Wife and I are taking a long weekend trip to Los Olivos / SB when kids at camp. Staying a couple nights in each (well Solvang). I have been through the threads but many are dated. But think we will do Los Olivos for a day… then drive to Lompoc area for a day then a day in SB. Then maybe a beach afternoon. Does that seem doable?
Going through the various threads - I think I have a good view on the wineries and focus on west of SB places near Los Olivos and Buelton. Brewer Clifton, Liquid Farm, Dragonette, Foxen, Holus Bolus, Tyler, Tercero, etc. Sb seems like Au Bon Climat and some others.
Dinners - we are a bit stumped. Staying in Solvang - and we heard good things about First and Oak. Also in LO - Bar de la Cote. Think those are the two - but looking for opinions.
Would love to hear from folks who have done this - how does the above look like and any other recs you might have.
Funny, we just drove through the area yesterday, heading back from San Diego. Personally, I would avoid Solvang. It’s the quintessential tourist village, one bakery and souvenir shop after the other. I’d prefer to stay in Los Olivos, or even Santa Barbara.
Check out Los Alamos. Tiny couple of blocks, but a really good restaurant Bell’s.
I had a good experience for lunch at Coast Range in Solveng. @larry_schaffer recommended it to me if I recall since we said we were in the mood for oysters.
Thanks so much for the recs. We have Bar le Cote booked for Sunday. Bells is sold out for Saturday so as of now we have first and Oak for dinner. But we are open to change that. Hotels are tough as this is sooo last minute. Will be in LA already for other plans so driving up from LA early Sat morning so as of now one night in Solvang and two in SB.
Mattei’s Tavern is firing on all cylinders since the renovation. Highly recommended. Try to sit at the bar at Bar le Cote. Lefty’s Coffee is my favorite cup’o joe in LO.
I was just there two weeks ago. In Los Olivos I would recommend Story of Soil, Tensley, and Tercero which is always a must stop. Others I would recommend are Andrew Murray, Holus Bolus, and Storm. In Lompoc area I would make reservations for a cellar tasting at D’Alfonso-Curran. In Santa Barbara, I would stop at Jaffurs. As far as food goes, we gad an amazing dinner at Leonardo’s in Solvang. Amazing!! I hope you have a great trip.
A little further up the coast is our favorite Cali town, San Luis Obispo. We used it as a base to get to many of the close by AVAs. Great browsing and foodie town.
We were just in Santa Barbara for a babymoon in March, here are some quick notes:
Santa Barbara
-loved Santo Mezcal
-Loquita was very good, but would go back to Santo before Loquita
-I liked Whitcraft a lot and enjoyed the atmosphere more than ABC. ABC is more of a tasting room, Whitcraft you sit down with a guy and talk about wine outside their warehouse
-Jeanine’s at the Shore was a nice, bright breakfast
-Wife liked Mony’s for lunch more than I did, I wouldn’t go out of my way and stand in line to go there
-Worth walking out onto the pier if you’re into that, but not worth eating out there
Solvang-ish area
-Hitching Post II was wonderful. I’m sure part of it was being in the area Sideways was filmed, but it also had good food, good wine, and we got to eat outside looking at the ostriches on the farm next door
-Favorite bakery in Solvang was Mortensen’s
-Tyler Winery was worth the trip, even though I’ve found SB pinot really doesn’t do it for me. The chardonnay does, though
We ate at First and Oak about 18 months ago. It was good but not great - I’d say you can forego it for something a bit more exciting that someone has recommended in this thread.
If you’re hanging around SB proper for a while, Samsara’s tasting room in Goleta is nice and the wines are outstanding. Au Bon Climat is a no-brainer and already on your list!
Another vote here for Story of Soil and Holus Bolus in Los Olivos. There’s also a fairly new (and very good) coffee shop right in Los Olivos called Lefty’s that is fulfilling an important need!
Industrial Eats is one of our favorite restaurants in SB county. It is 100% worth stopping for at least lunch. If you are in Los Alamos we’ve had great meals at Plenty, more of a lunch spot but great service and good bites.
Jonata while expensive has one of the nicest tasting rooms in the area. The Hilt wines remind me quite a bit of what we taste at Liquid Farms.
If you do dinner in Santa Barbara during your beach day I would totally recommend Bettina in Montecito. Their little gem salad is incredible.