Visit Cold Spring Tavern

Been wanting to come to this place for a long time. I’ve seen it with food bloggers on YouTube. Figure I make a road trip with the family. The environment is definitely awesome, felt like went back in time to the 60s. It has indoor and outdoor seating. They cooked the tri-tip outside where you can see. We ordered the famous strip-tip sandwiches and the large onion rings. Both dishes are very enjoyable and the atmosphere just made it better. If you are an outdoorsy / sandwich kind of person; you’ll love this place. Oh by the way, there is a wait but wasn’t too bad at all. They also have live music when I was there on Sunday.

Excellent Restruant! This is my 2nd time here I came last year! Came back this last weekend. The buffalo burger was so good! Service was fast! Staff were great! Highly recommended! Happy customer! Beautiful scenery as well!

What a totally awesome place to visit!! We arrived before the crowds. Get there for parking along the road and becareful people walking in the road. Got a delicious glass of Rose Sangria and ate lunch there. The people, food, history and atmosphere are spectacular. Plan to sit a bit, enjoy nature and catch some live music. Definitely will return.

Had lunch at Cold Spring Tavern and it absolutely lived up to the hype. The famous tri-tip sandwich is easily the star of the menu, perfectly smoked, tender, juicy, and packed with flavor. You can tell why people drive out here just for that sandwich alone. The salmon sandwich was also surprisingly good, fresh and nicely grilled with a great balance of flavors. The nachos were huge and loaded with toppings, definitely enough to share. And the margaritas were refreshing and hit the spot while sitting outside surrounded by the beautiful canyon scenery. The whole atmosphere feels like stepping back in time with rustic buildings, outdoor seating under the trees, and an overall hidden-gem vibe. Great food, great drinks, and one of the coolest dining spots around Santa Barbara. Highly recommend making the trip out here, especially on the weekend for the tri-tip sandwich.

We had family in town two weekends in a row, and we just had to take everyone to Cold Springs! It’s a must-try if you’re near Santa Barbara. You do have to have PATIENCE, though! Especially on weekends when it’s packed. Parking can be difficult because you must park along the two-lane road. There are lots of cars and a lot of motorcycles. One of the days we went was Father’s Day, and we parked almost a mile down the road. Be sure to slow down when passing by the restaurant, as there are always people standing on the side of the road waiting for their table. While waiting for your table, it could be a 20-minute wait for two people or as much as an hour and twenty minutes for two. The bar line this particular weekend was a 30-minute wait just to get drinks, although thankfully the weather was perfect. Ashley the bartender was very nice, efficient, and professional. A few of our favorite foods are the chili, nachos, onion rings, and pork sandwich with slaw. The hostess and Jimmy greeted us upon arrival and is always very kind and informative. He is constantly moving—seating guests, cleaning tables, and doing anything else that needs to be done. Our only downside that day was the house music playing from a cell phone coming out of the kitchen area at the upper deck. It definitely took away from the relaxing mountain feel we were hoping to have for the Fathers Day lunch. Overall, it’s a must-try. There is live music on the weekends, but you can really only hear it if you are sitting at the tables by the road.