how does my plan sound?

We will be arriving in SB in early may for 2 nights, staying at the franciscan inn, so far we have planned to arrive on day one around 2ish, go down to the habour to eat at Brophy Bros, check into hotel then have a walk around the shops (where are we best heading for?). That night we would like to eat at Bouchon, is this a good choice? any other reccommendations?

The next day we plan to go on a wine tour with sustainable wine co, then that night eat at Palace Grill, again, good choice? is there anywhere else we should not miss? bars, places to see etc..

Thanks

how does my plan sound?

shopping is on or off state street which runs from the centre of the beach area back into the hills - dont get knocked down by a passing train

we mostly ate in the harbour area to take in the views dont think we had any especially great meals but we enjoyed good food at reasonable prices in a great atmosphere

we dont like %26#39;stuffy%26#39; restaurants

how does my plan sound?

You%26#39;ve picked 3 of our better restaurants in town. Relative to Beeble%26#39;s experience, I guess he/she wasn%26#39;t impressed with Brophy%26#39;s but he/she must have been there as there aren%26#39;t many restaurants in the Harbor proper. Most of us locals will easily recommend Brophy%26#39;s for the view, the fun atmosphere, if not for the food which is good too.

Bouchon might classify as a stuffy restaurant, if stuffy means higher priced French food. I haven%26#39;t eaten there, but I just got a favorable opinion from a co-worker - best meal she%26#39;s had in SB. 2nd time food was great again, but the waiter was a bit pushy on the wine selection.

Palace Grill is also highly recommendable as well.

We had a very nice experience at the Wine Cask, if you enjoy wine this is an excellent choice, they also have a wine bar and casual bistro adjacent to the restaurant called Intermezzo.

For seafood, we love the SB Shellfish Co. on Stearn%26#39;s Wharf, we ended up eating here 3 different times, very good lobster bisque and full lobster dinenrs at great prices. There are tables set up outside, also.

Olie e Limone was wonderful for an Italian meal, we also enjoyed the view from up by the El Encanto hotel, a very pretty place for a photo op. There is also the historic Rivera Theater up in this area, a pretty drive through the residential area in Santa Barbara will take you here. :)

As far as things to do/see in Santa Barbara, my wife and I enjoy (1) the Santa Barbara Mission; (2) walk-around, window shop and eat on lower State Street (between the 400 to 1000 block); (3) on Sunday along Cabrillo Blvd, there is an amazing art fair and its a nice walk along the ocean; (4) Tour our beatiful courthouse (its like none other in the State and has a tower room on top of it for fantastic views of the city); and lastly, I love our zoo (its small and only takes about 3 hours to walk around but due to it location, has beautiful views of the water and our mountains) and our local art museum (also very small - take 2.5 hours to see it all and its right on State St.)