Santa Barbara Shellfish Company

Way over price. But you pay for the location.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 3

Nice location but this is about it. Greasy sad looking food which tasted like old frying fat. Totally overpriced. maybe they had a bad day otherwise I can’t understand the reviews.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 3

I paid over $40 for a single sea urchin — definitely pricey, but it was extremely fresh. It was still moving when they brought it out. The scallop underneath was a bit too salty for me and kind of covered the natural sweetness of the uni, but overall it was still really tasty.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

This place is located at the very end of the Santa Barbara Pier, and honestly, the atmosphere is amazing. When you sit on the patio, it truly feels like you’re in the middle of the ocean. There are fewer people around, the ocean breeze is everywhere, the air is cool and refreshing — it’s a very unique and beautiful experience. Atmosphere-wise, it’s a 10/10.

But the food… I honestly don’t understand what happened.

Usually, at restaurants like this — especially when you’re surrounded by seafood on all sides — you expect the dishes to taste incredibly fresh. That’s the whole point of going to a place literally located on a pier. We ordered the clam chowder, a seafood bread bowl, a fried calamari sandwich with onion rings, and drinks.

The clam chowder was actually really good. Creamy, flavorful, comforting — we were excited and thought the rest of the food would be just as great. And honestly, maybe it was a mistake that they brought the chowder first because it set our expectations high… and everything that came after was a complete disappointment.

The seafood bread bowl was basically a bowl of bread filled with sauce — a strong tomato sauce that completely overpowered everything inside. I could taste the bread. I could taste the sauce. But the seafood? Nothing. I could see the mussels, the scallops, the crab pieces, the clams — but they had zero flavor. Absolutely none. It felt like eating bread soaked in tomato sauce, with seafood that tasted like nothing at all.

The calamari sandwich was the same story. The fried coating was nice, the bread tasted like bread, but the calamari itself had no flavor whatsoever. Chewy like resin, absolutely no seafood taste. The onion rings were okay, but that didn’t save the dish.

It was so strange and honestly disappointing. We came there wanting to enjoy fresh, flavorful seafood — especially in a place located on the ocean — but we couldn’t find any actual seafood flavor in the dishes except for the clam chowder.

I wish the experience were different. I wish the clam chowder came last so we could leave with at least one good impression. But unfortunately, everything after it was bland, sauce-heavy, and missing the fresh taste you expect from a seafood restaurant on a pier.

Atmosphere? Wonderful.
Food (except the chowder)? Unfortunately, a big disappointment.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 4

Kumamoto oysters were awesome and the scallop uni bites were delicious. Also had the lobster bisque, oysters Rockefeller and the fried assorted seafood and we loved everything. We will def be back when we visit Santa Barbara again 👍

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Seafood was fresh and well cooked. The view was nice.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Santa Barbara Shellfish Company
We came to try sea urchins, but unfortunately, they didn’t have any — even though the waiter pointed out that three main dishes featuring uni were listed on their special menu!
We ordered oysters, crab cakes, and a Caesar salad with scallops, along with champagne. The food was terrible! The oysters were carelessly opened and full of shell fragments, the crab cake was overcooked and dry, and the salad was drenched in vinegar — the acidity completely ruined the flavor. The scallops were burnt!

They don’t even have proper wine or champagne glasses — they serve drinks in regular water cups! Six oysters, one crab cake, a salad, and a glass of Prosecco came to $120 — totally overpriced for such awful food and cheap tableware.

The service was also very slow because the servers spent more time chatting with guests than actually working.
I would not recommend this place to anyone

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 2

Was there yesterday.Crabcakes and coleslaw,onion-rings.I did not have an excellent meal like this for a while.When you sit outside the ocean is right there.Being able to drive on the pier is special.Will return.This was an awesome experience.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

🤮Broken promise and poor service
Waited 30 minutes after being told we were next and would get a good-view table. Because of staff miscommunication, the party after us was seated instead. I flagged it immediately, but the response was essentially “it’s done,” with no attempt to fix it or offer any compensation. Really disappointing experience.

Atmosphere: 1

Service: 1

Bummer that the server rushed us out, brought the check even though we planned to order more food. Middle of the day Sunday, spent about $150. Apparently not enough to matter.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 4

Service: 2

This place is the real deal. If you want fresh, locally-sourced Santa Barbara seafood in an idyllic setting, this is the spot! Incredible and friendly service. Beautiful ocean views from the patio. And absolutely delicious seafood! Shout out to our server Dominic for the hospitality, he was so kind and gracious and really made our experience. Everything was insanely delicious. Cannot recommend enough

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Excellent place to try out if you visiting s.b. food very good. I tried clam chowder, coconut shrimp and the loaded oyster with uni and caviar.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

For the price and the way it’s advertised, the quality did not match. The lobster bisque was overly salty and as the server took the bisque away he said “was it overly salty? Everyone is saying that today.” The scallops that came with the uni tasted odd. The rock crab was flavorless. The umbrellas didn’t open. The server gave a table near us 25% off for complaining about the food, but the rest of us paid full price for the same quality. I guess complaining gets you special treatment here.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 3

Ok so the lobster roll is pricey but worth it. it is full of lobster and not a bunch of filler stuff like celery and mayo. Really tasty. The clam chowder had a lot of clams and was super tasty also. Highly recommend.

The food was delicious, and the staff were so kind and friendly. They were also very sweet and accommodating toward kids — such a family-friendly place!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5