The abundance of fresh seafood right off the boat makes home prep easy and fun VS the inflated expense to dine out. The gratuity is often the equivalent price of a meal of recent memory. Inflation? Yes, but perhaps a tipping point as well.
The best dishes were actually the literal dishes (and glasses). Cold, stark atmosphere …. We aren’t in Tokyo or even in SF or LA. We are in SB and Sushi Bar Montecito had a much warmer, inviting and friendly atmosphere. Also had better dishes that were more interesting and varied. Plus best Mochi around. I’d rather go back to original. Also…. Why can’t we have a great “regular” sushi place in town!
I was thinking the same thing! ????
I’ve had two outstanding dinners at Lilac. They happily accommodated a group of ten. They have a wonderful kids menu, and of course the desserts are delicious.
Afraid not....
Santa Barbara Polo Fields
Not be surprised at all about the rumors of Oliver’s. We've consistently found the staff, in particular the management and hosts, to be rather pretentious. It's a shame because the food is excellent. We stopped going altogether before the pandemic.
Pretty disappointed in Lilac for dinner last Fri. Made our resv weeks ago for 8, changed to 10 and they told us we had to come in one hr earlier which we did. No other guests arrived for 1.5 hrs. We watched all the staff appear busy but doing what I don't know. Our server was great though. But my real comment is the food/portion/value - just not up to snuff. I'm good with Lilac Patisserie's menu and value, but dinner here needs work. Doubt we will be back. $100 pp without drinks...pretty steep for the serving size. Sides are extra.
We felt the food was light 3-4 less servings than Scratch. I was hungry when I left. So I suggest they serve more options and have an appy or two...
I'm glad you enjoyed that walk. I'm afraid I have my hands full with the next one, so you'll have to explore the Funk Zone and discover it all for yourself. (That's part of the fun!) And there are several terrific walks within range of where you'll be staying: Butterfly Beach itself. the Hedgerow, and the Lower Village. Here are the links:
— https://www.sitelinesb.com/quintessential-montecito-at-butterfly-beach/
— https://www.sitelinesb.com/once-upon-a-time-in-the-hedgerow/
— https://www.sitelinesb.com/the-heart-of-montecito-is-in-coast-village/
Hi Erik, I so enjoyed your recent article taking us through the Funk Zone. Would you consider showing a visual map of the best way to walk the Funk Zone, incorporating your wonderful finds, and also showing the pedestrian paths more clearly? Also we will be back in the area in May, staying in Montecito near Butterfly Beach. Any “must sees,” good walking, etc? Thank You!!
No, but thanks for guessing!
I’m suddenly inspired to rewatch “The Menu.”
The Steward Motel, 5490 Hollister Ave.
Very good, honest review. While there was a time I'd jump on this place as soon as they opened, at a $240 base price I would prefer a great bottle of wine, a farmer's market salad and quality protein (local seafood or steak) at home, or similar at a local restaurant, as I enjoy a night out, and am also a firm believer that with quality ingredients, it's very easy to do it just as good in our own kitchens.
I wonder how long it takes to amass that amount?
Not that it makes it any better, but 1 million gallons is approximately two Olympic sized swimming pools. Had to look it up in order to understand the scale.
Thank you, Jefferson A. Spot on!
Good for Ellen and Portia, they're definitely raised the Montecito property values.
We had them as next door neighbors and they couldn't be more down to earth, and happy to be living in our beautiful Montecito community.
who cares?
LDR came to the Bowl in the fall of 2017....I'm sure we can get her to return. It was a great show!
There's a 238-space underground garage.
How is a 250 room hotel only going to have 29 parking spaces, That’s only parking for 11% of the guests. Where are the other 89% supposed to park. That is just not thoroughly thought through. These are people traveling through the area. Why not a parking structure or a subterranean structure or less rooms and more parking. The ratio is way out of whack.
I can remember back when the city made a deal with the Wright family to extend Garden street to Cabrillo in exchange the approval for a hotel on the site. I feel for the owners but times change. Tourism patterns change and this project is from a past time. I hope this project goes the same way as the SOMO. Both being too big and wasteful of the precious real estate. This is some of the last, and real funk in the FZ.
Thanks for highlighting a critical flaw in this proposed hotel, the public is not be allowed to use it. Imagine trying to build a 250-room hotel at the gateway of the Funk Zone, and provide no community benefit in return.
@keepthefunksb and keepthefunk.org to join the opposition. No more hotels.
