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Roy, Santa Barbara, CA

Roy

3.8
3.8
439 Reviews
$30 and under
Contemporary American

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
  • Great for creative cocktails
  • Hot spot
  • Great for live music
In business for more than 30 years, Roy is a bistro-style, Americana restaurant with a frequently changing, handwritten menu. We strive to serve unpretentious cuisine of the highest quality. We use mostly certified organic produce from the local Santa Barbara Farmers Market, free range chicken and Harris Ranch hormone free beef. We bake our own bread, hand roll our pastas and make all of our desserts in house. Our ambiance is retro moderne California casual, and we have rotating art shows that run for a month and a half at a time. Live music once in a while. Full bar all the time.

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Contemporary American, Comfort Food
  • Hours of operation
    Dinner Tue–Sun 6:00 pm–11:00 pm
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Roy Gandy

What 439 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

3.8
3.8 based on recent ratings
  • 3.9Food
  • 3.6Service
  • 4Ambience
  • 3.5Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • California Central Coast

    Hot spot

  • California Central Coast

    Neighborhood gem

  • California Central Coast

    Contemporary American

  • Santa Barbara

    Hot spot

  • Santa Barbara

    Neighborhood gem

  • Santa Barbara

    Great for fine wines

  • Santa Barbara

    Lively

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Roy is a cozy neighborhood gem in downtown Santa Barbara known for its "excellent food" and friendly staff. The restaurant offers a unique retro ambiance with live music and a welcoming atmosphere. Despite occasional service hiccups, patrons appreciate Roy's personal touch and commitment to fresh, local ingredients. "Highly recommend" for an enjoyable dining experience.

439 Reviews
  1. Jon

    Los Angeles2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 1, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Went with another couple to have dinner and hear a friends band, everything was awesome! Good food, music and drinks!

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  2. WAYNE

    Central Coast1 review

    5.0

    Dined on February 15, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Roy's is such a nice, relaxing place to enjoy a superb meal. Fine cuisine at a very fair cost. Very cool Jazzy, artistic, slightly upscale atmosphere. Great music, Great people. Santa Barbara has loved Roy for over 30 years !

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  3. Karen

    Central Coast1 review

    4.0

    Dined on February 15, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    Would have been nicer with someone to refill water or if we were checked on more often

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  4. Marjorie VIP

    Central Coast30 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on February 3, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Love Roy restaurant, always consistent- like going back in time. Roy usually there greeting each table.

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  5. Renee VIP

    Central Coast1 review

    5.0

    Dined on February 2, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    I haven’t been to Roy’s in 10 years, but it came up on OpenTable and I remembered how great it used to be. Things haven’t changed. I highly recommend it and we’ll go back soon!

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  6. cynthia

    Central Coast1 review

    3.0

    Dined on January 26, 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4
    Been here many times over the years and sadly, the prices go up but the quality is going down. The fish I ordered was so dry and bland I had to ask for lemons (it did not come with any on the plate). The server brought me one semi-dry lemon slice from the bar, which was so dry I could only squeeze a drop or two of juice out of it. Seriously, one small slice? Why not bring a few lemon slices or better yet, garnish the plate with them if the fish is going to be so dry it's basically inedible. I ordered this same fish dish (almond-encrusted) once before and had the same awful dry bland overpriced fish served to me. I only ordered it again hoping that previous experience was just a bad night. Sadly, that makes two bad nights. Won't be ordering that dish again.

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  7. Rick

    Palm Springs2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on December 29, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Noise level was high which affected conversation but the music was excellent.

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  8. OpenTable Diner

    Los Angeles1 review

    3.0

    Dined on December 26, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4
    Ambiance was cool and cool hand written Christmas Dinner menu, but service was slow and three or our four meals were cold.

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  9. Maciej

    Central Coast1 review

    1.0

    Dined on December 26, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    They where not ready with our reservation. We were waiting for 30 minutes and nothing was ready. We especially reserved the table on this day after 11 hours journey from Europe. It is good we found a very good mexican restaurant nearby.

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  10. Maciej

    Central Coast2 reviews

    1.0

    Dined on December 26, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    We made the reservation a few weeks ago. Almost the table wasn't ready when we arrived. We waited 40 minutes for a table without success and have to find another restaurant .....

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FAQs

Roy is rated 3.8 stars by 439 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Google Map for Roy

7 W. Carrillo St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Contemporary American, Comfort Food
  • Hours of operation
    Dinner Tue–Sun 6:00 pm–11:00 pm
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Roy Gandy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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