A review of Longboards Grill at Santa Barbara.com

Longboards Grill
210 Stearns Wharf, Santa Barbara
Phone: (805) 963-3311

Category: American
Hours: Sun-Thu 11:30am-11pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-Midnight
Price: $10 - $20
Serving: Lunch, & Dinner
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Reviews by the General Public

Pleasant dinner experience, 9/11/2009
Reviewer: Kylee from Santa Barbara, CA
I recently visited Longboards for dinner the other night with my girlfriends and was surprised by how greatly we were treated. The service was excellent, and the atmosphere was gorgeous. We ate outside on the deck; yes, there were birds but they were not a problem at all, and birds are obviously expected while dining on a pier in the ocean. We'll definitely be returning to longboards in the future!

OK, overpriced, hope you like pigeons!, 9/10/2009
Reviewer: Mark from Santa Barbara, CA
Nice view. But it is overpriced for the food, and the service is not great. The specials menu was put on the table after we had already ordered. And the outside deck is GROSS! Where is the health department! Chairs and tables look like they haven't been cleaned in weeks, and there are pigeons everywhere! Just skip it! Enjoy the wharf and then find somewhere else to eat.

Breakfast in the sun!, 7/23/2009
Reviewer: Foodie Dan from Santa Barbara, CA
I had heard that Longboards was offering breakfast on the weekends so my family went on a sunny Saturday.I started with the harbor mary. Very good, spicy and includes a large shrimp artfully placed on the rim of the glass. After reviewing the semi limited menu I chose the seafood benedict. Two large scallops, crab and shrimp under a very good hollendaise. For $14.00 it was large and filling. They also offer a filet mignon version that looked wonderful. My wife chose to order off of the lunch menu. She had the fish and chips. Previously, the fish was not battered but breaded.They now batter the fish with a firestone beer batter and it was wonderful! The service is a hit and miss but if they are not too busy,you will be well accomodated. Skip the busy lunch time and try the weekend breakfast. You might be as surprised as I was.

Enjoyable, 7/21/2009
Reviewer: Kristine from Santa Barbara, CA
I just meet there with 20 friends to celebrate a birthday and it was so pleasant. The staff were very helpful and accomadating and even brought out cheesecake for the birthday girl even though it was not on the menu. The entire meal took two hours but that is very typical for a group of 20 people. The food was good but a little pricey. You are paying for the view, which was a beautiful sunset on the beach. It was the perfect place for a summer birthday get-together

Sunny Santa Barbara , 6/4/2009
Reviewer: Steve from Santa Barbara, CA
Finally a sunny day to come down to longboards and enjoy some great outdoor views....perfect weather....the restaurant was a little bit busy but we got the free peanuts to keep us company....food was good....fairly cheap for it being on the water....there was a lot of graduation parties but our food arrived on time and the drinks were great....definitely come back again...

Needs Improvment, 5/22/2009
Reviewer: Anthony from Santa Barbara, CA
I just moved to Santa Barbara, and have been to this restaurant four times for lunch. Every time, it seems like there has been extreme tension between the managers and the servers. I saw three managers standing around while the servers seemed to be "in over their heads." There was something wrong with each one of my plates I ordered, and a poor attitude from the manager with the accent one of the times I asked him to re make my dish. Great drinks however, and some of the servers are very nice. If this restaurant had a solid management team who actually worked and helped the servers with a great attitude rather than stood around, and if the food was downsized just a little, and everything was just a little bit cleaner, this restaurant would ROCK!!

good view, good food and good service!, 4/29/2009
Reviewer: Shannon Percival from Concord, Ca
This was our second trip to Santa Barbara and we wanted to go some place nice to be able to enjoy the beautiful santa barbara weather. Although longboards seemed to be pretty busy we decided to try and get a table outside beacuse of the awesome view. Not only was the view great, the food/drinks and service was exceptionaly good for how busy it was. It seemed as if everyone was having a great time and enjoying the weather on the patio so I was very surprised to see all the negative reviews about this place considering our experience was so great. Next time we come to santa barbara we will definatly be back.

Good food - poor service & management, no complaint review, 4/21/2009
Reviewer: Jeff from Tustin, CA
Food was excellent as usual - I've eaten at Longboards on Stearns Wharf at least 15 years. Went with my girlfriend. During our meal 15 customers walk into the restaurant, and - following Longboards' policy, they begin to seat themselves at the nearby tables, merging them together, etc. Several people brushed against my chair, and were insensitive to the fact that we were enjoying a quiet meal after a long day enjoying the city. The wait staff made nearly no effort to "direct traffic". So I moved myself. My waitress did a few minutes later check in later to see "if we needed anything", and I firmly let her know that "nothing" (was further needed) - and she did not get the hint. Then, one of the new diners had the gall to ask me if they could use the seat that I vacated in order to avoid the continual "brush-ups" I received from them, and I kindly allowed them to use the chair - adding - "sure you can the chair - now that I'm out of it!" She did not thank me, and condescendingly laughed at me. Still, no effort from the wait staff to direct traffic. We tipped the waitress nine bucks on a $55.00 meal - and kindly indicated to her that in the future she should note, and take action, on rude customers affecting other diners' experiences. As Joy and I got up to leave the restaurant, we noted she was looking at us with her fellow waitress from the wash area, talking in code, and smirking at us, like we were idiots. We have never felt so humiliated as customers. I wrote a letter to Mayor Blum and suggested that the City should do something to improve customer service, to which I received an excellent response from the Mayor herself, and not the restaurant.

Are you sure?, 4/19/2009
Reviewer: frank from Santa Barbara, CA
I was there for lunch today and thought a bargain was had. With all the price increases in town and for good reason I understdand,it's good to have a place where the the view along with quality food is unmatched and well valued. I have been to Longboards a few times and appreciate a job well done.

Overpriced, not worth the $, 4/18/2009
Reviewer: Lindsey from Santa Barbara, CA
We dined here this afternoon after a day trip to the zoo. The service wasn't horrible; but they were certainly understaffed and it took way too long to get our food/drinks. I ordered a burger which I requested as medium cooked, and it came to me black and crispy. This after waiting an enormous amount of time for the food, so I didn't feel like complaining. The prices were over the roof for the quality and amount you get. Not worth coming back.

Good food, good times and great service, 4/16/2009
Reviewer: Josh from Santa Barbara, CA
We had a group of 10 on a nice hot spring day with a few of my old college friends (we all attended UCSB). We went to Longboard's patio to enjoy the view, good food and a very nice selection of beer. We were greated by the manager up the stairs who then sat us on the patio. The staff was very attentive to our needs, as we were a group of ten with a big appetite for beer and food. I strongly recomend Longboards, especially on those hot days when all you want to do is relax on patio and enjoy the view. The service was outstanding.

Go for the view, stay for the drinks...., 3/18/2009
Reviewer: Amber from Santa Barbara, CA
After a long morning of entertaining my children, we decided to head to Longboards and have a drink and some snacks. What an incredible place to soak in Santa Barbara atmosphere, and the people working were so helpful and loved the kids! We ended up staying for almost three hours enjoying the view, and the drinks. I am certain the kids will ask to go back there.

nice experience, 3/17/2009
Reviewer: Linda Alainez from Santa Barbara, CA
Today my friend and I went in to have drinks at longboards and see the whale, the waiter was sweet and the managers were atttentive, it was really nice, I'll be back soon, thanks

Had a great time!, 3/17/2009
Reviewer: Steve from Santa Barbara, CA
My girl friend and I had a great time eating and drinking with the wonderful views and staff. We had top notch service and chowder!! Great place to watch the whale show and soak up the Santa Barbara sun...we'll be back!

A Recount to a Horrible Meal and Experience, 3/9/2009
Reviewer: Samantha Bailey from Santa Barbara, CA
This is the worst place I have ever eaten in my entire life. Horrible service, inedible food, sky high prices, and bad management. First off let me say I have never taken my time to write a bad review for a restaurant before and also hate to complain. My husband and I decided to go on a weekend trip to Santa Barbara from Bakersfield. One of the things I was most excited about was getting some good seafood. We decided to choose a nice looking place on the pier Longboard's Cafe. After entering they told us we needed to seat ourselves. We found an indoor table and tried to sit down they said we couldn't because they needed it for a table they were reserving for 20 people. My husband asked them if there was anywhere else we could sit, they said they didn't know and then turned around and ignored us. There was nowhere else that we could see to sit and the patio was cold (with our baby we wanted to be inside). So then he told them they were going to have to find us somewhere to sit. They finally found us a tiny table in a crowded spot. The clam chowder was inedible, it was very oily and was the worst I have ever tasted in my life (even worse than canned clam chowder). I sent it back and asked for fish and chips instead. The fish and chips came 1 small piece of undercooked rubbery fish and hard french fries with cole slaw for $15. I barely ate the meal. They took forever to bring us any refills. My husbands drink was left at the bar until it got warm, then when we asked they brought it to us. When we tried to flag down the waiter to ask for our check, practically yelling excuse me and waving our arms, he ignored us. Finally we got our check $50 for garlic bread two drinks and bad fish and chips. I was too tired to complain because we had been there so long. I called the next morning to ask for a refund. The manager was very rude and said he would get back to me. I gave him my number and he still hasn't done anything about it. I think the place has a good atmosphere but needs better management and to revise their menu prices to reflect the quality of the food and service.

Overpriced... great location., 3/2/2009
Reviewer: Michael Lemon from Santa Barbara, CA
I know, I watch, third party. Great!

someone call pest control, 2/27/2009
Reviewer: Jordan from Santa Barbara, CA
My mom was in town this weekend so we decided to go to longboards grill for a good view and good food which we have experienced before but when we sat down we were not acknowledged once in the 15 minute period we were there, at least not by waitstaff but the pigeons all over the deck were happy to greet us. They need some sort of control, the pigeons were on the tables, going after any bit of food any where and i think if we had stayed i wouldn't have been able to enjoy the meal without being disturbed by the mass amount of birds trying to share it with me.

Speaking from experience, 2/10/2009
Reviewer: Kent from Santa Barbara, CA
I used to work here and I personally thought the food that I ate was pretty delicious. My friends and I all love the fries. The seasoning is what does it. Everyone who reads this needs to try the Maui Burger on sourdough. It's absolutely delish! Regarding everyone hating the service, I personally did what I could while I was there. Almost everyone who works there is a great person on a personal level. The service industry just isn't where some of them should be. Training IS a problem, but it's addressed when it can be. The main problem is servers would rather answer right off the bat than go ask someone who knows. I have respect for the restaurant. It's good people and good food... just REALLY overpriced. Anyone that has had a bad trip, I ask that you give it one more try. Hopefully you get a different server and a better experience.

Not Worth the Money, 1/8/2009
Reviewer: Shawna from Santa Barbara, CA
When we arrived, no one said hello to us. We seated our selves. When I asked if the cesaer salad came inside of a bread bowl, I was told "yes". It did not. It came with a bowl of clam chowder, which I do not like. The kids hamburger came with tomato, ketchup, lettuce, mayo, and I was told it came plain. My son, who is allergic to mayo, was not able to eat the burger. I did not bother to send my food back since it took forever to get the food in the first place. So I overpaid for some cold french fries that came with the uneaten burger. The bill was an issue- we asked the server to split the bill- half on credit card, half with cash. She put the whole amount on the credit card, then it took forever to get that fixed. The food here is expensive, and not worth what you get. The waitstaff is unable to answer basic questions about the menu. This is due to not training the staff, it is not the servers fault. Although this is in a beautiful location, the service is bad, and the food does not taste good and is overpriced. I would not waste my money here again!

Nice view....Nothing more!!!, 1/8/2009
Reviewer: Mike from Santa Barbara, CA
I am a local and brought some friends here during the Christmas break because of the beautiful day and great view. We arrived before noon and sat on the patio. We ordered drinks and an appetizer which were delivered on time and were not bad. Overpriced for sure, but I expected that coming in. It quickly got very busy, and it was like a sinking ship!!!! Did not see our waitress for another 20 min. and the lunch items we ordered were terrible!!! The burger was overcooked and just thrown in a basket!! Fish and Chips were seved with about 10 french fries!! Mahi-Mahi was as dry as the Sahara desert! The ice in our second round of drinks was melted as if sitting for 20 min.. Blended margarita was $10 and was more like a strawberry water with tequila added. Waitress was kind, and apologetic, and let us know that management & ownership was a joke! She even recommened going to Brophy's! Not worth your TIME, or $$$.

Waste of money
Reviewer: Amanda from San Jose, CA
The clam chowder was good. That's about it. The rest...nothing to write home about. The bloody mary was pretty bland and the waiters and waitresses didn't pay much attention. Definitely a tourist trap and I got caught in it.

I agree with WHAT A JOKE!
Reviewer: Stefani from Camarillo, CA
My husband and I drove to Santa Barbara just to go to longboards. We love sharing a whipeout. We have had many in the past and they are usually so big. This time when we went it said on the menu 46oz.for $30. We ordered it and it seemed so small so we asked the waitress if it was 46oz. and she said the boxes the glasses come in said 46oz. We took our glass home and we were right. The glass is 32oz.!!! My husband called the manager and explained and she told him to call back tomorrow. What a joke! For $30 you should get what is advertised on the menu. The food was not even good and then jipped on the drinks too! We will go somewhere else from now on.

Terrible Food!
Reviewer: Denise from Santa Barbara
This was my first time at Longboards and I was extremely disappointed. The food was awful and service was not that great. I had the maui maui fish tacos with rice and beans. The peas in the rice weren't even cooked. The fish in the tacos were over fried and had no flavor. It was a waste of time and money.

What a Joke!
Reviewer: Cindy from Thousand Oaks, CA
We normally come to Longboard's a few times during the year. It has progressively gotten worse, and shame on us for not getting the hint. Well, we got the hint loud and clear last Saturday. The patio is self seating and we watched servers not only walk by us for 20 minutes but also by surrounding tables. We finally stopped one waitress who said she would return, but never did. Another girl took our order after 30 minutes waiting. The couple next to us were the smart ones, they got up and left without bothering to order. We ordered chips, salsa and guacamole as appetizers, which came out after our meal. The food runner brought it to us and said we wouldn't be charged. We were somewhat surprised when the bill came and the chips were on there. We explained to our waitress what happened and she looked genuinely perplexed as how to handle this. We saw her talking to the manager, who walked out himself. Instead of apologizing and doing what he could to make up for the terrible service, mediocre food at best and terrible at worst, he had the nerve to stand there and scold us for eating the food! He said if we didn't want them, we should have sent them back. I informed him that we did in fact want the chips, but usually prefer our appetizers before our meal, and when the runner told us there would be no charge, of course we accepted them. He then told us the runner wasn't authorized to say that. I told I wouldn't know that...He seemed dumbfounded to the whole situation. It got to the point where we were wasting too much time arguing with him and it wasn't worth it...the food, the service, the management...even the view wasn't worth the absolutely worthless evening spent there. NEVER AGAIN! We were treated terribly, and we weren't the only ones. Just like the previous entry, we will find someone along State where the customer is treated right...if you are walking along the wharf, and pass by Longboard's...just keep on walking!

Gross food, not many options, not worth your money
Reviewer: Lauren from Goleta
I went here for the first time 2 weeks ago and I had the chicken strips .They weren't very good. They were about $10 and they had no flavor whatsoever. It was like the Shake'n bake mix. The Arnold Palmer cost 3.50! The only plus was the waiter who was attentive. Then I came again 2 days ago for a meeting (wasn't my choice for location). I asked for extra well done slider burgers. When I bit into them they were bright red inside!!!!!!! Then, the waitress was awful. It took about 20 mins for her to come back and check on us and for me to get a new plate-. My friends got arnold palmers and thought there were free refills.Nope- 2 arnold palmers= 7 bucks! THis place is soooooooooo overpriced and soooooooooo not good. I will never return.The only plus is the location which is why people keep coming! DOn't go though--just walk off the wharf and eat somewhere on State.

Better places can be found.
Reviewer: Mark from Santa Barbara, CA
The food here is decent, but overpriced. They ought to have a "seat yourself" sign so people don't have to wait awkwardly around until someone tells them that they can choose their own seat. We went there today and ordered two burgers, it took over 35 minutes for the food to arrive and the place was only moderately busy. I don't care if it was packed, two burgers should not take over 30 minutes to arrive, and if it did that long, it would be nice to have your server stop buy to give you a status update. Unfortunately we didn't see our server except to take our order and to bring us our drinks. I couldn't even find her to flag her down and see what was up with our order. To top it off, the entire time we were waiting was spent praying that one of the dozens of pigeons that were flying over and landing in the restaurant didn't poop on us.

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