8 Restaurants I Tried Along The Pacific Coast Highway | Breakfast Cafes, Dinner Spots, Ice Cream Shops

1.Boathouse at Hendry’s Beach (Breakfast, lunch & dinner)

2981 Cliff Dr, Santa Barbara, CA 93109

This was one of the most recommended restaurants in Santa Barbara, so we made it our first stop, and we were not disappointed. It’s located right on Arroyo Burro Beach and the view is beautiful.

For a starter, I had the pan roasted crab cakes, which were delicious. I had the boathouse seafood pasta as my main course, which comes with a spicy marinara sauce that I swapped for white sauce, and that made for an outstanding dinner. For dessert, I had the tiramisu, which wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it was serviceable. Last but certainly not least, one of my favorite parts of this dining experience was the Step In The Right Direction cocktail, which I had several of.

We wished we had also tried the breakfast here because I heard that was amazing. Overall I’d definitely recommend this restaurant for any time of day. They do not take reservations, but we didn’t wait any longer than fifteen minutes to be seated. There is also indoor and outdoor seating.

2.Santa Barbara Public Market (Shopping & Food Hall)

38 W Victoria St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

The public market has several restaurants to choose from, but we went with Wabi Sabi, a tasty sushi restaurant with friendly staff and fast service. I had the rainbow roll which was a California roll with tuna, salmon, yellowtail, shrimp, and masago.

3.Toma Restaurant

324 W Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Toma is an excellent Italian restaurant in downtown Santa Barbara, where I had an outstanding house made lasagne with ingredients braised beef and pork ragu, spinach, fresh ricotta, mozzarella, pomodoro, and parmesan. It’s an intimate atmosphere with a very kind and attentive wait staff.

I should mention that you can make reservations here and I recommend doing so because it’s a popular spot with limited indoor and outdoor seating.

4.Mission Street Ice Cream & Yogurt

201 W Mission St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

This Santa Barbara ice cream shop has vintage vibes, as it’s been open since 1986, and it is the spot to visit for locals, tourists, and celebrities alike. I had the Eureka Lemon & Marionberries on a waffle cone, a very unique and tasty flavor. It’s inexpensive and stays open fairly late as well, so if you’re a sweets person then definitely make a pit stop here.

Other Recommended Santa Barbara Restaurants

Lucky Penny (Pizza)

Mesa Burger

Outpost Restaurant

5.Niner Wine Estates

2400 CA-46, Paso Robles, CA 93446

Paso Robles is home to at least 200 wineries, so you could imagine it is very hard to pick which one to visit. In the end, we landed on Niner Wine Estates for no other initial reason than the adorable heart on the hill, but we obviously stayed for the wine. It single handedly got me drinking Merlot.

Of course, though, you’re going to want to taste as many of the wines as possible, which you can do with a flight of five or six offerings. When we visited, Niner had just introduced in-house baked bread, which was a sourdough focaccia served with estate olive oil; it was quite possibly the best bread I have ever had. For lunch, we had the charcuterie board, also the most impressive one I’ve ever had.

6.The Hatch Rotisserie & Bar

835 13th St, Paso Robles, CA 93446

Another Paso Robles favorite is The Hatch. I have to say I wasn’t sure of what to expect because I can’t say I had ever been to a rotisserie. You’re going to want to make a reservation here, especially if you’re visiting on the weekend, because it’s a busy little spot.

Unfortunately, they were out of the specials that we intended to get, so we were forced to choose other menu items, but we were not at all disappointed. The starters were “for the table” so they are definitely shareable between three or four people. As appetizers, we tried the hot skillet cornbread and crispy potatoes, which were both amazing. To round out our experience, I had the most excellent, signature hatch burger, which comes with bacon white cheddar, Hatch remoulade, salt & vinegar chips. If I had to give this restaurant a rating on a scale of stars, I’d say five out of five.

7.Old Monterey Cafe

I am the type of person that almost never finishes my food in the restaurant and has to get a takeout box. At this quaint breakfast cafe, I ordered the french toast special and finished everything on the plate. For about fifteen dollars, you’ll get two Texas toast slices, two farm-fresh eggs, two strips of bacon or two country sausage links, all delicious. There are no reservations, but we walked right in and sat down to have the best breakfast of our entire road trip.

8.Revival Ice Cream (regular and dairy free ice cream)

463 Alvarado St, Monterey, CA 93940

We did one of the things they tell you not to do when you’re a kid. We had ice cream for lunch on the last day of our trip. This is probably the most popular and recommended ice cream spot in Monterey, known for its handcrafted, sustainably made ice cream. I had the Bee’s Knees, which is their signature flavor made with locally sourced Monterey honey and house-made honeycomb candy mixed in. Trust me, you’ll want to try it!

Other Recommended Monterey Restaurants & Shops

Alta Bakery + Cafe

Lula’s Chocolate

Alvarado Street Brewery and Grill (vegan and regular burgers)

The Bench