Latest reviews from Santa Barbara
| 82 /100 406 E HALEY ST, STE 3 “Visited November 2017. Small tasting room space inside The Mill in Santa Barbara which has some other businesses like winery tasting rooms and coffee shops. Tasting room has a bar where you order that has a video of the brewery. There's a nice patio area with communal tables. We ordered a flight of the draft beers and split a bottle of the port barrel aged quad. Seem to be focused on Belgian-style beers, but also have some hoppy stuff. I thought the beers were generally pretty good. Not a place I'm likely to get to often, but would happily return here.“ |
| 96 /100 418 STATE ST “What an immaculate place situated in a beautiful neighbourhood. You walk past another client brewer's tasting room upfront, and towards the back is Modern Times' elaborate tasting room -- including a killer outside patio. Extensive taplist of about 32 MT beers, with 5 oz pours of anything you want -- the usual expensive prices for their sexier beers. Staff are very friendly and will give you free tastes of anything. They also have tasty all-vegan junk food available, with burgers, wraps and fries. In another section, they have fridges of bottles and cans to go with an extensive list of things to take home. Another world-class location. If you're in Santa Barbara, this is a mandatory stop.“ |
| 82 /100 406 E HALEY ST, STE 3 “Downtown Santa Barbara. Very cool location. 13 beers on tap, including 1 barrel aged beer. Sort of quiet for a Saturday night. 5 tasters for $10. Awesome place!“ |
| 60 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “Endroit moyennement grand avec une dominante de bois massif et de tôle en terme d'ameublement. Présence d'une sympathique terrasse. Unité de brassage au fond de la salle. Bref, ça fait vraiment bar dans l'esprit, et c'est plutôt sympa. Pas mal de déceptions au niveau des bières cependant. C'est souvent très light et aqueux, malheureusement... Lors de notre passage, seule l'Imperial Red Ale s'en sortait vraiment bien.“ |
| 80 /100 120 SANTA BARBARA ST “This is right next door to Lama Dog, and has both this brewery tasting room, a winery tasting room, and a permanent restaurant window thing. Definitely a hip place to hang out, with decent beers and reasonable prices. Worth stopping by.“ |
| 78 /100 116 SANTA BARBARA STREET “This is a tap room and bottle shop in the middle of a high density brewery/winery area in Santa Barbara. The selection was pretty great, but the prices were on the high side. It's technically kid friendly, but it seems to get crowded pretty early. 100% worth stopping in during a Santa Barbara bar/brewery crawl.“ |
| 72 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “Visited after Lama Dog, later in the evening so the place was slowly emptying. Wooden and industrial interior. 12 taps of their brews were on, wasn’t thrilled with the beer quality. Flights available. Good prices. Loud music. We sat at the bar, few quite drunk guys at the table behind us. I don’t have a problem with that, but the whole place didn’t strike me as a place where everything is about beer. Looking at the high score I expected something else.“ |
| 84 /100 116 SANTA BARBARA STREET “Expected a small shop, but this turned out to be a fairly big and quite busy bar and a bottle shop. Very lively, lots of people inside, having a good time. 20 taps, all craft beers, 6 fridges and a large shelf full of beer. On top of that they have a cold room with couple of hundred beers inside. Good amount of BA bottles, Pugachev’s Cobra, one or two Rare Barrel, Avery, Almanac, Smog city, Abyss, Firestone Walker...
Tap list was good, would be surprised if there was a better place in Santa Barbara. Glad we decided to check it out.“ |
| 84 /100 116 SANTA BARBARA STREET “Kind of on the pricey side, a little hard to get service. Very good selection of beers both on tap & in their bottle shop though, by far the best for miles around.“ |
| 86 /100 406 E HALEY ST, STE 3 “This is a short walk from SB Brewing Co. What an interesting space - this is kind of an eclectic outdoor arts mall area where a brewery and a winery are side by side; not sure if they share ownership or not. From what I can tell these guys are doing everything right so far (they have been open about 18 months). They space is cool - open and airy, small bar and a few tables. This could easily be a challenge to find a seat in busy times. Interesting taplist, barrels and brewing equipment in the back. Great service and a bottle to go already. Unfortunately I had time only for two samples (sold individually for about 2-3$ each), but both were solid beers. They are doing a wide mix of styles already - I tried a Weizenbock with Persimmon and a Brett Saison, but they also had IPAs, stouts and porters on. This is certainly a place to watch. Beer quality is already high and could easily become a hot spot.“ |
| 68 /100 229 W MONTECITO ST “Got here right after open on a Monday. Needless to say, it wasnt busy. The first room you enter is more of the restaurant area; bar is to your left. A few regulars were seated when I walked in. Street parking was not an issue at this time of day at least. Bar was a beautiful copper top, and there were a few tables to supplement the fairly large bar seating. No flights per se, but all beers available in samples that look to be about 3-4 ounce pours (shooter glasses, as noted by GT). Prices about $3 apiece, which gets spendy quick. Beers were actually not bad. Service was friendly. Didnt try the food.“ |
| 84 /100 116 SANTA BARBARA STREET “This is located in the Funk Zone section of Santa Barbara. Nice clean place. Fast service. Enjoyable time had by all.“ |
| 82 /100 410 N QUARANTINA ST “Stopped by on a Saturday afternoon after a rugby match, as we found out they sponsor the SB Grunions Rugby Club. The server (very helpful and friendly) had no idea about the sponsorship. Great outdoor seating area with bocce. Quite the selection of beers for what seemed like a pretty small operation. Some were very good (porter), but most were average. Food truck available but we didn’t try it. I’m looking forward to a return trip next time I’m in town.“ |
| 66 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “Only beer stop in SB on a Labour Day afternoon. The place was busy. Weird rule, that you could not bring in your wine bottles you’d bought up the street - in my book that is bad service. Also hard to figure out who was in the door, who was cleaning tables, and who took orders, so inspite of having a table I bought beer at the bar, because the floor service was very slow. In the bar thing where different, good service, fast, and only 6 USD for 4 samplers. A bit weird decoration, concrete floor, lots of wood, get a feel of uptown, and a feel of surfer joint, extremely dark inside in the middle of the afternoon. Outside beergarden was full.“ |
| 56 /100 229 W MONTECITO ST “We were seated in a outside table for a nice sunset dinner. When the waitress finally came out, she apoligized that no one told her we were out there. We got our drinks quickly then. The reset of the night we did not see her very often. When we finally got our bill she told us we were the least needy table she had all night. I just think we were the most polite table all night. I’m not going back there again.“ |
| 78 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “Stopped in here on the way to dinner with Patty, Andy and Kara. This is in the ’Funk’ zone of Santa Barbara they say. Yea, it’s mostly for the younger age set. Loud music, but very good beer!“ |
| 88 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “Located in the Funk Zone, on the Urban Wine Trail, what a great location! Had been to the brewery, so wanted to check this out. The two of us had samplers and picked up a 6pk of their Double Red to go. Good service, no food but the server said that you could bring in or have it delivered. Figueroa makes solid beers, nice to see they are branching out with other locations.“ |
| 90 /100 410 N QUARANTINA ST “What a great find in SB. I love the hops garden and games therein. The atmosphere was great when I visited recently. There was a live solo act who was pretty decent...but short of being bad...it wouldn’t have mattered as the beer...outside seating...and laid back vibe was more than enough...but the singer that night only made things better. There were 9 beers that evening...and my favorites included SB Pale, Black Gull Porter, and Cucumber Pilsner. Although I liked the beers better at Telegraph...they were good enough here given the great outdoor atmosphere, weather, and music. Pure Order and Telegraph are very close and should be enjoyed together. Enjoy each of their differences...but also their commonality.“ |
| 80 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “Cool atmosphere, near the beach, fun and friendly staff and patrons. Beers were pretty good. I’d visit again.“ |
| 82 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “Been here often. Great location near state street. Friendly staff and nice outdoor seating. Beer is some of the best in Santa Barbara. Only sell beer they brew and a few local wines, but a good variety of styles of beer. No food but will help deliver food from local place! Always a good time“ |
| 76 /100 Eureka! Burger - Santa Barbara (Restaurant) 601 PASEO NUEVO “Date. . . . . . . . . . ...5.2.15 Type. . . . . . . . . . ..Restaurant+Bar Location. . . . . . . ..Downtown SB Prices. . . . . . . . . ..Above Average, $8 Pints Tap Selection. . . .Extensive Local Craft, Special Releases Bottle Selection. .Unknown Full Bar. . . . . . . . .Yes Samplers. . . . . . ..Unknown Full Pours. . . . . . .Yes Beer Level. . . . . ..Above Average Food Level. . . . ...Very Good Staff. . . . . . . . . . ..Sharp, Attentive Growlers. . . . . . ..No Noise Level. . . . ..Lively Décor. . . . . . . . . ..Dark, High Ceilings, Dark Wood Kid Friendly. . . . .Yes Dog Friendly. . . ..Patio Perhaps Parking. . . . . . . ...Street Enforced, Pay Lot Cash Only. . . . . ..No Recommended. ..Yes Comments: Easy, upscale casual place for very good burgers and a well-curated beer list featuring a large variety of local producers and a few special releases. Prices can be high to around $8 for full pours, but almost everything was served in 16oz glasses even stronger beers. Food was good as always from this local "chain." “ |
| 70 /100 229 W MONTECITO ST “Date. . . . . . . . . . ...5.2.15 Type. . . . . . . . . . ..Brewpub Location. . . . . . . ..Downtown SB Prices. . . . . . . . . ..Normal Tap Selection. . . .15+ House Beers Bottle Selection. .Unknown Full Bar. . . . . . . . .No Samplers. . . . . . ..Yes Full Pours. . . . . . .Yes Beer Level. . . . . ..Average to Below Average Food Level. . . . ...Okay Staff. . . . . . . . . . ..Friendly Growlers. . . . . . ..Unknown Noise Level. . . . ..Lively Décor. . . . . . . . . ..Awkward Wide Spaces, Concrete Floor, Open Brewhouse, Wooden Rafters Kid Friendly. . . . .Yes Dog Friendly. . . ..Yes Parking. . . . . . . ...Street Only Cash Only. . . . . ..No Recommended. ..Sure Comments: Fun brewpub with a full menu, lots of options, our appetizers were quite good. Good variety of house beers on tap, served in shooter glasses as samplers. Quick service, amiable. Would return definitely for the vibe and for some interesting ticking. These beers are probably on tap nowhere else. “ |
| 74 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “Date. . . . . . . . . . ...5.2.15 Type. . . . . . . . . . ..Bar, Beer + Cocktails Location. . . . . . . ..Downtown SB Prices. . . . . . . . . ..Normal Tap Selection. . . .15+ House Beers Bottle Selection. .Bombers To Go Full Bar. . . . . . . . .Cocktails, Beer Floats Samplers. . . . . . ..Yes, Flights Full Pours. . . . . . .Yes Beer Level. . . . . ..Above Average Food Level. . . . ...None, Outside Food Allowed Staff. . . . . . . . . . ..Quick, Attentive Growlers. . . . . . ..Possibly Noise Level. . . . ..Very Loud, Live Music Décor. . . . . . . . . ..Señor Frogs Bahamas Kid Friendly. . . . .Nope Dog Friendly. . . ..Probably Not Parking. . . . . . . ...Street Only Cash Only. . . . . ..No Recommended. ..Yes Comments: Fun place, great location, crowded as hell with a bouncer at 2pm and live music inside. Outside seating as well. Interior is like stepping into a college Spring Break bar in the Bahamas. Beer cocktails and beer floats all around, we tried the beer daiquiri mixed drink. It was much too sweet, our group could not finish it. Loud and lively, perhaps overwhelming for a RateBeerian getting their tick on. As a regular venue, it is much more fun than your typical brewery tasting room. Flight available, customizable. Fun. “ |
| 62 /100 410 N QUARANTINA ST “Date. . . . . . . . . . ...5.2.15 Type. . . . . . . . . . ..Brewery Tasting Room Location. . . . . . . ..SB Neighborhoods Prices. . . . . . . . . ..Lower, $2 Half Pours Tap Selection. . . .8-10 House Beers Bottle Selection. .6-Packs to go Full Bar. . . . . . . . .No Samplers. . . . . . ..Yes, Large Full Pours. . . . . . .Yes Beer Level. . . . . ..Below Average to Poor Food Level. . . . ...None Staff. . . . . . . . . . ..Friendly Growlers. . . . . . ..Yes Noise Level. . . . ..Quiet Décor. . . . . . . . . ..Outside Tables, Industrial Brewhouse Kid Friendly. . . . .No Dog Friendly. . . ..Perhaps Parking. . . . . . . ...Street Only Cash Only. . . . . ..No Recommended. ..Ticking Only Comments: Tiny tasting room with ample seating outside, which was all taken when we visited, so it was standing room only inside the brewhouse. Nice bar area and a teeny "shop" in the back for swag and refrigerated six-packs of their beer. Beer logo looks like they could get a cease and desist from North Coast. Beer was a bit lacking with chlorine flavors, diacetyl, and other brew flaws prevalent. Their barrel aged porter was actually quite good, funky and red wine character, perhaps a happy accident. No food truck on a Saturday afternoon was puzzling. “ |
| 82 /100 410 N QUARANTINA ST “Newest addition to the Santa Barbara Tick Trail. and just up the street from Telegraph Brewing. Neat.
This is a pretty cool place. The brewery is located in what amounts to not much more than a shed, but they have a really cool patio/beergarden area. Also a number of hop trellises going on where they grow some hops on site. A handful of board games, some stuff like washers, cornhole/bags, etc. to play as well. I thought the beers were pretty okay for the most part. Nothing really blew me away, though the IPA and Hefeweizen were nice. Other stuff was okay enough to drink. The "tasters" here are huge. Essentially half pints. I had to tell the guy working the bar to just give me four ounce pours of everything. A nice addition to the town’s beer scene. I’ll have to stop back in again, particularly if I’m doing more than just passing through Santa Barbara.“ |
| 54 /100 Union Ale (Restaurant) 214 STATE ST “Nice place to grab a local craft beer“ |
| 74 /100 410 N QUARANTINA ST “Visited December 14, 2014.
Fourth attempt to visit and finally got in. The first two times I didn’t even get off the freeway because it was already after 7pm. Who closes at 7 on a Saturday? These guys apparently. The third time I parked out front and was stopped at the gate by someone who was hosting a private event. I couldn’t see more than 6 people including the 2 bartenders... but what can you do? Finally got to try the beer this time. Not overly impressive but not terrible either. Was it worth the wait? Meh. They have a nice garden/patio area outside with some games, some tables, and their hop vines (which have already been harvested and cut down for the year). I guess they used some of them in their 86 Lager. One of the two bartenders was brand new and just learning how to pour beer and use the credit card machine. That’s fine, since I was just about the only customer there. Actually there was one other guy who as it turns out owns the body shop across the street, but spent most of his time on the phone. Over all the beers are OK, the service is friendly, the price for the flight is pretty good ($5), and it’s a nice place. Its off the main drag a bit so traffic and parking aren’t terrible. I’ll stop back in eventually but there are so many other breweries around that it might be a while before I get back in here. As an aside Pure Order is a reference to the German purity law. Personally I think New Order is funnier name. Not sure where the seal fits in.“ |
| 76 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “Visited on Thursday 1st May at 10.55 am, the doors were already open and they were happy to serve me.
Finding this venue wasn’t totally straightforward and you need to go past A, B, C and D at the far end of block 137.
It’s about a 5 to 10 minute walk from the main downtown area.
FMB is a medium sided taproom with an outside patio, brew kit on display.
Friendly service, although there were only 3 other customers during their first hour of trading.
18 beers on tap, all their own, $6 for 4x4oz samplers.
Beers are displayed on electric menus.
Got chatting to the brewer who was a friendly guy.
I’d definately head back here again if I return to SB.
Decent enough beers, good for ticks.“ |
| 66 /100 229 W MONTECITO ST “Visited on Wednesday 30/04/14 around 10.20pm.
Twin roomed venue about a 10 minute walk from downtown SB.
The place was starting to thin out when I arrived.
Service was prompt and friendly, they about 10 of their own beers on tap, $1.50 for a 4oz sample.
The food menu looked good but I’d already eaten.
I had 3 beers on my visit, no world beaters, but nothing bad, 3.36 average but I was picking the styles I prefer.
In all an OK place to pick up some ticks but wouldn’t be my first port of call on a visit to SB.
“ |
| 82 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “Overall awesome brewery, 12+ taps, all house beers, one barrel aged, a couple funky ones, several IPAs, good food, awesome.“ |
| 64 /100 Dargan’s Irish Pub (Bar) 18 E ORTEGA ST “Awesome Irish pub in Santa Barbara, normal beers on tap but occasionally special craft beer or two, pool, good food, fun times.“ |
| 92 /100 229 W MONTECITO ST “There are now a few brew pubs in town but this is our long time favourite place. No fancy decor but the beers range is superb. The food is good too.
Very close to Santa Barbara Amtrak station so you can sit outside drinking waiting for your train to arrive if you have already paid the bar staff.“ |
| 70 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “Visited July 26, 2014.
This is my third attempt to get in and finally decided to just stand in line and tick this place. This time the line seemed the least offensive and it surprisingly "only" took 15 minutes to get in. I think the bouncer got tired of looking at us standing there because I didn’t see anyone leaving and the place was at capacity. There was a band playing and the guitar player was pretty good. I didn’t stick around long, just long enough to try a glass of the IPL and move on. The place was packed and while the music was good, the beer was decent, and the crowd was fun I still had 150 miles to drive. I was surprised to not see any house beers unique to this location on tap. Kind of irritating actually. Oh well. If I lived close by or was spending time in Santa Barbara I’d consider stopping in a little earlier so I could have a seat for when the band started but as it was this was more of a house party vibe. Meh.“ |
| 98 /100 410 N QUARANTINA ST “I stop here whenever I’m in Santa Barbara now. The beers are fresh and delicious and the vibe is super laid-back. The outdoor area is perfect for taking in the SB weather.“ |
| 82 /100 410 N QUARANTINA ST “Amazing spot! 8 beers on tap that they brew. Lovely beer garden outside with picnic tables, corn hole, ring toss, and a garden full of hops. Excellent spot to post up and drink.“ |
| 82 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “We visited this new location of Figueroa Brewing in Santa Barbara on May 18th 2014. This part of the town close to Guarden Street has developed to a very lively area with several good bars and restaurants. This place is very popular especially on Saturday evening it is hard to find a decent place as they have live music every week. Nice layout with a long bar, a visible brewhouse and a patio. The beers are quite good. They had around 15 beers on tap which are brewed in all 3 locations. I liked the American Ale most. Together with Telegraph the best brewery in town.1“ |
| 68 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “I liked this place. No doubt an up and coming location; industrial yet winery tasting rooms and gallaries poping up everywhere in the surrounding blocks. 17 beers on tap on my visit with most priced at $5 or $6. Outdoors patio works well.“ |
| 54 /100 Vons - Santa Barbara (Grocery Store) 3855 STATE ST “Visited January 19, 2014.
This might be the first time a Safeway has carried lambic, even if it is Lindemans. There really isn’t much here. I mean, it’s better than the Vons stores in southern California and while they do have Firestone, Green Flash, and Stone (and Duvel and Chimay) they don’t have much else. I did spot 5L kegs of Heineken and Newcastle. This is a scroll past kind of stop. The upside is that I was able to stop and use the bathroom. Also, I finally took the opportunity to take highway 154 through the hills (I was driving south on 101) rather than taking 101 on that big detour that goes right by the ocean. It’s a nice drive but be warned that it’s a two lane road for the most part (there are a few passing lanes) so if you drive this way during the day you could be stuck in traffic for 35 miles.“ |
| 56 /100 Trader Joe’s - Santa Barbara (Grocery Store) 3025 DE LA VINA ST “Smallish Trader Joes located in the upper state area of Santa Barbara with the smallest and most overcrowded parking lot you’ll ever see. Standard TJs layout and selection but you can find the limited releases by FW here for really good prices. I picked up a Firestone 17 for less than $20 which is about $5 cheaper than anywhere else on town.“ |
| 64 /100 Elsie’s Tavern (Bar) 117 W DE LA GUERRA ST “Fairly inconspicuous little place a couple blocks from the Eureka burger joint downtown. Elsie’s has 15 taps with the ordinary micros, some California IPAs and a couple are rotating taps.
There is a definitely hipster feel to this this place for better or worse. You can get an espresso or hot tea if your not in the mood for a beer, or you can get a pint and cup o noodles for $6 if your hungry. This place is fun, but not worth it if your goal is tasting an exciting or hard to find beers.“ |
| 80 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “If you’re following your GPS, it will tell you to turn at the corner of Anacapa and Yanonoli, but there is better parking just past the brewery which faces Yanonoli. Located in a shopping center that has a lot of winery and restaurant spaces. And you can get food delivered to the tasting room. Inside the tasting room isn’t as large as the Buellton area, but there’s a little patio and plenty of seating available. Lots of special beers on tap along with the 8 regulars. I think I counted 20 taps in total. Some of the beers I tried weren’t terribly good, unfortunately. Only $6 for a flight. Service was very friendly and quick. Not very crowded on a Tuesday early afternoon. Would certainly come back.“ |
| 74 /100 Elsie’s Tavern (Bar) 117 W DE LA GUERRA ST “Classic dive bar, complete with couches, a pool table and a trellised courtyard out back. Ten or so craft beers on tap with an emphasis on California breweries. Nice mix of styles. Friendly, helpful, knowledgeable bartenders. The prices can’t be beat. Can’t wait to return.“ |
| 88 /100 137 ANACAPA ST “i have been to Figeuroa Brewery 4 or 5 times since they opened, and it has gotten progressively better. the beer selection has gone from decent to great with a lot of new Figeuroa beers on tap not available in bottles. Great music on the weekends and a really fun vibe. This place is the best brewpub in Santa Barbara. The Food delivered from a take-out place around the corner called the Lucky Penny is better than expected and delivered quickly, considering it comes from outside the bar.“ |
