A Gorgeous New Waterfront Restaurant in Santa Barbara Comes From Celebrated Chef Danny Grant | Eater LA
"Perched on a seaside cliff inside the Ritz-Carlton Bacara with nearly unobstructed Pacific views, this newly redesigned coastal California restaurant offers a lush, open dining room (270 seats) with floor-to-ceiling windows, a patio, a grassy events lawn and a lower-level cellar with wine storage and a bar. Studio K Design repurposed original elements—recycling tiles, centering the bar, expanding the kitchen, moving walls—and added custom banquettes and a plant wall to create an indoor-outdoor, vista-driven atmosphere. Chef Danny Grant, who previously opened Chicago’s Maple & Ash and worked at Monarch and Kessaku in Dallas, built a market-driven menu sourced from local farmers and fishermen that emphasizes seafood and seasonal produce: highlights include a tear-and-share focaccia served with whipped ricotta or fresh tomato sauce, sliced tomatoes with olive oil and a sea salt herb dip, roasted prawns with salsa verde and Calabrian emulsion, raw oysters, red snapper crudo, and sea urchin with roasted garlic. Fresh pastas range from spaghetti al nerano to spicy rigatoni alla vodka and paccheri with slow-roasted lamb ragu; larger mains include roasted California lamb rack, coal-fired piccata chicken, a wood-fired bone-in short rib for sharing, and a dramatic salt-baked branzino finished with capers, lemon, and brown butter, with sides like glazed string beans and polenta with mascarpone and Parmesan. Pastry chef Mariella Bueza presents tableside tiramisu and a rum baba served with roasted peaches, gelato, and orange zest, plus ice cream, sorbet and a cheese course. The beverage program—crafted by Christina Demas and beverage director Amy Mundwiler—focuses on Italian aperitivos (Negronis, spritzes, a martini program) and a 700-bottle cellar with California, Italian, Austrian and French selections. The restaurant opens June 26 and will be open Sunday–Thursday 5:00–9:30 p.m. and until 10:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays." - Mona Holmes
