We found our way here for breakfast our last day before heading home to South Bay. As I was ordering the corned beef hash plate & asking for a side of home fries, our waiter mentioned that it came with potatoes. Suggesting I might want a different side dish. I missed the clue also in the menu wording "homemade". As in "OMG" bite-sized 1/2" cubes of perfectly seasoned & cooked real corned beef & matching size potatoes evenly portioned. Soooo good I have to wonder 'why be so modest'?! Perfectly cooked easy over eggs & sour dough toast & that side of crispy golden rounds of potatoes that were completely not needed. Great service, view & food. read more

I was real hesitant to eat there because of all the bad reviews. Maybe we caught them on a full moon or something... We went to this place right at noon and ready to eat. What I had was two cups of clam chowder and the shrimp linguine with marinara. I will say that it was way better than some Italian places I've eaten at especially at the other SB Italian place where we ate for dinner. The linguine was cooked just right and they give you around 9 good size shrimps along with it. Also ordered was the crab cakes platter and the sauce dip it came with was excellent with a bit of heat to it. Before my pasta arrived, I ordered a cup of clam chowder to start. It was one of the best I have ever tasted! It was not watered down and hearty and the flavor was awesome. When I ordered my pasta lunch, I ordered another cup of clam chowder since it came with my lunch as I loved it so much. The service was good and I didn't encounter any rude vibes there. Maybe lunch service is different or we just caught them on a good day. Either way, I would definately return if I should ever be at Stearns Wharf. read more

Tried this restaurant for the first time with a large group. Ordered clam chowder it was very good with large bits of clam. Ordered the lemon chicken sandwich and seafood roll sandwich. Chicken sandwich was mediocre at best and dry, the "seafood roll" which was suppose to have lobster and shrimp turned out to be a lettuce sandwich with maybe a tablespoon at best of "seafood mix" spread out it turned out to be dry as well. I couldn't taste any of the "seafood" The seasoned french fries however were at least decent. Overall my wife and I had clam chowder, 2 sandwiches, and 1 soft drink and the bill was $44 and change. This place is directly on the Santa Barbara pier with limited parking and gets busy but falls behind in value for dollar spent. I don't mind spending for good quality food but I felt ripped off and will never return nor recommend this establishment. read more

Everytime I come to Santa Barbara I like coming to Moby Dick's. Been coming here since the 1970's. The food is good (not great) and the view on the patio is to die for. The waitresses are nice and helpful. The best time to come is way before the lunch or dinner crowd. read more

This restaurant looks nice from the outside, and the view is definitely nice. But don't come here expecting good food or service. I've been irritated every time I've been here but I keep giving it another chance like a dummy. Pass. read more

Mia was such a sweetheart we loved her. She was very helpful. We loved the food it was very very good , love the service.

The food is below mediocre. Was starving but couldn't get myself to finish his fish and chips. My friends hardly finished their food either. Very disappointed. read more

Moby Dick Restaurant - American Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

We were running late and the host graciously changed our arrival time. Ricardo our server was friendly attentive and agreeable to everyhing we asked for. I had fried fish tacos and hubby had half fried shrimp and fish. Dined outside in an unusually cold windy summer day. read more

My wife and I went to the Moby dick restaurant for a late lunch on Sunday and it was a wonderful experience! The staff was very friendly and the seafood is exceptional. I got the catch of the day and let me tell you it LITERALLY comes right out of the ocean directly to your plate!!! The only problem with the meal was some bad weather that made it hard to hear inside the dining area, but the freshness of the seafood definitely made up for the bad weather. We'll have to go again when the weather clears up... read more

Very happy.... Me and my fiance came by on a Saturday night after a long day at the zoo with our 20 month old. He needed a nap and we both were worried about how he'd be. They were so attentive, helpful and catering to us I can't imagine how they could of done any better. I got the carribean lobster that was in point too. On top of that we had a great view for sunset. read more

First time here. We had huevos con carne. It was delicious. Tasted like home made. Asia was our server. She was great.

You go to a restaurant for the food. My wife and I went on our honeymoon because she really likes sea food. We go in. Get seated. We look around. It looks promising. The view is amazing. We order water and ice tea to get start. It shows up about 5 minutes later. We look at the menu and I see bacon wrapped shrimp. Sounds good to me. When it came it looked like it was just microwaved and tasted even worse. I am not a person who leaves food on the plate but I definitely did on this meal. My wife's meal came with a salad. That was bad enough she barely ate it. She orders fish and chips and she barely touched that. There were flies in the restaurant and not just one or two. The staff was fine but the food was not. If you want sea food go somewhere else and check it out. read more

This was my first time in Santa Barbara and i didnt really like it too much. I currently live in Hollywood so i guess im used to the chaos. Despite this, i had a good experience at Moby Dicks restaurant. The prices were fair for a restaurant on the pier. We went for dinner. I had a chicken sandwich and my friend had the chowder. The quality of the food was great, everything tasted fresh.Our server was Jonathon and he was very friendly and on point w timing as far as greeting us, getting our drinks and even getting us refills, and of course food. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Santa Baraba on frindliness and service alone. Plus it had a great view! read more

Our server was really nice. Their food isn't all that great. Very high priced for the lowest quality! I had the crab and shrimp cakes...they tasted as if they were sitting in butter for days...also, gas station bathrooms are cleaner than theres is. read more

I wanted to like this place based on a recommendation. I was a bit underwhelemed, mostly just to the lack of flavor from the food. Pros: - Attentive, friendly staff - Great view - Speed at which we received our food - Portion to price ratio was accurate - Season fries were a nice, unexpected touch Con: - I ordered the fish and chips (that's the ONLY seafood item I'll eat, sue me). It was cooked well and the fish was flackey (which is good, right?) but their homemade breading needs some work. It was light, which was good because I wasn't in the mood for a heavy, fried item, but it was so light, it was virutally non-existent. Perhaps some cummin and black pepper or some other kick to the batter would be helpful. read more

Even the bread was meh. Never again. Can one give less than a star? The rubbery tiny clams swam in a dishwater gray colored water, and while I never tasted dishwater before, I imagine it's what it would taste like. What a complete waste of money. Other things that were brought out looked as bad as a cheap wedding banquet food. read more

Let's face it...it's all about the view, not necessarily the food! We had dinner after sunset so the view of the shore lights was beautiful. We were looking for a kid friendly place on the pier and this place was perfect. We sat inside but they did have patio seating available. We shared the fried fish platter for two which had a generous helping of calamari, shrimp, scallops and I think cod. It was fried fish so we knew what to expect and that's exactly what we got! The kids had the chicken strips from the kids menu with fries. They were pretty generous strips. We also had the Moby Honey beer which was tasty and refreshing. Went great with fried fish. Our waiter was perfect, cheerful and attentive but not overbearing. He always came around when we needed him and was even thoughtful and brought extra napkins without being asked. The ambiance was fish restaurant meets an old boat. Just what you'd expect on a pier in Santa Barbara! I highly recommend if you are a tourist, if you aren't you probably know much better places to catch a view while dining. read more

Went here for lunch because the place next door was too crowded and moby dicks had no wait. After eating here, I know why there's no wait for this place. We ordered the clam chowder, lobster bisque, two shrimp and lobster taco entrees, ice tea and water. Let's start with the bread and butter. Bread was not completely baked, so had that funny taste. Ice tea was muddy color and tasted like a tea mix and not fresh brewed. Nasty. Lobster bisque did not have any lobster bits in it, it was all yellow cream texture. Like something from a package. Not made from scratch. Tasted too salty. Clam chowder was actually okay but nothing to rave about. The shrimp and lobster tacos were bland, flavorless and rubbery in texture. We had to use a lot of hot sauce just to get it down. I give it two stars for ocean view, no waiting and decent service. $65 for two for lunch is overpriced for terrible food. Please don't waste your time or money with this place. read more

This restaurant has a nice location out on the wharf and overall we had a positive experience! I went with my family from out-of-town so there were 6 of us total and some picky eaters - everyone was able to find something on the menu that suited them. I enjoyed the garlic bread, clam chowder, fried clams, and calamari. Our server was very nice and helpful! My only complaints would be that the entrees themselves were lackluster - the linguine, the bacon-wrapped shrimp, the fish and chips - all were mediocre and lacking flavor; for an expensive meal, that's a let down. Overall though - I would recommend it for a one-time experience with out-of-towners. read more

Happy hour from4-6 pm. Wings, calamari, steam seafood(mussels or clams, fish or seafood nachos. $8 read more

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Live music on Fridays and a great view. We like Moby Dicks! We ordered the fish tacos and lobster bisque and Rockefeller sandwich. The lobster bisque had great flavor and good big chunks of lobster meat. I like my bisque a little creamier but all in all a great soup. The Rockefeller open faced sandwich was tender steak with a creamy spinach bacon sauce - cooked perfectly well for my liking. Very satisfying. The tacos were ok for fish tacos- nothing to brag about but tasty fish inside and filling. Overall I recommend Moby Dicks for a relaxing and enjoyable evening. read more

Moby Dick Restaurant - Rockefeller steak sandwich with side of fruit. - American Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

On my one day trip to Santa Barbara with my aunt, i visited this restaurant by the pier. The wait time was not bad. Only 15,20 min. I was worried because i read the mediocre reviews, but it was not that bad for me. I wish i had the sea food platter, but we just got the clam chowder bowl and the santa barbara salad. I actually liked the appetizer bread bowl they give you. It was so delicious, that i ate two bread bowls with butter. I guess i was hungry and burn out, due to the 3 hour drive from orange county, but still, the bread bowl was excellent! The clam chowder was warm and savory too. The clams are very chwey. The santa barbara salad was very good. I liked the pecans and the thick, juicy chicken inside the salad. I was full by the end of the meal, although i have not had much. The restaurant has a nice view of the ocean, and it has a nice, cozy vibe. Good for date spot too i think. The waiters could have refilled my water faster though. And the salad took too long. Other than that, i enjoyed my lunch here. read more

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The most disgusting, nasty, horrible food we have ever eaten in our lives!!!!! What a waste of money! We all got so sick after eating here, and the manager Enrique refused to do anything about it! I wish I could give this place negative stars. Save yourself from this shit hole! read more

I run 3-4x a week in the morning through the pier and I noticed Moby dick served breakfast. So i have it a try, The Breakfast was bland boring and no flavor and the staff were rude and didn't look like they wanted k be there. So next day I ran again and noticed Char West on the pier served breakfast and it was delicious! Sadden because I heard great things about Moby dick! I wouldn't recommend Moby dicks read more

So yes this place serves average food. Nothing big to write home about but the food was not nasty at all. If you want gourmet cuisine this is not your place, but if you want a good location with a cool view to meet some friends for dinner by the pier this is definitely your spot! Like I said the food wasn't super great but we weren't looking for fancy either so for the price it was good. I gave them the 4 stars also based on the GREAT customer service we received the place we visited! A group of us (12 girls) were in town just for a girls' day & night out. We got to the restaurant around 7ish and after I asked the waiter if it was possible to get a table for the whole group by the window he said he would have a table ready for us in 10 mins, good start! We walked and shopped around and showed up 20 mins later but unfortunately the table they set up was not by the window to which he replied he could accommodate us by the window but the group would have to split in two tables, uhm ok I wasn't happy about it. Since I didn't wanna make the girls wait any longer to eat I agreed as I understood we were somewhat a big group for them to accommodate last minute. As we were being lead to the 2 tables by the window one of the managers noticed that and said "no, no, forget that" and asked me to follow him. To my surprise he took all of us to an empty part of the restaurant (with tables set up of course) (maybe a private party room?) surrounded by windows which had a great view!! He ordered 3 waiters to take care of us and accommodated all us in one big table, not separate. Now, THAT'S what I call a good business person. If that weren't enough he put on some nice music especially for us! Ok so he definitely went the extra mile there. Nice! This is definitely a great hang-out place to have a drink or casual or semi formal lunch/dinner with friends while enjoying a gorgeous view!! We were on a budget so we did not try the more expensive stuff but if you are not looking for an extra fancy dinner you can't beat very good service and location with a great view for the price. $15- $20 per person. read more

If u like to eat lobster n affordable.this s d place to eat.their salads r great too.lobster 1 1/2 lbs jus only 25.nice view with the ocean n very accommodating waitress. read more

Your typical wharf restaurant, everything is a little over price. 1. Food Creativity = 6 2. Food Flavor = 6 3. Food Freshness = 6 4. Food Presentation = 4 5. Service Friendliness = 6 6. Attentiveness Service = 6 7. Location = 9 8. Ambiance = 7 9.Menu = 6 10. Cleanliness = 7 Total = read more

Stopped in here for some drinks with the girls. It was alright, the onion rings were pretty sub-par. I ordered a mojito that was awful! But when I informed the server they fixed it up lickety split and brought me back the most delicious mojoti I had tasted in quite awhile. I would probably recommend this place, the views are beautiful, not sure if I'd wanna take my kids here though. read more

For a restaurant on a pier, it's a little frustrating that there's only tables for 2 at the waterfront, but food was good and service on point. I wasn't impressed with the fish and chips, so don't order that, but the clam chowder was awesome. read more

Nice for the view... cannot talk about their food because we had already eaten food. It is a casual dining experience, though. Just enjoyed a glass of wine and took in the horizon. Great views from Stearn's Wharf... ~your constant companion, Deirdra read more

Another restaurant that needs restaurant impossible! There's no actual sit down bar at this establishment on the water, how crazy!? The carpeted floors are disgusting, and the drinks blah! Very weird atmosphere. Walk past this place to the next restaurant for seafood! We wish we had. read more

I would have given this place more stars for the service. Our waiter, Everdardo, was very kind and attentive, as was the rest of the support staff. However, the food didn't taste as fresh as I would expect from a restaurant on the Pier. I ordered the Combo Fish and Chips with Shrimp. It comes with a piece of fish and 4 shrimp, with Cole slaw and and fries on the side. The fries were good, the Cole slaw was average. My issues were with the shrimp and fish. The first shrimp was OK but the second one I got was just so gross that I had to spit it out into a napkin and I couldn't eat the other 2 shrimp. The fish was extremely fishy. I know that sounds stupid but if you are a fish eater you understand. It tasted like it had been sitting in a fridge for a while and wasn't fresh. Now I feel sick and hungry. Which brings me to price. its was $18 for my meal, which is a bit pricey for what it is. Bottom line, I wouldn't recommend the fish/shrimp and chips here. My family seemed to enjoy their sandwiches though. read more

I really had my heart set on going to a different place--but there was no seating so we settled to come here. Sadly, that's truly what it was..."settling". I expected the seafood to be very fresh, instead...everything was overcooked and a little fishier than I would have liked. This place probably was up to par with a Red Lobster...it was really disappointing. Not to say that nothing was good, it was very tasty but it just seemed generic...and yes, Red Lobster-y. It didn't leave me with a lasting memory of Santa Barbara... read more

Hell yeah this place rocks breakfast,lunch and dinner on the warf .great service great view great food can't beat it yum read more

Moby Dick Restaurant - American Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Absolutely love this place!! My boyfriend & I were just visiting from out of town & it was recommended to us so we tried it out. The staff there were all very nice & our waiter was very attentive & offered up several suggestions. I tried swordfish for the first time & I loved it!! I would definitely order it again. My boyfriend had the salmon which was cooked perfectly. We had a bottle of wine and enjoyed our dinner as well as the sunset. It was perfect. I can't wait to go back!! read more

Moby Dick Restaurant - Dinner at sunset - American Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I randomly decided to take a drive to Santa Barbara from LA for the morning. I just took a quick drive through the town, parked and walked down the pier. I came upon Moby Dick (as a literature and ocean fan I figured I would stay) for lunch. I was not particularly famished so I just got the ceviche and a glass of Sangria. I did, like the other reviews said; spent a lot for not a lot/one person - my drink and ceviche came to about $30ish with tip, but to be fair I was paying for liquor/seafood on the pier in Santa Barbara so I am not completely shocked. With that being said the ceviche was a decent portion, even bigger then I expected so that was pleasantly surprising and it was decent tasting as well - obviously not the same as if you went to Peru or something, but still. read more

Moby Dick Restaurant - American Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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I had a great experience at this restaurant. In my opinion, it is the best view on the pier and it is the best prices compared to the other restaurants on the pier. I got the 8 oz. serloin and the quality of it was really good. It costs $21. The lobster roll which was $14 was not very good though. They have Happy Hour specials and early dinner specials from 4pm to 6pm as well. The food came out fairly quick and the servers were friendly. I would give this place a shot. read more

The food was really good and our waitress was excellent!! I wish I could remember her name.. Very nice lady loved her. If I get back to Santa Barbara I will be going back read more

This restaurant is among the short list of restaurants that cater to people with allergies... Seafood allergies! I always find it difficult to go into a restaurant that has anything to do with seafood because of my allergies and then looking at the menu and deciding the only thing I can have is salad. I was a bit apprehensive going in, psyching myself up for that dreaded salad. I spoke to the hostess, who went and got a waiter, who went to the cook who came out and informed me that they use separate fryers! One for the fish and one for everything else! Imagine my joy! I got my burger and french fries with no worries about getting sick. Kudos to the Moby Dick, if I'm ever in Santa Barbara again I'll go back. read more

Very nice kitchy place. Lots of cool photos. The service was good and the food subpar. The fish and chips were not the best. The Rock crab was good. Your paying for the gorgeous view and if your lucky enough to get a window seat at sunset it's breathtaking. read more

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