Arlington Tavern

I’m glad this place closed down. The service was terrible they sat me in the corner and neglected the hell out of me. The watermelon salad was fantastic but I was really upset by the service

SO sad this place is closed! They had amazing food, just ridiculously good.

The food here is sooo good. Sadly, we found out that tonight is their last night open. It was sold to a new owner and will soon be another restaurant. Bummer…

Food is good. Sat at the bar and ordered pork belly, Kobe beef hotdog, and fries with gravy. I wasn’t a huge fan of the pork belly because it was on the dry side, but my husband really enjoyed it. The other two were very good.
Only downside about this place is the limited bar. We were hoping to order cocktails, but they only had wine and beer. Still a great place though!

Man n cheese was yummy. Appetizers were awesome. Pork belly, steak tat tar. Ambiance is fun. Love the open sponsored and back patio

Possibly one of the BEST burgers I’ve ever had! Really good service. Loved the décor in here felt like you might be in England but since I’ve yet to visit I’m not sure. me and my plus one ordered,
1-Mac’n cheese app to share
(So good)
2 Burgers with bacon, avocado and fried egg. With side salad
We were in meat heaven! Is it even legal to eat cow, pig and egg from a chicken all on one meal? We must have broken some kind of law please don’t call peta.
My plus one loved his side Cesar salad, I can not say the same about my mixed green. The dressing was actually horrible. It was almost like an after thought that someone forgot to think. It was bitter and overwhelmingly tasted of herbs, maybe dill? needless to say I only ate my burger. The burger was still so good I can not give anything less than 4 stars.
Would seriously consider visiting Santa Barbra just for this burger and the Mac n cheese.

Arlington Tavern was above and beyond our expectations. I made a reservation for my husbands birthday during the busy week of film festival. For starters we had the macaroni and cheese as well as the seasonal salad which was to die for! For dinner we ordered the fried chicken and filet mignon and both were delicious. Diego came by and was super friendly and attentive checking in to make sure our experience was enjoyable. My husband and I were blown away with both the service and the quality of food, we will definitely be back again! We highly recommend the Arlington Tavern for one of a kind experience and great tasting food.

We sat on the patio, I was glad we got the options to choose that as it was pretty warm inside when we arrived.
Valentine’s Dinner = set menu ($ 65 per person plus $ 20 for wine or beer pairing). I don’t really mind a smaller menu, actually. Makes decisions easier.
I added the beer pairing since you don’t often see that.
Starters: Me — scallops with celery root and Meyer lemon. Husband: filet mignon carpaccio. Scallops were nicely cooked and the celery root was nice, but I felt mixed about the Meyer lemon on top. It tasted strongly like tequila to me and I think it took away from the sweetness. Carpaccio was lovely. I’ve never seen it presented wrapping lettuce. It was like the tastiest steak salad ever.
Entrees: Me — duck breast with vegetables and fingerling potatoes. Husband — filet mignon with root vegetable gratin. The duck breast was rendered nicely with a slightly crispy skin. Fingerling potatoes were fine, but nothing noteworthy. Filet mignon was a bit unevenly cooked, but enjoyed the twist on the gratin.
Desserts: Me — chocolate mouse. Husband — crème brûlée. Both pretty traditional, but solid.
The beers all paired really well, a refreshing floral white ale with the scallop and a hoppier brown with the duck. My last one was forgotten, but luckily the waiter made it up with tasty dessert wines for both of us.
Overall decently happy with the food and service, but felt it was a bit overpriced. Solid experience, but would probably check out somewhere new before returning.

4 stars for great food and location…
5^th star is for our server who was also bartending. I had to wait for my rose so he comp’d it immediately! :o
this is a first for santa barbara (see my el encanto review)
bonus: now u can sit outside with your dog! and yes they have heaters: D
my favorites so far:
Apps: scallops, pork belly, mussels with chorizo
mains: black cod, AT burger

Great food but when it gets busy the service can crawl along
Mac and cheese and fries with gravy train standout favorites.
Had the boar shank and fried chicken. Chicken was perfectly cooked and the crisp skin was delicious. The boar was cooked decent but the accompanying grits lacked punch – ok, but not memorable.

Went with a friend for my 60^th birthday celebration. Told the restaurant we needed to make it to the theater on time and they gladly obliged. Even though the restaurant filled up rather quickly, the staff did tended consistently to our needs.
The food was superb. We had the roasted cod, and split the AT dinner salad. I am daydreaming about that salad as I write this: a kind of Cobb salad with blue cheese, bacon, avocados and new fingerling potatoes, with the added boon of rock crab. TO. DIE. FOR.
All ingredients are locally sourced which is great, since the Santa Barbara area is one of the richest agricultural regions in the state. I can’t say enough about AT, other than it would give the vaunted SF/​Bay Area food scene a run for the money.
Check it out.

Food: we had the fried chicken and filet mignon. Very good. However, apparently the mac and cheese is the «go to» dish.
Service: very attentive. Diego, the owner, is very tuned into his staff. The camaraderie in the kitchen was evident and quite refreshing.
Atmosphere: the place is comfortable and inviting.
The place is a diamond in the rough but is definitely a must!!!

Nice place, I really dig the table setting. It matches the logo.
I checked out Arlington Tavern for two reason: I love Mac N Cheese. I love burgers.
The Mac N Cheese is interesting, it’s a little less cheesy than what I am used to. The pasta was al dente, not sure if this is how they usually serve it but it was very good and had lots of flavor. ⁴⁄₅ for the mac n cheese, definitely delivered.
The burger was pretty disappointing. Kudos to AT for cooking it perfectly. I’m not sure exactly where the burger went wrong, I think the meat just didn’t taste very good. The shoestring fries were not very appetizing.
Deep regrets, should have gotten something else but I’m on a mission. A burger mission. Learn from my mistake, this place isn’t terrible.

I came to the Arlington Tavern for happy hour…
They have an solid bar menu & a few draft beers (including the obligatory SB Telegraph). They serve wine and beer only with a larger selection of very well curated bottled beers spanning the globe from Iceland to Japan (Read: Hiachino !!!).
The bar area is large enough to be a destination separate from the restaurant. Its familiar design style presents an upscale, slightly austere, take on the classic pub. They do have the obligatory television in the corner with the relevant ‘sports game’ playing — but that is not what this place is about… Arlington closes gap between cozy pub and sophisticated dining… I would stop short of describing it as warm or comfortable.
I ordered 2 craft beers and was craving pig:
Pork Sliders: Sweet shredded pork on a soft bun. Very satisfying, nice presentation — loved the pickle & mustard.
Pork Belly: This crispy, thick deliciousness sat atop a bacon /​roast potato salad. It was a celebration swine and is a must get off the bar menu. Beautiful.
Happy hour brought the bill to about $ 30 bucks. good for my wallet and my stomach!

Going to be challenging to keep this short and sweet. (This place is special!)
Spent the evening at Arlington Tavern with my gf and friends last night. We were here to celebrate my birthday… which was a big one :/​lol
We had 8:00pm dinner reservations for 10 and we were cordially greeted by the host when we entered.
They kindly set aside the back room for our dinner party and the ambiance was elegant and mix of old world with touches of modern.
Service the entire evening was excellent. From our cocktails, appetizer, main course, and to dessert… our professional server was attentive, friendly, and conscientious.
The quality of the food is simply 5 stars.
Proteins were perfectly cooked! Vegetables were so fresh. AT uses farm fresh ingredients found at our local farmers markets!
The style in which each dish is executed is also quite remarkable. Plating is elegant yet still utilitarian. Definitely no lack of visual appeal here!
The menu is simple as things do change from time to time based off of the best available ingredients.
Here is what I ordered:
Crispy Pork Belly — Phenomenal melt in your mouth sinfulness!
The Short Ribs — Amazing and well executed! (Not on their menu because it was a special from their chef last night.)
My Gf and I shared the AT Mac n Cheese: it’s bomb!
She ordered another special of the night. A watermelon salad drizzled with fresh crumbled feta… it was light, refreshing and so flavorful!
My girl also ordered the AT fried chicken and it was ridiculous at how flavorful and juicy it was. Her chicken will probably be my stand by next time we’re in.
Amazing selection of wines and craft beers.
They were kind enough to bring out 2 complimentary desserts for my gf and I (her birthday is 6 days earlier than mine).
Truly a 5 star experience and we will unequivocally be back again.
Thank you Arlington Tavern for helping make my birthday special!

The food here was great. I started with the watermelon salad and had the salmon entrée, both from the specials. The salmon was cooked perfectly to my liking and everything tasted wonderful.
However, service was horrible. My friend and I sat outside. We waited 15 minutes, and when no one came to even take our drink order, my friend had to go find someone. When our waiter finally came, I had to ask him about whether or not there were specials. After we got our food, he didn’t come back once to check on us. I flagged him down for a water refill, which he never brought. We had to flag him down for the bill as well. Service is important to me, and it was unfortunate that an otherwise wonderful dining experience was ruined by bad service.

Nice place with nice food but nothing over the ordinary. We had the Mac and cheese to share which was alright but we’ve had better. My wife took a sallad with crab and bacon and I had the cheeseburger. The sallad was over our expectations while the burger wasn’t nearly as good as at five guys or shake shack! If you’re looking for a bite to eat and want it to be spectacular this isn’t the place to go. However the food is decent and at a affordable price!

My first impression of the Arlington Tavern wasn’t a very good one. But it wasn’t really the restaurant’s fault (well, kind of, but I’ll get to that).
When I walked in my old landlord was out on a dinner date presumably before going over to the Granada before seeing Green Day’s «American Idiot», which is a very appropriately titled play for that woman to go to — I was snapped out of my reverie remembering my then-boyfriend’s former termite-​infested, yellow laminate covered kitchen counters and grey office-​grade carpeting that the woman had seen fit to decorate an apartment she charged $ 1150.00 a month for — by a snooty redheaded server whose first word to us was «reservation?».
I found it rude and amusing at the same time considering that I’ve never been addressed in that manner at any restaurant, and the Tavern wasn’t even at half occupancy. Like come on honey, this ain’t Bouchon. How about starting off with a nice «hello» or «table for two?» Please don’t ask me if I have a reservation when it’s past dinner time and the restaurant is more than ²⁄₃ empty.
So she seated us and the actual hostess found it appropriate to walk behind my dates chair and bump it a few times without saying excuse me while she dressed the table next to us.
I mean, what is up with these girls? Seriously AT, tell these girls to get their stuff together.
Anyway, the reason I’m still giving this place 3 stars is because by the grace of God we had a well-​trained, professional and experienced server show up to our table and she made up for actions of the other two ladies who might be more suited for McDonald’s around the corner. She didn’t even wince or make a nasty face when my date and I ordered macaroni and cheese, fries and gravy, and fried chicken with mashed potatoes to share.
Hey, I have a Kardashian booty to maintain, don’t judge.
The Food:
We started with the Macaroni and Cheese & Fries with Gravy.
— $ 14.00 & $ 6.00
Macaroni was good though a bit on the small side for the price. The gravy for the fries was fantastic, ask for an extra side of it if you order this dish and smother the hell out of those taters.
We shared the Fried Chicken — $ 23.00, which I forgot to take a pic of, whoopsie. It was really, really good, fresh, juicy, and crispy. I’d definitely go back for this dish, except the mashed potatoes were a bit under-​seasoned.
Ambiance:
Romantic and intimate, a great place for a date or a few drinks at the bar. Now they have an outdoor patio open facing the new SB Public Market, which looks like it’s going to be a great space, especially when it warms up a bit more.

Arlington Tavern rocks! They have plenty of drinks to choose from and delicious comfort food with a cozy atmosphere.
I had only been here for drinks before, which was fine. It’s drinks. I drank, got drunk. Mission accomplished. I wasn’t going to go home and write about it though.
I recently made reservations for a work dinner with a fairly large group here. I called several other places but they had minimum price requirements for groups that were pretty maximum to me. No one puts Baby in an involuntary, expensive corner! Some places even took a couple days to return my call, but I’m not one to wait around for all that. I had no trouble at all reserving a spot at AT. Everything was all set up and ready for us when we got there. Our server was helpful, polite, and attentive but not hovering.
The menu is short and sweet, but have no fear — there is something for everyone. The food I’ve had is so good, I couldn’t help but do a «damn that was good» little shoulder dance in my seat a few times! The mac and cheese is every bit as amazing and decadent as you think it’d be with gruyère cheese and truffles. I had the fried chicken dinner, which made this little Southern gal very pleased. The outside of the chicken was crispy and crunchy while the inside was juicy. It sat on top of a layer of collards that were cooked and seasoned to perfection which sat on top of a smooth, creamy mound of mashed potatoes. Even while I stuffed my face, I couldn’t help but look at everyone else’s plates like «oooh what’s that and what that taaaste like?»
Everybody was happy and I got several thank you’s for picking out such a great dinner spot… so I will pass the thank you’s onto you Arlington Tavern!

We were really looking forward to our first dinner in SB. We opted to try the 3 course menu for $ 45pp/​$ 60pp with the wine pairing.
Ordered the following:
–Crispy Pork Belly: Only 1pc = 1 bite. It was ok. I was expecting more fat, honestly.
–Roasted Bone Marrow: Your can barely taste the marrow, esp since you spread it along toast.
–Black Cod: I enjoyed the cod more than the AT chicken. It was soft and delicate. Miso flavored so the overall flavor wasn’t dense or deep.
–AT Fried Chicken: The AT chicken was crispy. The buttermilk gave it an odd flavor that I wasn’t accustomed to.
–Warm Chocolate Expresso Cake: Best part of dinner — truly…
–Lemon Cake: We really ordered the Seasonal Fruit Tart, but we were mistakenly given the Lemon Cake. We didn’t say anything since we didn’t want to take make our wait longer.
The portions were really small and I did leave a little hungry following dinner. Although, the service was friendly, our dinner took over 2 hours. The service was really slow…
Very disappointing…
Note: Only a few feet away from Bouchon.