About the Harbor Restaurant

The quintessential snap shot of Santa Barbara is the long range view of the city’s famous pier, with a picturesque boat harbor in the foreground and a background framed by the majestic Santa Ynez Mountains.

The anchor of this famous pier is one of Santa Barbara’s most popular eateries, the Harbor Restaurant on Stearns Wharf. The 150 year old pier was a working pier from its infancy. It housed the Santa Barbara Yacht Club in 1929 and the pier’s first restaurant opened in 1941, owned by famous actor and nearby San Ysidro Ranch owner, Ronald Colman. Colman sold the restaurant to another famous actor, James Cagney, who later sold the restaurant to the Castagnola family in 1955.

The Harbor Restaurant and Stearns Wharf were destroyed by fire in 1971 and rebuilt in 1981 when the Williams family operated the Harbor Restaurant until selling to its current owner, John Scott, in 1988.

Scott currently owns seven restaurants in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Ventura, and has a long and distinguished career as a restaurateur. He was in management positions with Chuck’s Steak House of Sherman Oaks and Westwood before arriving in Santa Barbara in 1976 as part of Jeremiah’s Steak House management team.

Enter the Harbor Restaurant and take in the panoramic ocean views from your window table. Start with a cocktail from the restaurant’s full bar or order a bottle of wine from a wine list that has received the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator Magazine for five consecutive years. Enjoy the freshest seafood that arrives daily in the Santa Barbara harbor or a USDA prime char-grilled filet mignon prepared expertly by the Harbor Restaurant chefs.

Relax and enjoy one of Santa Barbara’s treasures – the Harbor Restaurant on Stearns Wharf.