The one star. Does not reflect the taste or quality of the food, but portions gave new meaning to the word "small". Prices are expensive, compared to Seagrass that beats this hands down. Service was pleasant but snail paced. This is more of a specialty drink and small plate place. Noisy and close tables.
Review Source:Wonderful! The initial noise level at 8:00 was overwhelming. My friends and I were there are on a Thursday night and the noise level and intimate atmosphere of the place softened about an hour later. It was awesome to have an extremely  knowledgeable waiter who also mixed our drinks and was always attentive. I forgot the name of the drink I ordered (something "On the Floor" or such) which was an inspired adaptation of a Manhattan but much better. We shared a mixed baby green salad that was perfectly fresh and exquisitely dressed (lemon juice replacing the balsamic). For the entree I had the black cod which was possibly the most luscious preparation of fish I've ever had. Hard to describe but I highly recommend it. There were lots of oos and ahhs and smiles of delight from the other nearby tables that confirmed that the chef here is genuinely gifted. The chocolate bread pudding dessert was almost a spiritual experience. It's very hard to believe the negative reviews about this rare gem of a restaurant. I'd go back in a heart-beat. One of the best meals I've ever had and will always go there when I'm back in Santa Barbara.
Review Source:Good place.  Ordered the braised mussels for our app, the whole fish, the stuffed snapper, and a chocolate (soufflé ish) dessert.  Everything was very good.  The snapper was good but a little dry and the dessert was underdone.  For drinks - the kumquatini, the greyhound cocktail, a Ketel One up, and a Green Chartreuse digestif.  Enjoyed them all but the Ketel  One could have been colder and it would have been nice if the olives were actually in the glass.  Would go back and really enjoyed it.  I think Toma was better.  The service was good, not great, and the ambiance was cool.  I think most people would really like it.
Review Source:I almost couldn't wait to yelp this one. I came with a few friends in the early evening on Tuesday. We were looking for a place that had a nice happy hour for a drink and a bite to eat. I had been meaning to check it out since I used to live next to the Santa Monica location.
The food-
The cucumber martini was delicious refreshing and I will order it again. I couldn't grasp the presentation however. Maybe they were out of martini glasses?
The fish and chips  on happy hour were the best that I have ever had, and that is saying a lot. The portion of fish was small but I  do understand considering the quality of fish was clearly high. The fries, which I often never touch anywhere were devoured.
The steamed clams in homemade chorizo soffritto with white beans topped the experience. The clams were sweet, plump, delicious, and the flavors blended well with the spice of chorizo and texture of the beans.
The service- I understand that they have a different "pattern of service" from other restaurants. In other words, i've been told that they all pool everything together as a team oriented staff. Therefore, everyone is you server. This is confusing and frustrating to guests especially when communication lacks when its busy. I personally like to know my server and to also feel comfortable with asking anyone on staff for something I need.
Overall, I can't wait to come back and I hope the execution of the dishes are the same in my hometown.
Hands down, the worst service I've ever had in Santa Barbara!!
This whole experience was a giant disappointment. I had been so excited to finally go to Hungry Cat since it had been recommended to me by multiple people on different occasions.. what a letdown!
It started on a good note when my mom and I were sat by the very nice and accommodating hostess. From there it was all downhill. We sat in the dead center of the restaurant where we were ignored for the first 15-20 minutes! After trying to make eye contact with ANYONE, our waitress finally decided to ask what kind of water we would like. I'm sorry, but it is never, ever acceptable to sit at a table without water or some small form of acknowledgment for almost 20 whole minutes!!! We would have stood up and walked straight out of the restaurant if it hadn't been a busy night downtown and almost 8pm at this point. (Though we did have plenty of time to sit there and discuss our other options)
After we were finally recognized, not much improved. We continuously were left feeling abandoned with complete and utter lack of interest from anyone in the restaurant. This despicable serviced continued on until the check was finally dropped.
The only reason for 2 stars instead of 1 is for the good food. However, no amount of incredible food could make up for our horribly disappointing experience.. it was all tainted.
I will never return.
Their lobster roll ROCKS! It's the best lobster roll I have ever had! crispy bun w tasty garlic spread n crunchy fresh lobster meat.....YUM! The seafood tier is also a good deal at $45/1 tier with so many variety including shrimps, crabs, clams, and oysters. We also order a live uni....but it tastes a little bit bitter to me =p
Review Source:This is one of very few restaurants in Santa Barbara which gets it right. My wife and I are from Europe and are used to excellent quality of food and service which this restaurant delivers every time. Great selection of seafood prepared in new and wonderful ways. Our palates are always impressed and we always have a great dinner at this restaurant.
Review Source:My bf and I walked in last night (Saturday) without reservations and were told that there was seating only at the bar. We were offered a choice of sitting on one end of the bar and being served by a waitress or sitting on the other end and being served by the bartender. I didn't have an opinion, but the bf opted for the bartender side of the bar. Great call! The bartender was friendly and helpful (explaining the menu and drink options since we've never eaten here before) and he was accommodating with some of my more persnickety requests.
The bf had a half dozen raw oysters and fresh, SB sea urchin (YUM -- to die for!) I had the clams and chorizo (another big winner) and the bf had cod which he liked. The apple beignets were delish though not really beignets (NOLA anyone?) and the drinks du jour (a "blueberry cobbler" and their popular Grayhound) were fruity, fresh and yummy!
We had a very nice meal, good food, nice service without a reservation, what could be better than that?
This is a tough review to write. Â
This used to be one of the best places to eat in Santa Barbara, an upscale but small town with just a few fine dining options.
It seems that the kitchen has changed its goals, and is no longer really trying to reach the top level. Â We ordered a halibut entree, which has been on the menu for quite some time. When it came, it was clearly the wrong fish. Â Our neighbor at the bar had the same entree by name, with entirely a different filet. Â When we complained to the management, we did not even receive an apology. Â After a prolonged discussion, they comped the entree but never had a real conversation with us. Â
During our meal, we were seated at the bar and observed some unfortunate processes. Â I actually tried to order the whole fish, and was told that the last had been sold. We watched as two whole fish sat on and next to the grill *for an entire hour*, and eventually after that were plated! Â Thank god we were not allowed to order it! Â But no place of repute should ever get to that point.
At one point during the meal, we attempted to ask a question of the cook working in front of us at the bar. Â He refused to even respond to us. Â This is another sign that the place is not serious about delivering quality cooking to its clientele.
I recommend you go elsewhere. Â If you are in Santa Barbara, try Cieleto. Â So far, they are keeping up high standards.
We came here because we wanted something light and I happen to see that they have Fresh Sea Urchin :-P Unfortunately the diver was unable to go diving to catch those urchin :-( so I ordered the Tier 1 seafood platter that came with raw oysters, clams, cooked shrimp, marinated mussels, and crab claw with Alaskan crab legs. The seafood was not fresh at all. It's because the diver didn't go out and catch the fresh seafood. LOL. The Hamachi Aji appetizer was good but I wasn't to thrilled when they charged us $2 for bread. Which restaurant does that? Anywho we came in cause Yelp said it great but I think it's just mediocre. But I will return... Just for a taste of the Fresh Sea Urchin.
Review Source:Based on food alone, this place would easily warrant 4 stars. Â But their service is abysmal. Â Is there anyway they can manage not to hire quite as many snarky, sorority type girls who like, you know, like totally make you feel like, they are doing you a favor by serving you, for sure? Based on other reviews, I'm not the only one who's noticed this.
Review Source:We made reservations, but when we arrived at 6:30 the reservations weren't necessary. Â The restaurant was busier when we left.
We started with a half dozen oysters. Â Very good!
My dad and boyfriend both had the Chorizo with Clams. Â The broth was really flavorful. Â The toasted bread came with a spiced mayonnaise that my bf did not care for. Â I had the braised octopus. Â I did not regret my choice! Â I expected a rubbery calamari like texture, but was thrilled to get a nice firm fish texture. Â the squid ink pasta was really good as well.
The three of us split the chocolate bread pudding and the apple beneigts. Â Loved the bread pudding. Â The beneigts were so so.
I like the openness of the restaurant.  Very clean, everything seemed in place, lots of attention to detail.  The service was wonderful  Very knowledgeable and attentive server.
We decided to have a late night drink/snack.
Sat at the bar. Hubby ordered a quarter oak laphroaig. Boy was it strong!
Whew.
Had the hamachi aji appetizer with shaved pickled radish, pistachios, pepper. Flavors combined formed delicious bites though portion size was very small. Expensive.
They have a choice of 3 or 5 cheeses. We opted for 3 cheeses. One was a brie, raclette cheese, and a type of cheddar. It came with honey comb, which i loved, and hazelnuts. (I've never had raclette cheese without heating it up with my raclette set which was interesting. I think it tastes much better sliding off the hot mini pans.)
Thought that although the food was good, the portion size was not reflective of the price.
The waitress was nice but not that observant. I had to drink my water and hubby's water. Then ask her to refill them since she didn't notice.
It is a chain from LA though I have never been to the Hollywood location.
It was a red flag to me to hear that their crab (snow crab as well as rock crab) is only served chilled - not freshly steamed... Also, it's not served with any sides or drawn butter. Instead the crab legs are on a plate of ice with two dips - one ketchup and one mustard.
Despite the writing on the wall, I felt adventurous enough to go for a pound of snow crab legs. I can't say they were bad per se, there was no fishy taste, but, truth be told, the crab meat was a bit watery and lacked taste otherwise. The price point of $44 is not justifiable. For that price I expect freshly steamed crab legs, succulent and full of sweet flavor, served hot with drawn butter - not... uhm... ketchup...
As an appetizer I had the sea urchin served in the shell - it was OK, although the same applies - I've had much better quality for less $$. Of note, around me I saw the burger and the whole grilled fish ordered a lot...maybe that's where this restaurant really shines.
Sit near the window so you can admire the lovely buildings across the street. If you're fortunate, you might get to laugh at a tourist chasing her hat across the street as the wind whisks it away, or cheesy couples on bikes with baskets full of flowers. But if you go with someone whose company you enjoy, I'd say the best view is his/her face in the candlelight. (when the eff did I get all soft?!)
I had my first raw oysters here and, much to my surprise, really liked them.
One felt like a tidal wave in my mouth - the ocean tumbling over my tongue seductively. Another was too large and meaty for me to swallow whole, so I happily chewed it a couple times before allowing it to slide down my throat. The third was unremarkable, but delicious none the less. I liked that they all slipped out of their shell with little resistance (or maybe I'm just a good sucker?). I even drank the oyster juice like a gangsta.
My winter salad was delicious. The persimmons were supple and vibrant and felt lovely on my tongue. The dates added just the right amount of sweet, and the blue cheese was plentiful. Perhaps a bit too much red onion, though. It was the perfect dish after those delicious oysters. Too bad my dining companion couldn't say the same about his pug burger. I watched him eat it listlessly, pushing around a crumbling piece of beef. When he said it was "fine" through pursed lips, I knew it sucked.
Service was great, so the dock in stars here is solely for the disappointing burger.
P.S: Hi, feo :)
My stars...(5=epic "best of")(4=really tasty and want to go again and again)(3=good and will go back once in a while)(2=fair, might return for a visit if there was some glimmer of hope)(1=avoid at all costs)
My wife and I were beyond excited to try the Hungry cat in Santa Barbara. Â We've enjoyed their sister restaurant in LA. Â We were really looking forward to their raw bar.
We started our meal with a couple very well made cocktails. Â We ordered urchin, rock crab claws and lobster. Â The urchin, I'm told, was amazing. Â I simply am not a fan, but my wife loved it! Â The rock crab claws were disappointing. Â They weren't very meaty or flavorful. Â In fact, they almost seemed a little under-done. Â Very disappointing for the price. Â However, the lobster was an epic fail. Â We had it cooked and served warm (as you can do so cold as well) off a recommendation from the waitress. Â When we got it, it was almost as mushy as porridge. Â It was just all kinds of wrong. Â After pointing this out to the waitress, she immediately took it back. Â She asked if we wanted anything else. Â We didn't. Â So, she gave us our check and said we wouldn't be charged for the lobster.
While the service was quite decent up until that point, we were shocked at the aloofness of the handling of the lobster. Â For something so pricey, and something a seafood restaurant should be able to do in their sleep...it was brushed under the rug so to speak. Â I would have expected a manager to come over, talk to us a bit, and offer to re-do it at minimum. Â
Maybe it was an off night... Â But, sadly we won't be returning. Â I simply expected far better and was very disappointed.
A disclaimer: I have loved this place. So it breaks my heart to come to terms with how it has recently changed.
It appears a new chef and new management have taken this restaurant in the wrong direction. The menu seems the same, but...
I regularly get the local uni here; this last one was by far the smallest one ever...and it wasn't even served with the grilled toast that always was a staple in the past. I even asked for the grilled toast, since it had previously standardly accompanied it...no dice. It was subsequently served atop another dish, though too late for the uni....so it was a matter of refusing to serve it?
A bowl of packaged oyster crackers was brought to the table. This ain't Mo's, for heaven's sake!
Even the chorizo and clams was a disappointment--far less quantity than before, a surprising lack of beans, and therefore much less filling as a result.
Both the pricey scallops and the octopus were OK, though small portions. In short, not worth going back for.
The service was not nearly as attentive as on prior visits.
There was no cappuccino to accompany the beignets, though this wasn't a big deal.
The cheeses were good but even those portions seemed reduced from previous visits.
This was a place I proudly dragged out-of-town guests to...now I'm very sorry to see it slip off my top ten list.
It's hard to give them a fair review after having dined at the one in LA. I felt like their service was too slow here but food was ok. Still not the wow factor that the Hollywood location had. One of my pet peeves is how people don't pay much attention to serving "clean" salads: usually ill get some yucky stuff on spinach or leafy greens but the salad here had the rubber band that tied the greens together. Ummm yeah, not so appetizing.
So we laughed it off but it was off-putting. We had the sea urchin which wasn't as tasty as I have had before, though SB Uni is one of the best. The cod fritters and grilled octopus are awesome. The burger was as gourmet as a fish place can make but too salty plus adding the blue cheese overpowered the flavor overall.
We came here for a Sat brunch. We arrived super early like 11:30am, there was nobody dining there at all!
The drink was very interesting, I had the grape fruit cooler, really fresh and tangy, if you like  tangy. It is a creative drink.
We didn't order any raw platter for appetizer, maybe that was a wrong decision, but neither of us is really into that raw seafood. So I had a lobster fritatta, which I think it was just so-so. The lobster was not fresh, tasted very fishy. My friend's crabcake benedict tasted better, more flavorful.
The price isn't cheap, but I wish they work better on the food quality. Presentation is good enough though.
We had a reservation. Â Place was busy but not full. Â Service was friendly but ultra confused and slow. Â One person took our order another "sort of" brought our drinks. Â Seafood platter came but we had to beg for silverware. Â Again, everyone nice enough but service hapless.
Main courses were over cooked or greasy. Â The fried chicken sandwich was cooked in ancient oil, gummy and sour. Fries same.
Servers suddenly got it together when it came time to pitch desert. Â OMG get us out of here!!!!
Was here a few years ago and seemed fresh and new. Â Now feels like a place that is slipping. Â Hope the management gets it together.
The uni was not fresh and not properly cleaned tonight and the stone crab was not as tasty as I recall. Â
The grilled scallop, in the scallop and pork belly dish, was disappointing. Â The grilled scallop was raw and had an unpleasant taste that caused me to question the freshness of the scallop.
The fall salad was served with only two tiny slices of persimmon. Unbelievable!! Mentioned to server (Emily) if this is how the salad is typically served and she responded that she'll check with the chef. Â Emily later returned with a plate of sliced persimmon but did not answer my question nor give an apology from the chef if there should have been more slices in the salad.
As if things could not get worse, I learned that they no longer have the lemon curd on the menu. Again, no specific explanation when asked why. Â
The food and quality was so off  tonight  + the lack of explanations from the server prompted me to ask if there were any changes recently.  Sure enough there was!  New management (same manager from the Hollywood location) and new chef since mid-November.  Finally, it was beginning to make more sense to me.
Would like to know where the previous chef is working - food was much better prepared and lemon curd was on the menu!
Overall experience was that the seafood was not fresh, poorly prepared and service was disappointing. Â =( Â But still left a decent tip for Emily because it's holiday weekend.
When I called to speak with the manager. Â The manager asked for a call on Wednesday. Wow, talk about poor service! Â How about calling me back on Wednesday?? Â
Again, after tonight's experience, I am much wiser not to ever return. Â Sad to say that my once favorite restaurant has gone downhill. Â Seafood no longer fresh but they still charge you premium price for it!?! Time for this place to close up shop, stop ruining people's dinning experience and wasting people's money.
The proprietor of municipal winery told us about this place on the only night my wife and I were in town for. Â We luckily got a early dinner reservation and it was the biggest & best surprise of our California trip. Â The oysters to start are dynamite, the octopus was cooked just perfectly and the special fish was fantastic.
Come here if you enjoy fresh and clean seafood with a good Santa Barbara red (or white if you are traditional).
Day 1: arrive at Hungry Cat for fresh sea urchin (yes, that's it). Was turned away with bellies empty, told to check back tomorrow. We walked away discussing that hopefully there will be a catch tomorrow, resulting in super fresh sea urchin.
Day 2: We decided to try again (after a pre-dinner snack meal, yes.. don't judge). Â They had sea urchin! Yes! We shared one (I really wanted two), and a few cocktails. I asked if I could cut into the urchin myself, was told no. Anyways.. the urchin was absolutely decadent. I've never liked uni until I visited Santa Barbara. This visit changed my whole perception of the strange sea creature. Â You can see the tentacles moving still as you dig in! It's a bit morbid and dark, but sadly it made it more delicious and exhilarating.
I went to UCSB for undergrad and this (and Arigato) are my favorite restaurants in Santa Barbara hands down. I have gone to the hungry cat multiple times during the 4 years that I lived in SB. I have always had great food, great drinks, and great service.
Food: The oysters are incredible, marinated mussels as well. I highly recommend the chorizo and clams. Those are the staples, and then of course I always order whatever their special is for the day.
Drinks: I love gin. They've got a cucumber gin drink and my personal favorite was this...racecourse drink? I can't remember, maybe a greyhound name? It was gin, grapefruit, and came with a candied ginger. Also go with the dark and stormy if you're into the heavier drink flavors!
Service: I've always had top notch service. I took my friends here, my boyfriend, and my parents. I've had some great memories with friends and family at this restaurant. It's laid back but still hip and classy.
I now live in LA and I just found out, today, that they have a location in Hollywood. FYI: I'm going there tonight and you know what I'll be ordering!
No, no, no. The Hungry Cat doesn't live up to the hype.
Went on a very warm Sunday afternoon a few weekends ago. A friend and I just wanted to have a couple drinks and maybe some appetizers.
We arrived around 3pm to a nearly empty restaurant (two other small parties dining). After a few minutes of not being greeted (though there were a couple servers walking around near us) my friend asked a server if we could sit at a specific table. The server said "sure" and that she would get us menus and water. Another few minutes passed as we waited for our server, and a short, large woman with bleached short hair came over to our table. I assume she was the manager on duty? She asked us if we could move tables and my friend said "Oh, well, we just asked if we could sit here and the server said we could". The large, bleached hair woman told us the table we were occupying was reserved, and did not apologize for the inconvenience or even smile. So, we moved when we should have left.
The rest of our experience was "eh" as we each had a drink that was pretty good as far as taste, but stingy on the alcohol. The cheese plate was fine, but I could have gone to Trader Joe's and made a similar plate: it was nothing special.
Our server (not the big woman with bleached hair) was fine overall. I could tell she was tired, sad, or down in general. I felt sorry for her, but I also felt a little uncomfortable as I could tell she didn't want to wait on us. Another server took over for her at the end of our dining experience, and she was upbeat and attentive for the five minutes she waited on us.
As it ended up, we were at Hungry Cat for over and hour and a half. NO ONE came to sit at the "reserved" table during this time.
Hungry Cat, service is important and on this you really fall short.
I'm not planning to go back here for dinner anytime soon.
I've been to this  establishment twice. I went once for lunch and once for dinner. Lunch was fabulous. The Cobb salad I had was amazing. The service was great. They had a lot of options to choose from on the lunch menu, so I was very excited to come back and try it for dinner!
They could make some adjustment to their dinner menu. I had eaten fish already for lunch and sushi for a snack the day we had dinner reservation. I was excited to try an item that was not  fish for dinner. I'm not too picky, but the only item they were offering that was not fish was a burger. It was a lack luster burger. I also wasn't pleased with their wine list, so I broke a personal rule, and I started to drink cocktails. The cocktails were delicious. However, they were SO delicious, that I accidentally flung my discarded wine glass on the floor, yelled at my date for not learning proper Italian fast enough for his upcoming trip, and left my anniversary gift on the table. The server was so kind to catch us before I stumbled out the door so I wouldn't forget my roses.
So, five stars for great service and kindness of the staff, three stars for menu and wine list (that's being generous). I understand you're a seafood place, but everybody in a large party won't be over the moon about fish, so a few more entree options that aren't fish would be great. I can't stress enough the importance of a decent  wine list. I understand wanting to be original, but Christ, put a few wines by the glass on there that winos like me might actually recognize. I love your cocktails, but I hunk I'll stick to one next time. Those things are TOO delicious.
Love, love this restaurant.
We came for lunch and ordered some fresh oysters to start. I ordered the Cobb salad and it came beautifully displayed in a generous bowl. It was incredibly delicious, the best Cobb I've had to date and I eat a lot of salads.
Service was good and food excellent. Enjoyed my time here and will definitely visit next time I'm in Santa Barbara.
Located away from the main drag of State street, which makes it more pleasant. Came here initially for happy hour, but after looking at the menu we decided to also have dinner at the bar.
Happy Hour is M from 5-6pm, T-F 3-6pm. Cocktails are half-off and select beers $5-6. Unfortunately only drinks are happy hour prices, no appetizers.
For drinks, all are hand-crafted and seasonal:
1) Pisco Sour - featured cocktail of the day. Peruvian brandy, egg whites, lemon juice & bitters. Good balance of all ingredients. First time I've had a Pisco & it was great.
2) Town & Country - fresno-infused reposado tequila, muddled cucumber, lime juice & sage. Light and refreshing perfect for the warm weather.
3) Southern Belle - earl-gray infused Plymouth gin, muddled peach and lemon juice. It had actual pieces of peach. Fresh and light, my favorite of the three drinks.
Food:
1) Soft-shell crab - featured appetizer of the day. Lightly battered & fried with beets, carrots, spinach & red onion. The crab decent size and crisp. The salad that accompanied it was good.
2) Whole Branzino - also known as European Sea Bass, firm white flesh and small bones. Grilled with carrot puree, broccollini, and farro. Exceptional, branzino grilled perfectly.
Service was efficient and satisfactory. The kitchen has an open concept so you can see all the action, especially when at the bar. This allowed us to chat and watch the chef prepare aioli and our branzino.
I would definitely like to return whenever I'm in  SB.
$$$$ Four dollar symbol for sure, don't let the $$$ fool you. Â
They held a party of 8 for me and the bill was $500.00, which was ok. Â They did "graciously" include gratuity for me... (I'm not really comfortable with this actually at any place). Â If you're an upscale establishment, you should expect upscale tips for the service... NOT force people). Â I would have left a better tip anyways as the service was awesome.
Food: Â Good quality on the triple decker seafood platter, arrived with 4 different dipping sauces which also arrived with no explanation from the waitress, had to guess which sauce was for what... also, some of the oysters were smaller than the rest. Â Caviar was EPIC and is a must try. Â We requested the "shelled" shrimp and received shrimp with shell on, so that was painfully awkward to de-shell in nice clothing. Â The local stone/ rock crab was kind of hard to de-shell as well, but was provided with the proper tools... Â $ Pricey Platter - but given three tiers to choose from $!
Sea Urchin was very fresh and served in its own shell... impressive.  They only had 1 plate of the bronzino grilled fish left for the day... this was prepped well and is a must try.  The other fish (Halibut was moist (good), Seabass (a bit dry - how is this possible for a fresh cut of local Seabass... unless it was the prev. frozen Chilean version).  Vegetarian plate was decent (I think they only have one salad entrée apparently for my vegetarian Aunt; but that's her fault for not being into the wonders of the ocean.  Can't really remember the rest of the dishes we ordered, but then again, some of the party ordered the same entrees so this review covered most of it.
In my opinion, The Hungry Cat is 2nd best seafood joint in town, right behind Seagrass in terms of quality and service. Â I'm giving 4 stars because Seagrass has just a bit more finesse to their production.
Staff: Â VERY accommodating and friendly. Â 5 Stars for the staff!
Will be back soon and thanks for a great dinner!
An impromptu drive down the coast led to us searching for a delicious meal in Santa Barbara...
From the Yelp reviews we read, we felt like The Hungry Cat was the right match to our particular style/type of dining. Upon stepping through the door we knew we had chosen well.
Our positive impression started before we got there, when we had made a reservation for 10pm online. We immediately received a phone call from the restaurant, saying that the open table was an error (hey- Mistakes Happen!) and though they were completely booked, as it was Memorial Day Weekend, they'd reserve a place for us at the Chef's Bar... This is always our preference anyway, so it was perfect. We were grateful that they went out of their way to accommodate us.
The food was excellent. I was disappointed that they were out of the Clams & Chorizo, but got over it pretty quick when our food arrived: The Barramundi was phenomenal, fresh and tasty with the crispiest skin I've ever seen. The mussels with chickpeas in saffron broth sent us ordering an extra round of bread to finish it off... no drop was spared! My only objection, was that by the time the mussels reached us, they were at a somewhat tepid temperature. Whatever. Hungry cats we were, and we would've gladly lapped at the bowl itself had the bread not arrived promptly!
Small world: A continent away, one of the cheeses on offer for the cheese plate, was the same we had raved about at Union in Toronto just weeks earlier. The other cheeses, both californian, were to die for. The perfect accompaniment and finish was the Spanish Port recommended by the bartender. Generous portions, as well... The meal was top notch to the last drop.
All of that with local beverages: A glass of Barbera for me (yum!) and a brown ale for the Mister... Our bill was under $100.00- impressive.
The service once we were seated was average. Not overly personal. We also watched another couple get kicked off the bar as it is "reserved seating"... there seems to be a need for some place to wait for a table in this very busy establishment. Not to mention the bathroom: I was waiting outside the solitary one-person restroom for a while, and eventually returned to my seat because I got uncomfortable hovering over a couples' romantic dinner. But hey- it's Santa Barbara- just step outside and breathe the glorious air!
I had probably one of the best experiences dining in Santa Barbara here at The Hungry Cat. I didn't know it was a chain, but that's ok, it was still a phenomenal experience with seafood.
We came here for dinner after making reservations and were seated fairly promptly although after some wait which was past our reservation time. We were not encouraged to stop around the bar, which was sort of annoying but in the end the food made up for it.
We weren't celebrating much of anything, but the cocktails here were pretty delicious and the bartenders are much nicer than the servers and hostess who was a little rude and again ... did not seat us at the time of our reservation as well as barred us from the bar.
We got the uni appetizer as this is, after all, Santa Barbara and this is where some of the finest uni comes from. It came out live in its shell and did not disappoint. Our entrees of fish and shellfish were equally delightful and delicious!
I enjoyed the meal, enjoyed the ambiance, and loved dessert which was a rarity for me. Highly recommended.
Well, look what the cat dragged in... ME!
With a name like Hungry Cat and a high rating on Yelp, it didn't take any convincing at all for me to try this place out. My boyfriend and I were all the way down on lower State St. so we walked several blocks to get here. I guess you could say that we worked up our appetite on the way as we tried to work down our tipsy-ness.
This place is definitely upscale and is the cat's meow of seafood. They've got a wide variety of raw stuff as well as cooked seafood fare. I started out with a cocktail, the "meowmosa" (mimosa), obviously. Just letting you know, they don't actually call it a "meowmosa" here, although I think they should start and feature it on the menu. The whole place is already decked out with kitty kats anyway.
The whole menu looked tantalizing, but decisions had to be made so we went with the Tuna Tartare and Halibut dishes. The tuna tartare came out first and it was pretty good. It had a sort of mayo flavor to it, but it worked nicely with the jicama and mushrooms. The halibut was absolutely amazing. The taste of it blew my mind, yes, for real. It was perfectly seasoned, and had the perfect amount of lemon zest to it.
The cat got my tongue alright. The food was delicious and I'm dying to get another nip of it!
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