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Brophy Bros.
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am - 11 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Dogs Allowed:
- No
585 reviews for Brophy Bros.
Review Highlights
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"The beer boiled shrimp are always great." In 23 reviews -
"Fish and chips - fresh and perfect fish/batter ratio." In 64 reviews -
"By the way, the chowder is equally awesome." In 288 reviews
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585 reviews in English
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Review from Brian C.
Fullerton, CA
5/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
A great day and place for chowder, beer and things from the sea.
Been here many times. Always busy and always good.
On this visit we had the calamari which were perfect, -
Review from Eileen K.
Santa Barbara, CA
5/23/2012
This restaurant falls victim to the Santa Barbara restaurant conondrum, either the restaurant has a great view or great food, but it appears both is an impossibility that would make SB fall off into the pacific.
PROS
The restaurant is in the harbor, on the second floor and has an amazing view of the harbor and the mountains.
The services was very good to excellent.
The clientel ranged from trashy to toursity and everything inbweteen, which makes for interesting people watching.
CONS
The food was only okay. We had the clam chowder, oyster and fish and chips.
It was extreamly crowded. We were at a two person outside table and the people standing at the open window bar were practically touching us. It was impossible to get through without bumping into someone and you can hear everyone elses conversations because the table is so close. -
Review from Celia T.
San Gabriel, CA
5/16/2012
I came here with three girlfriends on a Santa Barabara getaway. We came at opening around 11 and were seated promptly. Between the four of us we ordered:
2 Cold Combos - 2 oysters, 2 clams, shrimp and cevechi
The clams and oysters were good and fresh, the shrimp was good, but its shell on for all you lazys FYI, the cevechi was my least favorite.
Clam Chowder - It was nice and creamy and and a good amount of clams.
Seafood Spagetti - This was a really good addition to our meal. There was a good amount of seafood in it and they tossed it with tomatoes and garlic.
Fried Clams - It was a good appetizer. The clams were really long.
The View excellent and by the time we were finished to leave, there was a big line already. good thing we got there early. I wouldn't say its an extremely small restaurant since there is patio and indoor seating, but they certainly fill it up so you snuggle up pretty closely to everyone else.
Next time, I will probably try the Hot Combo and Choppino. -
Review from Nicole N.
Santa Barbara, CA
5/24/2012
Best atmosphere and best clam chowder! Worth any wait!
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Review from Erika M.
5/8/2012 1 photo
Being an honorary Santa Barbarian (I completed my undergrad at UCSB), I had yet to visit Brophy Bros. It was a nice walk from the Fess Parker Double Tree Resort. We sat at the bar, so there was no wait for the two of us, BUT we did notice that there was a HUGE wait of sorts. It's gotta be a good sign. Besides, the place isn't that big, so my rec...avoid dinner time...either arrive early or later in the evening.
I loved the unpretentious vibe of this place. Seemed like a real chill place to eat/drink alongside the harbor. I started off with the clam chowder, which hit the spot. The real star of the place, in my opinion, was the The Hot Combo (beer broiled shrimp, steamed clams, oysters rock, steamed mussles and stuffed clams) which I got as my meal (it's an app). You get a bit of everything! And the stuffed clam was delicious! Super satisfied with my meal. -
Review from Steve T.
Saint Paul, MN
5/8/2012
One of my calamari stops down the coast. Nicely done, no rings, nice dipping sauce and local beer.
The ambiance was enhanced with deck side seating under heaters as boat after boat was making their way to the docks and having their catch unloaded.
At various points in the harbor, people had their boat's decorated with holiday lights getting ready for the upcoming holiday parade.
If you want something casual, it's worth checking out. -
Review from I B.
Santa Barbara, CA
5/9/2012
You have to get a seat outside! You get a fantastic view of the harbor, coast of santa barbara, mountain view.
The past few times we went we've been quite lucky because there wasn't a huge wait. I guess it depends on when you go.
The calamari is one of my favorites here. I love, love seafood, and this place offers great seafood dishes. I do NOT like oysters but I surprisingly enjoyed the oyster shooters.
The place has a bar. Nice drinks. I really enjoy this restaurant, great atmosphere. -
Review from Restaurant L.
San Luis Obispo, CA
5/9/2012
So, this is my ninth review using the "Same Boat" method. I am in the industry and loathe Yelp reviews. They are moody positive or negative - written in the heat of the moment, rarely true for more than the reviewer's experience. So here I go! Brophy Brother's is a no brainer for a good review. It is one of my go to places in SB to visit because it is consistently good. But let's see how it fairs with the "Same Boat" method.
My reviews are going to give stars based on:
1- Service - good or bad?
2- Cleanliness - your table, any view of the kitchen and the bathroom - are they good?
3- Food quality - was this place what you expected or better? Give a star.
4- Pricing - was the food/wine worth the price? Come on, we are all foodies, but did they do something that was worth the price of $10 or $100?
5 - I am saving this star for the experience - was it exceptional?
Service - consistently good. I love being on the deck and the only complaint I have is that they do not line up the tables so people can sit comfy - not the server's fault, but I would look to see if anyone over age six could sit there and breathe and eat. Service though, always friendly, and anyone will help you. Good stuff.
Cleanliness - Clean, neat - all the tables were wiped and the condiments were clean. Bathrooms are weird here, I think they are just public, but they are not dirty. +1 Star!
Food quality - I eat small when I am here because it's pricey. It's always worth it, but as I said, I am in the food industry, so I am no rich person. Food quality is delish - had the baked clams and a bloody mary, definitely will have again.
Pricing - small amounts, but fresh and delish - nothing frozen here.
Exceptional - I love Brophy Brothers. Are they exceptional? Not for me. The seating is weird. It makes it so overall I am not comfy. Great view, weirdly placed bar and the seats too close. The food, drinks, service and view outweigh the discomfort and I will be back :) -
Review from Catherine L.
Palo Alto, CA
Beer boiled shrimp- There were a lot of spices/herbs in this so we weren't able to drink the broth which to be honest, I was looking forward to.
The garlic baked clams were okay. Too heavy for my preference and we went for the steamed clams shortly after which were fabulous.
My salmon and grilled vegetable salad was really good and at $16 it was a deal. The salmon was tender and moist and there were plenty of vegetables that accompanied the rest of the plate.
Friendly service, fair prices and a nice view from the pier if you sit outside. -
Review from Eli S.
Los Angeles, CA
5/15/2012 1 Check-in Here
I don't like giving 5 stars. I don't really even like giving 4 stars. And while there were no culinary masterpieces here (by that, I mean a dish to take things out of the box that we might consider extremely unique to the eyes or palette), everything was delightful to the last crumb.
I'm writing a week after the experience to put it into perspective. Additionally, we had one particularly bad meal at another local restaurant (the Palace grill), that makes this meal stand out even more.
So on to the food:
For starters, we had the hot plate (it said it was a must, and the menu or specials page was so right). We haven't had mussels and clams and shrimp this fresh in California. It came on a bed of salt (don't try eating the salt :-)). The oyster-Rockefeller-like concoction was ok, but didn't show off the fruits of the sea as the other items did. Additionally for starters (came with our meals, thanks to our beautifully observant waitress who was not shy about telling us the real deal... ) we had the clam chowder. I keep wanting to say chowda, not to offend my Beantown Brahman friends but to convey that this is the best I've had outside their fair city. I digress. Really go just for the chowder already!!!
And on to the main courses:
One sea bass and one swordfish. The sea bass wasof a Cajun/creole variety and better than anything from the palace grill or any other place recently. Frankly everything else on the plate was so subtle (the rice, the vegetables, etc) that it made this stand out so much. The rub was good, but a bit overpowering.
The swordfish was easily the tastiest, juiciest, most flavor rich and air-like swordfish I've ever had. It was melt in your mouth, stick to your ribs, and good for you in each morsel.
We had a little of the house wine too, but that was less than interesting, but it did make the food's character feel more Santa Barbaran. We're going back and ordering a week's worth of swordfish... But I imagine we should keep trying everything here. -
Review from Anthony C.
Los Angeles, CA
Garlic Baked Clams. Pretty much the only thing I remember from this place, but you can be sure that it was pretty bomb considering I had like five meals that day and this was the final place before heading home. I was stuffed, but after reading all the good reviews about this place's clams I had just had to come here to try it. I am so glad I stopped because those GBC's were so worth it, including the clam chowder (though it wasn't the best I have ever had, it was definitely pretty good for not having to go to SF).
Also I really like the location of this place. It is right in the marina and there is "outside" seating with heat lamps so at night you can watch the fishermen bring in their catch. -
Review from dee l.
Los Angeles, CA
4/30/2012
Had lunch here on a Sunday. Wait for an outside table wasn't bad at all. Great view of the harbor, water, and mountains.
We started with the hot app and mussels. Loved that they give you a cup of broth so you can dip your bread in it.
I had the clam chowder which was very good and the bf had the sea bass which was good as well.
A must if you're ever in SB and make sure you try their bloody Marys -
Review from Kailey S.
4/23/2012
The place is rather small and packed. It is more of a bar than a restaurant.
I ended up having a burger. i know it is a place known for the seafood, but I wasn't really feeling it. This was my last meal in SB and I was a little fished out.
The burger wasn't decent. My bf said his salmon was just okay.
I think this place is more of a touristy place. Now that we have been there and done that, we don't really need to go back. -
Review from Matt C.
4/2/2012
Great location, great place for a drink. Seafood was not spectacular. There are many good places for seafood in the SB area. Regretfully, on my second visit here, what we had (oysters, shrimp, ceviche, clams) was very average. Just did not taste super fresh.
Ref "Search For J."s review also, as I am in concurrence.. -
Review from Natalie T.
Santa Barbara, CA
5/11/2012
This is a great place. The view is unbelievable. It might take a while to get seated but if you go early it is not to bad. The food is decent and consistent. I recommend eating a little before sunset so you can watch the colors change on the mountains.
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Review from Samuel C.
Los Angeles, CA
4/20/2012 1 Check-in Here
I think most people come here because they do a "what should I do in Santa Barbara" google search... Saw some people here I saw at the mission.
:)
Not bad.... Everything I ate was fresh. I had their sampler which came with ceviche, scallops, oysters and shrimp.
Shrimp was not peeled (no biggie). Fresh in taste, and went great with their cocktail sauce...
Oyster and scallops... I'm no expert. so... um... yeah... alls i know it was fresh.
The ceviche was bland. Of course the ingredients were fresh but being latino... I like my ceviche more flavorful. and it was... dry kinda. like... it lacked that pulpy tomato water found at latino marisco spots... i dunno. just wasn't my cup of tea...
I also had fried calamari: Nothing spectacular but that batter was great. Light. crispy. doesn't take away from the taste of calamari...
Now their clam chowder... Off the hook! Thick and creamy, with chunks of clam and potato... Probably among their strongest dishes.... I was really impressed.
The staff was extremely friendly, and of course busy, but they managed to service us in a 5 star manner. The host was extremely nice, and even served us water... don't see many host taking on that kind of role.
the view was darn sexy. and it really added to my SB experience.... Will definitely return to try other dishes... -
Review from Ashley G.
Hermosa Beach, CA
5/12/2012 1 Check-in Here
Went to Santa Barbara for 3 days and ate here about 3 times. My friend and I loved it. The food is fresh and yummy. THE SALAD....omg,. SO fresh, and i LOVE their house dressing; you can totally taste the garlic and it is just divine. Everything I had here was good. No complaints at all! And I'd recommend this place to anyone visiting Santa Barbara. Also, the view of the marina is nice to stare at while you're there.
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Review from John T.
5/1/2012
We were hanging out and wanted a quick snack and swung by this place. The clam chowder is good and hearty and full of clams. The cold sampler or something was fine. Shucked oysters and clams was delicious. The crab and cerviche though were a bit harder to deal with since it was on a bed of lettuce. it would fall in between the leaves a nuisance. Overall, good food worth a visit if you're in the area.
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Review from Julie Z.
4/14/2012 1 Check-in Here
Place is loud and busy place on any time of the day. But, we were quite satisfied with our food and service.
First, the waiter brings:
1. Bread - it's not warm, but it's good. it's refillable and comes with butter. the bread will come in handy if you order the cioppino!!
Then we ordered:
Crab Cakes - delicious crab cakes, i loved it, it comes with 2 good sized crab cakes, a side of cole slaw (i'd pass it) , and fries. For 3 of us, we downed it and was quite satisfied. The crab cakes were pan fried to perfection, with real crab bits and the crispy edges made it so tasty . I dont even remember the sauce, so that probably means the crab cakes were flavorful enough for me to even want to ruin the taste.
would i order this again? yes. oh yes.
fried scallops appetizer - these were delicious. i like it better with the red sauce over the tartar sauce. It was crunchy and crispy yet not too bready that you couldn't taste the scallop. I'm not a huge fan of scallop , but this dish was quite good. i liked how they gave you lots of it too. it was small chunky little scallops.
house salad - alright. forgettable. i dont even remember after eating those 2 above.
CIOPPINO. - my favorite. i had this the first time in Santa Cruz, CA. now, this version is a bit different, they added parmesean cheese and fish. not alot of squid (my favorite) or clams. It was a good sized portion but i don't think the price matched for what its worth. The soup was warm on a rainy day and if you dip the free bread into your soup. it makes it 100000xxxxxxxxxxxx better. sometimes, i like to add tapitio sauce for a kick. i love cioppino, but i have to say that i've had the best one in santa cruz, ca so far. I'm not a fan of cheese in my soup, so i'll ask for no cheese next time. other than that..it was good, but not worth the price. and i wish they added squid or calamari into the mix.
Our bill came out to be 60+ but the waiter was nice . he came around a couple o times and refilled our bread. -
Review from Search For J.
Los Angeles, CA
3/19/2012
I usually don't write about negative experiences, but I feel the need to since the 4 star over all rating is very misleading.
This is a bar with bar-quality and bar-style seafood. During my experience, the food (with the exception of the oysters and fish'n'chips) was not particularly fresh or well prepared. The shrimp tasted off. The oysters shooters might as well be called cocktail-sauce shooters since that is mostly what is in them (and the sauce is not very good, too cold and lumpy). The clam chowder is essentially potato chowder with a clam garnish (although it was a decent potato chowder). And the blackened swordfish I got for an entree? Biggest waste of $24 ever. Very very overcooked and the fry and slaw sides were just sad.
I have no idea why this place is so popular, but I feel no need to pay for parking (unlike the rest of SB), wait ages for a table, and then suffer through mediocre seafood ever again. I'll be over at Hungry Cat or Julienne enjoying well-cooked, fresh seafood next time. -
Review from eileen h.
3/22/2012 1 Check-in Here
Tried the Fish and Chips Clam Chowder and Baked Garlic Clams. I thought everything was great, but I would pass on the garlic clams if you're looking for something on the lighter side. The garlic clams was very tasty, but heavy. The clam chowder is a must! Adding squirts of Tapatio will add a kick to the chowder.
The restaurant is split into 2 parts - the restuarant upstairs and the bar downstairs. I recommend going to the bar area since you can order the food downstairs at the bar. They will play sports games which makes it more exciting. -
Review from Bobby B.
Studio City, CA
4/8/2012
Food was great and the staff was very helpful. Clam chowder was near perfect, mussels were tasty. The salmon was too dry for my taste. Other than that, had a nice time out on the deck.
Overall: A- -
Review from Sarah M.
San Francisco, CA
3/20/2012
While the salad was OK (the vinaigrette seemed a little too garlicy for my taste), let's talk about the BREAD and the CHOWDA.
The bread is.... soooooo good. Warm, soft on the inside with a nice, flaky crust, this bread is the bomb. Once I'd finished my first piece, I knew the our business acquaintances were treating us right. I didn't think it could get any better, until...
I tried the chowder. The chowder is absolutely delicious. In fact, as a former New Englander, I have to say this is some of the best chowder I've ever had on EITHER coast. Get it. I only had a cup of it (it is quite filling) but next time I'm skipping the salad and going with a bowl of chowder and a loaf of bread to myself. -
Review from Carol L.
2/21/2012 1 Check-in Here
What better way to wind down after a day of Solvang exploring, surrey bike riding, beer tasting and casino gambling? Hit up some seafood right by the pier! Our merry group came here for a late dinner before driving back to LA. We got here about an hour before closing and didn't have to wait at all.
We split the BEER BOILED SHRIMP (it's alright...reminds me of college when we used to make this on the grill) and 1/2 DOZEN OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL (I love raw oysters...gotta hit up a raw bar soon! These were shucked well.), plus we each had an OYSTER SHOOTER (these were virgin and oh so good!).
For my meal, I had a cup of their amazing NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER (definitely get a cup or bowl of this) and the FISH 'N' CHIPS. You get three tender pieces of fish. I liked the batter, but found the frying inconsistent...one piece was slightly underdone and another was overdone. It came with decent fries and a scoop of coleslaw.
This location does not take reservations. Coming as late as we did that was a non-issue. That also meant we didn't get to enjoy the harbor view. -
Review from Danny R.
Valencia, CA
Updated - 2/7/2012
Just received an email from Brophy's owner. He apologized for the not so good service I received. I also must apologize since i think my review is more influenced by a waitress. Brophy's food deserve more stars than my last review.
If I was to rate the new waitress, the food, and caring owner everything would be a 5 star. I mean lets face it, a caring owner is everything. A restaurant's success depends on its owner.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/25/2012
On the way back from solvang my girlfriend and i stopped by Brophy's I was reading all the good… Read more »
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Review from M T.
Los Angeles, CA
4/28/2012
This place was just as stars indicate, "A-OK." We came here after several people recommended it and we saw that it had a pretty good yelp rating. It was a Saturday night, so there was a pretty long wait. We thought that was a great sign that we were in for some good food.
My husband and I shared the crab cake and the Sea Bass dinner. The crab cakes were pretty good. There was a little too much filler for my taste, but still good. The Sea Bass was well seasoned, but quite dry.
The clam chowder that came with the dinners (or you could have salad) was delicious. Rice or fries and cole slaw also came with each dinner. All were decent.
Our waitress was a bit slow, but the place was crowded so I don't blame her too much for that. And, she was always friendly.
Next time we are in Santa Barbara, we may go here for lunch. But, probably won't go back for dinner. -
Review from Amy D.
4/18/2012 3 photos
While in LA we decided to take a quick train ride down to Santa Barbara for the day. Brophy's is a great restaurant right along the water that serves wonderful seafood. We came for lunch, and were seated at a point that gave us the best view of the harbour. We started off with margaritas for lunch and they were fab, not too salty. We then had the beer boiled shrimp, the portion size was massive, and the shrimp were tender. The beer flavour was very subtle, they would have been better with some finishing salt. Along with the beer their were remnants of of the poaching spices, a lot of them were sticking to the shrimp, i think it was the bay leaf, and it was pretty unpleasant, i could have done without that.
We then had ciopinno, which was topped with the meatiest muscles i have ever had, so good. I liked that it was topped with Parmesan, the clams however were on the tough side.
Overall, Brophy's is a perfect lunch place, you cannot beat the views, and the service and food were great as well. -
Review from Pascual B.
Indianapolis, IN
4/14/2012
You know a place is good when it's constantly packed. Known for their clam chowder and steam clams, this place offers so much more. Each table gets free sourdough bread as a starter! If you run out, ask for more! I had the seafood pasta. The shrimps, scallops, and white fish were all cooked perfectly in a white wine and butter sauce. It was served over a bed of fettuccine. Simple preparation done perfectly. Came with a choice of salad or clam chowder and fries or rice pilaf. I had the chowder and fries. The fries were crunchy and hot. The chowder included large chunks of fresh clams and noticeable cubes of potatoes. It wasn't heavy with cream, but just enough to add some body. More runny than thick. I've also had the Cioppino and crusted pan fried ahi. Both very good. Definitely get the steamed clams and a glass of CA beer (Anchor Steam, Sierra Nevada, and Firestone). Pints only $4.50! Brophy knows how to cook fresh seafood. A must visit when your in Santa Barbara.
Free parking on the other side of the lot. Make a right from the entrance into the harbor parking lot. Another parking option is to park by the city park on Castillo and Shoreline and walk to the harbor. A nice day short walk on a beautiful day. -
Review from Qui C.
1/17/2012
This place is the number one on Yelp in SB for a reason. It's freaking great here! The location is main attraction, right on the harbor and with SB's beautiful days it's the perfect place for all meals. But what gets me coming back is the fresh seafood, at a more reasonably priced meals! Their fresh seafood can rival big fancy restaurants but there's no hassle here. Down home and true eating with lots of flavors and options. My favorite is the Cioppino, especially with their crusty sourdough bread, mm mm!
This past weekend I got to try their seafood pasta and clam chowder. Their seafood pasta is a must get on my list from now on. Tons of seafood and the pasta was cooked perfectly with a light white sauce. The clam chowder was not the best I've had, too thick for my liking, but it did have big chunks of sweet clam in here.
It's small at Brophy Bros, and everyone is pretty much sitting on top of each other. But that's part of the fun! -
Review from Wendy N.
1/24/2012 1 Check-in Here
A Santa Barbara institution with locals and tourists alike. The view of the harbor and mountains make a magnificent backdrop and the smell of the ocean air, combined with delicious seafood makes this one of my favorite SB restaurants. I lived in SB for 22 years and went there weekly.
My favorite spot is sitting at the bar, ordering off the small clam bar menu (although you can order off the full menu as well). My favorite bartenders are Ara and Adam, who I have known for years... I highly recommend the bloody marys. I typically get the hot combo (garlic baked clams, oysters rockefeller, beer boiled shrimp, and steamed clams/mussels). Let me tell you that the garlic baked clams are to DIE FOR! Other favs are the Brophy burger, tuna melt, steamed mussels and clams and the seafood pasta (off the regular menu). You MUST get the cioppino on a cold winter day.
Weekends are packed so it's best to come in a smaller group so you can snag a seat at the bar (if there are people sitting next to a single empty seat, you can politely ask them to do the "Brophy Shuffle" e.g. move down a seat so you and your friend can sit next to each other- this happens all the time). Ara and Adam usually give me the heads up when I can expect a bar seat to open up so I get lucky quite often.
It's a bustling place and very popular, especially on the weekend afternoons. Love this place - it makes me miss living in Santa Barbara so much!!!Listed in: FOOD!!
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Review from Cassandra C.
Santa Ana, CA
4/22/2012
I always have to come here when I visit Santa Barbara! I love, love, love the fried clams. They are delicious! I actually tried the cole slaw and like it; I'm not a huge cole slaw fan. My husband got the hamburger, because he's not a big fan of seafood, and it was huge and satisfying. The cioppino passing by us to the other tables looked divine. A trip to SB isn't complete without dining at Brophy Bros. Can't beat the view. We sat out on the balcony.
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Review from Margie P.
Arroyo Grande, CA
4/5/2012 1 Check-in Here
Stopped for a semi-quick dinner as we passed through SB. Ate in the bar downstairs because the upstairs wait was 1/2 hour for a table for two. I ordered the "South Beach Diet friendly" Ceviche. It was good. Hubby got the South Beach Diet UNfriendly fish and chips. I, of course, took liberty to nibble from his plate. The battered fish is to die for!!! Lightly breaded, melt in your mouth fish...like buttah! The fries and cole slaw with the fish and chips dinner were nothing special. Bartender was our server and food arrived very quickly via a dumbwaiter (that's NOT a comment on male servers) from upstairs. The view of Santa Barbara Harbor and mountains to the east is beautiful! Nice crowd. We'll be back for sure!
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Review from AJ R.
1/27/2012
This place is awesome but it has one massive and totally unavoidable drawback.... it's ALWAYS SLAMMED. Inevitably there you are, standing against the wall as everyone else eats their chowder and drinks the beer and you just have to stand there and wait as people seemingly intentionally enjoy themselves.
The nerve of some people!
Anyways..... this is a great spot, great location to sit and nurse and beer and watch the sun set. It really is busy all the time and its not just because its a tourist trap, this place is legit. Just bring your appetite and your patience.... -
Review from Will H.
Pasadena, CA
5/13/2012
This place is great if you want food poisoning. I came here with a party of 3 for lunch, and all of the people in my party, including me, felt terribly sick within hours of eating here. I have disputed my charge with AMEX TWICE, and this place had the courtesy to write an explanation saying that my party might have became ill from other places that we've dined. I'm not a person to write many reviews, so for me to come on here and talk about this already speaks volumes. By far, the WORST seafood restaurant ever!
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Review from HipGal M.
Los Angeles, CA
1/16/2012
Came for dinner during a recent weekend in Santa Barbara. I had read a few travel articles mentioning this place and it had gotten decent Yelp reviews (which worries me btw). We were looking forward to some casual, roll your up sleeves kind of fresh seafood after a day of wine tasting in Santa Ynez. After scanning the menu, we decided to go all appetizers. Big mistake. (in Julia Robert's voice).
We ordered:
-fried calamari (mediocre and not very crispy)
-shrimp and avocado salad (mediocre)
-some clam chowder (good)
-steamed clams (VERY rubbery and tasted like they had been sitting for awhile)
-a dozen oysters on the half shell (did NOT taste fresh AT ALL and had a troubling aftertaste)
We sat outside on the deck which had a nice harbor view. Unfortunately next to us at the bar was every frat brother in Santa Barbara "bro"-ing away their Saturday night. I had to actually shield my tartar sauce from touching some random guy's ass standing next to us in the aisle doing shots with his buddies. To make matters worse, our waitress brought every thing within 10 minutes of each other literally piling plates on top of plates, not caring that we were on a tiny two top table, or not bothering to ask what we wanted first or when to bring out the other items.
We downed our not very cold beers and got the F outta there, leaving the clams, calamari and oysters virtually untouched, feeling a bit annoyed we had thrown away $75 at another shitty tourist trap our first night in town. I felt embarrassed for recommending this place.
Maybe we should have ordered the fresh fish items instead???
Bottom line: this less than fantastic experience was the impetus for splurging on some good seafood at the Four Seasons Sunday Brunch the next day :) If it weren't for that place, Los Agaves, La Super Rica and Jeannine's, I would not have any good dining memories in this town. -
Review from andy k.
Los Angeles, CA
3/29/2012 1 Check-in Here
Theres always a long wait here but its worth it. Oysters are always fresh, seafood mains are always good. Clam chowder is an absolute must!
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Review from Laura L.
Port Hueneme, CA
2/28/2012
Great food! Great price! Great location! Great, great, great, great!!
My husband and I decided to take Monday off and take a drive up to Santa Barbara to go to the zoo and do some shopping on State Street. We needed a place to eat so I used my handy-dandy Yelp! and found Brophy Bros. - and am soooo happy that I did!
First, the bread is to die for! I could have filled up on that but had enough willpower to hold our for the main course.
We started with calamari. A lot of restaurants give you about 8 pieces for the same price but here, we received an entire plate full!!
For the main course, my husband had the fish and chips and I had the avocado and shrimp salad. He said the fish and chips was the best he ever had. He's not a big fan of coleslaw so I finished that for him and it was wonderful. My salad was SOOOO good. The avocado was perfect and the dressing (not sure what it was) was amazing.
The next BEST part was when we got the bill. I assumed it was going to be pricey but soooo not! We left a hearty tip considering the bill was much lower than we anticipated.
I can't recommend this place more and I can't WAIT to go back! -
Review from Christy P.
Walnut Creek, CA
5/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
Clam Chowder was good. It was nice and creamy. It had a decent amount of clams and not too much potatoes. I would suggest going early. We sat at the bar because there was no room at the restaurant.
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Review from Les S.
I've been here few times in the past but only ordered from the right side of the menu which is fresh fish of the day. I've had the halibut, mahi mahi, and swordfish which were all pretty good but not mindblowing. This time I decided to try items from the left side of the menu and ordered their spicy bloody Mary, cioppino, and garlic baked clams. These were all excellent. I couldn't get enough of the garlic baked clams. I don't normally eat clams but the sauce on these were amazing. I scraped off every bit of sauce and put it on my bread. The spicy blood Mary is also excellent with a pretty nice kick. Gave me a pretty good buzz without sacrificing on flavor. And of course, make sure to get the clam chowder if you are here for the first time.
The wait here is about the only bad thing because it's usually about 30-45 minute wait on weekends. I got lucky this time because I went on a Monday. It was still about 95% packed. If you can manage to get a seat on the deck, you get a really nice view of the harbor. Service has always been pretty good here. -
Review from Regina P.
1/7/2012 1 Check-in Here
At 8:45pm, we decided to have dinner and wandered around the pier. After browsing through yelp to find a restaurant, we had to go with Brophy Bros. because many other restaurants closed at 9PM.
We ordered the following:
Bowl of Clam Chowder and Salad Combo: We chose the basil vinaigrette dressing to accompany the salad. The clam chowder was good and the salad was fresh. This was a good start.
Cioppino: We told the waitress we will shared this, and she was super awesome to have our entree divided into 2 separate bowls. She mentioned that it may get messy if we try to do it ourselves. Kudos to our waitress of the night. Wish I could comment the same of the cioppino. The tomatoes tasted like it came out of a can. I could not taste the sweetness from the fish, clams, or mussels. I was not a fan of this. On top of that, my bf saw that the bartender was cooking a pot of this in the back...hmm..
In the end, service was great, the food was OK, but not enough for us to come back.
