Heading to the above mentioned cities for 1 night only each place.
What would your 1 recommendation be for a must-visit restaurant?
No budget, but a good wine programme would be great.
Thank you in advance.
In Santa Barbara if I only had one night I would visit Bouchon or Toma, depending on whether you want French or Italian influence.
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In Santa Barbara, it’s Barbarena for sure. Ate there in April and loved every bite!
In LA, tough, but I’m a huge fan of Rustic Canyon.
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LA is all dependent on taste. I love republique but there are a lot of good choices.
I think Bell’s in Los Alamos is a fantastic restaurant with a great wine list, which is on your way to Lompoc.
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It’s possibly our favorite restaurant in the state
Bouchon in Santa Barbara is great but my favorite is Bibi Ji because it’s rare to get excellent Indian food.
I will definitely have to check that out next visit, thanks
Not much to chose from in Lompoc. Where are you staying? If the Hilton their restaurant is about as god as it gets.
Buellton is 25 minutes from Lompoc. If passing by on the 101 try the Hitching Post, excellent flame grill. If you are coming from SB by the San Marcos Pass you will pass by the SY Kitchen in Santa Ynez and Nella’s in Los Olivos. Both excellent Italian restaurants.
Republique and Providence are quintessential LA restaurants where you can order a la carte (or tasting at Providence). Both have terrific/extensive wine lists. There are several tasting menu places in town that run $250-350+/-, Consider Manzke, Kato, Melisse (also a la carte) or Kali (often overlooked but great). If you can get into n/Naka, lucky you. If you have time for lunch in LA, by all means go to Destroyer.
For Italian in SB, Olio e Limone is a favorite
LA is pretty big… But usually you can find a good place close to where you are staying.
I LOVE the wine program at Melisse. Matt is an outstanding somm. I think the food is excellent too. I highly recommend if you have no budget and don’t mind a longer meal.
For wine country, I think you need to go to Bell’s. I’m going to Lompac a next weekend and I’m stopping by Bell’s first.
Thank you very mcuh for all the suggestions. Some really nice ones.
For LA, we are staying in West Hollywood, but willing to travel for a great experience.
Also open for some of the iconic LA restaurants where the emphasis is perhaps less on food and wine and more on the experience (Musso & Frank, Chateau Marmont etc.)
Well, Musso and Frank is an institution and a nice experience. Steaks are great (I wouldn’t order anything else than that and the sides, tho). And since the renovation during the pandemic, their wine list has gone from bad to really good.
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I really enjoyed Rare Society, which just opened in Santa Barbara.
Unless you are staying at Chateau Marmont, good luck. I had a laughably bad experience trying to get a drink there with my wife. Apparently we weren’t beautiful enough. Well…to be fair, my wife is, but apparently, I’m not.
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