Reader Shareena has requested I make a pet-friendly restaurant list. The odds of me finding time to do that in the near future are pretty low because creating a new section usually takes 600 phone calls and SantaBarbara.com has a staff of one. If you are interested in such a section could you leave comments here with your suggestions? If I receive 25 or more suggestions I will create a new pet-friendly restaurant section.
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- Ca' Dario is a local favorite Italian restaurant that wins "Best Of" awards year after year.
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- Pizza Mizza - Much More than Great Pizza...we offer Santa Barbara's Best Gourmet Pizzas
- Pure Joy Catering offers the entire package in full service special event and wedding catering.
- Silvergreens - Making our food as healthy as possible without compromising taste. Eat Smart...Live Well.
- Sly's Steaks, Seafood & Cocktails has earned a reputation for high quality foods with a vintage flair using the best of local and in-season ingredients.
- Stella Mare's - Enjoy cocktails, wine and casual French Country cuisine in a unique and charming location overlooking the Bird Refuge.
- The Palace Grill - Features authentic Louisiana specialties such as Jambalaya, Crawfish Etouffée and more.
- The Marquee - Classic elegance located in the newly restored Granada Theatre
- The Savoy - A hybrid restaurant/lounge/concert hall and nightclub at 409 State Street
- Whole Foods Market - The premier location for organic produce and meats, local wines, specialty cheeses and more.
The Brewhouse-they have a special menu of items for your dog. They always bring a bowl of water to my dog.
Mesa Cafe-the servers always give my dog special attention.
Rudy’s on Montecito St…my dog is welcome to sit at the tables they have outside.
Brewhouse
Scarlett Begonia
yes please
Killer B’s. they love dogs and always give mine a bone to chew on while we eat.
Hollister brew dog friendly
Cafe Stella
Renaud’s in Loreto Plaza is VERY welcoming to dogs, as is Summerland Beach Cafe, Breakwater Cafe, and Fresco North (all have outside seating). Sad to say, but Jeannine’s at State & Ontare is unwelcoming, even though they have outside tables.
Here is a list of restaurants that I’ve taken my dogs to: Fresco Cafe East Beach Grill Ultimate Bagels CrushCafe Tupelo Junction Pascucci Kahuna Grill Dargan’s Opal Restaurant
Pascucci’s, Cafe Del Sol, Chase Bar and Grill, Andersen’s Danish Bakery and Restaurant, Beach Grill at Padero, Aldo’s, Cafe Shell, East Beach Grill, El Torito Restaurant, The Habit (all 3-locations), Peabody’s, Palazzio’s, S.B. Shellfish Company, Summerland Beach Cafe, and most restuarants with outside seating. These are a few that I know of besides what has already been mentioned………hope I helped!!! (There is also a new one in Victoria Plaza that caters to dogs….:-) ENJOY and Happy Holidays!!!!
Eastbeach Grill is good too.
The Breakwater Restaurant in the Santa Barbara harbor has been PET FRIENDLY since the first day our county health dept. relaxed it’s rule. Let’s see yours! Scott
Its funny how people take their pet to the grocery store. Today during the rain this lady took her dog inside the store. I saw her dog shaking all the water off in the produce section. Dog water and hair everywhere. Remember people wash your veggies before you cook!
Kahuna grill, Panino and Brewhouse all bring your dog water! The brewhouse dog menu is awesome!
I’m not hating on people loving their dogs and wanting to not be harassed for bringing them to a restaurant… but I have NEVER been able to understand why it’s legal/sanitary!
What germ could you possibly catch from a dog? Especially from a dog just sitting near you…..
Our 4-legged friends have heated patio seating for them and their owners. They do not come into the restaurant.
Yes please, would love the list!
if it licks its own @$$, its not welcome to sit at or near my table…period.
I love animals, though it does not mean I want to eat with them.
You may be surprised to know that many of the people around you do much ‘sicker’ things than that….
Looks like you’ve got quite a few people interested. Yay, for a pet friendly section! The pet friendly restaurants we like are: Fresco’s (State Street) Summerland Beach Cafe Brewhouse Tupelo Junction (only two tables available outside) Thx John for considering this!
Jeannine’s in Montecito now allows dogs as does the Montecito Deli. Stacky’s in Summerland and the Garden Market in Carpenteria.
Oh yes! Please do create a pet-friendly dining section. I come up from the desert to visit Santa Barbara as often as I can and I would LOVE to dine at new places with my dog. I was so excited to see the suggestions you posted here already.
This will be a great resource for locals and visitors. With so many dog friendly hotels there are plenty of canine visitors with their owners- let’s welcome them with some great information. Santa Barbara isn’t Carmel where 9/10 restaurants allow dogs on their patios but thanks to the County of SB now restaurants that have outside areas that fit their criteria can choose to be dog friendly. A huge thanks to Summerland Beach Cafe for working on changing SB County policy to allow them to have dogs on the patio! Favorites of mine: Fresco Santa Barbara, Summerland Beach Cafe, Brewhouse, Hollister Brewing Company.
Summerland Beach cafe has a large sign advertising the fact their are dog friendly. Brewhouse is one of the most dog friendly, I’ve seen dogs on the tables and also roaming for food around the dining area, so maybe they are a bit too lax. Mesa Cafe is another dog hangout.
Pizza Mizza
And I believe that make 25
I don’t like to dine with other people’s dogs… and having them in any store is kind of disgusting…
Yes, this has been very helpful reading all the comments! A list would be great!
Summerland Beach Cafe has always been doggie friendly since we’ve lived here!
People used to bring dogs into my coffee shop I managed. We got in trouble with the health inspector about it, so I started trying to crack down on it. People would go ‘is it ok if I hold her instead?’, like having the dog at a food service elevation was ‘better’.
Yeah, I think it’s best if dogs stay outside and on the ground at any food establishment. And on a leash within the seating area, not wandering around for food scraps, going potty, or disturbing other patrons. A responsible pet owner should always ask if the establishment allows dogs. But course just as we encounter some disrespectful parents or people in general, we will encounter some disrespectful dog owners.
Just chiming (again) in that Hollister is pet friendly – see people outside with well behaved dogs frequently.
And if you don’t like to eat near people & their pets, you can sit inside, where no animals are allowed (except service animals), or request a table outside & mention you don’t want to be seated next to any animals. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to not want to eat next to animals. I personally like animals, and don’t mind them when I eat out, as long as they are well behaved.
Mitch brings up a good point. Well behaved is key for any pet in public places be they at the feet of their owner while they are dining in a restaurant at an outdoor table or walking down State Street.
Same goes for children. Lots of entitled folks in this town see no issue with their obnoxious brats making a scene in restaurants. If they can’t sit through a dinner they don’t belong out. Recently I saw a child lighting napkins on fire with the candles on the table. The couples dining were too self-absorbed in their conversation and wine drinking they failed to even notice what was going on. When it was brought to their attention they were rude and said they thought it was cute and he’s a child so what’s the big deal. sigh. Same goes for adults yabbering on their cell phones or texting during meals. Shut the friggen thing down and enjoy your food and company, you neighbors will thank you!
Honestly, I would use such a list to know where to avoid going. I’m a lifelong pet owner and animal lover but when I am going to pay for food at a restaurant I want the highest level of cleanliness and hygiene as well as calm and relaxation.
It seems from the responses many dog owners are already quite aware of places they can eat with their animals in public.
I still think it would be helpful to have a list since John is so good at updating the lists. Dog owners don’t necessarily know all the dog-friendly places, maybe collectively they do. Also this list would be helpful for out of towners who travel with their dog(s), as another commenter noted.
Your comment implied to me that dog owners already know where to go, what’s the point of having a pet-friendly list? Why bother having a list of restaurants at all, don’t people know of places to eat? I think this dining directory can be a great resources to help both dog owners & non-dog owners choose a place to eat.
I agree its nice to know this sort of thing as sometime you assume a place would be dog friendly (ex. Padaro Grill) only to discover that no dogs are not allowed.
Outdoor tables where wildlife can come and crawl all over at any point in time is not what I’d consider the height of cleanliness. Patios & outdoor areas are the only areas in restaurants where people can bring pets. Saying that having a dog next to you on the ground somehow makes the place less clean, while you eat off a table that pigeons were flying around & sitting on 2 minutes before you sat down makes no sense to me. As long as the owner isn’t some schmuck who lets his/her dog sit on the table (ew, gross), pee or poop on or near the patio, or the dog isn’t well behaved (i.e. barking, trying to get food, pestering other diners), I see no issue. However, if you are eating somewhere & any of that occurs, I’d be tempted to slap the owner (or management, or both, depending on circumstances).
As for the “I want to know where to avoid” comment, what is wrong with sitting inside? I personally prefer to sit outside, assuming it’s not raining or too cold. But if something outside bothered me, I’d sit indoors, no problem. I can’t understand why so many people claim to be animal people, but are essentially saying they’d boycott a restaurant altogether if they let people have animals outdoors on the patios. What is wrong with an indoor table? If I had a thing against birds or wind while eating, I’d just sit indoors – I don’t see the difference with dogs.
I’d like the list of the restaurants those who are grumpy about sitting outside at a restaurant with a well behaved dog at their owner’s feet go to- so I can avoid meeting them.
Palapa on upper State allows dogs on their front patio. It is also their smoking patio but I haven’t seen anyone smoking there. I’ve seen dogs on the patio of Piere LaFond downtown. Dargan’s has always been welcoming of our dog, bring water. La Carreta in Goleta was years ago, probably still is.
Pierre La Fond Patio , Upper Village, Montecito
Montecito Coffee Shop Patio, Upper Village, Montecito
I propose an outright ban on dogs in restaurants and grocery stores in Santa Barbara. Who’s with me?
I support your position, Brian. But we have a tyranny of dog owners who want to make every dining patio their own kennel and don’t care if it runs you off. Will dog owners not dine out because they have to leave the dog at home or in the car? Will non-dog owners not dine out because they don’t want the sounds, smells, distractions, etc. of someone else’s dog as they eat?
The answer to both of those questions = not likely. Since the ban was lifted there really hasn’t been much change as where is dog friendly and where isn’t. Pretty much same as it was before. Dogs on restaurants problems are far less of problem in SB than entitled dog owners who refuse to obey leash laws at our beaches and open spaces.
Brian, I don’t think this is the forum to start a campaign against dogs at restaurants, since what John is asking for are suggestions of dog-friendly restaurants. It’s been determined that the County allows dog-friendly restaurants. Since you oppose it, you should bring it up with the county or city or start a thread on edhat or something of the sort.
Brian since dogs other than service dogs are not allowed IN grocery stores or restaurants I think you are covered. Now try and ban service dogs you’ve got the Feds to deal with.
John
The Santa Barbara County Health Dept. changed their regulations, ( I believe in April???) and now allow all restaurants to allow dogs on patios, at the restaurant owners discretion…so there should be many more “pet friendly” restaurants to go to than a few month ago, most likely all restaurants with patios would now allow dogs.
I’m afraid not all restaurants with outside patios allow dogs so it would be nice to have this list to reference and also for out of town visitors. There’s a difference between allowing dogs and welcoming dogs. I’m a member of a couple local dog clubs with events in town so it would be nice to be able to refer visitors to Santa Barbara to know what restaurants welcome dogs. Although I have my favorite places to go when I dine with my friends, family and dog I’d like to hear about other places that welcome dogs too from others experience. So far on this thread I’ve learned about a couple already.
Case in point: Padaro Beach Grill. While the food has never been all that great in any of of its incarnations, I do miss being able to bring our dog there. Plenty of open space for dog lovers, dog haters, and obnoxious children. Another one I don’t think that has been mentioned on this thread is The Neighborhood.
hahaha–aren’t you glad you brought it up!
Thank you for making the list of “pet friendly” restaurants. This will give me the information to choose which restaurants not to patronize.
I feel your pain SL! I was at Dargan’s last weekend and this wealthy looking, too much yoga or meth? Type couple shouted at patrons smoking on the smoking patio, slammed the doors shut so nobody could back in and continued to IGNORE their two toddlers tumbling all over the booths. Other diners just st there looking confused! When mom and dad weren’t chatting on their phones, they were making out! PDA please don’t get me started! Wait! There’s more.. The toddlers got bored of rolling around over diners and moved on to sucking on the S&P shakers on all the vacant tables near the fireplace! Yes with mom and dad gazing into each others eyes… I was waiting for one of those idiotic kids to jump into the fire!! I finally had to tattle to the manager. The waitresses noticed this insane behavior and did nothing as did the other diners!!! I was sitting at the bar and was irritated!! I have two of my own and I must say that I could and do take them to any restaurant and their manners outshine most adults. I wish people like this would just stay home, with their NANNIES! The same rules should apply to people as with dogs, if there is any behavior problems then it’s time to go…BUT management and waitstaff must be mindful with what’s happening out on the floor!
As of now, this is what we’ve come up with so far. Great feedback! I’ve learn of a lot of restaurants that I didn’t know were dog friendly. Only a couple seem unconfirmed. And does Ultimate Bagels even have outdoor seating?
Aldo’s
Andersen’s Danish Bakery and Restaurant
Breakwater Cafe
Cafe Del Sol
Cafe Shell
Cafe Stella
Chase Bar and Grill
CrushCafe
Dargan’s
Dargan’s
East Beach Grill
El Torito Restaurant
Fresco Cafe North & State Street
Garden Market (Carpinteria)
Hollister Brewing Company
Jeanine’s (Montecito)
Kahuna Grill
Killer B’s
La Carreta (unconfirmed)
Mesa Cafe
Montecito Deli
Opal Restaurant
Padaro Beach Grill
Palapa
Palazzio’s
Pascucci
Peabody’s
Piere LaFond (upper village, Montecito)
Pizza Mizza
Renaud’s
Rudy’s (Montecito St.)
S.B. Shellfish Company,
Scarlett Begonia
Stacky’s (Summerland)
Summerland Beach Cafe
The Brewhouse
The Habit (all 3-locations)
Tupelo Junction
Ultimate Bagels
We eat out with our Yorkie all the time. Restaurants of particular note which were not mentioned by anyone so far, both of which are VERY pet friendly, are the Crocodial Restaurant in the Lemon Tree Inn at State & Alamar (great outdoor patio), and the Tree House at the Pepper Tree Inn across from La Cumbre Plaza. Also, the Doubletree Inn cafe will serve you on their bar patio.
The Goodland Market in Old Town, has treats, water and shade for all good pups…birds, reptiles and bunnies too.
Cafe Zoma in Goleta – the baristas were very friendly and warm, and dropped by several times to play with my puppy.
I am so glad the county changed its policy on dogs at outdoor restaurants. Santa Barbara is now more like Carmel and more attractive to all the visitors who travel with their pets. It is important that there be an up-to-date list of dog-friendly restaurants so people know what to expect. My suggestion: always call first.