If you were any closer to the water you'd be on a boat. Perched above the sand at Arroyo Burro Beach ("Hendry's" to the locals), this is Santa Barbara's go-to spot for fresh-off-the-boat seafood, sunset cocktails, and lively happy hours, with a free side order of ocean breeze. Open for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner, the Boathouse is owned by father-son team Tom and Adam White, who also head up the nearby FisHouse and Santa Barbara Shellfish Company. The indoor dining room has a casual yet upscale beach club feel, with huge windows framing ocean and Channel Islands views, and a well-designed bar that allows for both indoor and outdoor seating. Outdoors, the spacious glassed-in patio is decked out with a firepit, heaters, and umbrellas. A sure breakfast or brunch bet is the signature poached eggs over Dungeness crab cakes on a bed of hash browns. Dinner entrées range from mesquite-grilled local white sea bass with roasted tomato beurre blanc to a cioppino, chock-full of shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, and crabs. Landlubber options include chicken, pasta, and steaks. Don't miss the homemade macadamia-nut mud pie, made with local McConnell's ice cream.