Great atmoshpere and great food, 9/2/2010
Reviewer: Cregans
from Ireland
Loved this resturant on our recent vacation in Santa Barbara and visited it more than once. The food was amazing, beautiful fresh crab and chowder, all made freshly in view. Loved the atmosphere too and the service was great.
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Finally - East Coast meets West!, 8/24/2010
Reviewer: Nancy
from Fallbrook, CA
this little place reminds me of the lobster shops in Boston, Maine and Baltimore! Finally, i found a place to get a Lobster out of the water and cooked just right! The place is small and you have to wait outside for your turn to get in. But you would not want it bigger as it would ruin the whole thing.
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Great food and service, 6/20/2010
Reviewer: Foodie Dan
from Santa Barbara, CA
Just got home from a fathers day lunch. Great fresh seafood, chowder and a strong bloody mary! Very good!
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Great Food!, 6/10/2010
Reviewer: Mike
from Santa Barbara, CA
Uh, Christophe, they buy the local crab directly from the fisherman and keep them live in tanks. How can quality get any better than that? Granted, the dungeness is from up north and often not live but that's rare. Expensive? 2 crab cakes and cole slaw for $13.95 and a crab sandwich for 10.95 (with slaw and HUGE onion rings) isn't bad considering they are a city leased operation, as a local you should know what that entails in terms of overhead. Can you find me another restaurant in town that is much lower than that? Nearly every restaurant in SB uses Sysco, I agree it's not the best quality but from a business standpoint sometimes restaurants need to make those difficult decisions. Plus, every major brand label ketchup uses high fructose corn syrup! Look it up.
SB Shelfish Co is definitely the BEST restaurant on the wharf, hands down. Next time, try something from one of the live tanks. The local farm raised abalone dish is incredible and personally I loved the crab cakes when I've tried them. Their oyster selection is wonderful and they have a nice version of cioppino. I highly recommend SBSC to visitors and locals! :) It's simple, ask the servers and regulars what the 'favorites' are and you probably would have written a positive review and unfortunately, maybe no review since you only had something bad to say.
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For the Tourists Who Don't Know Better, 6/4/2010
Reviewer: Christophe Sautot
from Santa Barbara, CA
We ordered a crab salad sandwich and crab cakes. The food was horrible and expensive. I was so disappointed in my lunch here, and as a local, I will never go back. Even the ketchup they use is cheap - Sysco Food Co brand ketchup packets with high fructose corn syrup! All the food had this poor-quality mayonnaise taste: the sauce for the crab cakes, the base for the crab salad, and the base for the coleslaw. It makes me really sad that with such great fish, shellfish and produce in SB, that this place can't serve decent simple food. I see a simple solution: order better quality ingredients and serve food that people will want to come back for.
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Great food and big waves, 1/20/2010
Reviewer: fletch
from Santa Barbara, CA
My wife and I had another great meal here today.Perfect spot to see the storm waves.We sat outside and had the crab,couldn't have been better.My 2 kids always love this place.The waitress was great.Thanks shellfish company.
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best crab for your buck
Reviewer: Emmanuel
from Santa Barbara, CA
This is a great hang out spot Yummi crab and good beer selection worth a return trip any day great fast service and the chowder is the best along with tender delicious king crab Could use more restrooms though but over all a great find better than the crab shack any day
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Impressed
Reviewer: Michael Kennelly
from Peoria, IL
Best seafood I've had in years!!! Amazingly inexpensive especially considering the location. Truly a bargain for seafood that doesn't get any fresher. Great service sitting at the bar. Outstanding bloody mary. Kudos!
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Liability of a waiter...
Reviewer: Michele N.
from Santa Barbara, CA
What an experience! Our waiter was drinking on the job! No joke. I wouldn't have minded it so much except that he was screwing up everyone's orders. He was waiting on a couple outside as my party and I watched from inside - facing directly at the table outside. He was down right drinking beer from the extra glass he had stashed at the table! Is he the manager - or is there no manager on duty? Who would allow this? Such a liability for a restaurant. Like I said - it would've been all good except that the service truly suffered as a result.
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A New Family Classic
Reviewer: Jeremy
from Chicago, IL
This place has the best seafood I have ever had. Their clam chowder is to die for! My family lives in Santa Barbara and now every time we go out there, we go here!
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Good Food/Service, not a "fine dining" experience
Reviewer: Glenn
from Buellton
Keep in mind this is not a "fine dining" place even though the prices might attest to that. I would suggest on a crowded day get food at the "to go" counter and eat on the public picnic benches next door, you have a little shelter from the wind. They have outdoor picnic seating with hardly any wind shelter(from the Harbor) and cramped bar type seating inside. For a bigger group of people or special date or if you have kids try Moby Dick next door with great views and service. For a quick bite try the "to go" window. For me the Lobster Tacos were just Ok and a Rubio's Grill type taco tasted better to me. The coconut shrimp were better(not as good as Opal or Palace Grill though!). The onion rings were good for me so not sure what the fuss about them are. The cole slaw was better at Moby Dick. Its not as good as I remembered. Rachel Ray $40/a day here.
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yummm
Reviewer: Cara
from Santa Barbara, CA
the lobster tacos were amazing! the coconut shrimp was pretty good. the onion rings were not tasty but the service was good and the view is gorgeous.
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Enjoy this spot 1 or 2 times a month
Reviewer: Jon
from Santa Barbara, CA
Live right off Cabrillo and State and often walk to the local
restuarants. Really enjoy the SB Shellfish company. Have always
had friendly helpful service, and even once when my friend
misunderstood what he was ordering they remade what he wanted
graciously. Fish is fresh and local catch. Love the slaw !!
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Just ok
Reviewer: Nicole
from Goleta
This place is just ok. It's small and poorly run and the service really mars the taste of the food. I was there 2 weekends ago and got the half lobster special. While the lobster was sweet and delicious everything else was terrible. For $20 I expect a little more. The salad was over dressed, the onion rings were inedible (and I love anything fried) and the butter looked like melted margarine and tasted like it too. The service was not good, I'm not sure if this guy just didn't want to be there, was having a bad day or what, but it was not good. We won't be back.
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Would Never Recommend
Reviewer: Kazzanda
from Santa Barbara, CA
The only good thing about this place is the location. It is at the end of the Wharf which is nice. The menu for outdoor ordering is very small and blocked by other customers while they order. I ordered the Crab Sandwich which came with Onion Rings and Coleslaw. The man at the window said he would call my number when it was ready, which he never did. So my food was left sitting at the order window where other customers come and go. Very poor service. Then the food was horrible. The sandwich tasted like pepper with tuna, not crab. It was very overseasoned! The onion rings were extremely greasy and messy. Prior to ordering my meal I noticed a lot of food in the trash, but after attempting to eat mine I knew why. It was $11.91 for the sandwich and I didn't even eat half. Quality of food and customer service needs improvement.
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Out of the water freshness...great taste, right price, fun!
Reviewer: Randy Innis
from Las Vegas, NV
We've been to the Shellfish Company twenty times over the past 15 years when we travel to the Central Coast. We've even stayed at Pismo and driven to the pier for lunch, gone to the wineries and back to Pismo again. Staying in SB is o.k. too but the beach in Pismo is our favorite. At the Shellfish the young people who have waited on us are always fun, attentive and professional in their own young way. A nice wine or a cool beer with the dishes makes for a great lunch and/or dinner. Can't say enough about the crab plates, the chowder, the cocktails and the experience in general. Wait to sit up at the bar close to the tanks and where you can see the food being prepared. Too much fun!!
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I agree with Mike - Rockin Meal for Your $$
Reviewer: Huyen
from Santa Barbara, CA
I went there over the weekend while the whale madness was going on, and ordered from the to go window, my food was out in under 5-7 mintues. It's probably one of the best deals on the Wharf when it comes to quality seafood and affordable prices. I had a giant crab sandwich with nice toasted texas toast, cripsy onions rings, and a nice portion of cole slaw. $10.95..not too shabby! My friend has the coconut shrimp plate and the shrimp are like no other restaurant I've been to in SB..and I've been around! Jumbo shrimp..mmm..great views, great people, and great food..I love home! You can get a crab plate for $14..c'mon that's a steal.
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The gem of the wharf!
Reviewer: Mike
from Santa Barbara, CA
I love this place. First, my suggestion to any of the negative reviews is if you are ordering crab or lobster, to order what is LIVE in the tank. Dungeness isn't always available fresh and you're likely getting pre-cooked/frozen. If the crab is not in the tank, don't order it. They have an excellent selection of Oysters and the variety is usually changing, which is nice. They get LOCAL ridgeback shrimp and spot prawns which is rare to find in any local restaurants. They are amazing and nothing like regular restaurant shrimp. This is truly a great place in Santa Barbara!
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Locals favorite
Reviewer: Renee Calwell
from Santa Barbara, CA
This little treasure has to be our favorite place in sb, we've been going there for years. Great, fresh seafood (most of its still swimming in the tanks), ice cold beer, gorgeous location, and a fun & helpful serving crew. They only have stools inside and no full bar so heads up if youre looking for the wine n dine ritzy fluff, but if you want quality food served fast while looking out at the pacific ocean, Shellfish is your place.
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Blown Mind!
Reviewer: Kevin Reynolds
from LA, CA
Food was awesome, I had the Lobster Tacos and they were sooo good! My wife had the half dungeness crab and she loved it (even let me have a leg, the meat was so sweet). Our server was friendly and funny and the overall atmosphere of the place was laid back and fun. Tiny place though, and only bar stools inside, but if you love seafood you'll love this place.
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An Illusion
Reviewer: Michele
from Santa Barbara, CA
So I have been to this restaurant before and have had a fairly decent experience, but not great enough for me to come back. It wasn't until my friend said that she had been wanting to go eat crab at the Shellfish Company and asked if I would join her. We got some others together in hopes of eating some yummy seafood. We had quite the surprise when pretty much everything that people ordered was way sub-par and some even inedible. I am from Maryland and know what a good crab looks and tastes like. Three of us chose the Dungeness crab and they were the worst crabs that each of us had ever eaten!!!! The shrimp tacos had three tiny little shrimp in each taco. The oysters were only okay. And the lobster bisque was terrible. The server we had was amazing and took off money for the crabs...thankfully!!! I won't be returning there again. It's sad that such a special location is taking advantage of their customers and giving them less quality food for a high price. Do it right or let someone else take over the lovely spot.
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I love this place
Reviewer: Taylor
from Santa Barbara, CA
I often eat a clam chowder here when i fish at the pier and it makes my day so much better. Forget about all those other places on the pier that are over priced. This place is good and priced well. My friend's brother loves to watch the live crabs in the window. A locals favorite.
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Best seafood, best prices!!!
Reviewer: Juls
from Bodfish, CA
I loved this place. The oysters were to die for and the calamari melts in your mouth. The staff is friendly, the view spectacular. Can't wait to go back to S.B. to try more. The only drawback is they only serve beer and wine.
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