Longboards Grill

Something has happened at Longboards. We’ve been coming here at least once a year for maybe ten years. It’s a halfway spot between the SLO and LA areas. Obviously the location is spectacular, but the food and service hovers from very good, to fair. Today the food and service was excellent! One in our party had dietary requirements, our server checked in with the chef, and sure enough, the appetizer and entrée was verified or adjusted to be dairy free. Drinks were good, food was cooked perfectly, service was great! Longboards remains our first-​choice in SB!

Good fries, and good service. Not the best looking place. But good food.

Been coming here since I was young and always had a good time, and in the past month I have sat out on the patio multiple times during the sunset, no better place in Santa Barbara to enjoy a drink and some apps. Shrimp tacos were great and if you want a good strong drink the mean tai is where it’s at.

Had breakfast here on Valentine’s Day and it was delicious. This place has become very expensive over the past several years. The patio was very crowded and there wasn’t enough room for our group. I think Brophy’s is a better deal.

Great location and service but food was mediocre. We came here for Valentine’s Day weekend. There were plenty of tables available upstairs. Hubby got the grilled salmon and it was over seasoned with salt. I had the seafood pasta and it was under seasoned and drenched in greasy sauce. We will definitely not come here again.

initially wanted to try SB shellfish company, forget it on valentines weekend.
So, forced here. Ive been here a few times, never enjoy that much.
Food is not good, period, across the board. Blew $ 180 bucks with tip for a party of 5 each ordering 1 entrée, and ½ dozen oysters (the only good thing) for a ridiculous $ 20…charging you double, this should be the dozen price. No alcohol, all fountain drinks too.
Sons burger came considerably pink and raw in the middle asked well done.
Granny gooses yellowtail was dry but edible.
The maine lobster rolls were nastily smothered to death in mayo and some green onions, ruining taste. Bun was so tasty like the old school sizzler cheese toasts, but man why o why do restaurants fuck up lobster with mayo. I shouldve asked beforehand, assumed would come steaming with drawn butter, the way a lobster roll should be served.
Side of fries all reheated, probably 2^nd or 3^rd day, yuck the fuck.
wife ate lobster tacos, said it was ok but too spicy
They have free oversalted peanuts a la gladstones.
Very tight seating quarters and a bus boy almost doused my mother in law with a beer, didnt even pick up from the ground or apologize.
Just a filthy dump.
Total chaos trying to find outside seating, you literally have to flag down a table as soon as people leave, at the same time maintain your place in standing unofficial line. Good luck with that too.
Suggestion: Eat at state street for ½ the price, come walk here for the view but dont eat here.

View is excellent! For me a non seafood eater (I know, I know) Food was not that great. But my boyfriend and his brother really enjoyed the clams here. Nachos weren’t bad, edible and piled high with the usual suspects.
They have some good beers on tap, and should offer pitchers of beer but they don’t. Moscow mule was good and in a copper cup like it’s supposed to be. Prices are steep! But typical for this type of touristy restaurant on the pier.

VERY SLOW service. VERY SLOW getting food to table. A wait staff that just doesn’t care.: TODAY: Valentine’s Day with my family: crowded, yes; it took 15 minutes for us to place a drink order; our server got lost and after another 15 minutes our food order was taken by another server. We waited, with no exaggeration, over an hour – my young son IN TEARS because he was so hungry and frustrated – and we got nothing but excuses from the wait staff. People who arrived after we did were served. WE WALKED OUT. Shameful!: I have been a customer for over 20 years – I will NEVER go back.

We were skeptical because of the reviews but we needed a little food with a lack of time. We each ordered a drink. As far as food all we ordered was a side of fries and the mini dogs. The food was great.
The service however was terrible. It took an hour for one apitizer and a side of fries. Oh and the place was not even busy.
Not once did the waitress check to see if we needed anything.
Over priced tourist location with a huge lack of customer service.

Before you read this, remember that Longboard is on a pier in the pacific ocean. We went for lunch, expecting some delicious fresh seafood. What we got was over priced frozen mahi mahi fish and chips and lobster tacos that had so much sauce it was difficult to find the lobster, what a disappointment. Then we got the bill for 3, $ 81.00. Oh, the lemon aide was delicious but because it was made with fresh lemons, there were no refills. Don’t waste your time here. It’s part of the Harbor so they probably use frozen fish too.

This is our «Go To Place» on Stearns Wharf. We always have a good time, like to watch TV on the upper level or sitting outside. The views are incredible. The menu is good, incorporating fish into bar options; such as fish tacos, clam chowder, etc… The nachos are good.
We always get a friendly greeting by the bartender and good service. Today was no exception.
They have valet parking, free 90-​minute parking just to drive on the Wharf, and we’re very helpful with our dogs being left in the car while we were inside. (January cool weather — permissible.)

Located right on Stearns Wharf, you’ll find Longboards Grill which is located on top of another restaurant. Longboards is a nice chill restaurant that is first come seating throughout. If it’s not too hot sit on the patio for a beautiful view of the ocean.
We sat alongside the window by the bar (it was hot on the lanai) and we still got a beautiful view.
So, when you seat yourself, a server will bring the menu to you. I think the servers are a little slower and not as attentive as I would’ve liked them to be. The reason why I say that is when we first sat outside on the patio, we got our menus then no one else approached us to take our order after 10 minutes so we made our way inside (also cause it’s cooler).
Seems that this is a popular place since it’s the 1^st restaurant on the pier.
Food:
New England Clam Chowder
Specialty Burger (I forgot the name-​but it had bacon and it wasn’t on the menu) with fries
Garlic Bread
The food is mediocre and nothing really stood out. The fries were just alright too. :(
I would return for drinks in the future but would prefer to venture out to the other restaurants on Stearns Wharf for food.

The 2 star review is about right. Basically the only good thing was the server was really nice and she did her job reasonably well. The food however was terrible. We ordered 3 fish and chips dinner and I had the fish tacos. For the amount we paid we got fish that had the hell fried out of it. The fish itself looked like it came straight from a freezer. My fish tacos consisted of small fish chunks that were fried till they were hard and dry and flavorless.
I blame myself for the choice of dining here since it was the first time being in Santa Barbara. The second I drove in I was starving and just chose the first thing on the pier that looked appealing, not knowing the huge amount of great places just right up the street… well now I know.

First stop when we got to Santa Barbara, awesome atmosphere, great food, and great views. We sat outside and had a great time here. We ordered the chili cheese fries which was really fresh tasting and delicious. The jumbo shrimp cocktail was delicious! Those shrimps were HUGE. My friends ordered popcorn shrimp and a lobster roll, all of which was soooo good. My friend didn’t really like her bloody mary, it was really really strong, and after she had some more tomato juice added in, it was really really watery. Not a biggy though, because the experience was great.

We’re locals so I’m not sure why we even went! Maybe the thought of watching the ocean with our two year old suckered us in! I had a Bloody Mary that was so spicy I had to have more tomato juice added, after it wS added it was flavorless. So either to spicy or no flavor. My husbands blood orange margarita was more martini style and less like a margarita.
We ordered the harbor platter. It was fine. The service was rushed. Overall the meal was so so and nothing was worth the 65.00 bill. Would have been better off going to chat west.

We had planned on coming here for dinner, however, we started with appetizers and drinks and after tasting the quality of the food and comparing to the prices we decided to start here and finish for dinner somewhere else. The food was good, but everything took a long time unfortunately. We had a large group, but we only ordered a few appetizers for the table. Also, one member of the table ordered dessert that literally took until we were paid and half the group had already left for the dinner spot to come. So, I was underwhelmed with this place, though, the food that we did have was good it wasn’t good enough to justify paying the price.
My drink was pretty good. I got a coconut mojito and one thing this place does have going for it is the gorgeous view of Santa Barbara!

On a beautiful Sunday, while out on a walk at Stearns Wharf, my husband and I decided to get a beer and enjoy the scenery. We went upstairs to the deck and picked a little two-​top by the window.
It took nearly 10 minutes for our waitress to show up with a menu, when the deck wasn’t even ¹⁄₃ full. We waited for 15 minutes, but our waitress never came back. We ended up leaving.
I don’t want to pay $ 7 for a beer, and $ 12 for a plate of chips with salsa and guac in little bowls. There are far better places nearby.
Overpriced food, poor service. Go elsewhere.

I loved this place– the views over SB as you’re eating is enough to bring me back! The food was pretty good as far as I remember– I think I got sliders of some sort. The service was good but the waiter was really gunning for tips and kept coming back to check on us– even between ordering and us getting our food. Still he kept our drinks topped up and we were happy.
I find it strange that when you ask to take food home, they just give you a box, in the States. When I was working I would usually at least offer to do it for them, and people who preferred to could do it themselves– don’t know why, I mean, I brought you the food in the first place, I’m not any less clean now?!
So it was a bit of chaos trying to get our food into the doggy-​box at the end, we were all covered in sauce and mess. But no worries.

We really enjoyed our experience here at Longboards. We came here for lunch yesterday, mainly because we thought it would be reasonably priced (for the area). That is the only thing that kept it from getting 5 stars.
We had the best view, great service, and wonderful food. We had the chowder, Santa Barbara roll (get this grilled, usually comes cold but so good grilled), and oysters. There are 3 different types of oysters and even the cheapest oysters were a good size and very fresh. The iced tea was also great, definitely refreshing.
We definitely will be returning here the next time we are in town.

Typical seafood restaurant with a great location. Longboards Grill is huge with two stories and was jam packed when we arrived. Well… the World Cup Soccer was on that weekend.
The good news is we just walked right in and sat upstairs… however we did not get prime seating. They have roasted peanuts in a huge barrel and the floor is covered with peanut shells.
The menu is extensive and we asked the waitress their most popular dishes. She recommended the Turkey Burger and Fish and Chips. We asked whether the fish was fresh and she of course replied, «yes».
The Turkey Burger was actually pretty descent. The Fish and Chips was disappointing… It clearly looked like frozen breaded fish you can get at Denny’s. The Shrimp Pasta was a little heavy for lunch.
The overall bill came to $ 100 (with tip) for 4 people which we thought was pretty pricey for lunch. But then again you’re paying for real estate.
Their restrooms are located downstairs. The women’s restroom was tiny and stuffy with only 3 stalls… to accommodate people in their 2-​story restaurant.
Overall the food was a hit or miss and the service was okay.

view: awesome!
service: o.k.
food: good!
dessert: try the monster cookie with icecream!