie and Axel. Highlights include beautifully presented dishes such as mushroom risotto and ceviche, complemented by a "wonderful and delicious" menu. The restaurant's modern decor and outstanding cocktails round out its appeal. Despite occasional service challenges, Blackbird remains a popular choice for those seeking inventive cuisine in a stylish setting.

178 Reviews
  1. Garth VIP

    Central Coast11 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent food and service. We’re locals, and will be back.

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  2. Mike

    Orange County1 review

    1.0

    Dined on 15 February 2025

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 3
    We had a terrible experience here. Blackbird’s Valentine’s Day prix fixe dinner special was an extremely overpriced scam that seemed like a joke on the customers ($150 per person). The first part of the meal was a single potato chip with a little sour cream on top with fake caviar. The second part of meal was a half cup of lukewarm warm, bland pea soup. Third part of meal was a cup of basic fettuccine with tomato sauce—literally that was it—it was terrible and made no sense. It was like something you would make on the fly for a toddler. The main course, which took almost two hours to get to, was three small scallops and some corn out of a can. Please save your time and wallet and never come here.

    1 person found this helpful

  3. John

    San Francisco1 review

    4.0

    Dined on 15 February 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    The wagu steak had an odd taste. The cherry martini was the best I ever had.

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  4. Jennifer VIP

    San Francisco17 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 8 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Loved the cocktail menu. The food was so good. The risotto was so flavorful. Enjoyed the ambiance and the staff was very kind

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  5. Dawn VIP

    Sacramento1 review

    5.0

    Dined on 5 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The food was absolutely immaculate & and the decor on point 

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  6. Sam

    Chicago1 review

    5.0

    Dined on 31 January 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Everything we ordered was delicious. Great cocktails. Great for a higher end but still casual evening.
    BlackbirdResponded on 5 February 2025
    Thanks, Sam! So happy to hear you enjoyed the food and cocktails. Our team works hard to create a memorable experience, and it’s great to know you had a fantastic evening with us. We can’t wait to welcome you back soon!

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  7. Anjali

    New York City4 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 19 January 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Fun experience, good food, great service, nice vibes
    BlackbirdResponded on 5 February 2025
    Thanks, Anjali! We're thrilled to hear you had a fun experience with our food and service. Your support means a lot to us, and we can't wait to welcome you back for more great vibes!

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  8. Barbara

    Orange County85 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on 2 January 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    We have enjoyed Blackbird in the past. The menu selection is minimal and needs more options. Few appetizers and the entre I wanted to order was no longer available.Our waiter made the evening enjoyable though. He was excellent and very friendly.
    BlackbirdResponded on 4 January 2025
    Barbara, thank you for your feedback! We're glad to hear you enjoyed your experience with our waiter. We appreciate your input on the menu and are continuously working to enhance our offerings. Your insights are invaluable as we strive to improve. We hope to welcome you back soon! All the best, Kiarra Beard - General Manager

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  9. David Bridges

    San Francisco20 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on 1 January 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 2
    Food and service were good - ambiance was not great due to doors being left open on a cold evening.
    BlackbirdResponded on 4 January 2025
    Thanks for your feedback, David! We're glad you enjoyed the food and service. We appreciate your input about the ambiance and will work on improving it to ensure a cozier atmosphere in the future. Hope to see you again soon! All the best, Kiarra Beard- General Manager

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  10. Madeleine VIP

    Washington DC1 review

    1.0

    Dined on 1 January 2025

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 2
    Our experience on New Year's Eve was quite disappointing. We were seated 30 minutes after our reservation. The server was pleasant but clearly overwhelmed. We placed our order from the pre-fixe menu. The first and third courses were very good and really saved the entire experience. My boyfriend and I both ordered the Wagyu filet. His came out medium / medium rare. Mine came out so well done that it was almost inedible. I told our server and he said that several people had the same issue all night. He told me he would "take care of it" on our bill. Our bill came and nothing was taken care of and he did not mention anything other than gratuity was already includerd. We understood that NYE is a busy night, but with an expensive pre-fixe menu we expected better service and higher quality food.
    BlackbirdResponded on 4 January 2025
    Madeleine, we’re truly sorry to hear about your New Year's Eve experience. We strive for excellence, and it’s disappointing to learn we fell short. Your feedback on the service and food quality is invaluable, and we’ll address this with our team to ensure improvements moving forward. Thank you for sharing. All the best, Kiarra Beard - General Manager

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FAQs

Blackbird is rated 3.8 stars by 178 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking

2 people
19:00
Booked 4 times today
Google Map for Blackbird

36 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Award-winning
    1. MICHELIN Plate 2022
  • Phone number
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Bar / Lounge / Bottle Service, Lounge
  • Hours of Operation
    Tue–Sat 17:00–22:00
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Parking details
    Hotel Parking
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Travis Watson
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Impressum
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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