Great craft cocktails in an incredible and historic building. We got there right at opening so…read moreservice was very quick and happy hour was in full swing. We only got two drinks because we were on a time crunch but both were delicious. The space is very intimate and dimly lit, the perfect space for a craft cocktail.

Great cocktails, great spot with Excellent customer service…read more It has good atmosphere , we were there after Happy Hour on a First Thursday and the band playing jazz was a lot of fun. Right next to the Granada Theater Downtown Santa Barbara

630pm on a Sunday with reservations…read more It started to get really busy by 7:30pm. Outdoor fire pit and string lights make it a true vibe for casual outing or date night. Service was phenomenal! Everyone was extra attentive and went above and beyond to make sure my family was comfortable, including the baby! Fried chicken with the grits was excellent!! Orecchiette and lettuce salad were also really good. I would say the crudo (salmon) and fisherman's catch (bluefin tuna) were forgettable. Cornbread and shrimp toast are worth getting to try- good but not great. Come for date night or family dinner, but make a reservation for the weekends!

Best cornbread of my entire life…read more Whilst bar-hopping, we only stopped at The Lark for a bite, and a cocktail... (we were hoping to find something on the less pricey side for our main dinner) The whiskey fruit-infused cocktails sounded amazing, but just tasted like whiskey. Bit of a let-down, despite being good whiskey. But HOLY-YELP, if you're looking for THE best CORNBREAD you will EVER eat in your life... look no further. It's insane. We didn't explore the menu much beyond that, but it's honestly worth a stop for the cornbread alone.

Honestly one of the best food experiences I've ever had. The chicken shawarma wrap was divine and I…read moreworry I'll never have food this good again now that it's gone.

Honestly... save your money…read more I dropped by this Jordanian restaurant /hookah lounge to chill for a bit, have a beer, and enjoy some hookah. It looked like a cool vibe from the outside, but the whole experience left me super disappointed. When I walked in, the place was empty--just the owner and two staff. No greeting, no welcome, just awkward silence while the owner stayed on the phone trying to fix what sounded like a billing issue. The staff didn't speak much English (which is fine), but there was no real effort to help or explain anything either. Eventually, I got a hookah and a beer--$48.50 for one hookah and one beer. Yeah... nearly $50. No food, no extras. That's wild. Then I was told I had to smoke outside on the back patio, which turned out to be a tiny little corner--maybe 6 by 10 feet--with uncomfortable chairs and a random wood bench. It took 15 minutes to even get the hookah (remember, no one else was there), and when it arrived, it was totally burnt. Overpacked, harsh hits, and I ended up having to scrape it and fix it myself just to get it to smoke right. Wanna know the kicker? You only get three coals. That's it. No refills unless you pay for more. No one checked on us for almost an hour, and when I finally asked for more coals, they said (in broken English and mostly Spanish) that that's all you get unless you pay extra. I've smoked hookah all over the place--three coals is nothing, especially when you're charging $35+. No one came around, no vibe, no music, no nothing. Just me, my burnt hookah, and a beer that wasn't even cold. I really tried to find something redeeming about this place, but nothing hit. The service wasn't there, the product wasn't good, and it honestly felt like I was bothering them just by being there. Bottom line: for $50, you can do way better just about anywhere else--or even at home. Hope they turn it around, but for now, I wouldn't recommend it.

Service and food were great! our server Brandy was excellent! She treated us wonderfully.read more

We had an awesome experience here! First off, they have the option to sit outside on a nice sunny…read morepatio or inside where everything is accented in dark wood and metal, exactly like you'd expect a bbq place called Whiskey N Rye to look. The drink options were great and our server even suggested the perfect one for me based on other drinks I like. Now most importantly is the food...the serving sizes are large and everything is so flavorful. Make sure you get the elote corn side, it was incredible! I ordered pulled pork with beans on the side and my boyfriend ordered the full rack of ribs with the elote corn. Both were delicious. We were starving when we got there so we were disappointed when we found out his ribs were cold. We told the server and she replaced it immediately, including the full side of corn we ate in the meantime cause we were too hungry to wait! It was definitely the best service we got during our entire time in Solvang. Highly recommend this place!

Honestly, a hidden gem.the drinks are wonderful. The staff is amazing. And the food is perfect pub…read morefare. Had to take respite in there during the World Cup. Had a small overly tired kid. They were wonderful. Place is inviting and the owner really cares. Will be going back next trip up to SB!

My new favorite distillery in California! I loved Cutler's. I wish it was closer to home…read more We got the flight and tasted the vodka, gin, whiskey, bourbon, apple pie liqueur, and cold brew liqueur. All sensational! I had to try the espresso martini afterwards as I've been on a kick for these lately. This did not disappoint! It wasn't overly sweet, just perfect. I also loved the second waitress/worker that came, Anna. She acknowledged us, and was nice to talk to. Thank you for making our experience better. The inside almost feels like a saloon, and in the evening they were getting ready for a live band, this was on a Saturday. Wish I could frequent here more often!

If you're a local, this is the place to avoid. It's the "bridge and tunnel" club. Crowded, skeezy,…read morenot in the greatest state of repair, and so on. Though always skeptical of such consensus, unconsciously I bought into this for years. One day, a favorite bartender from another establishment wound up here. I started popping in early, more than a little wary, cautious to plan for an early departure. But slowly I got to know the other staff. The absolute nicest bunch of people in Santa Barbara. People I never went out of my way to befriend, who picked me out as a regular, showed me respect I never asked for, treated me with the utmost kindness even though I never did much to deserve it. Wildcat has become a place where I'm comfortable walking in, even on a busy Friday or Saturday night; and know I'll be valued, respected, and protected, even by people I barely know. And also served the absolute coldest draft beer in the city except for Lure which closes at 10. This sounds like an ad but I swear it's the damn truth. Be prepared to wait in line. The line is part of the fun. These are your fellow patrons, after all. Your friends and neighbors. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Wildcat Lounge was giving middle-school dance with a disco ball. Very young crowd, cheap-looking…read moreinterior, basically a dance floor with a few booths shoved along the wall, and a bizarre mix of 2000s music. But the real highlight was trying to LEAVE. As I was walking out, the woman at the door literally GRABBED my drink out of my hand. Ma'am... you can use your words. You can simply say, "You can't leave with your drink." There is absolutely no reason to grab someone or their drink. When I said, "Oh, really?" she responded with an incredibly rude "YES, REALLY." The attitude was completely unnecessary. I'm from Vegas, and walking around with your drink is extremely common in certain areas, so I genuinely wasn't aware of their policy. Maybe instead of acting like everyone should automatically know every bar's rules, a little basic communication would help. Overall: cheap-looking, weirdly childish atmosphere, ridiculous 2000s music, and an unnecessarily rude door experience. If you're looking for a very young, chaotic club with questionable music and a door staff member ready to confiscate your cocktail like it's evidence at a crime scene, have fun. For everyone else: save your money and go somewhere better.

5* experience to end a holiday weekend on a high note! I'll be honest, Opal was the restaurant I…read morewas "least hyped" for before visiting. Not because it did anything wrong, but because a couple other options had gone more viral. Just goes to show you can't trust social media for anything. Let's start with the service, which was excellent from our awesome server Sam to our hostess to all the other servers we interacted with. My husband and I commented on how insanely in sync the restaurant was -- SO friendly, going truly above and beyond. Whoever owns and manages this place has clearly chosen some superstars! Then the food.... Just incredible! I had the duck breast and was devastated when I ran out of pieces. The sauce was so delicious and the risotto was excellent. My husband had the ribeye, which was cooked to perfection. Cherry on top was a sweet dessert surprise for our anniversary! Opal, we will be back!

Our group of eight thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at Opal. The service was outstanding! Our waitress…read morewas attentive, thoughtful, and incredibly helpful with the menu options, while also accommodating our individual preferences. We truly appreciated her care and attention. She also selected the perfect wine for me--beautifully balanced and full of flavor. I was very impressed! A special thanks to the chef who prepared my lamb chop dinner. I was served three large, thick, and incredibly juicy lamb chops. They were absolutely amazing--truly heavenly! I highly recommend this dish, especially for fellow meat lovers.

The local always has the beat beers and bartenders as well as great Local beers. Just ask for a…read moreWhiskey or Bourbon. Dont have enough Duckets $$$$ ??? Say " I only have this much give me something in that range " The Local where locals meet and strangers drink.

We came in on a Wed night for my bday. We lucked out with the sweetest bartender. Each drink was a…read morework of art--and just as thirst-quenching. We ordered food from an Indian restaurant and had it delivered to the bar. Love that you can do that here. Definitely give them a try!

Had no idea this place has been open for four years, and I'd never tried it…read more Went on a Thursday night, we ended up being the only ones there. I understand weekends has live music. It's rustic and clean, it's very clean. There's a very large side room for events etc. the main bar area is small with some nice chairs to sit in and the large tv was set to a fireplace. The floors are covered in various beef/farm brands, adds to the rustic western vibe. Bartender was friendly and attentive. She kept busy cleaning and dusting bottles- like I said- it's clean. Drinks for a "speakeasy" were not special. Very typical bar drinks- no special menu etc. I visit a lot of speakeasy's- this is, speakeasy-ish. Our two drinks & a club soda were nearly $40. They were made well. Unfortunately, they didn't have the ingredients to make the drink I had asked for. Overall, I'd like to see this place on a weekend night with music. The drinks were over priced for what they were- IMO. That said, I'll likely return, at least once. Still bummed KC doesn't have a nice speakeasy.

I had some really good lemon drops here they were just right my friends drink was also just right…read more There are some lovely live music.. The ambience is really cool as well and unique.. The server was super attentive and friendly. I had no complaints.

Amazing bar with a highly skilled bartender (on a Tuesday night) who managed to deliver…read moreconsistently perfect cocktails with zero help, to a crowd. The cocktails are highly creative, diverse in flavor and design, and really could stand up to any you would find at a top cocktail bar in a major city. The exterior doesn't scream "must come in" but you absolutely should. Is it a tiki bar? Yes, but in the best way. And the bartender deserves applause for pulling off 3+ quite complex cocktails every 5 minutes off of memory and without any support.

Test Pilot lands somewhere in the orbit of tiki without fully crash-landing on a bamboo runway, and…read morehonestly, that works in its favor. In a stretch of Lower State packed with breweries, wine bars, and roaming weekend energy-drink humans in vintage bowling shirts, it threads the needle nicely between cocktail bar and tropical escape pod. The menu leans tiki-adjacent rather than deep-cut exotica, but the drinks are smartly built and avoid the "every problem can be solved with more rum" philosophy. There's a solid spread of spirits across the board, which makes the place feel more welcoming to a broader nightlife crowd instead of strictly rum disciples clutching vintage Trader Vic's mugs. The Oaxacan Dead was the standout for me. Smoky, balanced, endlessly sippable. One of those drinks where every sip quietly talks you into ordering another without turning into a sugar avalanche. The Jungle Bird was also great, though presented more in the direction of a Negroni than the punchier tropical versions you usually see. Bitter, restrained, and easy to settle into. Crowd-wise, things tilted a little frat-floaty as the night rolled on, but the staff handled everything smoothly and kept the vibe from turning into full pirate mutiny. Service stayed friendly and composed even when the volume of the room started climbing like a malfunctioning theremin. Big bonus points for the location and outdoor seating. Being right in the middle of Lower State makes it an easy launch point or final stop depending on your evening trajectory. Grab a drink, people-watch, drift between breweries and wine spots, repeat as necessary.