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Bay Cafe
131 Anacapa St, Santa Barbara
Phone: (805) 963-2215
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Reviews by the General Public
Nice Dinner, 10/30/2009
Reviewer: Karen
from Santa Barbara, CA
Had dinner mid-week with a friend, and we had a nice dining experience. Appreciated the waitress's honesty when making recommendations. Service was prompt, unobtrusive, and though we sat there chatting until closing time, we never felt rushed to leave. The food was yummy. I like the Bay Cafe, and will be back.
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Lackluster evening but nice Tuesday deal!, 9/10/2009
Reviewer: Erica
from Santa Barbara, CA
Recently dined at the Bay Cafe and received a great deal with the Tuesday Night Coin Flip Special.
However, service was wanting: bread dishes on the (outdoor) table were grimy with black dust, a request for drinking straws wasn't filled for quite a while, and an order of a glass of wine placed early in the meal wasn't filled until everyone was finished eating (and we were not fast eaters!). While their red bell pepper sauce is fantastic (it draws my family back to the Bay Cafe), I found the rest of the food to be disappointing...most entrees came with an uninspired roasted potato/vegetable side. The entree salads are not as attractive as they could be, with all ingredients so finely chopped it's hard to tell if what was listed on the menu is even in your salad! I also felt that the menu items were slightly overpriced.
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Good, Except for the Salt, 8/9/2009
Reviewer: steven appleton
from Santa Barbara, CA
We sat on the patio and listened to live guitar music with a nice fire burning in the back to keep us warm. The waiter and other staff were very friendly. Warm crunchy/chewy bread was served with a wonderful cilantro butter spread. My wife and I both ordered the grilled salmon, which was expertly cooked and very flavorful. UNFORTUNATELY, everything except the rice was heavily salted (for me, the veggies more than the fish), and this would be the main take-away for the night. We're looking forward to Tuesday night's coin flip special with the owner...
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Great things happening at the Bay!, 6/8/2009
Reviewer: Brian
from Santa Barbara, CA
I have been going to the Bay Cafe on and off for a couple years now. My most recent experiences have been fantastic. Wednesday some friends and I went in for the crab legs night, delicious. I was back for the shellfish paella Sat. night and was impressed by the quality of the seafood and the service. I will be back soon.
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Slow service, bland food, 5/20/2009
Reviewer: Susannah
from Santa Barbara, CA
I am so sorry to be writing this review...but I was so disappointed with my dinner at Bay. I have been purchasing fish here for a while and was always happy with it. So I took my boyfriend here for dinner. There were only 2 other tables in the restaurant and it took about 10 minutes for our server to come over after we were seated. We ordered wine and she came back 10 minutes later and asked me to point out which wine we wanted again. I don't think she knows her wines at all. Rolls were hard and cold. My paella was very bland, and my bf got the ravioli with shrimp. It was decent but also bland. Our glasses were empty for quite a while before asked if we wanted more wine (very slow service). I just wish I had spent my money on fish that I could have cooked at home rather than spend $70 on dinner. Maybe sitting outside in the evening would have helped the experience, but it was closed (a bit cold). I am not giving this review to dissuade customers from going in, but rather in hopes that the restaurant makes some changes.
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Excellent Food and Value, 4/26/2009
Reviewer: Scott Grant
from Santa Barbara, CA
My wife and I live in Santa Barbara, and whenever we can, we eat at the Bay Cafe. Bring in a Santa Barbara wine, and there's no corkage fee! What could be better?
My only criticism is the bread: it's like Wonder Bread, white and flavorless. C'mon folks, spend a few dollars and go to a good bakery!
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Great service!!!, 1/15/2009
Reviewer: Mary
from Santa Barbara, CA
I go to the Bay once a month, the fish is the freshest in town and the service is very friendly, I can't believe the reviews I saw you just need to ask for Claudia, she is very helpful and funny. She would make your night!!! Just relax and enjoy the food. The best dish is the almond crusted halibut or the seared ahi.
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Horrible Service, but good food, 12/1/2008
Reviewer: R.
from Santa Barbara, CA
We're a mid 20's couple who dines out alot, and I think this spot took our age and $ for granted. We were seated at 7pm, given no bread while others seated after us were. Took 30min before our order was taken. No refills, had to goto the bar for a simple refill on a coke. Took 20min to recieve salads after ordering, Food took another 45+min after salads. Food was hot and grrreat! But waitress forgot we existed. Other tables with older couples were given more attention than us. Took forever to get check and to get credit card back. Very bad service!!! After to waiting to order and waiting for our meal, we left at 9:30!! We "might" give it another chance, since the flavor was ideal....
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Great dinner, nice waiter, 11/24/2008
Reviewer: Lesa
from Santa Barbara, CA
Took my parents here the other night. Our waiter was really friendly and each of our meals was delicious. The Paella was the best. A little different from a traditional paella but really fabulous. My new favorite!!
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Good quality fish is the high point
Reviewer: Jason
from Santa Barbara, CA
We ate here on a Tuesday evening, and were the first people seated except for a couple of people at the bar. The server (who appeared to be the only one for the evening) was courteous and helpful. My first concern was that the server didn't write down our order (a pet peeve of mine - why don't they all just write it down?!?) My first issue was that one of the appetizers (calamari) arrived shortly after the soup / salads, which isn't terribly good timing. When salads were being cleared I inquired about the oysters I'd ordered, and asked for a wine menu. A few minutes later the dinners were being served, so I killed the oyster order, and asked for the wine menu again. Fortunately the wine was delivered quickly so I could have it with dinner.
The seared ahi tuna was pretty good - all the fish entrees looked to be of good quality fish. The rest of my meal, some rice and some steamed vegetables, was seriously boring, like an afterthought. The seared portion of the tuna wasn't very spicy, which was my recollection from the last time I ordered this entree. My wife had spiny lobster over fettucini. The presentation was fun, with little pieces of lobster legs around the plate, but she thought the meal was something she easily could have made at home. She also mentioned that she didn't know why they were rushing the orders, as the restaurant wasn't that busy and we hadn't asked to have dinner move quickly. It would have been nice to have better timing of the courses.
The atmosphere was nice enough, and the staff was helpful and friendly, but the overall experience just wasn't that great.
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Great food, but pricey
Reviewer: Lizzie
from Santa Barbara, CA
Came here for a late lunch on Sunday afternoon and sat on the patio. It was a very nice, relaxing environment, and the menu choices looked delicious.
It is pricey for the portions. I did not appreciate being cheated in getting ONE scallop cut into 3 pieces when the menu specifically said that the peppercorn scallops had 3 jumbo scallops. Each piece of scallop was a quarter to 3/8ths of an inch thick, and two of the three pieces were cut so lopsided that you could tell they didn't even bother to hide the fact. I love seafood and have eaten at many places throughout the world. Jumbo scallops have always been just that - jumbo, not sliced in to thin pieces.
I also don't understand how they charge more than the Stonehouse Restaurant for fresh seafood, so I skipped it. I did not have the abalone, but at least that was a good deal for the price. The scallone I had was delicious, but had more sides than main. However, my fiance's crab melt was delicious and a good size. Maybe sandwiches are the way to go here.
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Exceptional food and service!
Reviewer: Susan
from San Diego, CA
I go to the Bay Cafe whenever I stop in Santa Barbara, they have the best Ciopino in town. They have more than 10 fresh fish from the market to order for dinner. The service is very attentive and friendly ask for Claudia, she is a delight to talk to. The patios are very cozy.
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Funny I come to the Bay almost everyday and no cobb on menu?
Reviewer: Chris
from Santa Barbara, CA
I hate when I read such negative reviews on such a wonderful place. I eat lunch at least 2-3 times a week there, and for the record there is no Cobb salad on the menu? So oviously this guy Dave dose not know what he is talking about? maybe another restarurant? And by the way the staff always gives you water and hot bread as soon as you sit down. So please folks do not believe what you hear. I have never had a bad meal or bad experience EVER! The Fish is the freshest in town as well as great service. Always smiles on everyones face. Try it you'll like it. ")
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ok food...horribly slow and spaced out service
Reviewer: Dave
from Santa Babara
I was really excited when this place got new owners and started fresh. I was quickly disappointed in the fact that nothing had changed. I sat down with my sister and the waiter didn't show up for a good 5 minutes. It was not incredibly busy but it took the waiter forever to get our wine that we ordered and our water. When the wine was gone our glasses sat empty without an offer to refresh them nor did the waiter think to take the empty glasses away. My sister ordered a cob salad and when she got her salad it was not a cob. When we brought this up to the waiter he seemed confused and annoyed. We actually had to argue with him and in the end he just shrugged and walked away. This is all after waiting over 45 minutes to get our salads. We attempted to talk to the manager but the waiter kept saying that the manager was busy so we got up and left. No tip for that guy and no repeat customers from us. Horrible.
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Rehearsal Dinner
Reviewer: Lisanne
from Santa Barbara, CA
I held my wedding rehearsal dinner for 24 people here on July 11. I planned the dinner 3 months in advance and had a set menu. We arrived at 6:00 pm and did not receive our food until after 8:30 pm. We rarely saw our server (yes, only one server for 24 people), had to ask to have the heaters turned on, had to ask for water refills, bread refills and finally had to ask when we could expect our food. When the food finally came out, it was cold and either tasteless or extremely salty. I do not recommend the Bay Cafe if you want customer service or good food. It was a horrible experience and a poor start to our wedding weekend.
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Great food for a reasonable price
Reviewer: Westerberg
from Philadelphia, PA
Found the restaurant through this webpage. We came to Bay Cafe at 7PM on a Thursday evening and were surprized that there were not that much people there. Service was excellent and the fish was fresh and delicious. The price was very resonable for the quality of food we got.
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GREAT ATMOSPHERE & FOOD
Reviewer: Leta
from Santa Barbara
Service was great and enjoyed the cozeyness. Food was the best we have had in a long time. We will for sure go back again. Prices were very reasonable.
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COOL PLACE AND FANTASTIC FOOD
Reviewer: Joe
from Santa Barbara
My husband and I go to the Bay Cafe often. It is sooooo cozy inside as well as the patio areas. Three patios with two fireplaces. The food is wonderful and the service was great. I don't think we have ever been dissapointed. Now they have music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Just perfect
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A great place???
Reviewer: Dave
from Santa Barbara, Ca.
I used to eat at the Bay Cafe when Siobhan was the executive chef a while back. I'm here to tell you that the food back then was "off the chart". Fast foward to last week. Went there with a few friends expecting another great experience...no such luck. My fish was soggy, vegetables were dipped in hot water and served.....it sucked. Anyhow long story short-very dissapointed and WILL NOT go back again.
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Freshest Fish in Town
Reviewer: Chanda
from Santa Barbara
I could not believe how fresh the fish is at the Bay. You walk through the door and right there is a big fresh fish case with soooo many beautiful fresh fish, as well as a live lobster/abalone tank.
The service was good as well as the awesome wine list. The fires were ablaze outside as we dinned and listened to music by John Fleisher a local artist. On our way out we noticed a Brunch menu that looked great, we can't wait to come back this weekend to try it.
Best dinner I have had in a very long time.
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fantastic, fantastic, fantastic
Reviewer: Jim Evers
from Freeport, Illinois
The food was great, the service very attentive and, I know this doesn't have anything to do with the restaurant experience, but the owner (?)/manager Terri is drop dead gorgeous and right there to help when questions need to be answered. It was like being attended to by a movie star. Thanks from a wayward Illinoisian looking for some Santa Barbara hospitality and fresh seafood......we found it in this extra-ordinary restaurant.
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