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Santa Barbara

Restaurants, hotels, bars and wineries in Santa Barbara from the En Primeur Club guide.

Accolades in Santa Barbara

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Santa Barbara, United States
Our guide counts one Michelin-starred restaurant in Santa Barbara. Citywide, our guide counts six Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence, and a Grand Award cellar of more than 16,000 bottles sits at The Stonehouse in Montecito. The starred kitchen, Silvers Omakase in Lower State, is an omakase counter with a sake program and a sommelier. Other lists include Italian-focused selections, mixed California, French, and Italian coverage, and natural wine paired with modern Indian cooking. Lower State is the largest neighborhood in our guide, with 20 venues, and Downtown follows with 19. Downtown Santa Barbara, the Funk Zone, and Coast Village come next. Au Bon Climat in Presidio makes Burgundian-style Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Jaffurs Wine Cellars in Midtown produces small-lot Rhône-style wines. Pali Wine Co. in the Funk Zone pours Pinot Noir and Chardonnay focused on Sta. Rita Hills, and Melville Vineyards and Winery in the Funk Zone makes Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah from the Sta. Rita Hills AVA.

Restaurants with Wine Spectator awards

Wine Spectator recognition in our guide runs from a Grand Award cellar of more than 16,000 bottles to Awards of Excellence on Italian, New American, and wine country menus.

  • The Stonehouse

    The Stonehouse in Montecito occupies a citrus packing house on San Ysidro Ranch, with an ocean-view terrace, wood-burning fireplaces, and produce from an onsite organic garden. The contemporary American coastal Californian menu is a la carte and seasonal. The cellar holds more than 16,000 bottles and carries a Wine Spectator Grand Award for 2026, plus a Michelin Plate and a Star Wine List.

  • Olio e Limone Ristorante

    Olio e Limone Ristorante in Downtown is the kitchen of Alberto and Elaine Morello, cooking artisanal Italian with Sicilian specialties and an emphasis on ingredient integrity. Service runs a la carte and prix fixe. The wine program is exceptional and sommelier-led, with a 115-selection Italian-focused wine list. It holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 2026.

  • Blackbird

    Blackbird in Lower State cooks hyper-local, hyper-seasonal New American food around Santa Barbara seafood and regional ingredients, in an art deco room. The menu is a la carte and small plates, with craft cocktails. A list of 455 bottles has strong California, French, and Italian coverage. The restaurant holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 2025 and a Michelin Plate for 2026.

  • Bouchon

    Bouchon in Downtown Santa Barbara cooks Santa Barbara wine country cuisine with French-Californian influence, pairing hyper-local ingredients with a regional wine program. Chef Mitchell Sjerven offers a la carte, prix fixe, and tasting menu formats. The wine program is exceptional, sommelier-led, and extensive, and corkage is allowed. It holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 2026 and Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Recommended for 2026.

Omakase counters and tasting menus

Omakase counters, a kaiseki set menu, and a tasting-menu restaurant are the structured formats in our guide. Sake accompanies the Japanese rooms, and Wine Cask in Downtown has an extensive sommelier-led list.

  • Silvers Omakase

    Silvers Omakase in Lower State is a 10-seat omakase counter, the only restaurant outside Japan using Tanada Isehikari rice milled in-house, with local and Japanese fish. Chef Lennon Silvers Lee runs the counter. Formats are omakase, a tasting menu, and counter dining, with a sake program and a sommelier. The latest Michelin award is one star for 2026.

  • Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Montecito

    Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Montecito in Coast Village is a 10-seat omakase counter serving 17 creative nigiri courses prepared live, with rare fish flown from Tokyo's Toyosu Market. Chef Philip Frankland Lee runs the counter. The wine program has a sake program and craft cocktails. The latest Michelin award is a Plate for 2026, with Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America recognition.

  • Yoichi’s

    Yoichi’s in Laguna is a traditional Japanese kaiseki restaurant, a rare multi-course format in the city. Guests eat from a tasting menu or a set menu. The restaurant pours sake alongside the tasting menu and set menu. Michelin awarded a Plate in 2024, again in 2025, and again in 2026.

  • Wine Cask

    Wine Cask in Downtown serves modern American fine dining from an a la carte menu and a tasting menu. Its wine program is exceptional, with an extensive list and a sommelier. An adjacent wine shop sits with the restaurant in a historic Spanish revival setting.

Bars and wineries for county wines

The picks include Santa Barbara Wine Collective's shared tasting room and Pali Wine Co.'s wine garden in the Funk Zone. Au Bon Climat in Presidio makes Burgundian-style Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and Jaffurs Wine Cellars in Midtown makes small-lot Rhône-style wines.

  • Santa Barbara Wine Collective

    Santa Barbara Wine Collective in the Funk Zone gathers Santa Barbara County wines from multiple local producers in a tasting room. The wine program is exceptional. Pours include natural wine and low-alcohol options in a contemporary industrial room.

  • Pali Wine Co.

    Pali Wine Co. in the Funk Zone keeps a relaxed garden for Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, plus the experimental Neighborhood Winery natural-wine line. The garden also hosts rotating food pop-ups and live music.

  • Au Bon Climat

    Au Bon Climat in Presidio has produced Burgundian-style Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for decades. Its winemaking follows Old World techniques in a cool climate. It holds a Falstaff Winery listing for 2026.

  • Jaffurs Wine Cellars

    Jaffurs Wine Cellars in Midtown is a working urban winery with a tasting room inside a warehouse. The winery makes Rhône-style wines in small lots from Santa Barbara County vineyards.

Planning FAQ

Which neighborhood has the serious wine lists?

Downtown has the most Wine Spectator-recognized restaurants among the venues featured here. Olio e Limone Ristorante and Olio Pizzeria each hold an Award of Excellence for 2026. Olio e Limone Ristorante has a 115-selection Italian-focused wine list and a sommelier. Olio Pizzeria serves wood-fired pizzas with an extensive wine list.

How many Michelin-starred restaurants are in Santa Barbara?

Our guide counts one Michelin-starred restaurant in Santa Barbara, and one Michelin star in total. Silvers Omakase in Lower State holds that star. The latest dated award is a Michelin star for 2026. The restaurant is an omakase counter with a sake program and a sommelier, using Tanada Isehikari rice milled in-house with local and Japanese fish.

Where are the tasting menus?

Tasting menus and omakase counters in our guide are at Silvers Omakase in Lower State, Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Montecito in Coast Village, Yoichi’s in Laguna, Bouchon in Downtown Santa Barbara, Wine Cask in Downtown, and Arigato Sushi in Downtown. Yoichi’s uses a kaiseki tasting menu and set menu. Bouchon and Wine Cask offer a tasting menu beside a la carte service, and Arigato Sushi offers omakase as well as a la carte sushi.

What are the strongest wine list styles?

The strongest wine list styles are a Grand Award cellar, Italian-focused selections, mixed California, French, and Italian coverage, and natural wine. The Stonehouse in Montecito has a cellar of more than 16,000 bottles. Olio e Limone Ristorante in Downtown has a 115-selection Italian-focused list. Blackbird in Lower State has a 455-bottle list with strong California, French, and Italian coverage. Natural-wine lists are at Bibi Ji in Downtown, selected by Rajat Parr, and at Satellite SB in the Historic Arts District.

By Emmett Haley · Updated October 8, 2026 · Editorial standards

Santa Barbara

Restaurants

Selected entries from the current guide for Santa Barbara.

Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Montecito restaurant in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Montecito

Sushi by Scratch Restaurants in Montecito operates as a ticketed omakase experience on Coast Village Road, earning consecutive Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 alongside an Opinionated About Dining North America listing. Chef Philip Frankland Lee runs a format built around sourcing and preparation rather than spectacle, placing it in the more serious tier of California's growing omakase circuit.

Santa Barbara, United States
Olio Pizzeria restaurant in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Olio Pizzeria

Olio Pizzeria occupies a compact address inside Santa Barbara's Victoria Court complex, where the menu structure tells a clear story about Italian-leaning hospitality at a neighborhood scale. The kitchen operates in a tier that sits above fast-casual but well beneath the city's fine-dining ceiling, making it a practical anchor for the State Street corridor. For a fuller picture of where it fits in the city's dining mix, see our Santa Barbara restaurant guide.

Santa Barbara, United States
Arnoldi's Cafe restaurant in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Arnoldi's Cafe

Arnoldi's Cafe occupies a corner of Santa Barbara's Olive Street with the kind of low-key confidence that comes from serving a neighbourhood rather than performing for it. The menu draws on the region's agricultural depth, positioning it within a city where California-sourced cooking has moved from trend to baseline expectation. It belongs to the same conversation as the city's broader farm-to-table tier, without the price ceiling of its fine-dining peers.

Santa Barbara, United States
Backyard Bowls restaurant in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Backyard Bowls

Backyard Bowls on Motor Way brings the açaí bowl format that spread from Brazilian beach culture through California's health-conscious coastal towns into Santa Barbara's everyday dining rotation. The format suits the city's outdoor tempo: quick, produce-forward, and built around customization. Visitors planning a morning or midday stop will find it fits naturally alongside Santa Barbara's broader café and light-meal circuit.

Santa Barbara, United States

Santa Barbara

Hotels

Selected entries from the current guide for Santa Barbara.

El Encanto, A Belmond Hotel, Santa Barbara hotel in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

El Encanto, A Belmond Hotel, Santa Barbara

Perched on a hillside above Santa Barbara, El Encanto is a Belmond property spanning seven acres of gardens, with 92 bungalows split between California Mission and Craftsman styles. A Michelin Key recipient and Leading Hotels of the World member, it draws guests seeking a retreat pace: spa treatments, a zero-edge pool with ocean sightlines, and a setting that holds the distance between coastal town and wine country in easy reach.

Santa Barbara, United States
Cuyama Buckhorn hotel in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Cuyama Buckhorn

Set deep in the desert of Santa Barbara County, the Cuyama Buckhorn isn’t just any old motel, this mid-century classic was designed by the architect George Vernon Russell, who was responsible for a number of Los Angeles landmarks. It took a thorough restoration, but today’s Buckhorn features 21 guest rooms in a hybrid cowboy-Modernist style, while the restaurant, the self-titled Buckhorn, is pure cowboy. The rooms are distinctive thanks to their original architectural features as well as their vintage pieces, with custom fixtures and furnishings bridging the gap. There’s an austerity to their visual impression, but the tactile comforts impart more than a little bit of luxury to the experience; the deluxe rooms, at the mid-to-high end of the range, are pet-friendly. There’s a lovely little pool and plenty of outdoor lounge space, including shared patio spaces, and while Cuyama isn’t much of a destination just yet, the Buckhorn is well on its way to making it one. The Buckhorn Restaurant & Bar serves local and seasonal Californian cuisine as well as small-batch liquors and local wines; there’s also a grab-and-go market featuring local foodstuffs and the Buck Stop, a café featuring brews from Canyon Coffee.

Santa Barbara, United States
Drift Santa Barbara hotel in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Drift Santa Barbara

Drift Santa Barbara sits on State Street at the centre of Santa Barbara's walkable core, positioning itself as a design-conscious alternative to the city's resort-scale and harbour-front properties. The hotel combines sustainable design with a warm, considered aesthetic that reads as a deliberate counterpoint to conventional California coastal hospitality. For travellers who want proximity to the city's dining, wine bars, and cultural corridors without the remove of a clifftop or beachfront address, the location does significant work.

Santa Barbara, United States
Kimpton Canary Hotel hotel in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Kimpton Canary Hotel

A Michelin Selected hotel in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, the Kimpton Canary occupies a Spanish Colonial Revival building on West Carrillo Street that reads as an extension of the city's architectural identity rather than a break from it. Its downtown position puts State Street, the Funk Zone wine bars, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art within walking distance, making it a practical anchor for exploring the city on foot.

Santa Barbara, United States
Moxy Santa Barbara hotel in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Moxy Santa Barbara

Michelin Selected for 2025, Moxy Santa Barbara sits on East Montecito Street in the heart of downtown, placing guests within walking distance of State Street, the Funk Zone, and the city's wine-tasting corridor. The property trades on energy over formality, positioning itself as a lower-key alternative to Santa Barbara's full-service luxury tier while still drawing a recognizable stamp of quality from the Michelin hotel guide.

Santa Barbara, United States
Palihouse Santa Barbara hotel in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Palihouse Santa Barbara

Palihouse Santa Barbara sits on Garden Street in the city's historic core, operating within the Pali Hotel group's apartment-hotel model that trades standard room formats for residential scale and social common areas. The property positions itself against Santa Barbara's more formal hotel tier, offering a looser, design-conscious alternative in a city where the gap between boutique and resort has historically been wide.

Santa Barbara, United States
Found Santa Barbara hotel in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Found Santa Barbara

Found Santa Barbara occupies a particular niche in California's Central Coast hotel scene: a property that trades resort scale for something more considered and personal. Santa Barbara's accommodation tier has split decisively between large-footprint luxury and smaller, character-led stays, and Found sits in the latter category. For travellers who arrive knowing what the city offers and want a base that reflects that knowledge, it merits close attention.

Santa Barbara, United States

Santa Barbara

Bars

Selected entries from the current guide for Santa Barbara.

Convivo Restaurant & Bar bar in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Convivo Restaurant & Bar

Positioned on East Cabrillo Boulevard along Santa Barbara's waterfront corridor, Convivo Restaurant & Bar brings a distinctly Italian-inflected sensibility to one of California's most food-serious coastal cities. The address places it within walking distance of the beach and the broader Lower East Side dining cluster, making it a practical anchor for an evening that starts with cocktails and ends with a late plate. Reservations and current hours are best confirmed directly with the venue.

Santa Barbara, United States
Corks n' Crowns Tasting Room and Wine Sales bar in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Corks n' Crowns Tasting Room and Wine Sales

On Anacapa Street in Santa Barbara's downtown wine district, Corks n' Crowns operates as a tasting room and retail wine shop where the county's coastal viticulture meets a counter-level format built for exploration. The approach suits visitors moving between the urban wine trail's many stops, as well as locals seeking a lower-commitment format than a seated dining experience. It sits within a few blocks of the city's broader concentration of tasting rooms along the Funk Zone edge.

Santa Barbara, United States
Third Window Brewing Santa Barbara bar in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, United States

Third Window Brewing Santa Barbara

Third Window Brewing occupies a working-industrial corner of Santa Barbara's Haley Street corridor, where the craft beer conversation in California's Central Coast has grown more serious about what goes into the glass as much as what comes out. Among the city's drinking options, it represents a locally rooted alternative to the coastal wine-bar default that dominates much of Santa Barbara's hospitality scene.

Santa Barbara, United States

Santa Barbara

Wineries

Selected entries from the current guide for Santa Barbara.