Opal

Great experience at Opal. Their staff was very accommodating and got us in without a reservation. I tried the 3 course set menu they had during grad week. Everything was delicious leading up to the main course. My steak was a little over cooked but overall I would go back again.

Everything was great. The service paced the meal to our liking which was great, didn't feel rushed. It was a nice, busy atmosphere without being too loud. All staff was attentive and kept our table clean and well watered. Food was of course great. Perfect place to hit before a show.

I really hate going out and spending $100 or more on a special date night only to have the food be awful. This is the first place I've been too where I feel like our meal was 100% worth the price. Everything was delicious! I can't wait to go again.

Amazing service and intimate vibes. Groovy but soft background music selection. Drinks were solid! Our dishes were phenomenal (tuna app was perf), and the deserts were 10/10.

I have always been a fan of this restaurant. If you ask locals most would agree that this place has the best steak in town! We recently went and celebrated our company holiday party and I’m just blown away by the service! We had six orders of the coconut shrimp, they were so good we had to keep them coming. The truffle mushroom appetizer as well was insane so much flavor. Many of us got the filet(of course) all cooked to perfection. They catered to all our needs and kept the drinks flowing. We had an absolute blast. Thank you Paul & Mark and the rest of the team.

Really enjoyed this place! Everyone we encountered was super friendly and provided great service. Our waiter was so helpful and everything we ate was delicious! Would recommend this to anyone! Also my sister has a gluten and dairy sensitivity and they modified everything for her.

The food is sooo good here. The quality of the food down to the bread before dinner was absolutely delicious. Try the chicken penne with chipotle sauce. That dish is super delicious! The grilled chicken mushroom is also great. Good service by staff. Will return when we are in the area.

What a gem to find! The food was absolutely incredible, no matter what you ordered, and the people who work there are very accommodating, attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. Can’t recommend this place enough!! We’ll definitely be coming back!

Love, love, love this place! One of my absolute fave so Cal restaurants. Delicious food, great wine list, sumptuous cocktails, professional and friendly staff! You can't go wrong with either the Lemon grass crusted salmon Filet entree or the Salmon Soft Taco starter, and the specials are often superb. With a variety' of offerings there are so many great choices!

Consistent! Opal is always good, year after year. I realize their menu is comfort food for me. I had the warm seafood salad. It was a hearty portion with lots of seafood throughout. The service was friendly without being annoying. Opal always feels special even if it's just a simple dinner out. Sorry- I was hungry so no pictures.

My husband and I spent our anniversary dinner here and wow wow wow from our stellar service from Shannon to the delicious food. This is a beautiful restaurant who delivered stellar service and beautiful drinks, food, and dessert. I cannot say what I loved most because they were all just as good. This is a must try if you want to choose to have a great and beautiful place to eat.

We were a group of 12 celebrating a wedding. The service was great. I think we tried all the appetizers and all were delicious. I especially liked the beet salad and calamari. For dinner I had the pesto pasta and they accommodate my request for chicken instead of shrimp (I'm allergic) and my husband had the sea bass. He said it was one of the best he's had! Everyone at the table enjoyed their meals.

Went for Valentine's Day and they had a pre fixed menu. Service was great and quick. I wanted to get the short ribs but unfortunately they were just out :/ so I subbed it with a steak instead which was worth it. This was a nice place, well decorated for valentines. They even have a complimentary rose will definitely want to come back again and try other items on the menu !

Another great birthday meal! My cocktail shown in check-in pic was excellent - a Suntory sour! And the ahi wasabi app was delish too. We had the front window two top since we were celebrating, and we'll, cuz we're "special" haha. Our mains were awesome, service was excellent as usual, and after ordering one crème brûlée for dessert, they comped us a water for chocolate dessert. My hubby devoted it! Ambiance nice and one benefit of the front window two too is that it is quieter than the main dining area which can get too loud. None the less, we will be back!

I had a post wedding dinner here about a year ago. The food was great and the services was too. But after a year, there's one thing still eating me up inside. When arranging the dinner I made it clear to the owners, we are sober. We are recovered alcoholics. And many members of the dinner are too. We DO NOT want ANY alcohol served. PERIOD. And we agreed on a separate drink package to accommodate THE BRIDES wishes. And to keep the dinner a safe and neutral space. BUT alcohol menus were handed out. And many member started ordering drinks. There was fight that broke out and many guests were being verbally harassed by a guest who started drinking. He threw $5 at the bride and caused a scene. It truly was awful. It was a shame they didn't listen to the bride on her one day. Her and the groom were very upset. So beware, your wishes won't really be granted.

Service was exceptional in a nice warm comforting restaurant. My date had the herb grilled filet mignon which was cooked as requested and I had the sautéed chicken penne pasta in a homemade chipotle cream sauce was delicious. If you don't like spicy, this dish is not for you. Desert, the Like Water For Chocolate was amazing delicious as it was elegantly presented. Hard shell of dark chocolate with if I'm correct, two different mousse inside with raspberry sauce.

This was a nice well decorated restaurant. The Ambience and the location were good. This is a great restaurant to take someone there for fine dining or celebrating even. Server was nice and professional and the service was great. Here is my scoring card for this restaurant: 1) Location: ( 5 Point ) - Great location for customer to see and find. Great parking for street parking and side parking . 2) Decoration : (2 Point) - They still have the original decoration. Clean and very nice. 3) Price: ( 4 point)- The price is competitive but still a little bit pricey compare to other same stars and type food they serve 4) Quality and Taste : ( 3 point)- The quality is ok, food taste is good and portions are average . 5) Type of cuisine standard : ( 4 point) - The style of continental food they serve is pretty close to the way it was prepare all over the California. Not bad! But some dishes did have slightly modify to cater the customer's need Overall it's not bad and I thinks it's great to give it a try and let me know what you think. Go foodies Total max is 25 Score 18 Stars = 72% round up to 3 stars

Dinner with college besties so we had a wonderful reunion Parked across the street. Our server was attentive and friendly Drinks were amazing! Our server suggested mocktail options. Dish (warm salad) needed seasoning. The stars of the show/dishes we loved were: Prawn appetizer, Duck and dessert. Lovely restaurant ambiance 3.5 stars however rounded up to 4 stars. Cheers!~

The service here is excellent. We showed up with no reservations, and their OpenTable was booked solid. My motto is you get nothing for not asking, so of course I had to ask if they can squeeze us in. They said yah we can get you a table and seated us within 5 mins! I was very impressed! All of the servers were very kind and attentive. My lady wanted to order a pasta that wasn't even on the menu. She basically created her own pasta and I appreciate their flexibility in accommodating her. I had the greyhound and flatiron steak. Drink was on point. Steak was done right. However, I didn't dig the powdered mashed potatoes that accompanied my steak. It was nasty. Aside from the mash, everything else was excellent. Looking forward to visiting again

I wouldn't come again. The food was quite underwhelming although the service and atmosphere were good. Some of the dishes, such as the risotto, were decent, but all around, the food was subpar. You know it's bad when the steak wasn't seasoned properly and salt was requested. As table of 7, we all had ratings of 4.5 to 6 out of 10.

Still didn't get to eat at Jane on the latest visit to SB, due to some film festival in Feb that had the theater in between blocked off and all. Was still able to get to Jane, but of course all tables booked out no seating available... Wife was sad to be denied Jane's incredible chicken picatta again, since I didn't know there was such an event and didn't think to reserve. I suggested let's eat at Opal, since I still remember they had great Filet mignon when I first had it maybe a dozen or more years ago. And wife remembers the filet from the one time we had it maybe a decade ago. Opal was full as well, but they had outdoor tables set up and the gentleman at the front was so very kind to make a table available for us outdoors, to save the evening! (sorry for poor pics, not good lighting I guess) Ordered up the Paella which sounded good. Chicken picatta on penne pasta sounded a bit strange, since too used to Jane's chicken picatta. Went for the herb grilled filet mignon in the larger 9oz size. - Bread basket = the multi bread was so gluteny chewy good!!! Would be happy to eat just that and butter all day. - Paella = excellent seafood flavoring in the broth. Could slurp this up, but there wasn't too much rice to be able to enjoy all the goodness. Great flavor, but a little lacking in quantity to fully enjoy. - Chicken picatta on penne = this looked nothing like the chicken picatta entree at Jane, wife asked did I know it was a pasta? I said yes, but wasn't sure what it would be like, took a chance, lol. Looked like a bland and weak dish... But don't judge a book by it's cover! Wow! Can't even describe what this was like, but it was strangely fantastic!!! The multi dimension of flavors in this thing was just so addicting, could not stop eating it. Penne is my least preferred pasta, but this penne texture was so soft and perfect texture, it must be in house made to be that good, wow. This was a delightful surprise and us 3 cleaned it up to the end! - herb grilled Filet mignon = ordered medium rare and was expecting a pretty good filet from my foggy memory of having the version with the stuffed chile. Wow, this filet just blew our minds!!! Was cooked perfectly with incredibly enjoyable. KISS keep it simple stupid, the filet spoke for itself here. Not sure how they cooked it so perfectly, but was perfect texture and delicious. Steak even had a hint of aged flavor somehow, which made it even more awesome. I think this was one of the best filet mignons we've had. And 9oz was nowhere near enough with this kind of flavor. I barely got maybe 3 pieces and wife maybe 1 or 2 with the kid loving most of it... Needless to say, being denied Jane ended up reminding me how good Opal is I've always told wife Opal and Jane are both awesome restaurants, and this meal actually just reminded us of how good the filet is at Opal. Now it'll be an even bigger struggle next time we visit SB, will have to stand at the theater in between staring at Jane and Opal and be torn where to eat. Classic chicken picatta, I say Jane owns it. But we won't have any qualms eating the addictive picatta penne at Opal! Filet, I say Opal hands down now. Sauce maybe I like the mushroom gravy at Jane, but I really don't even care about the sauce any more when Opal's filet itself is top notch quality... All I can say is I am not sharing the 9oz filet at Opal next time.

Great vibe and very good customer care . Was greeted and sat at the bar and Heather( bar tender) was very attentive and caring . Food was good but the drink was okay . May be I choose a wrong drink . It is a local place and have some amazing entrees. I has sea bass which was good and good size . One extra star for Heather and her friendliness.

5-STAR SERVICE: Thank you Shannon!!! We returned to "Opal" (my new addiction)....family in tote. Admittedly, today we came by to get our minds briefly off a loved one in the hospital. Shannon was our server and she could not have been kinder....the whole 9 yards! She is well versed in the history of this amazing restaurant, and on top of her "A" game in providing stellar service. She is so very genuine, warm, kind, funny and attentive. OF COURSE THE FOOD IS AMAZING.....But Shannon is the best and truly made a very hard day for my family into a warm and relaxed dining experience. The whole restaurant is so blissful. The food presentation is artisan. The owners are amazing. This is SB service and food excellence at its best. We will be back a hundred fold!

Opal is one of my favorite spots in town! We love to sit at the bar so we can be social. We hit our spot up on Friday night and I have to say everything was on point, the bartender John was so nice and all the people at the bar were so friendly! What a fun experience! Great Filet Mignon and a large Martini will also make me happy every time! Thanks John and Shannon for making us feel at home!

Food was so good. Paul, our server, was awesome. I made reservations ahead of time and we were sat right away. Dinner, drinks and dessert for a reasonable price.

We came to Santa Barbara for a concert and made a reservation at Opal for our pre show dinner. We were seated immediately upon our arrival and greeted by Shannon our server who was exceptional. We shared a butter lettuce with Gorgonzola cheese salad. A great choice. I had the chicken piccata as my main course and my wife had the salmon. Everything was cooked to perfection. We each had a glass of wine and were too full for desert but the desert menu looked amazing so next time we will leave room. A great meal in a lovely place at a very reasonable price. We will definitely be back soon. Well done everyone.

We had an amazing meal here in this beautiful restaurant! The tiger shrimp appetizer is absolutely amazing! We also had the crab cake and the calamari for our appetizers. I had the Chilean sea bass for my dinner and it was cooked to perfection. Others at our table had the halibut (special of the night) and the basil fettucine. We all loved our food and would definitely come back! Our server was awesome (from South Africa originally-sorry we can't remember her name).

So we get there and they say it's a 40 minute wait. Being turned away, we immediately check open table for reservations.. there's one available immediately. We book and walk right back in just to be seated then and there. Like how does that make sense?? Then after appetizers are served the waitress is making distasteful food/weight comments. "That's a hearty meal.. but I'm sure you can finish it" ... "wow I couldn't even come back and say hi, you guys ate that so fast" like seriously? Ma'am I'm here to EAT. I'm giving 3 stars because the food was great. The plating was gorgeous. Everything else about the restaurant was lovely.. only to be made hard to enjoy by our waitress.

Nice ambiance and friendly service not quite attentive though. I was excited to check this out to add to social media due to the good reviews, but boy was I disappointed AF. It's a different type of pain when you pay a lot for bad quality food. The seared scallops with angel hair came out so cold, I wanted to make it better and throw in some cheese and smell of the cheese was disgusting couldn't finish it. At least I had the calamari salad next which was tasty and warm but a few minutes later my stomach began to turn. I paid a ton for a tummy ache. Removing this from the list. 4 stars for the water tho. That was lit.

To Matt and this team: We had our wedding dinner at Opal, Matt walked me and my fiance along the way, explaining the type of service and price options. Matt understood our budget and let me say, we were Bless to have a great night for our family and friends. We have another reason to come back to Santa Barbara. Matt to you and the our team. We will have you in mind for our future Santa Barbara days

Excellent service, nice atmosphere, deliciously prepared food. We had the chicken penne pasta with homemade chipotle cream sauce and the lemon grass crusted salmon filet on a bed of basmati rice that was soft as risotto. The cream sauces made the dishes. Excellent choice for a nice dinner out on State street.

Fantastic. We ordered take out for 4. One of the dishes was the angel hair pasta with scallops. Knocked it outta the park. Highly recommend. Give it a try. Don't think you'll be disappointed.

It was ok. The phyllo wrapped shrimp were good but I would have liked a little more heat and flavor 4/5. The salmon was also a bit bland, which was surprising based on the description 3/5. The Chilean seabass was better but also not great 4/5. I think I will try a different place next time. Overall, 3.75.

Opal was such a tasty restaurant. The food was amazing the halibut was cooked to perfection. The flavors were all so perfect the fish would melt in your mouth. The piccata pasta was also very delicious. The flavors of the capers chicken and tomato with that lemon creamy sauce paired really well together. As for appetizers we ordered the fried mushrooms which came with a truffle aioli sauce on the side and that was SO GOOD. One item I would not order again was the Cesar salad it was missing flavor. The dressing was weak and I just was not a fan. Furthermore, for beverages we ordered the passion fruit drink and honey lemon martini if I had to pick between them the lemon beats the passion fruit big time. The lemon honey martini was the perfect amount of sweet and tangy. Service was great and so was the ambiance.

Opal Restaurant has always been one of my favorite hidden gems in Santa Barbara. I first discovered it over 20 years ago when I lived in the area, and it quickly became my go-to spot. The food has always been outstanding--delicious, fresh, and impressively priced for the quality. I think part of the reason it's such great value is its location further up State Street, away from the busier heart of downtown, which gives it a more relaxed, local feel. Recently, after a 15-year hiatus, I returned with my family, and I was thrilled to see that Opal hasn't lost its magic. Every dish was spot-on, and my family loved it just as much as I always have. The consistency, warmth of the service, and atmosphere make this place truly special. If you're in Santa Barbara and looking for an exceptional dining experience, Opal is a must!

Just awesome! We came to Santa Barbara to celebrate our 20th anniversary and my husband's birthday. And we chose Opal for our special dinner. It was just awesome. The complimentary honey wheat bread was surprisingly delicious. They said they baked them in house. We ordered salad with beet and pear, rip eye steak and duck confit. They were amazing, especially the duck confit. So tender and juicy, and the crispy vegetables with sweet risotto worked well together. Plus our server, Rachel was very pleasant and attentive.

Excellent food and service. Never disappointed. The mushroom risotto and the warm seafood salad are 2 of my favorites. I have also rented the room for an event a few years ago. I'll see you soon. :)

We had an incredible dinner here on Friday night -- aka night #1 of our recent Santa Barbara race-cation. We were in town with friends for the SB Half Marathon and met up with a local friend here. First up, our server was Paul and he is awesome. More on that later. We started with a round of drinks and appetizers -- crab cakes and tiger prawns. The tiger prawns, wrapped in shredded phyllo, and with a coconut curry sauce are a must order. I mean that sauce is *chef's kiss* and the napa cabbage and julianne veggies salad provides a lovely, fresh base. Our group ordered a variety of mains. I went with the halibut special which was perfect in cook and flavor. Everyone else seemed to thoroughly enjoyed their dishes as well. Back to our awesome server... a friend ordered the seabass, as highly recommended by Paul. What she was served was the salmon, which is her least favorite fish ever. Paul came by to check on us shortly after our dishes arrived and immediately realized the error and took the plate away. He then made a point to let us know that it was his error and he would correct it immediately. Mistakes happen and, as I told him later, we were super impressed with his response. Honesty, humor, and kindness go a long, long way. We rounded out our meal with some desserts in both food (cheesecake, ice cream...) and drink (espresso martini...) form.

We attended a wedding dinner. Food was delicious and service was prompt. It all flowed well. Space was good and all in all it was just perfect for the occasion.

We chose Opal Restaurant for our Thanksgiving dinner, as we wanted a restaurant that had a traditional option, plus options for more picky family members and kids. After looking at a few options, Opal seemed to have the best options without gouging our budget. And Opal did not disappoint. We had a 1:30pm reservation, and everyone that was waiting was seated efficiently. Of course there is always that one guy who tries to cut the line with everyone waiting... However, another customer and the Manager did a good job of putting him behind those ahead of him. Some people are clueless. The Thanksgiving meal was awesome. We shared the Turkey Roast, Salmon Encroute, and Filet Mignon. All excellent with generous vegetables and garnish also. The drinks were tasty with the Blackberry Jalapeno Margarita and Passion Flower being favorites. Our service was excellent. The young lady who served us was always present, and other servers always around to refill waters, take away plates, and ask if we needed anything. There were a few locals in Opal also, and the way they were treated (as other customers) was always with smiles and recognition. We highly recommend Opal, and will be coming back when we revisit Santa Barbara.

Opal has a very large upscale menu and the food as well as the service is consistently good. This last visit I ordered a salad and an appetizer, both were very good. My friend and I ate there before the symphony and they got us out on time.

First time enjoying this restaurant. I had the opera at 7:30 so I made 5:30 reservations. We arrived early and they were very accommodating seating us 15-20 mins before our reservation. First impressions, Paul was fantastic! He helped us tremendously and was very patient with my mother and myself with our questions. He helped me pick a Paso Robles Cabernet and it was wonderful. My mom and I split a Caesar salad and we both enjoyed the Thai salmon dish- and it was delicious! We finished with a crème brûlée, also amazing! I loved that it was a 3 minute walk to the Granada Theater so we were perfectly on time for our show. Next time I am in town for the opera I will be sure to come back here! I highly recommend!

Excellent! I ordered the warm seafood salad. My partner ordered the paella. Excellent!

Service is very attentive! If you don't have what you want or need it is definitely because you didn't ask. Rachael could not have been more on top of the service she provided. It was hard to choose an entree because everything looked so good as it passed our table, and the smells that went with them! Heavenly! All portions were more than enough for a dinner serving, so come hungry or maybe share. Looking forward to coming back and trying new things

Fantastic food and ambiance. Great service. A must if you want a great meal in Santa Barbara.

Sophisticated ambience, exquisite food, and amazing service! I came here with my family while they were visiting Santa Barbara and they loved everything about it! It is more on the expensive side, but Santa Barbara is like that :) The service is amazing and all of the workers are so polite and helpful with choosing items on the menu. Please come and try so delightful food with your loved ones! My recommendations: - warm seafood salad - Wild mushroom pizza - sautéed chicken penne pasta w/chipotle cream

Fantastic Restaurant. I have been here several times but it has been years since my last visit. I have no idea why. I have been the same places and decided to go someplace I had not been in a while with a group of friends before going to the Lobero. I was blown away. Service - Tops, Food - Tops, ambiance - Great. Within our group we had a broad range of appetizers and mains. All were fantastic. I was even impressed by the cocktails and the wines available for pairing with the food. Sadly, we did not leave time for dessert. I will be back. Opal is my new favorite in SB!!

Excellent service, food, and ambiance. Bread basket is amazing. We got the pear beet salad and basil fettuccini with shrimp. Highly recommend this place!

DON'T EVER MAKE A RESERVATION AT OPAL!!!! We were looking at new places for our before theater dinner since the fire at Chase closed it for several months. We made a 5:30 dinner reservation at Opal - BIG MISTAKE!!! A few days before or reservation I received a call that there was a big party that took all the tables so we would either have to sit outside or at the bar. No big deal, we're comfortable eating at the bar. When I got there a little before 5:30, I was told that NO we could not sit at the bar as it was closed until 6. I told him that that wasn't OK as that's not what I was told. He shrugged his shoulders and told me that there's nothing he can do and his hands were tied. I figured he's just a host, so I asked to speak to the manager, and he informed me that HE was the manager. Turns out this moron Spencer actually is one of the managers. WOW, that's the service you get from a MANAGER at Opal!!! Luckily, we walked a few doors south to JANE and they got us a table. MUCH BETTER PLACE!!! The food was fantastic, the ambiance was superb, and the prices turned out to be much less!! When we were leaving JANE, we walked back to Opal to get the "manager's" name and spoke to the actual manager who told me that he shouldn't have done that. TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE!!! If you leave a completely incompetent boy as a manager, well you figure it out. WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY AT OPAL - GO A FEW DOORS SOUTH AND HAVE A WONDERFUL DINNER AT JANE LIKE WE DID!!!

Great date night restaurant with a romantic ambiance and delicious food! I ordered the herb grilled filet mignon and the chocolate surprise dessert. The filet was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The sauce and potatoes accompanied the steak very well. The dessert was the best dessert I have ever had at a restaurant. On top of the delicious food, the service was exceptional. This is my new go to restaurant when wanting a fancy meal in the area!

It was a great experience visiting Santa Barbara, and we were very pleased to dine at Opal. Food is exquisite, with great service and ambiance. Make sure to make a reservations.

The food is very good . Our server Anna is very sweet and cheerful. We had the fried Brie arugula salad for starter and seafood paella for main dish . The paella is different it has a lot of sauce not a dry paella , but it's good ...

We had a wonderful time the other night at Opal. Everything from the food, to the ambiance to the service was exemplary. I ordered the salad on the specials menu and asked to add chicken. There were 9 of us (we made reservations) and the food orders included the duck, filet mignon, scallops, and others. For apps, we ordered the coconut shrimp, 2 of the pizzas, and the calamari. We also brought a cake, which they kindly kept in the fridge for us and lit the candles we brought as well. They charge a $3.50 per person fee for cake cutting. They also added a creamy sauce to the plates of cake and chocolate writing as well. I highly recommend Opal!

Had a graduation dinner on a Saturday. Made reservations for 6pm. Showed up half and hour early to enjoy the bar and get a few drinks for our party before sitting down. John working the bar is amazing. Great service from John as he was quick and attentive. John is extremely nice and high energy. Great way to start our evening at Opal. The drinks were yummy. Overall service was great and efficient. Everyone enjoyed their meal. Highlight was the short rib, although the hash it came with was sub par.any of us were looking forward to the king prawns as an appetizer. However, they seemed to be very small for prawns and looked like jumbo shrimp. The beet salad was very delicious. Cheesecake for dessert was spectacular. Very well balanced. The ambiance of this place was great. Dimly light, not too crowded or overly loud. They have seating indoor and outdoor and a special room for larger parties. Would come back here!

Bread basket was so so. Crab cake appetizer was good, But small. Good sauces. Ok crab cake. Chicken chipotle pasta was excellent. Scallop angel hair appetizer was meh. Desserts were meh. Nice wine list. Service good. Nice setting but the whole place smelled Like fish. So that was off-putting when we walked in and took some getting used to. Could be excellent but has some adjustments to make.

This is a wonderful place to eat. The service, food, and ambience are all great! We highly recommend it.

I had an amazing warm seafood salad as the entree. Not only was it filling but what a great value! Highly recommend it! Very friendly place with well priced, delicious food and wine. Will be back!