My buddies and I decided to stop in for an early dinner and had a great time hanging here (for hours!) The downstairs is currently being renovated but I peeked behind the curtain and can already tell what phenomenal restaurant this is going to be when it's finished! In the meantime, the upstairs dining area is open, clean and casual. The Baja fish tacos are on the brink of phenomenal. So light and tasty. But the real star of the show at The Harbor is the breathtaking view of the ocean. Holy Christmas! It's like eating on the deck of a luxury cruise ship. I simply CAN'T WAIT for the classy downstairs portion of the restaurant to open. Epitome of the perfect Date Night place.
Eric Curry
I’ll never forget bringing my family here when we they visited me in town. The service was your typical terrible Santa Barbara trash, and the food was pretty mediocre. What boiled my blood was that my mother forgot her Ray Bans on the table. She mentioned it to the waiter and hostess and they acted delusional. My mom was preparing to leave and even asked me to come back after and look for them after they left, when my mom remembered that we took a picture together as a family INSIDE OF THE RESTAURANT and she was wearing the sunglasses. Magically the sunglasses appeared. I’ll leave it at that.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Louie Kroll
So, you claim to have the "World Famous" fish and chips?What you actually served me was frozen fish sticks that probably came from Sysco or some other 50lb box supplier. What an embarrassment for you.On a related note - do you buy your "clam chowder" in five gallon buckets? It tastes like you might.World famous fish and chips are fresh battered cod in a proprietary batter with steak cut chips.You might have the location, but you sure don't have the food to back it up. Two thumbs down.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Michael O.
I was just there for lunch and could not have been more disappointed with the food. I ordered the cioppino, a dish I've had several different places and always enjoyed, and I couldn't believe how awful this cioppino was. The ingredients were above average in regards to the shrimp size, inclusion of a half lobster tail, and large pieces of crab leg, but they were all so unbelievably overcooked that it's almost incomprehensible. I didn't know it was even possible for them to be that tough as even my first attempt at cooking shrimp didn't approach this level of bad. That said, the view was magnificent, with pelicans roosting on a roof immediately adjacent and viewable from the dining area, but I must believe the owner is not paying the kitchen staff sufficient to retain those capable of cooking good food. My wife's fish tacos were bad as well. Even the sauce of my cioppino seemed to have no spices at all but was more of a tomato-cream liquid.
Emmy C.
This review is for the Thanksgiving feast only. We were originally going to go somewhere else but last minute decided to try this place. Before trying out the buffet, the front-end hostess made sure we were aware the price. I'm not into turkey, so this was a great buffet. They had a cold bar that had Raw oysters, clams, shrimp cocktail, dungeon is crab. The other side had charcoaled lobster tail, king crab legs, nuggets, fries, salad, fruits, traditional Thanksgiving stuff like mashed potatoes and gravy,and prime rib roast. They has something for everyone. The dessert included pumpkin pie, tres leche, chocolate cake, eclaires. They also had bottomless mimosa if you wanted to drink. The Lobster was delicious and have that nice charcoal flavor. They did have someone serving the lobster and limiting it to one lobster tail per plate. But you could always come back and get another lobster tail. I do like how they had a great variety of seafood and it was not super salty and bland like Miramar's Thanksgiving feast. If the harbor has the same amazing food for the next Thanksgiving feast, I will definitely be back!
Kahealani Cherland
We used to love coming here for a good lunch. The food was soggy and greasy. Shrimp tacos were not good. Shrimp rubbery. It's sad to say that the bedstead was the kid's meal grilled cheese. Very disappointed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Silvia C.
It was our first time here & our first time back in Santa Barbara in a while. We had ordered the chicken tenders & the Santa Barbara burger. Right when we got there we had asked if we can use an umbrella & the server had told us no, due to it being a hazard from the winds. We looked around & many other tables of people had umbrellas up, so we had to open them up ourselves. We then had ordered waters all around, as there was at least 25 of us. The girl came back with only 4 waters, not any more. We had to ask again for more waters & she came back with only a couple. She wasn't bringing them in trips, she'd come bring some & forget we had already asked for them. She was EXTREMELY confused anytime we asked for something. Everything we asked she seemed so unsure & she'd come back with something we either didn't ask for or just with nothing at all. The food was great, I loved the chicken tenders, they were probably the best I've had. For our burger, my husband ordered it with avocado, but when the food came out we were told they were out of avocado. But multiple people in our family had avocado somewhere in their meal, so we just weren't sure if they ran out when it came time to make his food or what. When we were done we were so shocked at the $70 bill for us 2. Two meals, & a can of beer, we've never paid that much before anywhere, just for the two of us! They even charged us for the avocado we didn't get on our burger, & when we asked to get a new check without the avocado on it, the girl seemed so bothered to help us, as if she didn't want to take it off. The food was good here, I didn't hate it, but service is just all over, & the prices of everything is insane.
Raegan N.
Stopped here on our way to Solvang for a bite and really enjoyed it. Was fun driving on the pier and the views from the restaurant are beautiful. We started with the clam chowder bread soup bowl and it was scrumptious. Then he had the calamari which was very good. Nice and crispy breading. I'm not used to eating it this way, but it was quite tasty. I had the fully loaded breakfast with hashbrowns, English muffin and eggs, and they gave me a huge stack of ham with it. Bloody Mary's were tasty as well. Nice, big piece of shrimp as a garnish. Lovely touch! Enrique was our server, and he was very accommodating and very speedy. Will definitely be back.
Chipper Clouser
We walked up place looked dead !!!Not the Harbor Restaurant, I remember !!!!! We were told by the host that no seating was available it was clearly empty..ThePlace is a shell of its former self .The Harbor Restaurant was a busy place inside and out !!!from people on the waiting list to the fast-paced valet parking !!Now the place has absolutely no energy !!!Hopefully, the energy turns around, and the place can get back on track .
Thanks for canceling Christmas dinner less than a week before Christmas. A day after you sent out the Christmas menu!! Obviously drama at your restaurant.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Hyunseok Gil
The restaurant had a friendly service and the staff was very welcoming. The steak was a bit tough, but the lobster mashed potatoes were delicious. The clams were a bit chewy, but they were flavorful and the sauce was amazing. The clam chowder was also very good. The restaurant is a bit dated inside and out, and it is a large restaurant. There is no view because we went after sunset.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steamed Manila Clams, New England Clam Chowder
Lesther L.
Nice place, nice view, food quality is terrible, it was the worse lobster roll, I have ever try it in my life, and the french fries were frose inside, also my guinnes pitcher was flat, definitely I won't came again tho,
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Lori B.
We came here on Boat Parade Saturday. We had a reservation but still waited in line for a half hour till it was our turn at the hostess stand. Hostess's are quite young and inexperienced. We were seated at a table with nothing but salt and pepper shakers. We waited for the waiter for an additional 15minutes. He took our drink order and 15 minutes later we got the drinks. Waiter took our order on their prefix menu, which we were not informed about when I made the reservation. The waiter came back after a few more minutes with a fork for each of us. It was then that I asked for a napkin at least. He came back with two napkins waving in the wind as he walked over. So rude, definitely no class whatsoever. After about another 20 minutes, we got clam chowder which was good! We also got some bread. Dinner of swordfish was ok... fish was good but the rice dry and most of the vegetables raw. Tiramisu had a strawberry purée poured on top, yuck! Idk what the heck happened but this was awful. And... we couldn't see the boat parade as promised. Terrible experience throughout! This restaurant needs better management.
Valerie Y.
Oof. Admittedly a busy night. Even so, our group of 5 patiently endured incredibly erratic service with ridiculous waits, amateur bartending, and prices way out of proportion to quality. Poor table placement despite reservation weeks in advance. Bathroom was a mess, with chemical spray bottle left on sink. Clam chowder was good. Prime rib flavorful. Baked potato was only a half, with scant toppings and served lukewarm at best. Vegetables were very disappointing (steamed onions and zucchini) and felt like an afterthought, as was the plating. So much fell through the cracks: We even had to ask another table for salt because it never came when requested from staff. The warm bread and soft butter were the highlight. Another in a disturbing American trend of restaurants with great views and all-around mediocrity.
My buddies and I decided to stop in for an early dinner and had a great time hanging here (for hours!) The downstairs is currently being renovated but I peeked behind the curtain and can already tell what phenomenal restaurant this is going to be when it's finished! In the meantime, the upstairs dining area is open, clean and casual. The Baja fish tacos are on the brink of phenomenal. So light and tasty. But the real star of the show at The Harbor is the breathtaking view of the ocean. Holy Christmas! It's like eating on the deck of a luxury cruise ship. I simply CAN'T WAIT for the classy downstairs portion of the restaurant to open. Epitome of the perfect Date Night place.
I’ll never forget bringing my family here when we they visited me in town. The service was your typical terrible Santa Barbara trash, and the food was pretty mediocre. What boiled my blood was that my mother forgot her Ray Bans on the table. She mentioned it to the waiter and hostess and they acted delusional. My mom was preparing to leave and even asked me to come back after and look for them after they left, when my mom remembered that we took a picture together as a family INSIDE OF THE RESTAURANT and she was wearing the sunglasses. Magically the sunglasses appeared. I’ll leave it at that.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
So, you claim to have the "World Famous" fish and chips?What you actually served me was frozen fish sticks that probably came from Sysco or some other 50lb box supplier. What an embarrassment for you.On a related note - do you buy your "clam chowder" in five gallon buckets? It tastes like you might.World famous fish and chips are fresh battered cod in a proprietary batter with steak cut chips.You might have the location, but you sure don't have the food to back it up. Two thumbs down.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
I was just there for lunch and could not have been more disappointed with the food. I ordered the cioppino, a dish I've had several different places and always enjoyed, and I couldn't believe how awful this cioppino was. The ingredients were above average in regards to the shrimp size, inclusion of a half lobster tail, and large pieces of crab leg, but they were all so unbelievably overcooked that it's almost incomprehensible. I didn't know it was even possible for them to be that tough as even my first attempt at cooking shrimp didn't approach this level of bad. That said, the view was magnificent, with pelicans roosting on a roof immediately adjacent and viewable from the dining area, but I must believe the owner is not paying the kitchen staff sufficient to retain those capable of cooking good food. My wife's fish tacos were bad as well. Even the sauce of my cioppino seemed to have no spices at all but was more of a tomato-cream liquid.
This review is for the Thanksgiving feast only. We were originally going to go somewhere else but last minute decided to try this place. Before trying out the buffet, the front-end hostess made sure we were aware the price. I'm not into turkey, so this was a great buffet. They had a cold bar that had Raw oysters, clams, shrimp cocktail, dungeon is crab. The other side had charcoaled lobster tail, king crab legs, nuggets, fries, salad, fruits, traditional Thanksgiving stuff like mashed potatoes and gravy,and prime rib roast. They has something for everyone. The dessert included pumpkin pie, tres leche, chocolate cake, eclaires. They also had bottomless mimosa if you wanted to drink. The Lobster was delicious and have that nice charcoal flavor. They did have someone serving the lobster and limiting it to one lobster tail per plate. But you could always come back and get another lobster tail. I do like how they had a great variety of seafood and it was not super salty and bland like Miramar's Thanksgiving feast. If the harbor has the same amazing food for the next Thanksgiving feast, I will definitely be back!
We used to love coming here for a good lunch. The food was soggy and greasy. Shrimp tacos were not good. Shrimp rubbery. It's sad to say that the bedstead was the kid's meal grilled cheese. Very disappointed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
It was our first time here & our first time back in Santa Barbara in a while. We had ordered the chicken tenders & the Santa Barbara burger. Right when we got there we had asked if we can use an umbrella & the server had told us no, due to it being a hazard from the winds. We looked around & many other tables of people had umbrellas up, so we had to open them up ourselves. We then had ordered waters all around, as there was at least 25 of us. The girl came back with only 4 waters, not any more. We had to ask again for more waters & she came back with only a couple. She wasn't bringing them in trips, she'd come bring some & forget we had already asked for them. She was EXTREMELY confused anytime we asked for something. Everything we asked she seemed so unsure & she'd come back with something we either didn't ask for or just with nothing at all. The food was great, I loved the chicken tenders, they were probably the best I've had. For our burger, my husband ordered it with avocado, but when the food came out we were told they were out of avocado. But multiple people in our family had avocado somewhere in their meal, so we just weren't sure if they ran out when it came time to make his food or what. When we were done we were so shocked at the $70 bill for us 2. Two meals, & a can of beer, we've never paid that much before anywhere, just for the two of us! They even charged us for the avocado we didn't get on our burger, & when we asked to get a new check without the avocado on it, the girl seemed so bothered to help us, as if she didn't want to take it off. The food was good here, I didn't hate it, but service is just all over, & the prices of everything is insane.
Stopped here on our way to Solvang for a bite and really enjoyed it. Was fun driving on the pier and the views from the restaurant are beautiful. We started with the clam chowder bread soup bowl and it was scrumptious. Then he had the calamari which was very good. Nice and crispy breading. I'm not used to eating it this way, but it was quite tasty. I had the fully loaded breakfast with hashbrowns, English muffin and eggs, and they gave me a huge stack of ham with it. Bloody Mary's were tasty as well. Nice, big piece of shrimp as a garnish. Lovely touch! Enrique was our server, and he was very accommodating and very speedy. Will definitely be back.
We walked up place looked dead !!!Not the Harbor Restaurant, I remember !!!!! We were told by the host that no seating was available it was clearly empty..ThePlace is a shell of its former self .The Harbor Restaurant was a busy place inside and out !!!from people on the waiting list to the fast-paced valet parking !!Now the place has absolutely no energy !!!Hopefully, the energy turns around, and the place can get back on track .
They just "laid off" everyone
Restaurantji Recommends
Thanks for canceling Christmas dinner less than a week before Christmas. A day after you sent out the Christmas menu!! Obviously drama at your restaurant.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
The restaurant had a friendly service and the staff was very welcoming. The steak was a bit tough, but the lobster mashed potatoes were delicious. The clams were a bit chewy, but they were flavorful and the sauce was amazing. The clam chowder was also very good. The restaurant is a bit dated inside and out, and it is a large restaurant. There is no view because we went after sunset.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steamed Manila Clams, New England Clam Chowder
Nice place, nice view, food quality is terrible, it was the worse lobster roll, I have ever try it in my life, and the french fries were frose inside, also my guinnes pitcher was flat, definitely I won't came again tho,
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
We came here on Boat Parade Saturday. We had a reservation but still waited in line for a half hour till it was our turn at the hostess stand. Hostess's are quite young and inexperienced. We were seated at a table with nothing but salt and pepper shakers. We waited for the waiter for an additional 15minutes. He took our drink order and 15 minutes later we got the drinks. Waiter took our order on their prefix menu, which we were not informed about when I made the reservation. The waiter came back after a few more minutes with a fork for each of us. It was then that I asked for a napkin at least. He came back with two napkins waving in the wind as he walked over. So rude, definitely no class whatsoever. After about another 20 minutes, we got clam chowder which was good! We also got some bread. Dinner of swordfish was ok... fish was good but the rice dry and most of the vegetables raw. Tiramisu had a strawberry purée poured on top, yuck! Idk what the heck happened but this was awful. And... we couldn't see the boat parade as promised. Terrible experience throughout! This restaurant needs better management.
Oof. Admittedly a busy night. Even so, our group of 5 patiently endured incredibly erratic service with ridiculous waits, amateur bartending, and prices way out of proportion to quality. Poor table placement despite reservation weeks in advance. Bathroom was a mess, with chemical spray bottle left on sink. Clam chowder was good. Prime rib flavorful. Baked potato was only a half, with scant toppings and served lukewarm at best. Vegetables were very disappointing (steamed onions and zucchini) and felt like an afterthought, as was the plating. So much fell through the cracks: We even had to ask another table for salt because it never came when requested from staff. The warm bread and soft butter were the highlight. Another in a disturbing American trend of restaurants with great views and all-around mediocrity.