Santa Barbara Fishouse

My husband and I went to Santa Barbara on July 4th without any planning in advance.\r While we were wandering around the pier, we saw this restaurant and decided to have lunch.\r It was around noon but only several seats were filled and it didn't look busy at all. That made us feel we should not have any high expectation.\r \r My husband ordered Fish & Chips and I ordered Seafood Pasta.\r It was really surprising that they used fresh seafood even for the pasta. The pasta had shrimps, sea scallops, and halibut. For the price (Fish & Chips were under $10 and Seafood Pasta was $12.99), I was expecting the seafood would be frozen but I was totally wrong! \r Our waitress provided us great service. Location was great. Food was a bargain for the price!\r We really felt we had a great get away from city life in this restaurant! We recommend you to sit outside especially lunch time. We are already planning to go back to this restaurant for dinner very soon to experience different dishes. We hope we won't get disappointed like one reviewer said... more

Fish House serves fresh seafood and has a decent ambience and service. We ordered the pan seared rare tuna and the halibut. The tuna was overdone and the halibut was a little too salty. \r The food was average but we liked the overall experience and the service. more

The food tasted like it was made without care. We ordered the Sea Bass and, unlike the previous comment, it was rather small, and bland at that. Furthermore, the waitress took forever and a day to bring our food (approx. 50 minutes) and she brought lemon when I had already finished my fish. My gf ordered the Spicy Seafood Pasta, which was not at all spicy and the all the seafood was bland except for the masking faucet water taste. She was completely displeased and she is easy to satisfy. We were never given refills for our water nor were we ever asked if everything was okay until we got up to leave. Our table was the only one outside without a lit candle or overhead light, so we could barely see our bland food. The only three things I like about this restaurant was the view (which wasn't even all that), the bread, and the fresh crushed black pepper (which gave my ""fresh fish"" flavor). I will never come to this restaurant again. And if I were you, I wouldn't even think about it. Pros: View, Bread, Black Pepper Cons: Everything ELSE!!! more

The seafood was un believalbe, portions for dinner were large, I had to share with my husband. The white seabass was absolutly the best. The staff was very friendly and knowledgable about the food and offered a great slection of wine. It all my needs and exceeded my expectaions. Pros: Fresh Seafood, Friendly, Good Parking Cons: view more

While we haven't had the opportunity to try out their dinner menu, we were pretty satisfied with the lunch. Their seafood salads were delicious, and the free refills on soda was a nice touch. However, if you are looking for a place with an ocean-view, you will be dissapointed. Furthermore, while oyster appetizer was excellent: it was hardly a bargain buy. In fact, folks who are looking for a great value would probably be better off looking elsewhere. Pros: Fresh Seafood, Location, Private Parking Cons: Pricey, Small Serving Size more