Brophy Bros. Santa Barbara

i like this more

Nice place. I went their several times. Food is good. Nice place to hangout with family. Location is awesome. Prices are steep. Regular customers don't mind of this price.\r more

Power Steering more

I also added a review for their Ventura location. Ive been going to the SB location for 15 years and can say without a doubt is one of my favorite places. This place is a must when you visit Santa Barbara! They have such beautiful views of the harbor and the hills. We really appreciate it for the simply-prepared fresh seafood, lively, casual, open-air atmosphere , quick, efficient service, and terrific value. Thanks Brophys more

I have eaten here. The food is good. The prices are steep. Those who eat here regularly dont seem to mind. They are the old school Santa Barbarans. The faces are familiar from somewhere. There is inside and outside eating. Outside is preferred, to watch the harbor inaction or talk to the visiting sea gulls. The place fills up at lunch time. So after lunch time is a good time to go. Look for the stairs and go up. more

For a casual seafood dining experience in Santa Barbara, this is the way to go! We came for dinner on a Saturday night. Expect a 40 + minute wait but not to worry: it's right next to the marina and there's a museum and store nearby. Not to mention a Brophy Bros. bar below the restaurant where you can have drinks and appetizers while you wait. The bartender even gave my little one a Shirley Temple on the house which I thought was sweet - it's a drink that always brings back childhood memories :) especially when everyone else at the bar is drinking it up! It's pretty busy and loud and great for those who come with kids. The clam chowder is excellent, and the sea bass was nice with a surprisingly zesty sauce. The salmon was super and the coleslaw was yum. (Just to clarify, I didn't eat all of this by myself!) Service was above average and overall we had a great experience - I would definitely come back! And when I do, I would def. want to try the Garlic Baked Clams. more

Well, after reading all those great reviews, this seemed like the place to eat. It wasn't. On the plus side, the service was great. It's a small place, so waiting for a table is understandable. However, we arrived early, so we were seated right away. On the downside, while the clam chowder was indeed quite delicious, it also included an ingredient that I wasn't expecting: sand. For such a popular place, you'd think they'd be better about cleaning up their clams. Speaking of cleaning, we ordered the hot combination platter. It contained Beer Boiled Shrimp, Garlic Baked Clams, Oysters Rockefeller, Steamed Mussels w/Broth and Steamed Clams w/Broth. For the most part, everything was just a bit overcooked. And after chowing down for a while, I quickly lost my appetite when I realised the shrimp hadn't been deveined. Bleh. Not sure how this place became so popular. Maybe I'm just a seafood snob. Pros: Clam Chowder Cons: Clam Chowder more

I will never go back to Brophy Brothers. Our waitress not only had a bad attitude, but she was outright rude to our entire party. When we asked to speak with the manager, he told us that as long as we paid our bill he didn't care what we had to say. Now I don't know about you, but I have never experience customer service as poor as this. I guess that Brophy Brothers does enough tourist business that they do not care about the local business they receive and therefore i will never return and I plan on telling all of my colleagues and friends to not go as well. I am truly disappointed with this restaurant. Cons: Customer Service more

We stopped for lunch on a Sunday afternoon (3pm) and the place was absolutely packed. Our wait was about 40 minutes, and that was for the first available table! Hostess was not very friendly. Pros: Location, people watching Cons: Overcrowded, overpriced, overcooked more

we went to this restuarant cos it was my mothers bday and she wanted to go there. we're from l.a. and was spendig time in santa barbara over nite. it was kinda pricey but it seemed she like her dinner she ordered the hawaiian ahi. i was just gonna get a soup / sald combo with tuna melt but she said "" learn to eat! i can make you a tuna melt at home"" so i ordered the thrasher shark sandwich. maybe it was cos it was shark. but it was fishier than fish that i had b4. and i've had alot. the clam chowder was ok not as great as everyone here made it to be. the manager was super nice and the waitresses were attentative. there was a 30 min wait but we also had the garlic baked clam and that WAS AWWWEEESSSSSOMMMMMEEE!! i even licked the shells they were that good. we will return!! it seems like a great hang out! Pros: clams Cons: shark was a bit ""gamey"" for fish is even a phrase? hah more

This is my second time at Brophy Bro's and because on our first visit there was a long line, we avoided the crowd and went a bit earlier. I think we were in and out of the restaurant in under an hour, and this being a Saturday night. Yes, people being smart and making an early dinner is a solution to those long waits. You can't go wrong with the daily special menu. The seafood definitely tastes fresh and tasty. This place is definitely a must if you're in Santa Barbara the staff is nice (I guess they expect most of the diners to be out of towners so they take their time to ask you where you're from and how you like it so far.. etc etc). Pros: Fresh Seafood Cons: can get a bit crowded more

This place is crowded, but the food and service were both great. We were seated upstairs, outside on the balcony. The tables are a little close to each other, but you can't beat the wonderful view. The food was delicious, especially the clam chowder. We will definitely be back the next time we are in Santa Barbara! more

We did not wait very long to be seated outside when we arrive on Monday at 6:00 PM. And sitting outside with a view on the harbor is what is attractive with this restaurant. The food is not better than Red Lobster and they want you to eat quickly to make room for new clients. Go for the view but not for the food and relaxing atmosphere. Pros: food, not relaxing atmosphere Cons: the view and the view more

OK...so I sound negative. But after eating here we spent 8 more hours in Santa Barbara and ate at two smaller and just as busy resturants and there food and service was 10 times better than Brophy Bros. Didn't really know for sure what the wait time was...but they said many people were finishing up and should be 30 minutes (meanwhile people before and after us were complaining at how long they had been waitiing). An hour later we got served (would have gone to the two resturants next door but they barely had any customers...not a good sign, and the average age was 55 and up...so we stuck with Brophy Bros. which appeared young and fun. They sat us outside, the view was great. The waiteress said the food was all good on the menu. The clamb chowder was excellent. The bread tasty but the crust thick and tough to chew (I have all my teeth) The table was small because it was on a small balcony surrounding the building. Yet they put a bar window right outside this walkway so people are hanging out having loud drinking conversattions and people are bumpoing your knees as they walk around to get past these people. The waitress brought our food and we had to clear off the table to make room for the food. Didn't mind but the waitress just gave us dirty looks when we handed the plates to here (hey...she wouldn't put the food down because there was no room with the bread plates, the bread, the clam chowder cups. I had shellfish but now no plate to put the empty shells upon (but then again, no room to set such a plate). They were ok. My friend had Mahi Mahi with rice. The fish was thin (and I found out later...since he was being polite) very much overcooked. Mahi Mahi should be seared on the outside and pink on the inside. The flavored rice was flavorless. Service was slow, getting refills was slow. They only thing fast was getting our checks. For a fish house they sure seem to have trouble cooking it. Plus we noticed all the fish was from outside California. Not going back. Pros: View, Good drinking crowd, great clam chowder Cons: Waiting, Food overcooked or flavorless, $15 average cost for not so great food. more

Brophy's is a great Santa Barbara restaurant. The clam chowder is to die for and the oysters on the half shell are prepared by the bartender right in front of you. The beer boiled shrimp os a great value and great tasting. The garlic-baked clams are so sinfully good. It's always hard to decide what to order, but luckily they have samplers so you an get a little bit of everything! Get there early if you want to sit at the bar and talk to the friendly bartenders, otherwise the outdoor tables are nice. Pros: Food, service Cons: Parking more

We waited for nearly an hour and a half to sit upstairs and then found out afterwards that their was open seating downstairs. Nice of them to let you know. It is a frantic, loud and exciting restaurant that dishes out awesome Bear Boiled Shrimp. It was a huge serving with gigantic shrimp that were incredibly tasty. And the clam chowder is some of the best I've ever eaten. But both of our entree's were just average. Both our Ahi and Thresher Shark were overcooked, the fries were limp and the rice pretty boring. Luckily the sauces were incredible salvaging the otherwise below average fish. It was good and we enjoyed ourselves but we think we could have gone next door and had a similar meal much quicker. Pros: Excellent Appetizers, Friendly Waitstaff, Good People Watching Cons: Wait time, Cramped Seating, Overcooked Fish more

Try the hot combo appetizer dish ($12.50) and the clam chowder ($3 or 4). They are the best dishes in the house, in my opinion! The combo appetizer dish comes with cocktail shrimp, clams & oysters in a broth, baked clams, and baked oysters. It's delicious! The clam chowder is excellent, even by a Bostonian's standard. We only had a so-so opinion of the sea bass... it wasn't as flavorful as we would have liked it. It's very crowded on weekends, so prepare to be overwhelmed. It is also very loud in there, and you sit very close to the next person, or the people waiting around for their table! As a visitor, I have been told this is an all-time favorite for locals. They don't take reservations. Pros: Fresh seafood Cons: Long lines, No waiting area, Can be too rowdy more

Busy, noisy, narrow aisles, long waits for service. Food was mediocre, but fresh. Cons: Crowded, Noisy, Long Waits more

Brophy's is the best restaurant for ambience, food, service and views of the harbor and ocean. Go there!!! Pros: views, ambience, food Cons: parking, waiting more

To locals, this is the best seat in town, and the food is great too. The bar stools are first come-first served, so keep an eye out! Pros: location, location, location Cons: long wait, no to-go more