Restaurants, hotels, bars and wineries in Ventura from the En Primeur Club guide.
Accolades in Ventura
These three places show different ways wine appears in Ventura, from a fine-dining room to a shop bar and a trattoria.
Cafe Zack gives Ventura its exceptional wine program, inside California Continental fine dining in a former residence. The drinks side includes an extensive wine list and craft cocktails, alongside dishes such as lobster with sweet corn.
Ventura Wine Co in industrial park is a bar with a wine list. Tasting at the bar uses Enomatic machines, and those machines carry 40 wines. The bar operates from a wine shop, and live music plays in that shop each night.
Cafe Fiore in Downtown Ventura is a modern Italian trattoria with Pugliese roots, a wine list, and an extensive wine list. The format is a la carte, and live music plays in the casual room. The kitchen serves handmade pizzas and pastas.
Ventura’s seafood list is tied to the harbor and the beach. These rooms cover harbor-side casual dining, Mediterranean fine dining, and a beach-hotel seafood setting.
Andria's Seafood in Ventura Harbor is a family-owned seafood room with a standard wine program and direct harbor views. The kitchen serves hand-battered fish and chips and homemade clam chowder.
The Greek at the Harbor in Ventura Harbor is a family-owned fine dining room with a standard wine program and craft cocktails. Greek and Mediterranean cooking sits in a waterfront setting, and the menu includes dishes such as flaming saganaki.
The Shoals in Mussel Shoals is a waterfront American seafood room with an extensive wine list, and craft cocktails. It sits in a beach hotel and serves ever-changing menus.
Cafe Fiore is in Downtown Ventura. Cafe Zack has an exceptional wine program with boutique wines and an extensive wine list. Cafe Fiore has a wine list and serves handmade pizzas and pastas.
Ventura has no Michelin-starred restaurants in our guide. Corazon Cocina VTA in downtown is a bar among the area's independent food and drink venues, with a Bib Gourmand for its Mexican cuisine.
The waterfront seafood picks sit in Ventura Harbor, Ventura Pier, San Buenaventura State Beach, and Mussel Shoals. Andria's Seafood and The Greek at the Harbor are in Ventura Harbor, Beach House Tacos is on Ventura Pier, The Jolly Oyster Ventura is at San Buenaventura State Beach, and The Shoals is in Mussel Shoals.
Ventura has one Wine Spectator Award of Excellence citywide in our guide. That count covers the city as a whole; the recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence is unnamed.
By Emmett Haley · Updated October 8, 2026 · Editorial standards
Ventura
Selected entries from the current guide for Ventura.
Ventura, United States
Pete's Breakfast House on East Main Street is a fixture of Ventura's casual morning dining circuit, where the ritual of a proper sit-down breakfast still holds ground against the grab-and-go alternatives that have taken over much of Southern California. The address places it within easy reach of both the downtown core and the city's coastal corridors, making it a practical anchor for a morning in Ventura.
Ventura, United States
On Telegraph Road in east Ventura, Allison's Country Cafe occupies the kind of address that tells you something about California's inland dining culture before you've sat down. The cafe format fits a city where agricultural proximity shapes menus as much as coastal identity does. For Ventura visitors mapping a meal against the city's broader dining scene, it belongs in the conversation alongside the county's more prominent independents.
Ventura, United States
Andria's Seafood sits on Spinnaker Drive along Ventura Harbor, placing it squarely within Southern California's working waterfront dining tradition. The kitchen focuses on fresh seafood in a casual, harbor-side setting that reflects the city's relationship with the Pacific. For Ventura visitors orienting around the water, it functions as a practical first stop before exploring the broader dining scene.
Ventura, United States
Beach House Tacos sits on Ventura's Harbor Boulevard, where the Pacific Coast's casual-dining tradition meets the city's working waterfront. Positioned at the more relaxed end of Ventura's dining spectrum, it offers a counterpoint to the Italian-focused rooms and seafood houses that anchor the broader local scene. For visitors moving between the harbor and downtown, it occupies a useful and honest position on the map.
Ventura, United States
Cafe Fiore sits on South California Street in downtown Ventura, operating within a coastal California dining scene that prizes local sourcing and relaxed precision over ceremony. The address places it squarely in the walkable core of a city that has quietly developed a more considered restaurant culture over the past decade. Readers familiar with Ventura's neighbourhood rhythm will recognise the street as a reliable stretch for independent dining.
Ventura, United States
Café Nouveau sits on East Thompson Boulevard in Ventura, California, occupying a stretch of the city where the coastal casual and the genuinely considered converge. The address places it within reach of Ventura's broader dining scene, from the seafood-forward spots along the harbor to the neighborhood regulars that anchor the inland blocks. It represents the kind of mid-city dining anchor that Ventura's restaurant culture continues to produce.
Ventura, United States
Cafe Zack occupies a low-key address on East Thompson Boulevard in Ventura, a city where the dining scene rewards those who look past the beachfront obvious. With little in the way of public-facing marketing, Zack has built its following through word of mouth and repeat visits rather than awards cycles or press campaigns. For those planning a meal here, the groundwork matters as much as the reservation.
Ventura, United States
Casa De Soria sits on East Thompson Boulevard in Ventura, California, occupying a stretch of the city where neighborhood dining runs more local than tourist-facing. Consider this a starting point for a visit, not a complete picture.
Ventura, United States
On West Main Street in downtown Ventura, Gourmet Oriental sits within a dining corridor that skews toward casual coastal fare, making its Asian-inflected identity a deliberate contrast to the surrounding scene. The address places it steps from the city's historic core, where foot traffic from the Ventura Pier and the Mission San Buenaventura keeps the block active across the week. For the area, it represents a different register of flavor entirely.
Ventura, United States
Himalaya occupies a ground-floor address on Ventura's West Main Street, placing South Asian cooking inside a coastal California city that tends to default to seafood and tacos. The restaurant represents a distinct culinary register in a dining scene defined largely by Pacific-facing flavors, bringing spice-route ingredient traditions to a neighborhood that rewards the curious diner.
Ventura, United States
Marshall's Bodacious BBQ serves Wood-Fired American BBQ in Ventura with a beer program, casual service, and standard pacing for lunch or dinner.
Ventura, United States
Neptune's Net sits at Pacific Coast Highway's edge in Malibu, where the ocean is close enough to feel like context rather than backdrop. The kitchen draws from the surrounding waters in a format built for proximity, to the sea, to the source, and to the kind of uncomplicated coastal eating that more formal rooms spend considerable effort trying to replicate.
Ventura, United States
On North Ventura Avenue, Taqueria Cuernavaca occupies the kind of direct taqueria slot that Southern California's inland corridors have long depended on. Named for the Mexican city famous for its warm climate and regional cooking traditions, it represents the everyday end of Ventura's Mexican food scene, where regulars arrive with a specific order in mind and rarely consult the menu.
Ventura, United States
On East Main Street in Ventura, The Grape occupies a stretch of the city where casual neighborhood spots and more considered dining rooms share the same block. The address alone places it in Ventura's broader dining conversation, a city increasingly drawing comparisons to the Southern California coastal towns that preceded it in culinary recognition. Plan ahead and come with questions, details here reward the curious.
Ventura, United States
The Greek at the Harbor occupies a waterfront address at Ventura's Spinnaker Drive marina, bringing Greek and Mediterranean cooking to a harbor setting more commonly associated with casual seafood. The room's proximity to the water shapes both the menu's emphasis and the crowd it draws, positioning it as one of the more distinctive dining options along the Ventura coast.
Ventura, United States
Positioned along Old Pacific Coast Highway at the edge of Ventura's coastal corridor, The Shoals draws a loyal local following that returns for the setting as much as the table. With the Pacific visible from the address and a regulars-driven culture that rewards repeat visits, it occupies a distinct place among Ventura's dining options, a venue where familiarity with the room pays dividends.
Ventura, United States
On South Seaward Avenue, The Sushi House occupies a quieter stretch of Ventura's dining scene, positioned as a neighborhood sushi option at some distance from the city's louder waterfront strip. In a Southern California coastal market where Japanese cuisine ranges from fast-casual rolls to counter-format omakase, it sits in the mid-tier bracket that most local residents rely on week to week. Specific menu formats and pricing are best confirmed directly with the venue.
Ventura, United States
On East Main Street in downtown Ventura, The Taj Cafe occupies a corner of the city's casual dining scene where South Asian and California influences tend to overlap. Details on pricing, hours, and chef credentials are limited in public records, but the address at 574 E Main St places it within walking distance of Ventura's compact restaurant corridor, making it a practical stop for those working through the neighborhood's range of cuisines.
Ventura, United States
Located on Telephone Road in Ventura, California, Urbane Cafe occupies a stretch of the city where casual dining defines the register and menu breadth tends to signal local loyalty over culinary ambition. Without a published cuisine type or formal awards profile, it sits in the city's mid-register alongside neighborhood staples, drawing regulars more than destination visitors.
Ventura
Selected entries from the current guide for Ventura.
No venues found.
Ventura
Selected entries from the current guide for Ventura.
Ventura, United States
On East Main Street in downtown Ventura, Corazon Cocina VTA brings Mexican-influenced cooking to a stretch increasingly defined by independent food and drink operators. The address at 278 E Main St places it within walking distance of several notable bars and casual dining spots that together form Ventura's most coherent restaurant corridor. For visitors exploring the Southern California coast, it reads as a natural stop on an East Main itinerary.
Ventura, United States
On East Main Street in downtown Ventura, Paradise Pantry occupies the kind of address that anchors a neighborhood's daytime identity. The spot draws from a strong local food culture that positions it alongside Ventura's more character-driven independent venues rather than chain alternatives. Practical for a midday visit, it fits naturally into any tour of the city's walkable core.
Ventura, United States
Pizza Man Dan's occupies a strip-mall address on South Victoria Avenue that Ventura locals treat as a neighbourhood fixture rather than a destination. The draw is direct pizza done reliably, in a setting that functions more as a community gathering point than a formal dining room. It sits within a constellation of casual Ventura spots that collectively define the city's unpretentious approach to neighbourhood eating.
Ventura, United States
The format is deliberate, fresh oysters, cold drinks, salt air, and the pairing logic is as direct as it gets. A regular fixture for locals who understand that proximity to the source matters in seafood.
Ventura, United States
Ventura Wine Co operates out of a low-key industrial address on McGrath Street, sitting at the quieter end of Ventura's emerging drink scene. The format leans toward the specialist end of the city's options, where the wine itself does the talking rather than the room. For visitors working through our full Ventura guide, it reads as the kind of stop that rewards those who know what they're looking for.
Ventura, United States
Waterside Restaurant sits along Oxnard's Harbor Boulevard waterfront, where Ventura County's working fishing docks meet a stretch of casual-to-polished dining that has grown steadily over the past decade. The address places it squarely in Channel Islands Harbor, a setting where the cocktail program and proximity to local seafood sources give the restaurant a distinct anchor in the regional dining scene.
Ventura
Selected entries from the current guide for Ventura.
Ventura, United States
Sine Qua Non is Ventura’s cult-wine outlier: a small, industrial, appointment-only producer whose reputation rests on Rhône varieties, tiny production and collector demand rather than conventional wine-country polish. Founded in 1994 by Manfred and Elaine Krankl, it is associated with art-driven labels, Syrah and Grenache, and multiple 100-point bottlings across its portfolio.
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