Finch & Fork

Bit more attitude than food. Quality was good but six small shrimp lost in a ginormous bun do not a po boy make. We asked to split it. It came out one big piece. We asked for the fries small plate. It didn’t show up. Waitress could have cared less. She was going through the motions. Soup and salad were both good. Not bad. Not good.

Great service and attention. The NY strip steak served with mushrooms is really good. Pittsburg style cooked.
Nice lounge ambiance. Perfect to get a digestif at the bar or in the salon next door.

Wow not what I expected had high hopes I guess.
The food is really just mediocre at best in my opinion .
We had some sides like Roasted Brussels Sprouts which lucked attention to detail there were lots of over burned pieces, there was to much of maple syrup on it and not enough acidity very dry over done.
The next dish I had cauliflower which was ok but didn’t make an impression.
Next dish kale salad was good I love kale and was really good but if I was the chef I would mix it up a little with a different kind of salad like romaine for instance some people have problem with too much kale because it’s to tough (like my wife)
She had the kale with Salomon so she had to switch the salad for just spring salad the last dish my Daughter had the steak NY strip
And it was just not good sorry the stake was thin
rubbery and veiny just not a good quality of meat
Not sure what are they thinking in the kitchen but
That was a big disappointment on our part .
It’s a place that charges a lots of money and it’s not adequate to the quality of food
Sorry but it’s honest and I really thought that we would love this place but… I didn’t feel any LOVE in that food and I thing besides the quality that is the biggest problem there.

The best food and the best drinks! I visit weekly to relax and be in a great environment while having a wonderful dinner!

Food tasting with my fiancé & we knew right away this is the place! Our waiter Russ was great. I prefer restaurants have a limited menu, usually means each item has been perfected & Finch & Fork was no exception.

I really wanted to love this place. I booked it for a birthday brunch for my wife and thought it would be a home run. We show up and I tell them I have a reservation. We waited patiently because people were coming in and they were being given 45 minute to one hour wait times. I found this confusing because the place looked like it was at half capacity, tons of open tables. Maybe there were not enough staff?
Fifteen minutes goes by… two couples with reservations come in and get seated immediately… what the heck? My wife speaks up because she’s annoyed and we get seated soon after. Was it a misunderstanding? Was my name not heard correctly? I don’t know and an explanation would have been very helpful. Same with the people being told to wait an hour when the place is empty. If the seats are being saved for reservations that would be helpful to know. Without better communication, this whole experience of trying to get seated just comes off as pretentious.
We waited at our table for about 10 minutes and debated leaving but then our waiter came and took our drink order. One of the couples that was seated before us actually did get up and leave during this time. Our waiter was nice and it was a birthday so I was trying to turn things around. Our mimosas were great and refilled quickly. The short rib & sweet potato hash was excellent but the huevos rancheros was just OK and a bit light portion wise. Try cutting a large tortilla chip on your plate too, it’s not that much fun.
I appreciate that they comped our drinks that morning and apologized for a terrible start — between that and the short rib & sweet potato hash, that’s what got me up to two stars.

They’ve got it going on.
The menu is small, but seems to have something for everyone, including my vegan friends and my wheat-​free self.
The room is airy and the seats are cushy. I can hear myself think in here, unlike many other restaurants in town.
The city parking lot next door assures you’ll never have to go far to park.
I have had many leisurely meals here and never felt rushed by the servers. And my wine-​connoisseur friends were very happy with the selection and the servers’ knowledge of wines.
The Fork & Finch is a most welcome addition to the line-​up of superb restaurants in Santa Barbara. Much more than I expected to find in a hotel restaurant.

My husband & I stayed at the Canary Hotel which Finch & Fork is in so we ate there pretty much everyday, either for breakfast or dinner. I think every meal we had there was excellent! I think one of our servers thought we’d put the check on our hotel tab so he never came back to collect it & we had to track down someone else to close us out. Other than that, service was great.
Other reviewers mention the price but honestly, we were on our honeymoon and weren’t really looking at the prices. We expected to pay a little more in Santa Barbara.
We really want to give a shout out to our server on our last day in Santa Barbara. Monica was so sweet and when we told her we were on our honeymoon and heading to Palm Springs after breakfast, she offered us mimosa’s. I had a cranberry mimosa which was amazing! My husband doesn’t drink but she insisted on something, so he ordered a virgin bloody mary which he really enjoyed. As if that wasn’t enough, she brought out a lavender crème brûlée which was to die for & a PERFECT way to end our honeymoon stay in Santa Barbara! Thank you Monica for being so sweet & kind to us!!!

Not the cheapest in town but perhaps the swankiest customers.
Great food, convenient location but parking can be tricky at this hotel restaurant and bar. The feel is casual and easy going with locals and guests the blend. This is not your usual hotel bar.
Being in a hotel, the prices can climb but they’re worth it. How to Beat the High Co$t of Living? Hit up their Happy Hour M-​F 4 – 6. Yes! A Friday HH. The menu changes but you can’t beat the $ 10, Two Bit Burger and $ 7 Mules. If they bring the spareribs or spicy peppers back, dive in!
Brunch offers up a bottomless Mimosa option for $ 10 + $ 1 each refill on the weekends from 8 – 2:30 and will go a long way, my friend. Opt in for this while you scarf some $ 14 Huevos Rancheros or my favorite, the $ 17 Short Rib Hash.
Friendly people serving up nice cocktails, good wine and nice food. I’ll be seeing you at the bed of the bar.
Cheers

It’s probably the atmosphere, but I don’t see why so many people are enthusiastic about this place.
The food tastes good, the drinks are good too, I highly recommend the jungle bird.
However, it’s way over priced for what it is. For instance, $ 16 for a flatbread thats in reality half a margarita pizza with some parmesan cheese… I just think it’s not worth it for the price, the location probably plays an important role in that.
I wish I could give 3.5 stars!

It was thanks to Unilocal I found this place, and it was the BEST date night in Santa Barbara! Perfect excuse to wear a banging new dress!
Service was excellent. Wine list was impressive (Stolpman Grenache for the WIN!!). Good was totally delicious. We had the Brussels sprouts, and the dude who barely touches a vegetable had several heaping bites. :-)
I had scallops and oh man. The plate was beautiful. It tasted even better than it looked, which you would not have thought possible. He had strip loin. It was perfectly pink inside, wonderfully seared on outside.
It was outstanding start to finish, and a fantastic memory of a great evening!

HAVE to give it 5 stars for their service!
Brunch was delicious, and their brunch drink menu is the bees-​knees! Our server was Griffin and he was SO nice! We’re in Santa Barbara for our wedding weekend and the environment of this restaurant and their service is very upscale but laid back at the same time! Food is great, mimosas =
and it’s the best dining experience we’ve had in SB so far!
We will definitely be back on our next trip!

We had the fried chicken sandwich, the kale salad and the garlic fries. All which tasted extremely fresh and well prepared.
The chicken sandwich was excellent and the bread was amazing. The kale salad was light and fresh, and the garlic fries came with an aoli that was a nice addition.
I would come definitely come back.

I got the Pork Belly and Eggs, which was delicious. $ 17 is a bit much to ask though. You get a piece of toast (kind of too burnt on the sides for my taste), avocado smeared on top (yum!), 2 slices of pork belly and 2 poached eggs w/​hollandaise and side of home fries (couldve been alittle crispier). The hollandaise was great and pork belly was nice and tender. The eggs were alittle too overcooked as they were more soft boiled rather than runny. It was a great dish nonetheless.
My friends and I ordered the bacon mac and cheese to start. It took 30 mins to get here! The rest of the food came 15 – 20 mins after. We were starving. I saw a lot of people get it on Unilocal so decided to give it a try. For $ 10, it is definitely not worth the money. It was good w/​crispy bacon, breadcrumbs and the cheesiness was great. The macroni itself was cooked al dente-​ish, it was alittle harder than what Im used to. It was great but the portion was so tiny I was pretty shocked.
The Fried Chicken Sandwich my friend got looked soo great but he said it was a bit too dry. The portion for that was huge. The side of fries is nice and crunchy though so I appreciated that.
Overall, my dining experience was mediocre. The service was great and food wasnt shabby! But it took way too long to come out and wasnt worth its value.

Finch and Fork has delicious food. It also has a nice décor, particularly if you enter through the Art Deco style lobby in the back. The scallops are big and juicy and I really like the steak. My wife and I have shared the schmear a couple times and it is delicious. In fact, everything I’ve had has been good.
There are two things stopping me from giving it 5 stars. The waiters give pretty good service, but they tend to talk to much. It makes me uneasy. But that may just be me. The second is that it is expensive. And it is expensive, even for someone like me who was born and raised in SB. However, an access card will get you a two for one meal, making it just about right. Or, get two cards and eat here twice per year like me.

I came here for lunch today. From the hostess to our server everything was totally on point and I never felt pressure despite here before. Our server knew the nuances of the menu as well as house made sauces that could complement out meal, totally has sampled the menu well herself. We have 2 burgers the house F&F was juicy, full of flavor and it was complemented perfectly with the house horseradish sauce, jam and garlic fries was a nice touch.
Next was the buttermilk chicken sandwich. It was tasty but was definitely was on the dry side. I asked for a house made hot sauce was given the habanero based sauce which was excellent which sort of made up for it. Price point was on the high side but the service and ambiance made up for it

Let’s pretend for a moment that Finch and Fork wasn’t situated in a historic Spanish building that encompasses the essence of Santa Barbara in the tile work and exposed beams.
Let’s also pretend that the service isn’t impeccable and the weight staff isn’t so friendly and attentive that you’re worried you’re on a hidden camera show.
Which brings us to the food, and where my five star rating really stems from.
Finch and Fork takes farm to table to new heights. Creative spices, inventive accompaniments, surprising textures. Each bite was a circus of delight. Moist pork with a raisin and bacon chutney, creamy comfort butternut squash purée and finished with a ginger crumble. Do you need me to continue?
Fine, I will. To the scallop dish that has forever ruined ordering scallops at another establishment ever again. Paired with avocado and grapefruit and topped with a chorizo sauce– this dish is everything.
Now I’m on a roll so I’ll just keep strumming my fingers across the keyboard. Epic Brussels sprouts, delightful kale salad and sinful chocolate toffee dessert.
Needless to say, I’ll be back. And soon.

Updating my previous review to give 4 stars per the excellent customer service received by Marc Simonetii, a manager at Finch & Fork. He took my previous review (3 stars– good food, but a few little things I didn’t like) very seriously. He reached out to me, explained what he was doing to change things, and offered a complimentary item which I had previously tried to order. I was glad to hear about the changes that he implemented, and that he reached out to me. A+ for Marc!
Now about the food– today I had the fried chicken sandwich with fries. Be aware that the fries which come with the sandwich are normal fries– they are not the super special garlic & herb $ 7 fries. I am curious if guests can upgrade to the yummy garlic & herb fries? Anyways, I was surprised that this sandwich came with a side since during my first visit, the F&F burger that I ordered form the brunch menu did not come with a side. Maybe it depends upon if you order from the brunch or lunch menu? Anyways, the fried chicken sandwich was decent. I think that the F&F burger was outstanding though, so I may go back to order that again.
Also, something to note is that the nearest bathroom is technically outside the restaurant. You need to leave Finch & Fork/​enter the Canary Hotel, go down a set of stairs, then look immediately to your right and there is a small-​ish sign for the bathrooms. The décor is BEAUTIFUL by the way, and the bathrooms reminded me a lot of the nice ones inside Nordstrom’s (private stalls and real hand towels to dry your hands). I did see two sets of elevators just outside the restaurant, so anyone with babies, and/​or the elderly or handicapped can use the elevator to access the downstairs bathroom.

Great restaurant located within Canary Hotel.
Large portions, delectable libations and exceptional bartenders (impressive Bourbon selection).
We opted for the F & F burger (with Fig and Bacon Jam) and the Kale Salad; solid choices, a must try!
4 forks up for FINCH & FORK.

5 star: banana milkshake (9 $). Whatever you do, do not leave without trying one… seriously!
5 star: atmosphere. You would never be able to tell that this is part of a hotel. Quaint décor. Cute for a date or girls night out.
4 star: salmon with pork belly hash. Good was very tasty but portion a tiny bit smaller than expected for a 27 $ entrée. Nonetheless, was delicious.
3 star: mixed salad (10 $) average salad with not a ton of taste but light and perfect to compliment a heavier entrée.
3 star: garlic and herb fries (7 $). The traditional aioli was fantastic and fries were fresh and crispy. However, there was not much garlic or herbs on our fries.
I was disappointed they didn’t have the chili ribs tonight. However I am also to come back and try the salt and pepper wings, baked mac, and short ribs!

Este restaurante realmente nos surpreendeu! Pedi um aspargus maravilhoso grelhado com um ovo poche!
E a sobremesa foi simplesmente a melhor!!!
Milk shake de banana com marshmallow!