Inspired by the bounty of the sea, the lush farms and abundant vineyards nearby and the cooking methods of Italy, Convivo is a festive gathering place for locals and visitors alike inside the newly-restored Santa Barbara Inn.
Support Convivo during COVID-19
Safety precautions
- Surfaces sanitized between seatings
- Common areas deep cleaned daily
- Digital, disposable or sanitized menu provided
- Sanitizer or wipes provided for customers
- Sealed or wrapped utensils used
- Limited number of seated diners
- Distancing maintained in common areas
- Extra space between tables
- Waitstaff wear masks
- Diners must wear masks unless eating or drinking
- Sick staff prohibited in the workplace
Popular dishes
Lamb Meatballs
chickpea, pomegranates, tapenade
11 reviews
Margherita Pizza
fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, sea salt
18 reviews
Spit Roasted Chicken*
harissa, charmoula, olive, almonds, cauliflower
6 reviews
Amazing ambience, but the food flavors were not balanced in my opinion. Some ingredients just do not go well together.
Just a wonderful place to sit outside on the patio, have a delicious dinner and catch up with a friend! Staff is always wonderful and kind. Food is always delicious!
Nice patio to eat. Shrimp appetizer was delicious. My rib eye steak was presented nicely but was tough. Daughters pizza was good. Side dish of baby yukon was yummy yummy and asparagus was so-so. It was grilled which was nice, but no olive oil and lacking salt.
Both healthy and great flavors in each menu item. The selection of vegetable dishes were suburb The seafood mix grill entree could feed 3 adults. All of that plus a smart selection of wines makes Convivo must eat Santa Barbara choice.
Food was gorgeous and tasty too. Will definitely try again.
Delicious food in a lovely setting! A gem to experience during the pandemic ....
The setting here is so beautiful...right across from the beach, gorgeous foliage all around. The staff was super friendly and attentive but not too attentive. Our food was delicious, especially all of the house-made pastas. We ordered three different pastas and a margherita pizza and shared everything as a family. Would definitely recommend this place to others!
Our favorite Santa Barbara restaurant for date night or to take out of town friends to. Wonderful ambiance, imaginative and delicious variety of dishes, ( dont miss the lamb meatballs if u like lamb) and friendly attentive service. A winner on every level!!
The food was absolutely incredible, great service, amazing view!
Wonderful meal for a birthday celebration.
We stopped for lunch and were so pleased with this spot. The food was fresh and innovative. I loved the asparagus and egg combo dish and my family enjoyed their salads. We would definitely go again.
Very pleasant environment, but food quite disappointing, salads were just ok. Meat dishes (lamb osso bucco and short ribs) mediocre and under flavored.
Would not return
Beautiful outdoor dining, fun appetizers, food was tasty, service was friendly but not super efficient. Definitely a nice spot for afternoon snacks and beverages. Will go back for a full dinner in the future
Always delicious and consistent, with a view of the ocean.
Lovely, great food and service
The service was good at Convivo, which we very much appreciated. However, the food was truly not well prepared. We ordered two appetizers that were both ill-prepared: the carrots and the asparagus dishes had far too many ingredients to be enjoyable or, in the end, fully edible. The focaccia was also over elaborated such that we had to peel off the top layer of ingredients to be able to get to the actual bread and eat it without all of the greasy ingredients. We both ordered pasta and both dishes (malfadine and ink spaghettini) were so overly oiled with so much garlic and a busy number of ingredients that we did not enjoy them. That said, the wine we had from Calabria was delicious, the lemon tart dessert was excellent, and the server was very, very good. We hope that they just are out of practice due to the Covid break as the restaurant is in a great location and has potential. We would hesitate to recommend it though unless you go and have the pizza, which looked good.
Wonderful food and lovely outdoor setting. One of my favorite restaurants in Santa Barbara.
It was a very special Chance to see family from far flung distances and they did give us a good table - but there were huge gaps in everything- an yiu imagine serving food w/o making sure there are utensils? Nor did they clear way tapas plates and give fresh plates/silver for paella course.
Wine was never poured for us- we served it and I had to reach across the table again and again-
Waitress was nice but honestly not the A team- at least once I went to manager to ask for silver/water etc.
Pet peeve is not having bus sets to refill water- whee were they? PS thus wasn’t a busy weekend- just a regular weeknight.
The tapas were nice but she forgot to order the shrimp one- the one we were most interested in-
We spent $600 left a lovely tip despite meh service and much jumping up in my part to pour and get manager to intervene-
I’ll think twice b4 returning...
Nice evening outdoor experience with great food.
They have a great outdoor covered patio with ocean views and breezes.. it's the perfect setting for a delicious salad and pizza or an appetizer and pasta.
Excellent food with very efficient service.They did their best to keep us a warm on a cold COVID restricted evening
I enjoyed my meal and experience at Convivo, it is a beautiful location and the food was excellent.
Lovely setting across from the beach.
Incredible flavorful food. We’ve been here for dinner and breakfast. I’m spoiled when it comes to food from LA - so a restaurant has to be really good for me to like it. The seafood pasta was Devine! Very flavorful and the pasta was still al dente.
More surprising was the breakfast though. I usually don’t like eating breakfast but their pork&egg was really good! The chocolate croissant was not worth it though.
The cocktail I had was great as well.
Overall a very solid restaurant with awesome, and flavorful food.
Only negatives were that it was freezing cold on the patio and that the prices are steep.
Great dinner and service, Brad was a great waiter.
Excellent meal. Great service.
Even perfect service and service adaptation when it started to rain and we were all dining outdoors.
Absolutely incredible food! Fresh and full of flavor.
Always beyond expectations. Patio dining is fabulous. Service excellent. Food creative and top notch.
was very impressed with not just the food, but the ambiance and service.
Great experience. The food was amazing and the service was great. We will be back!
Really nice place, great food, good and fast service.
The new litem on the menu lamb Osso Bucco with risotto was outstanding .
Dinner was amazing! We had the Beef carpaccio, Insalata mercato, Bucatini, and the Inked Spaghetti.
The service was great and we lucked out there was no wind since we were seated outside.
David, was prompt and very knowledgeable with the wine and food recommendations. Would definitely return when visiting
My favorite place in Santa Barbara to "lunch"!!!!!!!!!
The beet salad with chicken was good but the margarita pizza was forgettable (room temperature and a bland). Service was fine but not great. Felt more like we were in Italy where the waiters are indifferent to the customer. We have stayed at the hotel before and everything was great. Maybe this was just a one off situation.
Absolutely delicious!
This is a great restaurant at a great hotel across the street from the beach. Palm trees waving in the breeze with a beautiful view of the ocean at a beautiful modern California Spanish architecture hotel. It has a feel of the Riviera. The food and service were excellent.
Sadly, I chose this place for my birthday and we had a horrible experience. All the staff were running around with their heads cut off. Our waiter had tables all over the place. They have tables on the grass which is a big mistake. They should downsize tables due to lack of good service.
Food was ok. Bread is phenomenal!! Just bummed we couldn’t have better service.
The braised ribs were dry. The ahi tuna portions were disappointingly small.
Breakfast was hit and miss. The breakfast egg crescent sandwich was excellent, everything else we tried over a several day stay was not . . . even the coffee drinks gave them trouble.
FAQs
You can order delivery directly from Convivo using the Order Online button. Convivo also offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (805) 845-6789.
Convivo is rated 4.7 stars by 1049 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.