The Restaurant at Justin

"Make your way through winding roads to find this lush retreat nestled within the Justin Winery. This restaurant champions local product sourced nearby and from the property's own 150-tree orchard, edible flower fields, vegetable and herb gardens and apiary. Whether your table is on the patio or in the dining room, expect to be enchanted by views of rolling hills and vineyards and cared for by a team that is serious about hospitality. Chef Rachel Haggstrom and her team flex their creativity across a single tasting menu. There’s no leaving hungry, and recent highlights include apple and sunchoke velouté, warm gougères filled with mornay sauce, and Santa Barbara spiny lobster with salsify. Back vintages of the estate’s wines are amiably priced." - Michelin Inspector

"The Restaurant at JUSTIN is not a place you’ll happen upon. Instead, it’s a destination. “We are a 25-minute drive from the center of town along winding roads where you’ll find deer, turkey, even wild boar,” says Executive Chef Rachel Haggstrom. “Our restaurant and tasting room are located in the middle of the vineyard.”" - Nancy DePalma

"Make your way through winding roads to land upon the lush retreat, nestled within the Justin Winery. This restaurant champions local product, sourced nearby and from the property's own 150-tree orchard, edible flower fields, vegetable and herb gardens and apiary. Whether your table is on the patio or in the dining room, expect to be enchanted by views of rolling hills and vineyards, and anticipatory service heightens the exceptional experience. Chef Rachel Haggstrom and her team flex their creative skills on a single tasting menu with items such as beet canapé with chicken liver pate and a Cara Cara citrus geleé or 'carrot top' and lamb saddle, with savory carrot cake and an oval of tender meat. As expected, theirs is an impressive wine list." - Nancy DePalma

"The "Citrus & Fromage Blanc" dessert: a subtle and bright composition of orange blossom foam with tea-infused fromage blanc mousse over a round of delicate cake. Providing the final flourish (and flavor) are tarragon-marinated tangerine segments and an elegant honeycomb-shaped citrus-sugar work of art." - The MICHELIN Guide

"That sense of zen permeates her current kitchen at The Restaurant at Justin. The dishes are a celebration of the locality of the ingredients coupled with Haggstrom’s creative thinking and plating. 'Once we come up with the foundation of flavors and components of a dish, we look at what plate it’s going to go on.' According to Haggstrom, if it doesn’t eat well, meaning easily for guests, then it’s back to the drawing board. 'That’s just a bad hospitality experience,' says Haggstrom who defines her creations as, 'restrained, focused, and feminine.' But she chalks it up to teamwork. 'My executive sous chef Stanley is brilliantly creative and together we come up with these renditions of how we want to plate things.' One successful standout that’s proven successful with guests and chefs alike is the Alba White Truffle course on the current menu. Composed of farro, chive, acorns, 24-month Parmigiano Reggiano, and shavings of white truffle, Haggstrom describes it as 'a farritto, like a risotto. There are a lot of oak trees here, and we take the acorns that fall and turn them into two formats, a puree and a tuile providing a crispy element.'" - Edward Barsamian