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The cuisine in Ventura and Santa Barbara is every bit as eclectic as it is in California's bigger cities; fresh seafood is a standout. A foodie renaissance has overtaken the entire region from Ventura to Paso Robles, spawning dozens of restaurants touting locavore cuisine made with fresh organic produce and meats. Dining attire on the Central Coast is generally casual, though slightly dressy casual wear is the custom at pricier restaurants.
The younger sibling of the hugely popular Guiseppe's restaurant in Pismo Beach, this lively downtown eatery serves up authentic southern Italian fare in the historic Sinsheimer Bros. building, constructed in 1884. Dine in the spacious main restaurant amid high ceilings, fireplaces, and the bar or in the courtyard beneath strings of twinkling lights.
Captain Mark Tognazzini catches seasonal seafood and delivers the bounty to his family's collection of down-home, no-frills, harborside enterprises—a fish market with patio dining and up-close views of Morro Rock (Dockside Too) and the original Dockside restaurant. Local musicians play live music nearly every day at the outdoor patio at Dockside Too.
The specialties at this casual, family-oriented restaurant in Ventura Harbor Village are fresh fish-and-chips and homemade clam chowder. After placing your order at the counter, you can sit outside on the patio and enjoy the view of the harbor and marina.
Locals flock to this two-story restaurant and sushi bar—famed for its wildly creative combination rolls and other delectables. Fans of authentic Japanese food sometimes disagree about the quality of the seafood, but all dishes are fresh and artfully presented.
Spanish flavors and seafood combine with coastal California flair at this trendy downtown eatery. Menu items change with the season, but perennial favorites include dry-aged branzino, paella, or saffron buns with Santa Barbara sea urchin butter. For a special-occasion treat, order the chef’s five-course tasting menu for two ($185).
Family-friendly Big Sky turns local and organically grown ingredients into global dishes, starting with breakfast. Just pick your continent—braised Brazilian lamb shanks, Southeast Asian noodle bowls and crispy tempura cauliflower, Middle Eastern shakshuka, Spanish paella, Nashville fried chicken sandwich.
The outdoor tables at this casual harborside restaurant have perfect views of the marina and mountains. Staffers serve enormous, exceptionally fresh fish dishes, and if you walk in without a reservation, which are very limited, they will text you when your table's ready so you can stroll along the breakwater and explore the harbor while you wait.
The Ventura outpost of the wildly popular Santa Barbara restaurant provides the same fresh seafood-oriented meals in a spacious second-story setting overlooking the harbor. Feast on everything from fish-and-chips and crab cakes to chowder and delectable fish—often straight from the boats moored below.
The fresh bounty of the Central Coast takes center stage at this hyperlocal eatery in a Victorian-era home in Cambria’s Old Village. Soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and small plates to share predominate here, but you can also order large comfort-food meals (roast chicken, eggplant cassoulet, Wagyu rib eye) for two persons.
Feast on ocean views and farm-fresh food at this casual café on a terrace atop three redwood water tanks and an art gallery. Lunch options include pizzas, vegan bowls, salads, mix-and-match dips, breads, and snacks—all made from organic, locally and ethnically sourced ingredients. The shop here is a good place to pick up picnic provisions.
This restaurant overlooking the harbor has satisfied local appetites since 1942 and serves straight-ahead dishes such as cod or shrimp fish-and-chips or calamari tubes sautéed in butter and wine.
Chef-owner Joy Reinhart opened this locals-favorite restaurant to honor her deceased mom, Ellie, a colorful, full-of-life character who enjoyed life to the max. The intimate, clublike dining room and deck invite socialization, and the seasonal, farm-to-fork menu is filled with Ellie’s favorites, including liver pâté, crab cake atop creamy, sweet-potato-bacon-spinach hash, and slow-cooked beef short ribs.
Homemade soups, potpies, and other farmhouse comfort foods share the menu at this spacious East Village restaurant with fancier farm-to-table dishes such as organic, free-range chicken topped with raspberry-orange-cranberry sauce. Also on-site are a bakery, a café serving more casual fare (take-out available), and a gift shop that sells gourmet foods.
A spacious, contemporary space with a festive outdoor patio, this restaurant near Mission Plaza serves creative tapas and cocktails. The small plates include birria-braised beef tacos, avocado-tuna ceviche, and crispy Brussels sprouts.
Fresh, sustainably caught seafood charbroiled over a mesquite grill, a well-stocked oyster bar, specialty cocktails, and a wine list heavy on local vintages lure diners into this slick, nautical-theme space downtown. The menu, which emphasizes the use of organic vegetables alongside the local catches, includes tacos, sandwiches, and salads.
In the colorful dining room or on the large creek-side deck, this animated downtown eatery will take you on a culinary world tour. The salads, small plates, and entrées come from nearly every continent. The wine and beer list also covers the globe and includes local favorites.
Locals and visitors alike flock to this sleek, Asian-inspired restaurant across from Stearns Wharf and East Beach (reserve a second-story table for killer views). The eclectic menu focuses mostly on small plates of classic dishes meant for sharing—sushi, sashimi, yakisoba, ramen soup with pork belly, black-garlic filet mignon—but it also has creative surprises like the halibut-crab-avocado "lollipop" or the lobster-tempura-Wagyu beef roll.
This low-key, family-friendly eatery in the heart of town serves up made-from-scratch dishes that showcase seasonal local bounty sourced from trusted fishers and farmers. Feast on soups, beef-and-cheese smash burgers, and various salads and sandwiches in the casual interior or in the cozy brick patio.
An international, vegetarian-friendly dining experience awaits you at this cozy East Village cottage. Dinner choices include chiles relents, grilled Skuna Bay salmon, lamb curry, and grilled pork chops. Lunchtime's extensive salad and sandwich menu embraces burgers and tofu alike.
The sibling of a popular namesake restaurant in Placencia, Belize, Rumfish y Vino serves up zesty Caribbean fare with a California Wine Country twist in a courtyard venue just off Main Street near the mission. Eat in the beach-chic dining room or on the heated patio with a roaring fireplace, and perhaps enjoy one of the live music shows offered several nights a week. The seafood-heavy menu changes depending on the local catch.
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