Jill's Place

632 SANTA BARBARA STREET
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101
805.963.0378
jillsplacesb.com

Diners entering Jill’s Place for the first time might wonder why a track with meat hooks runs along the ceiling or why an array of sharpening steels hangs in a boxed display. Talk to Jill Shalhoob though - easy enough, since she’s always here checking on her loyal, mainly local, customers - and cast your eyes on the neon sign that reads “The Butcher’s Daughter,” and it all adds up. Those things are here because this unpretentious restaurant used to be her fathers’ butcher shop, and Jill essentially grew up here. After her dad expanded and moved, she opened a deli, then the restaurant. It’s all about roots, tradition and family, the kind of place visitors want to find - and sometimes do. Open from morning ’til night, Jill’s Place offers great values on perfectly cooked steaks, a sensational open-face meatloaf sandwich and plenty of burgers and other sandwiches, salads and comfort-food favorites like split pea soup and spaghetti Bolognese made according to Jill’s grandmother’s recipe. Jill’s dad taught her how to season and cut meat, and she still does. The coffee’s good, and the bar offers Happy Hour Cosmos and Martinis for $7. Order a mixed appetizer plate of steak, chicken and sausage bites, and settle in.

BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DINNER
FULL BAR
KID'S MENU
PRIVATE ROOM
LOCAL WINES

Holdren's

512 STATE STREET
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101
805.965.3363
HOLDRENS.COM

Big booths line a brick wall on one side, a line of tables runs down the middle, and a long, hundred-year-old mahogany bar scarred by cigar burns from the days before ashtrays holds down the other wall. Here, the martinis are big, the bartenders are friendly and knowledgeable, and digging into a steak just feels right. A grilled artichoke or the spicy ahi tuna tartar are both popular warm-ups to the array of mesquite-grilled fresh seafood and corn-fed prime steaks ranging from a 6-ounce filet mignon to the house specialty, a 24 and 30-ounce bone-in cowboy-cut ribeye – not to mention, lobster, baby back ribs, and the servers’ favorite, a pork chop crusted with jalapeño-pepper jack cheese. Oh, and these aren’t a la carte entrées either or, as owner Clay Holdren says, “just meat on a plate; we want to give our customers value.” That means your steak or fish comes with soup or salad and sides. You will not leave hungry. There are more values among the 300 plus California wines, as well as some rare cult favorites, in the cellar that has earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. And when it’s time to sweeten up the night, don’t miss the s’mores, prepared by you with the help of a tabletop Hibachi “campfire.”

LUNCH
DINNER
FULL BAR
KID'S MENU
OUTDOOR SEATING
PRIVATE ROOM
LOCAL WINES

Fishouse

101 EAST CABRILLO BLVD.
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101
805.966.2112
SBFISHOUSE.COM

FisHouse has built a huge following by offering ultra-fresh seafood, good drinks, an excellent happy hour, great prices and exactly the kind of friendly, casual atmosphere that beach volleyball players, fishermen, families, locals and visitors love. It’s an everyman sort of place where everyone feels welcome. “People use the bar as their office and their living room to watch every big game,” says owner Adam White, – and customer service is more than a motto: “If someone has something wrong, we apologize and fix it.” The FisHouse is also the only restaurant in town that has a fish receiver’s license from the California Department of Fish & Game, allowing Adam to buy crab, lobster, fish and shellfish right off the boat – no middleman. “It removes a step and means that you can be eating seabass that was swimming that morning,” Adam says. “When black cod, local king salmon and seabass are running, we keep a couple of fishermen going full time just for us.” Popular dishes include fresh-fish tacos; the fish and chips and fried calamari are standard bearers, and the steamed shellfish are first-rate. The macadamia nut–crusted seabass is a top seller, and look for vermillion snapper. “When we get them from the islands,” says Adam, “we serve then as a whole roasted fish.”

LUNCH
DINNER
FULL bar
KID'S MENU
OUTDOOR SEATING
LOCAL WINES

Farmer Boy

3427 STATE STREET
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101
805.687.6584
FARMERBOY.COM

If you grew up in Santa Barbara’s San Roque neighborhood, you know Farmer Boy restaurant. It’s the classic American diner with all the standards. John Bennett, whose family’s restaurant group includes Brophy’s , Benchmark eatery, O.T.A and Arch Rock, has partnered with childhood friends - the Borgatellos and Boeddekers - to re-launch the upper State Street classic. “Not only did we grow up two blocks away from Farmer Boy, we all went to elementary school together,” Bennett says. Bennett describes the new Farmer Boy as “a fresh take on a classic diner,” but it was vital to the partners to maintain the bones and essence of the original. Ralph Karleskint [the original owner] is a close family friend, and the new ownership is honored to continue his legacy. The operation will be similar to Bennett’s other locations - casual, local, genuine and timeless. The operating partner is Danny Quinn, who runs several Bennett restaurants and understands the culture and the family’s commitment to service. “This is a romantic endeavor,” Bennett says. “Danny’s mom even waited tables here for over a decade.” There isn’t a restaurant operation in town more local than this new partnership.

BREAKFAST
BRUNCH
LUNCH
DINNER
KID'S MENU
OUTDOOR SEATING
LOCAL WINES

Ca Dario

37 EAST VICTORIA STREET
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
805.884.9419
CADARIO.NET

Ca’Dario chef-owner Dario Furlati jokes that if he changed his menu, he might get in trouble with his customers. “They come in for certain favorite dishes,” he says, some of which he’s been serving since the restaurant opened in 1997. Of course, who can blame the chef’s regulars for holding him hostage to his own cooking? He’s from Lake Como, and his menu reflects his northern roots in classic dishes like homemade ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta and drizzled with sage butter; whole oven-baked branzino, an identity element of Italian cooking; and a 24-ounce bone-in rib-eye steak that’s a $36 bargain. “Authentic,” Furlati says, describing his food in a word - which is why it never gets old. But while the regulars might own the main menu, Furlati uses the daily specials to introduce rare regional dishes. From Rome, there’s baked gnocchi topped with butter, sage and Parmesan, and from Trentino, he might serve canerderli, a kind of dumpling made with bread, eggs and speck (smoked prosciutto). He also taps local sources for spot prawns, halibut, duck, quail and even venison - maybe grilled and finished in the oven with shallots, garlic and rosemary. Add wines from California, Italy, Chile, France and Argentina, and a dessert list of carefully made classics, and you’ll defending the menu against change, too.

LUNCH
DINNER
FULL BAR
LOCAL WINES

Brophy Brothers

119 HARBOR WAY
Santa Barbara, CA 93109
805.966.4418
BROPHYBROS.COM

Both the Santa Barbara and Ventura locations have a fun, lively atmosphere with beautiful views of the mountains and harbor. Choose your spot: sit at the full length bar and meet some locals, enjoy the lively atmosphere with an inside table, or grab a space on the balcony and lean in or sit at a table. Everyone is welcome at Brophy Brothers!

LUNCH
DINNER
FULL BAR
OUTDOOR SEATING
VIEW
LOCAL WINES

Brewhouse

229 MONTECITO STREET
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
805.884.4664
SBBREWHOUSE.COM

For 16 years, The Brewhouse Santa Barbara has been many things to many people: the setting for a lively Saturday night, the spot for an after-work beer with friends or co-workers, the headquarters for a casual weekday lunch, the meeting place for a gang of friends to hit a Sunday brunch where they make their own pancakes. But whenever people come and whomever they bring or meet, The Brewhouse always offers a relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere where people can have a good time. You can pull up to the long bar or choose a wood table or booth inside or a table outside, then order a well-poured cocktail or a beer from the extensive menu that includes 16 selections crafted a few feet away on the premises, as well as a rotating list of six “guest” beers. Add some appetizers or something more substantial from the diverse menu of fairly priced comfort food - the fire-roasted artichoke with rosemary aioli, the pasilla pork loin, the cheeseburger and the filet mignon and mushroom enchilada with ancho-lime cream sauce are all favorites and then just enjoy the vibe. Locals love the place and make up the majority of the clientele. Visitors love to find it, and when they do, they tend to return multiple times during their stay to soak up some genuine S.B. atmosphere. Live music gets started at around 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and a trivia nights crank up the amplitude on some Sundays.

BRUNCH
LUNCH
DINNER
ENTERTAINMENT
FULL BAR
KID'S MENU
OUTDOOR SEATING
LOCAL WINES
PRIVATE ROOM

Boathouse

2981 CLIFF DRIVE
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
805.898.2628
BOATHOUSESB.COM

Located at Hendry's beach, the Boathouse is the perfect addition to this secluded spot. Owners Tom White and his son, Adam, transformed this restaurant into a hip, nautical eatery that serves mouth-watering dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The ocean views have always been spectacular, but now the building and the food match the setting. The interior and enlarged outdoor patio take full advantage of the postcard views. On the patio, sheets of glass with contemporary stainless steel hardware minimize any on-shore wind. The interior is fittingly nautical, yet simple. The dinner menu follows suit with delicious seafood including fresh local catches, cioppino and fish tacos as well as mesquite-grilled steaks to name a few. The full bar provides a break from the sun with their delicious honeycomb mojito, blood orange margarita or signature Boathouse punch. A walk up snack bar is available for folks on the run or those who want to enjoy a meal on the beach.

BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DINNER
FULL BAR
OUTDOOR SEATING
PRIVATE ROOM
LOCAL WINES