The Dining Room at El Encanto — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

(tl;dr—In short, my sisters-in-law were pampered. Our server, Augustín, said he was going to do that, and pamper us he did. It was a sublime afternoon.)

I had a chance to visit El Encanto for lunch with my sisters-in-law on 29 July. We were seated right away at a table on the patio with a direct view of the Pacific Ocean off in the distance. We were introduced to our awesome server, Augustín, who promptly moved umbrellas around on the patio to ensure we had a shady (and cooler) lunch experience.

The cocktails were delicious, and while we were waiting for our dishes to arrive, Augustín volunteered to take photos with us, commemorating the day. He even made sure to take several photos from above (which many people, including me, appreciate because it is just a bit more flattering!) He also shared a brief history lesson of the area with us, as the city's Fiesta celebration was the next day. Our meals were delicious, and Augustín and the El Encanto staff were very accommodating with a few special requests we had.

After lunch, as we enjoyed our dessert, we were invited to explore the property a bit, and I marveled at the yard–sized checkers and chess games on hand; wishing well fountain; and hillside chairs strategically placed next to outdoor fireplaces and all with a view of the Ocean. We even got a special opportunity to visit the oldest part of the property, and the one with the best view of the Pacific. Once again, our server Augustín helped us out by serving as photographer, taking one last snap of us to memorialize our relaxing afternoon.

I definitely will be back when next in...

Four of us dined on the terrace yesterday evening and, although the service was better than it’s been in the past, and we had a very agreeable waiter, my husband’s cocktail still arrived 10 minutes after our wine did. The grain/green salad bowl that two of us ordered was virtually inedible - no quinoa (as described on the menu) and basically just a few lettuce leaves and tomatoes thrown together - not even dressed. We then ordered dessert, which was also disappointing, as the mandarin cheesecake was totally lacking in any flavour whatsoever and was extremely small. My husband and I love the setting, and have dined here on many occasions over the past ten years however, regrettably, have rarely had a consistently good dining experience...

What an amazing view and the staff is incredibly friendly and professional. Ugo was our main waiter and he was so kind and recommend the olive oil cake which was delicious. We ordered the branzino entree and the salmon entree. Both were very good but the main attraction was the view. Just sitting outside on the deck under one of their umbrellas and looking at the amazing view from the top of the hill was just breathtaking, and quite relaxing. Definitely stop in for a sunset drink if...