After a year-and-a-half of trying to make a fine dining restaurant work at Goleta Beach, The Ellwood is shifting gears in hopes of appealing to more diners more frequently.
“We heard that you loved The Ellwood, but sometimes felt like it was a place you saved for a birthday, an anniversary, or a special occasion,” the restaurant announced via social media on September 22. “We want to change that. In fact, we’re changing a lot.”
Aimed at both pricing and atmosphere, the changes include a revamped menu with more affordable fare, while retaining a few bigger-ticket entrees for those special occasions. Gone are the original menu’s most creative dishes such as that flavor-bomb salmon poke with strawberry, tomato, and miso; succulent char siu mini-tomahawk pork chop; and comfortingly homey calamari parmesan. Replacing them are seaside standards such as fish and chips, fish tacos, and a fried shrimp basket, with ample sandwich and salad options. The brunch menu remains deep, including extensive raw bar selections that are also available at dinner.
A core strategy of the new menu involves two “Pierside Specials”: a burger, fries, and beer for $23 or full-sized clam chowder and salad for $24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Happy hour has been reschristened as “Golden Hour,” now every day of the week from 3 to 5 p.m., or until 6 p.m. in the bar, which sports six new TVs. (There was just one before.) That menu includes 10 dishes — more than doubling the former happy hour’s offerings — and reduced drink pricing. It’s your cheapest chance to try the new Goletarita, a frozen margarita invention with flavor choices that’s just $12 during Golden Hour. (It’s quite tasty, satisfying even margarita snobs like me.)…