We approached Moby Dick to get some food to go, the server was waiting at the front and suggested we come in instead, that the servings were larger and only a little more expensive. Hmmmm. We decided to go inside as we have 4 children and it is usually easier to eat sitting down than on our laps at the end of a pier on a windy day. The restaurant had a funky smell, presumably a combination of old water logged wood, wet carpet and seafood, but the smell really put us off. The server was quite friendly and helpful, until we decided to share 2 meals instead of ordering 6 separate ones. We were not overly hungry and we thought we would see the size of the meals before ordering any more if needed. We ordered one calamari and one fish & chips. Both servings were large and the calamari was really good. The fish on the other hand did not taste fresh, was dry and overcooked. The fries were plentiful and small side of coleslaw was good. They also serve bread which was great, and the two dishes + bread was plenty for all of us to have a light snack. We would probably not return to Moby Dick as a first choice, but overall it was OK. read more

Last Friday, I visited Santa Barbara for a minitrip, and planned to go to the Santa Barbara Shellfish Co Restaurant, as it was featured on the Food Network, After a one plus hour wait, I had to cancel any thought of going to the Santa Barbara Shellfish Co, and decided to go to Moby Dicks which is next door. Upon walking to Moby Dicks the first thing I noticed was the restaurant, was completely empty on Friday Night, despite having a completely full parking lot at the pier. When the waiter eventually took our order and the food was eventually delivered, I can see why most the reviews are not so good about this place. Clearly, there is a major lack of quality food served, from the moment me and my family starting eating. My Seafood Pasta Dish, was clearly bland, lacked spices and the fish and Seafood Items tasted old. Next, our fried seafood platter with fish and shrimp tasted and looked as if it came from the nearest Supermarket Freezer Section. I hate to rip on restaurants, because I believe in the spirit of family owned businesses, but clearly if management has no clue there food lacks quality, something is wrong. If it wasn't for my restaurant.com certificate, I would have paid over $65.00 for two entrees and a dessert item., that clearly were overpriced for the quality, not to mention the average service provided by the waiter. The issue, I see at Moby Dicks is the restaurant menu has so many items that food sits in the refrigerator for days, and when its served to customers, clearly the freshness is lacking. I really feel, if the menu was shortened, and the chef reexamined the food quality, this restaurant has potential. Clearly the pier is a hot spot for dining, and if a nice Friday night draws little clientele, something is wrong. read more

Again Ok place, convenience that its right on the pier, however the quality of the sea food could be much better considering the location and the fact that its right on the water. Average food, tiny portion very similar to Bubba Shrimp and CO restaurant chains, i mean i'll pass for next time read more

This place was awful. I had seafood kabobs that were tough and I couldn't identify some of the fish on it. Hubby had swordfish that was dry, very thin cut. Yuck. read more

Perfect weather for lobster bisque and the wait was less than 10min. Waitress was super nice

The food is over priced, My food tasted microwaved, the place was dirty and poorly managed,,,,It will be another ten years before I give this place another chance !!! read more

This place was actually pretty good considering the rating they have. The fruit salad was great and so was the Snapper Veracruz! Service was great too!! read more

I just left this place. It was HORRIBLE service. I complained to the manager, Debbie, and she threw me out!!!! Can someone direct me to higher management, because she said she was the owner!!!! DONT GO HERE.....ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE BLACK...SMH read more

We had breakfast here on a Sunday morning. We used a buy-one-get-one promotional offer found on a local paper. Although it's a seafood restaurant, we didn't order any seafood-based dish. I had the steak & eggs breakfast, while my wife had the vegetable omelet (with egg whites). My steak had a little too much garlic but, except for that, we were pleased with our dining experience. My wife said that her omelet was seasoned and cooked just right. It came with a cup of fresh fruit. If you get here early enough - before people come in for brunch/lunch - you'll enjoy the quite atmosphere of the spacious dining room and the great views from the large windows. read more

Very ordinary breakfast menu. Corned beef hash was quite dry. Bloody Mary was not strong enough. Nice location on the wharf.

:( i a feeling sad to write bad review. My husband said the restaurant has low grade on Yelp but I told him lets give it a try. I was totally wrong, I should trusted on yelp reviews. Food was not fresh, dry and not testy. The staff and place were nice but food is totally not. read more

The customer service was so great I had to write a review its very kid friendly we have a 5 month old baby and from the beginning the staff was very accommodating, there was no wait and the view was really nice. Food was cool but not great I would strongly recommend this place for people dinning with kids and looking for a place to eat with a nice view. read more

Never would eat here again, once we sat down I was nervous bad vibe, but since I had two small children I just stayed. I ordered shrimp and lobster tacos...... With in 15 months minutes I had terrible gas and within 1 hour I was vomiting for 3 hours. BEWARE... I would never eat here again, I told a few people about my experience and they had gotten sick also. Health Department needs to check this out..... read more

My husband and I had come here for dinner and everything was quite good: food, service and ambience of the restaurant. Today just after noon, it was nearly opposite. My soup was good, but the chefs salad, although tasty, was made of strips of deli sliced ham, turkey and cheese, reminiscent of Denny's fare. Still, not bad. However my friend had a seafood roll which had a thin layer of bits of crab, lobster and shrimp (though it was difficult to recognize the meats) on a giant sub sandwich type roll. The meal was mostly bread with French fries on the side. This was so disappointing for a seafood restaurant. However the worst part of our experience was lack of service. The waitress asked us if we wanted bread, but only was is served after asking her twice and another server once. Never was ketchup offered for fries. She was quite unfocused, and we generally got the impression that she didn't care. Interestingly, the man at the next table over spilled a drink and quickly 3 other servers rushed to his rescue! But it took him waving his hand in the air for about 5 minutes to have someone help him with the payment of his check. It wasn't like they were busy either; servers just stood around talking to each other. So basically, I don't recommend this restaurant simply because their food quality and service is highly inconsistent. read more

Kind of a let down. Especially for the prices they charge. My boyfriend ordered the seafood steam plate or whatever it's called. With clams,muscles, shrimp, and crab. It ended up having like 3 pieces of shrimp, half a crab with barely any meat in its legs, and mostly muscles and clams (of which half the shells were empty); all in some type of broth. His meal alone was $45. He finished it all but still left pretty hungry. Service was alright; the servers didn't have much personality. As for myself, I liked my meal but it came with a baked potato that had absolutely no toppings. I had to ask for them. At least now we know.. read more

We had a very lovely dinner there while we were vacationing in Santa Barbara. We were seated right away right by the window on the water, which was enjoyable. Had a hard time deciding what to order. Hubby had the Alaskan cod that was a large piece of fish with risotto and lots of vegetables. He couldn't finish the whole thing. I had the penne pasta with salmon bites, there were very generous pieces of salmon in the pasta. We lingered over coffee enjoying the view from our table. The service was very prompt and attentive. We'll be back. read more

We were a little worried at first...our iced tea and sprite tasted awful. But, the waitress was super sweet and switched them out for something different. My Husband and I and one of our boys shared the seafood platter...it was so fresh and tasted great! Two of my boys had the kids alfredo and it was great as well. Another one of our boys had a half of a sandwich and a salad and he was sad when it was gone! And my oldest son and his friend shared a cheeseburger...they said it was great too! Great service and great food...great view, clean restaurant...fairly priced...no complaints! Thanks, Moby Dick! read more

Parking on the pier is weird, pier needs updating! As for the resturant its cool looking (picture of Moby Dick Whale on the side of the building) and looks reputable, however looks can be diseveing. The prices are pretty high nothing is under $15. Its more of a sit down dinner resturant. I'm sure this would be a great place for a date or dinner. If you go in the afternoon and are looking for a decent priced lunch, like I was, then might want to avoid this place. They do have an awesome deep fried fish platter but the rest of the menu was too pricey for me. Overall the view from the resturant is cool and the fact your eating over the ocean is cool too however the prices and atmosphere were too off setting to enjoy my meal, kept thinking of the total which with tip and parking and drinks was around $25.00 per person. I'd definetly try another resturant on the pier especially for lunch. read more

Fresh fish fresh meat, freshness of the ocean and a sunset, will be coming back try more dishes like the lobster that my date got!!

We had a group of six and tried to use a coupon for $20 off. Neither the waitress or the manager would honor the coupon since it was a holiday (President's Day!). The coupon specifically stated "not valid on Valentine's Day". If it was no good on any holiday it should have said so. Because I was there with a group of elderly ladies who were uncomfortable with confrontation, I didn't push harder, but I definitely won't be back. In addition to the bait and switch coupon tactic, the food was mediocre and the service was terrible. Our waitress didn't come to take our order for 20 minutes. Then I had to go ask the hostess for dessert menus and she gave me only one for our group of 6. I also had to flag someone down to get the check after we had all been finished for over 10 minutes. This place used to be fun, and our family went there every time we came to SB, but no more. read more

My wife and I love taking walks from State St. down to the pier and then have a nice bowl of clam chowder here on weekends or when we have friends/family in town. It's right on the pier which offers gorgeous views overlooking the beautiful city-scape behind you or to your sides. One of the managers there, Gerry is very funny too. He always remembers our names and choice of drinks. It can get a bit busy as it's a touristy location but they do a good job of keeping the wait to a mnimum. read more

Service: Great, the only reason I gave it any stars. Food: The worst. I had fish and chips. A standard for a seaside restaurant. Who could mess that up? The answer...Moby Dick. The fish patties were about 1/8 inch thick, tough as shoe leather, dry as the Sahara, with meat the same color gray as an overcast day at the beach. McDonalds fish filets blow these away. I chocked down one of the two you get for almost 14 bucks. I let the other die a quiet death in the trashcan. The chips? Some kind of frozen seasoned fries. They were OK, but not great. Better than the fish. The bread they give out was rather good though, so that's what I filled up on. As for the service, A+. Very attentive and quick when asked for something. Nice people too. Put them in a restaurant with decent food and you'd have a real winner. Seven of us ate here. All but one thought the food to be way below par. My wife had the clam chowder and liked it though. One tip. If you're brave and feel like trying the fish and chips, order the kids meal if you can. You only get one fish patty instead of two, but the same amount of fries and it's half the price. And if it's nasty, you're not out as much money. read more

Best clam chowder I've ever had!! The service was amazing...they should teach other resturants how to be in the hospitality business.

Nice restaurant with great sea view, the waiters are really kind and helpful.

Favorite Restaurant in all of Santa Barbara. Views are great! A little pricy... read more

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I have two good things to say: the fries were tasty and the view was beautiful. On the other hand, the service sucked and most of the food was not particularly good. I wouldn't recommend it. In particular, do not order the oysters rockefeller or the fish and chips (chips good, fish, not so much). read more

Bait and Switch (literally) - do not get tricked here!! These guys play tricks with the pricing and the service is very slow. Their menu showed meals for different seafood with chowder or salad, potato or rice etc. to accompany them. Maine Lobster in that section was marked 'Market Price'. I asked how much that was and they said $39.95, which was also displayed outside the restaurant. I tried to order two of these with the chowder, potato etc. They then suddenly informed me that the chowder, potato etc was $10 'extra', even though the menu said it was included....(go figure). In other words the lobster as shown on the menu was really priced at $49.95, even though they told me it was $39.95. When I tried to rectify this with the manager he simply said I should leave. Since I had family there and did not want to be embarrassed we stayed and I ended up paying the $49.95 twice! I guess somehow this is illegal but the manager seemed to be fine doing it. I guess he knows it's tourists most of whom do not come back... read more

With a party of 16 that include four birthday celebration and the 2013 boat parade going on we had excellent service from Enrique Q and the staff supporting him. Everyone in the party enjoyed the food. The Clam Chowder was excellent for a chill night and linguine with shrimp was very good. Its been suggested that we make this a family tradition when watching the boat parade (a lot warmer inside) with excellent view of the boats and fireworks. Thank You for the wonderful evening. AL (Brian) read more

I'm giving this place only one star, not necessarily because the food was horrible, but because the service was APPALLING and when you consider how much you're paying for that service... I wanted the special that was on the chalkboard in front of the restaurant. The waiter didn't even know what that special was and was insisting it was something else that was on a menu that he gave me. I insisted that it wasn't and so he goes outside and looks at the chalkboard, sees what I want and at last takes my order. The food comes, tastes somewhat better than something you'd make in a microwave. Waiter comes at some point to disinterestedly ask if everything's good and I disinterestedly say yes, and he walks away. Doesn't bother to refill my water glass. When I leave the restaurant I look back at the chalkboard and I notice that the special I ordered was supposed to come with salad or soup, which I was never offered. I went back in and demanded that something be taken off my bill and they agreed to take off three dollars, which was more than I was expecting them to do. Still, the price that I paid is absolutely ridiculous for what I got. The view was nice with the sun setting, but you can see that for free. Also got a very upset stomach after eating here. I'd definitely advise everyone to stay away from this place. read more

Read some weak reviews, so was weary before going. I read that they have live music starting at 6pm, so I called to see if we could get a spot away from the music, as my grandpa is super hard of hearing. We arrived early, so we could enjoy happy hour, and were promptly seated...right around the corner from where the live music was going to be. ugh. Turns out, it was just one guy on a guitar, playing nice soft music. Not bad! Enjoyable, and grandpa could still hear us! Our waiter was double sat, and seemed to be very grumpy. I'll give him that for a bit, I know its a pain to get double sat. However, we were a slow table. We wanted to take advantage of the happy hour before we actually ordered dinner. As soon as the waiter realized we were going to be there a while, and were ordering lots of drinks and appetizers (aka, spending more money that I guessed we looked like we were going to) he perked up. He became super friendly, big smile, joking. Maybe he just came on shift and finally got his coffee. Who knows. It was just weird to have such grumpy service that turned into fun service. We had some happy hour specialty drinks (each one is basically a variance on an Long Island). One of mine came out tasting like straight tequila. I'm a big girl, and like my liquor, but my fiance saved me from multiple shots, and had the waiter fix it up. Our server shined here, he actually took our drink back, had them make a new one, and brought me an extra as well! We ordered the calamari appetizer. Typical, yum. I had the stuffed fish. Turns out it wasn't really stuffed, just a mix of shrimp and crab meat stuffed between two pieces of white fish. Nothing fancy. Thank goodness there was a hollandaise type sauce on it all, as the white fish itself was meh. I also had the lobster bisque...yum! Grandpa had the steak, he was super pleased. super juicy, moist, cooked to perfection. Fiance had the lobster tacos. Damn son. These were good! Side of salsa was quite spicy, but still yummy. All around good solid dinner. read more

This place was HORRIBLE!! The service was horrible, the food was horrible, and the management was horrible! My husband ordered a dish that was too spicy and when he asked if he could exchange it, the manager gave us attitude and then eventually brought out another dish that gave him FOOD POISONING!!! He was so sick and dehydrated that he had to be transported by ambulance to the ER. I'll never step foot in this restaurant again and I can guarantee that none of my friends will either. Moby Dick is the worst restaurant I have ever been to. read more

i worked at Mobys while going to city college back in the late 80's with old Al with glasses...its a fast paced, tourist place to get basic food, period. not to be hyper critical yet it amazes me that anyone would think otherwise. On a pier with a view of the harbor and mts is nice...does not ensure food will be "fresh off the boat", wait staff on par with upscale downtown eateries,etc. Caters to the visitors, few locals if any, get em in and out, basic food prep, etc. I personally ate their tacos as the halibut(other times cod) was the only fresh product(shrimp are frozen,lobster not from California), ...High volume profits over quality. There are far crappier places believe me.... read more

I was there for dinner with my family, on Monday February 17, the seating and the view was great, the service was good, but that's all , the food was very bad , we ordered the sea food plater for two, the fish was not fresh the rest of the food was overcooked and very salty were you could not tell what you're eating, the fries were so greasy what a waste money, never again read more

The wife and I stopped in here since the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company was packed. I'll admit, we were both worried since we arrive at 1915 and immediately were seated. However, we thought the food was pretty good. They had a great $30 meal for two. My wife got the grilled salmon and I got the top sirloin. Sorry for the lack of photos but it was because the food was that great. Don't believe the negative reviews people! We had friendly, amazing service and everything was prompt. This place doesn't have to be your first choice...but don't let it be your last! read more

I have not eaten at Moby Dick restaurant in years. My friend and I had a great experience today. Food was good but the service was outstanding. Of course the location is amazing. I highly recommend! read more

I absolutely love Moby Dicks!!!!! Food is great and service is always on point. Debbie the manager is awesome, always friendly and kind. This restaurant will forever be my restaurant of choice in Santa Barbara. read more

If your looking for a shrimp dinner I suggest you don't order here. You get 5 pcs not all the same size for a whopping $20.00. The special Rock Crab was so hard to crack that most of it landed everywhere but intended. Overall not worth the price or experience. read more

The food was very good at this place. I had a pleasant time as it is on the beach and the atmosphere was quiet. The service was also very good. I would recommend this place for sure! read more

Fish and chips were not good. Pretty sure the fish had been reheated. It was rubbery. Will not waste my money there again

The service was slow but our server was super sweet. We ordered the rock crab and it was awful. Over cooked, very salty, and hardly any meat. The chowder was great though!! read more