The Top 29 Restaurants Near The Inn at Mattei's Tavern
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Rank 1. The Tavern
American
A former stagecoach stop turned Auberge gem, Mattei's Tavern marries 1880s bones with live-fire cooking and an on-site garden. Braised abalone and wood-fired cabbage anchor a seasonal California menu that honors the building's outlaw past without nostalgia.
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Rank 2. Bar Le Côte
Seafood
From the team behind Bell's, this cheerful seafood restaurant in Los Olivos excels at shared plates: urchin-buttered radishes, pristine oysters, and branzino simply prepared. Focused desserts and a curated wine list, including the house label, complete an unpretentious, sea-forward meal.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Daisy Ryan and Greg Ryan - Companion Hospitality
- Wine Enthusiast 2023 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 4. Peasants Feast
American
A daytime café in Solvang where Michael and Sarah Cherney build sandwiches with genuine ingenuity—pastrami smoked salmon, beet greens grilled cheese—each one a small argument for what bread and seasonal ingredients can do. The carrot soup, finished with Calabrian chili oil, knows its job. This is unpretentious cooking that doesn't mistake simplicity for lack of ambition.
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Rank 5. Na Na Thai
Thai
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Rank 6. Hitching Post 2 Restaurant & Winery
Santa Maria Barbecue
- Sunset 2024 · Superior Sips · Where to Eat and Drink
- Sunset 2025 · California Classics · Where to Eat and Drink
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Rank 7. Coast Range
Steakhouse
A day-drinking brunch spot that transforms into a wood-fired steakhouse at night, Coast Range leans seasonal and plays best with grilled proteins. The kitchen surprises with unexpected touches—Wagyu stroganoff, tapioca-crusted snapper—that elevate tavern fare without pretense.
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Rank 8. Industrial Eats
New American
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Rank 9. Bell's
French
The Ryans' Santa Ynez bistro sources nearly everything within twenty miles, letting impeccable local ingredients speak through unfussy cooking. A three-course, three-option format keeps the kitchen focused on dishes—lamb merquez, halibut roti, tarte au citron—that taste as good as they look.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Daisy Ryan and Greg Ryan - Companion Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Daisy Ryan
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Rank 10. Priedite Barbecue
Californian
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Rank 11. Bouchon
Wine Country French
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Rank 12. Sama Sama Kitchen
Southeast Asian Vietnamese
Downtown Santa Barbara's Sama Sama pairs Nashville barbecue sensibility with Indonesian technique to produce Southeast Asian food that tastes assured and unpretentious. Green papaya salad arrives herbaceous and properly incendiary; bao—steamed or fried—cradles unctuous chicken in bright, tangy sauce. The patio, strung with lights and arranged for sharing, feels like the real draw.
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Rank 13. Corazon Cocina
Mexican
Inside the Santa Barbara Public Market, Ramon Velazquez grills handmade tortillas and builds tacos with the precision of his Guadalajaran lineage—octopus and white shrimp pile into one; local produce brightens a Oaxaca cheese quesadilla. The salsas arrive in trio, each one worth tasting.
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Rank 15. Yoichi's
Traditional Japanese
Chef Yoichi Kawabata, trained at Nobu Tokyo, runs this austere white-walled dining room with his wife, serving precise seven-course kaiseki menus built on pristine fish and seasonal vegetables. Grilled Wagyu glazed in sansho pepper and tender duck breast in sweet soy exemplify the kitchen's restraint and refinement.
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Rank 16. Bibi Ji
Indian
Pink signage announces an Indian kitchen where sommelier Rajat Parr and Alejandro Medina pursue inventive small plates in a vaulted room that spills onto a green patio. Crispy cauliflower and tandoor lamb chops arrive with precision and spice; the wine list trails behind the food.
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Rank 17. Barbareño
Californian New American
Smoke drifts across a casual patio steps from downtown Santa Barbara, where the kitchen balances bold flavors with playful technique—grilled avocado charred and creamy, cornmeal blini topped with whipped cheese foam and cured egg yolk, single-origin chocolates and mead-spiked panna cotta for dessert. Small plates and local wines settle into a dining room that feels unhurried and assured.
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Rank 18. Loquita
Spanish
A cream-walled Spanish spot steps away from the beach where pink-stools line the bar and hand-painted tiles catch the light, with servers who steer you toward pan con tomate and paella with the ease of true believers. The olive homage and carpaccio with aged sherry vinegar suggest a kitchen that knows when to honor tradition and when to nudge it sideways.
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Rank 19. Los Agaves
Mexican
A casual counter-order spot where generous California-Mexican cooking arrives in a family-filled room that fills quickly at dinner. Lime-marinated halibut ceviche tostadas, oversized burritos, and crispy al pastor tacos topped with pineapple and chipotle set the bar for straightforward, satisfying food executed without pretense.
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Rank 20. The Lark
Seasonal New American
A former fish market in the Funk Zone pulses with an edgy vitality—vintage fixtures casting amber light across tables laden with family-style portions built on central coast produce. Blistered shishitos, roasted eggplant with cilantro yogurt, and duck-fat breadcrumbs move with assured technique toward original ends. The wine list charts Santa Barbara's best with intelligence.
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Rank 21. Blackbird
Mediterranean
The dining room at Blackbird, tucked into the waterfront Hotel Californian, channels art deco glamour through arched doors that seem to invite the sea itself inside. The kitchen honors the Pacific with spaghetti of local urchin and whole branzino, finishing with unexpected gestures like fig pavlova drizzled in savory oil.
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Rank 22. Bettina
Wood-fired Pizza
A gleaming pizzeria in the Montecito Country Mart where two former Roberta's devotees apply slow-fermented dough, house-pulled mozzarella, and obsessive sourcing to pies that transcend the category. Wood-fired char marks everything from a simple pepperoni to seasonal creamed leeks with sausage; hand-cut pastas and brown-butter cookies suggest a kitchen that doesn't believe in half-measures.
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Rank 24. Caruso’s
Californian Italian
Chef Massimo Falsini's Italian prix-fixe pivots on Santa Barbara seafood and garden vegetables, each plate a study in restraint and richness. The oceanfront dining room, all leather and linen, frames the Pacific with the same care he lavishes on uni-crowned pasta and strawberry desserts.
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Five Star
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
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Rank 25. The Stonehouse
Rustic New American
A stone cottage set among gardens and oaks at San Ysidro Ranch, with a fireplace and creekside views that justify arriving early. The kitchen draws heavily from the property's own herbs and produce, whether for a burger or pan-roasted striped bass, and the wine list rewards curiosity. Service knows its crowd and its place.
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Rank 26. Little Mountain
Californian
Chef Diego Moya's dining room in Montecito channels Spanish Colonial restraint—whitewashed walls, brick, wood beams—to frame a globally rooted menu anchored in local catch and produce. A tile fish ceviche arrives sharp with yuzu kosho; the Mt. Lassen trout, sided with wild mushrooms and beurre blanc, confirms the kitchen's command of both delicacy and depth.
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Rank 27. AMA Sushi
Edomae Sushi
In a darkened Japanese pavilion within the Rosewood Miramar, AMA Sushi executes edomae technique with quiet precision. The omakase moves through seared scallops and pristine nigiri—New Zealand king salmon, kamasu kissed with red chili—before finishing with black sesame cheesecake. A chef working at full attention, ingredients at their most honest.
- Food & Wine 2023 · Hinode · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- LAist 2023 · Steak Dinner · Best Bites
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Rank 29. Ember
Californian
An industrial-rustic room in Arroyo Grande where open-fire cooking arrives as comfort food: house-made sourdough topped with burrata and walnut pesto, chicken weighted under a brick, a fifty-layer lasagna that demands return visits. The blueberry cream puff with honey chèvre mousse and lemon buttermilk gelato suggests a kitchen that understands restraint.