Review: Opal Restaurant and Bar - Santa Barbara, CA
I recently went to a conference in Santa Barbara, CA. It was a nice change of scenery from the San Gabriel Valley. Although most of my meals were hosted at the hotel, we did make it out to a trendy Santa Barbara eatery.
Located on the busy and trendy State Street of Santa Barbara, Opal Restuarant and Bar is known for its eclectic California Cuisine influenced by Asian ingredients. You can definitely count on fresh seafood on the menu considering that Santa Barbara is a beach town. And just like a beach town, the food is pretty pricy.
I ordered Marinated and Grilled "Flat Iron" Steak with Gratin Potatoes for $23. Sorry, I didn't take a picture because it was a business dinner. For $23, I wasn't impressed with what I ordered. It tasted like something I could have done at home. Please note that my cooking is not that good. I did noticed that the vegetables that came with my order was really bitter for some reason.
But before the main course, we ordered 5 appitizers. Again, it was a business dinner and wasn't on anyone's dime. We had the tiger prawns, scallops, crab cakes, and 2 orders of the ahi. Appitizers, alone, were almost $60. At an average of $12 an appitizer, we got three on a plate. That's right, just three. That's $4 a piece. There wasn't enough to go around. You basically ate what was in front of you and that's it.
The bar churned out some great drinks. Perhaps Opal should just be a bar that served some finger foods. In my opinion, it tries to do too much and the result is mediocre. The atmosphere is cool and hip, but don't expect to be dazzled by the food. It's a yawn.
Menus
LUnch: http://www.opalrestaurantandbar.com/opal_menu_lunch.pdf
Dinner: http://www.opalrestaurantandbar.com/opal_menu_dinner.pdf
Dessert: http://www.opalrestaurantandbar.com/opal_menu_dessert.pdf
Opal Restaurant and Bar
1325 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
P: 805.966.9676
Lunch: Monday - Satuarday from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM
Dinner: Sunday - Thursday from 5:00 PM to 10 Pm and Friday - Saturday 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM
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