Diners' Choice: Innovative restaurants in Santa Barbara

OpenTable

Updated 05 January 2025

Looking for the best restaurants that are fit for foodies in Santa Barbara? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyses nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favourite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you book, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

The Black Sheep SB Brasserie

4.8

4.8 (724)

$31 to $50

Contemporary French / American

Santa Barbara

About the restaurant

A locally owned and operated, modern-classic California-French Pub. We serve elevated, eclectic, locally sourced Cuisine paired with incredible wines and craft beer. We are NOW OPEN for SUNDAY BRUNCH 10am-1:30pm. Located in Old Town Santa Barbara on 18 East Cota Street, the building boasts a rich history of French restaurants and saloons dating back over a century.

We are open for Dinner Wed-Sun from 5PM. We are known for our incredible family style tasting menu’s where multiple dishes are presented to your table for each course.

Top review

LeslieVIP

Dined 2 days ago

Outrageously great meal, with unexpected but fantastic flavor combinations. Plentiful food beautifully presented. Will return with more foodie friends for Sunday Supper, the best value in town at $55 for 4-course meal, which when served to 2 people ends up being 9 fabulous dishes. Starter champagne cocktail a nice touch. Big thanks to server Logan who, despite many food preferences that we stated, communicated with the kitchen & totally exceeded our expectations. Can't wait for the cocktail bar to open!

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Experience

"Sunday Supper" Chef's Choice 4 courses

Experience

“Apero” Early Dinner Prix Fix

Experience

Endless Moules Frites every Wednesday

Barbareño

4.8

4.8 (1895)

$31 to $50

Californian

Santa Barbara

About the restaurant

At Barbareño we seek to help further shape and define Central Coast cuisine. We take our inspiration from traditions and specialties of our area, delicacies unique to our region, and the many outstanding purveyors with whom we are so fortunate to work. In all of our efforts, we hope to capture the essence of a particular place or local flavor, embracing the nuances that make our food and drink unique to our home.

Top review

Dawnielle

Dined today

Incredible food. Impeccable service. Wonderful vibe and wines paired perfectly

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4.8

4.8 (678)

$31 to $50

Asian

Santa Barbara

About the restaurant

Modern Asian American Restaurant from Chefs Peter Lee & Felicia Medina.

"Consider the bao. Chinese in origin, it’s most easily described as a steamed bun filled with something savory. Yet, like the American concept of a sandwich, the bao exploded into a flexible format of untold bounds — served at any meal, filled with you-name-it, completely closed or wide open, with endless regional variants from across Asia and far beyond." - Matt Kettmann (SB Independent)

1 Block From State Street, Easy Parking, Public Lot Nearby, Free 75 Minute Parking, Walking Distance, El Pueblo Viejo Landmark District, Superior Court, Spanish Colonial Revival Courthouse, Santa Barbara Museum Of Art, Courthouse Gardens, Bell Tower, Bao, Food, Restaurant, Asian, American, New, Modern, Fried, Chicken, Octopus, Vegan, Vegetarian, Paelo, Friendly, Dog Friendly, Outdoor Patio, Heaters, Warm, Inviting, Hospitable, Modern Design

Top review

ErynVIP

Dined on 29 Dec 2024

Incredibly delicious food, beautiful presentation and excellent service. Highly recommended!

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4.8

4.8 (303)

$31 to $50

European

Santa Barbara

About the restaurant

Gala exudes a European meets Santa Barbara charm, where you feel like you’re transported to a beautiful bistro in the Mediterranean. Enjoy shared tapas, farmer's market favorites, pasta and risotto, fresh oysters and the best steak with bone marrow butter & chimichurri. Cozy up for our farm to table craft cocktails, a Pisco sour or martini and a full meal with friends. Curated wine list with local & Spanish wines. Right down the street from the Santa Barbara Courthouse enjoy an evening at Gala.

1 Block From State Street, Easy Parking, Public Lot Nearby, Free 75 Minute Parking, Walking Distance, El Pueblo Viejo Landmark District, Superior Court, Spanish Colonial Revival Courthouse, Santa Barbara Museum Of Art, Courthouse Gardens, Bell Tower, Farm to table, Farmer's market driven, Tapas, Seafood, Steak, Oysters, Happy Hour, Food, Cocktails, Wine, Restaurant, Vegetarian, Friendly, Dog Friendly, Outdoor Patio, Heaters, Warm, Inviting, Hospitable, Modern Design

Top review

MolllyVIP

Dined 3 days ago

Love Gala. Always treated well. Bronzino always a winner. A tad pricy… but it’s SB…. Fun & tasty cocktails. Service is A+ A tad loud.

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branzino a la plancha

Convivo

4.7

4.7 (2141)

$31 to $50

Italian

Santa Barbara

About the restaurant

Convivo is a Santa Barbara restaurant and bar with an Italian soul. Chef-Owner Peter McNee's food is best described as ‘Nomad Italian’. It strays from the standard or traditional Italian, sourcing inspiration from many other cultures’ cooking but its soul is thoroughly Italian. The ever-changing menu includes small plates, housemade pasta, wood-fired pizza, rotisserie chicken, fresh seafood and steaks served family-style. McNee’s all-star supplier network provides the freshest produce and local seafood the region is famous for.

Inspired by the bounty of the sea, the lush farms and abundant vineyards nearby and the cooking methods of Italy, Convivo is a festive gathering place for locals and visitors alike inside the newly-restored Santa Barbara Inn.

Top review

Albert

Dined 1 day ago

Sat outside and enjoyed the special vermillion fish. Very memorable meal with good service.

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The Bistro at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara

4.6

4.6 (536)

$50 and over

American

Santa Barbara

About the restaurant

Named “Top 100 Best Al Fresco Dining Restaurants in America” by OpenTable, The Bistro offers a casual and relaxed atmosphere to dine and enjoy sweeping views of the coastline. Local produce and sustainable seafood highlight an acclaimed menu of traditional bistro favorites, including brick oven flatbreads, seasonal salads and the signature Santa Barbara burger.

Please note that holiday reservations are only available for in-house guests. Room confirmation number is required to officially confirm your dining reservation during these times.

Marriott Bonvoy Members can earn points when staying with us. Please enroll here: https://www.joinmarriottbonvoy.com/uscanqr/s/EN/ch/sbarz

For parties with 6 guests or more a 26% service charge fee will be added to your final bill. For all guests there will be an 8.75% California State tax added to the final bill.

Top review

Ana Y

Dined 5 days ago

Amazing food! Our waiter German was the best!!!!!!

San Setto

4.5

4.5 (115)

$31 to $50

Sushi

Santa Barbara

About the restaurant

An intimate space featuring a contemporary Japanese menu highlighting fresh sushi, saké, craft cocktails, and occidental spirits.

Marriott Bonvoy Members can earn points when staying with us. Please enroll here: https://www.joinmarriottbonvoy.com/uscanqr/s/EN/ch/sbarz

For parties with 8 guests or more a 26% service charge fee will be added to your final bill. For all guests there will be an 8.75% California State tax added to the final bill.

Top review

CATHYVIP

Dined on 13 Dec 2024

This is a quiet, low lighting, lovely venue that has inside and outside seating with heaters. Such a great menu with great, unique options. We started with a miso soup that was very good. Transitioning to a vegetable roll that was personally brought to us by the chef that was so beautiful we almost didn’t eat it. Fresh and crisp and tasty. Grant was our server and he was fantastic. He recommended the A5 Wagyu dish that was delicious and the crudo dish was devine. This is a must for sushi fans. Thank You Grant for such a memorable evening.

Clark's Oyster Bar - Montecito

4.5

4.5 (43)

$31 to $50

Seafood

Montecito

About the restaurant

Clark’s Montecito is a stylish all-day restaurant celebrating coastal American classics spanning from New England to California. In addition to its flagship menu of oysters and raw bar, a signature burger, daily catch specials, lobster rolls, chowder and refreshing crudo, this California location features seasonal bounty from the Pacific Ocean. The wine list highlights California classics alongside French whites and reds primarily from Burgundy and the Loire. Clark’s signature martinis and cocktails are always available. A collaboration between Lambert McGuire Design and Santa Barbara-based architect Jeff Shelton, the space offers a seamless indoor-outdoor dining experience that marries Clark’s classic coastal design features with the more whimsical ceramic tile traditions of Portugal and Mexico and a Mediterranean-inspired design that pays homage to its coastal setting and historic Spanish Colonial Revival architecture.

Top review

Clarinda

Dined 2 days ago

Three of us ladies had our first meal at clarks oyster bar on coast Village Road. One of us had an omelette, the cheapest thing on the menu at $10. It was sort of dry and had no flavor. Another person had the oysters Rockefeller. Four medium small oysters stuffed with a pallid white sauce and spinach for $25, which includes the six dollar discount they gave for not getting the Uni that comes with this plate. The other person had a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich which had a generous amount of bacon. The best thing was the sourdough bread: a nice tough chewy crust and big holes in the doughy interior. The young staff was friendly and attentive. These three choices were unusual, so we’ll go back and hope for better luck ordering more of their specialties.

RH Firehouse Grill at RH Montecito

4.4

4.4 (38)

$50 and over

American

Montecito

About the restaurant

The RH Firehouse Grill is an indoor-outdoor restaurant located at RH Montecito, The Gallery at the Old Firehouse. Enjoy a menu of signature salads and classics from our hearth in our courtyard restaurant, which seamlessly extends into a beautifully landscaped garden. Dine beneath the warm glow of handwoven pendants amid heritage olive trees, birds of paradise, a grand fireplace and cascading limestone fountains.

Top review

Kara

Dined 3 days ago

Wonderful experience and great addiition to Montecito.

Bibi Ji

4.1

4.1 (326)

$31 to $50

Indian

Santa Barbara

About the restaurant

Modern Indian food featuring local produce and seafood paired with a robust low-intervention wine program curated by Alejandro Medina and James Beard Award winner Rajat Parr. Located directly across the street from the historic Granada Theatre in the heart of Santa Barbara's ARTS District. Join us in our lively, signature pastel pink dining room.

Michelin Guide Central Coast Selection 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Top review

Jane

Dined 3 days ago

Wonderful relaxed atmosphere and delicious food. Staff was welcoming and professional. Can't wait to return. Special night....thank you.

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Popular dish

Crispy Cauliflower

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