Santa Barbara winners
I will be in Santa Barbara this weekend with some good friends.Are there any restaurants that should not be missed.We like everything and money is not a problem.We are just looking for GREAT FOOD.I thank you in advance for any help!
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I have to agree with the others, but if you want a nice steak, we love Holdrens on lower State street, though I hear they just opened one in Goleta. Great drinks and we enjoy the food. It's nice with a great bar.
There's also a steak place that the locals go to, it's a sandwich place during the day and a steak restaurant at night. Off the beaten path a little, the owners are the meat purveyors in the area. Sorry I don't remember the name.The Palace if you want cajun, and don't miss La Supra Rica. A lot don't like it but most love it.
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re: paprkutr
I think the sandwich at lunch and steak at night is Jill's Place which is the retail restaurant for the Shalhoob commercial meat purveyors to our city, over on Santa Barbara Street close to the HIstorical Museum which is really a class act worth your time for both its beautifully displayed exhibits as well as its old Spanish architecture and courtyards.
Tough question about a really nice sit down Mexican restaurant because the "authentic" ones tend to be take-out casual: La Superica and El Bajio on Milpas Street. There are more sit-down places also on Milpas Street like Cesar's and Altamirano's but they are definitely on the more casual downscale end. If your concert is at the County Bowl it would work to try something on Milpas. Los Agaves on Milpas is a pleasant fresh food, but no lard, no MSG type of place which for me undermines much of Mexican dining wonderment. But this could be a nice choice too.
I am a big fan of the Super Cuca's nachos with the marinated pork at SuperCuca's in the Westside on Micheltorena before you get to San Andres, but again very casual. Their crunchy, gooey nachos with a tall horchata is always where we go for our own Mexican fix and their burritos always win top honors. Heading there tomorrow in fact for our own monthly Mexican fix in town.
http://www.santabarbara.com/Dining/re...I'll poke around and see if there is anything I have overlooked, but we really don't have a fine dining regional Mexican which is a shame because there is very worthy food from this entire country. The insistence on fresh food, regional flavorings and complex sauces is not really how we get most Mexican translated in our city unfortunately, except at those more casual take-out family run places.
One place of the few in Santa Barbara to avoid which has one of the most wonderful restaurant spaces in Santa Barbara is El Paseo in our beautiful little paseo in downtown Santa Barbara which started the whole Santa Barbara spanish village thing decades ago. Do not, I repeat, do not go to this restuarant for food but maybe, just maybe a drink there would be okay. This space is a missed opportunity but I think they rely on the mass tourist bus crowd. They get their spanish theater setting and hopefully leave happy without a single chance of digestive upset and they can say they had "Mexican" food in Santa Barbara.
CaDario is one of my favorite places and I adore their antipasto assortiti and often have it by itself for lunch. Wonderful ciabatti breads come with this lunch to scoop up the delicious marinades for the great variety they offer. No one does antipasto as well anywhere in town. You can purchase this bread at Our Daily Bread on Santa Barbara Street south of the Presidio, good idea to stock up and take some home.
This is a wonderful small and noisy place, but when you get to the entrees they start becoming more uneven. But since I always order their ravioli with sage butter I have found my way to dine consistently and happily there as long as they never dare change my favorites. My own idea of a heaven sent meal there is the antipasto, the ravioli and their wonderful affogato (ice cream and expresso) dessert. But if you want to cut some meat, I can't offer you any winning suggestions.
Two restaurants I have not been to but have gotten good reviews after newly opening are Julienne and Blush - both downtown south of Carrillo Street. And Seagrass that is also downtown south of Carrillo is also a very worthy contender for very nice and more formal dining, specializing in seafood and hopefully notched up a bit to where they should be with their new executive chef.
What did I tell you -- you can almost throw a dart on a map of Santa Barbara and find something you will like .... well enough.
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re: woodranch
Needless to say woodranch, we will be eagerly awaiting your trip report. Always good to get feedback to see if we steered you in the right direction or if you made independent discoveries on your own which is often more likely.
Some times the timing and mood are different when one is actually here and something completely off the planned radar proves to be just the right choice at that moment.
The weather right now is just lovely. Crisping up in the fall mornings and very pleasantly warm during the day. Blue skies and clear right now. Have a wonderful time.
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Nothing in Santa Barbara is really great and nothing is really awful. Just pick a place that you like and most likely you will find something you like on the menu, but not everything.
It is not that kind of a dining town. It is a eating town and you will find lots of variety in both food and ambiance, so your question is not easy to answer. What you get from us are our personal preferences, but there is no one place that is a must see or do.
The cluster of restaurants that get the most attention are found in the 1000-1300 blocks of State Street and the surrounding side streets. You will do fine (but only occasionally great and/or inspired) at any one of them.
So bottomline, the only thing I would claim as a can't miss in our entire town is the croissant at Renaud's in the Loreto Plaza shopping center near Gelsens, on Upper State Street. After that, you will enjoy a lot of things but not be blown away as you will be by this croissant. Renaud's has a few outdoor tables along with casual indoor seating and serve breakfasts and lunches too. And have delectable pastries and candies. They will soon be opening a place in downtown as his reputation is deservedly growing. I travel a lot. I know my croissants. I don't think you can even get croisssants in Paris this good anymore.
The ultimate high end is at the San Ysidro Ranch Hotel in Montecito, but the dining room still gets mixed reviews but the experience is the most expensiv and exclusive e setting you will find in town.
I personally find Downey's (1300 block State Street) my personal favorite in town for both casual elegance, refined hospitality, informed staff and consistent and inspired but traditional cuisine. Others find it boring and stuffy. See what you will be up against?
My most favorite menu item is the #15 Tocino Special at La Superica Tacquiera on Milpas Street and it will cost you around $5 in a take out setting on wood benches. You can now see the range of dining options. Others will say this place, touted as a favorite of Julia Childs, is over-rated but it has a very special place in my version of the Santa Barbara dining experience.
There are more rave reviews coming in from the local community college Gourmet Dining Room Culinary Arts department student dinners than just about any other restaurant in town and they serve prix fixe dinners with wine Thur and Fri evenings for $35. That is a dining experience that can border on greatness on occasion, and other times is a heartfelt and well-meaning dining experience but not great, but you can't beat the price.
Locals like to keep Jade in the San Roque part of State Street (around the 3500 blocks) a secret and it is near some of our favorite other local spots not frequented by tourists or plagued by the higher rents in downtown. Here you will find Brummis for wonderful German comfort food, Via Maestra 42 for authentic Italian cafe deli items, and Renauds for the most perfect croissant and pastries on the entire planet.
This is a town of many restaurants with some favored items but not entire menus and a range of styles , but most are relatively casual affairs with differing price ranges. So I doubt if this response is any help unless it serves to lower your expectations down a notch and don't worry too much about missing any "great" spots because most are good and few are to be totally avoided. Each spot has its loyal clientele and a search of this forum for "Santa Barbara" will bring up many of the same names over and over again.
With your open attitude and money to spend you will enjoy yourself just about anywhere, but you will most likely not be dazzled because we are not that kind of town. We don't have a lot of expense account dining to support really "great" restaurants.
And since we have a high proportion of students, low income workers and retired people who actually live in town along with transitory tourists, it makes for a lower key dining destination than you find find in a larger city. Yet the variety of dining choices and small family run spots makes it always an interesting place to explore many different tastes.
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re: Gail
Thanks.
I also think many people are really thinking of our very wealthy and star-studded enclave Montecito when they ask about Santa Barbara. We don't do a lot of talking about dining in this area but there are two main dining zones: Lower Village along Coast Village Road that has the well-regarded Montecito Cafe, Mollie's Trattoria and other nice dining spots whose names escape me now. Lucky's for steak and what is that other Italian one on CVR that is pretty good too.
And there is my other more local favorite at the Bird Refuge - Stella Mares- which is always a good choice too which is by the SB Zoo and inbetween Santa Barbara and Montecito. Lovely place for a sunset drink and peaceful views across the water .
The Biltmore Hotel is also close by this same area is just stunning for its locale, has a famous Sunday Brunch that has become too pricey for us locals anymore and a new dining room that may or may not be an improvement. But for location, location, location it has it all.
There is also the Upper Village of Montecito you reach by Hot Springs Road which is where one finds the San Ysidro Ranch and the San Ysidro Pharmacy breakfast spot which occasionally includes a celebrity diner as well. There are some Italian ones there but these are not ones I would go out of my way for.
I have never include any of these restaurants as must see, though I am partial to Mollie's in the Lower Village when the check book balance is high enough for the indulgence. But this part of our area is certainly the far more glittery end of the local dining scene than Santa Barbara itself. Worth a look see and hope you report back about any spots we might be overlooking.
And don't get me started about Carpinteria which is rapidly emerging as a pretty nice dining destination of local note. My favorite there being Gianfranco's on Linden Ave. Lots of new faces down there in the restaurant scene again due to lower rents and perhaps support from the Montecito crowd who want to avoid the tourist hassles of downtown Santa Barbara.
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re: woodranch
Carlitos is up in that State Street restaurant zone and has a nice outdoor patio but pretty standard treatment of California brand Mexican. And that can be very tasty for what it is.
It makes for a nice evening outdoors when the weather is right, but also a good example of eating, rather than dining. And that is not damned by faint praise - it is a very nice choice for what it is. It is right across from the Arlington Theater and I have eaten there many times - sanitized Mexican for those who like their food nice. pretty, ample and predictable.
I have not been to Elements, but it also has a very nice location- stunning in fact because it faces our gorgeous Courthouse inner gardens and the night time lighting really enhances the already exceptional Spanish Moorish architecture. Food and fans are mixed and inconsistent.
Both these choices are fine for eating in Santa Barbara and having particularly nice outdoor settings for both people watching and background views.
Downey's is more for dining, but no views or people watching and no outdoor seating. Downey's is what we think of as "special occasion" restaurant but they now have a very nice 4 course menu for $50 and this is a bargain for what they offer.
You might want to dress up a bit more for Downeys to keep in its special ambiance. Both Carlitos and Elements are more casual, but definitely still sit-down dining occasions.
Right next door to Carlitos is an even prettier courtyard at an Argentinian restaurant called Buenos Aries - South American food rather than South of the Border. Pricier than Carlitos and a different mood - a real Spanish courtyard feel to it with its wrought iron furniture, fountain, flowering vines, music and occasional tango nights.
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re: woodranch
I would say the choice is between our Big Three - Downey's, Olio et Limone and buchon - all in the same area. So you may still want to explore all of these before you make your reservations. Each has a different mood and menu and are all pretty popular and well-regarded. I am older - I like Downeys. Younger people who like noisier restaurants, open space kitchens, and trendy food presentations may prefer the other two. All are pretty equal in price and all are capable of giving you a good dining (as opposed to eating) experience.
You know, you have vegetables meat, fish and fowl and there are only so many ways you can go with the basics. One reason I also prefer Downeys as I think they have the best dessert choices in town - really crafted and lovely and add to the entire dining experience, rather than being overly rich overkill.
Downeys makes a symphony of the entire experience IMHO. And a homemade dark chocolate truffle to send you out the door. It is the extra touches that makes Downey's special for me, in the old European tradition.
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re: PolarBear
Yes, it is Pane e Vino. It is the Montecito power lunch spot and friendly to the local famous faces who enjoy Santa Barbara because they get to keep their privacy here for the most part.
I believe it is one of the several restaurants owned by the owner of Lucky brand jeans, who also owns Lucky's up the street which is more a steak and beef palace but in a lovely old Spanish building setting. The old Chantaclier restaurant for those with a long memory in this town.
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re: glbtrtr
PolarBear
Sep 29, 2009 06:01 PM
My dear friend who was a physician in SB back then actually made a house call to the owner of Lucky's, his son and I tagged along, but didn't go inside of course, but the grounds were to say the least, fantastic. His son to this day has to return to Lucky's for what he says is the best steak ever.
Agree totally with your other assessments, Bouchon in the hub, Jade and Brummi's on upper State away from the hub-ub. Haven't been to Olio y Limon for quite a while.
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re: glbtrtr
Let me offer you these reviews for the Stonehouse Restaurant at lovely and exclusive San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, since I have not been there since it came under new ownership and was extensively remodeled. Reports now are consistently high after their rocky start a few years ago, at least according to this dining forum:
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re: glbtrtr
Thank You all for your replys.You are very knowledgeable.After talking with my wife we would like to do Mexican the first night because we are going to the Jourey concert.Are there any really,really good sit- down Mexican restaurants.Looking for good drinks and real authentic Mexican or fantastic Italian.How is Ca Dario.It won resuarant of the year twice in a row.Any thoughts.......
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