Little Mountain

Little Mountain Opens in Montecito With Central Coastal Charm and Seasonal Fire-Kissed Fare | Eater LA

"A wood-fired hearth anchors this seasonal Montecito newcomer, where Chilean-born chef Diego Moya—after 25 years cooking in New York and time at Lima’s Astrid y Gastón, Paris’s Le Comptoir and L’Arpège, and New York City’s Casa Mono—cooks locally grown vegetables, seafood, fermented goods, and meats over live fire in an expansive open kitchen. For the opening, the menu runs from bread with cultured butter, oysters, and Santa Barbara’s coveted sea urchin with winter citrus to beef tartare with grilled tomato, grilled kale with mojo de ajo and mustard greens, and lobster croquettes, with larger plates like rainbow trout with maitake mushrooms, a rib-eye with sofrito cooked in the hearth, and wild salmon topped with pistachios and greens. Dishes are meant for sharing and pair well with a small-producer-focused wine list, while former Intercontinental San Francisco wine director Isauro Zavala Aguilar oversees service as general manager. The 3,000-square-foot space by designer Andrew Cosbie features neutral tones, light woods, a dining room fireplace, white plaster, terracotta tiles, a 14-seat private dining room, and an expansive patio, set straight up San Ysidro Road from the 101. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. starting November 6, with reservations via Seven Rooms." - Mona Holmes