A spontaneous weekend in Santa Barbara
Author:Abigail StoneA visit to Lotusland, Montecito’s fabled garden, is the centerpiece of a weekend of eating, wandering, shopping and wine tasting in Santa Barbara
When we scored a last minute reservation to Lotusland for Saturday afternoon, we decided to use it as an excuse to make a whole weekend out of our visit. The two hour drive from Los Angeles north to Santq Barbara county was made even more pleasant by a back route that took us past farms, vineyards and orchards. We wanted to stay at an intimate hotel that would allow us to explore Santa Barbara on foot. Unfortunately, our first choice, The Craft House Inn, a bed and breakfast carved out of a century old house, which underwent a re-design last year by Santa Barbara firm Hearth House Interiors that made the most of its compelling vintage details, was booked.
Remembering a wonderful stay at the Drift Palm Springs, we settled on its sister property, Drift House Santa Barbara (there are also Drift Hotels in San Jose del Cabo and Nashville). Like its siblings, it’s simple, minimal and modern. Designed in partnership with local architecture firm Anacapa, the room was tiny but well designed with everything we needed — a comfortable mattress with crisp white sheets, custom custom-scented bath products that smelled of desert marigold and sandalwood, a brass rain shower head (plus a separate handheld shower hose), plenty of outlets, plush towels, and robes. We dropped our bags, freshened up and headed out for dinner. Southeast Asian restaurant Sama Sama Kitchen was packed so we wandered up State Street in search of another option. Heading east on Victoria Street, we stumbled on Trattoria Vittoria.
The northern Italian-focused restaurant, owned by Sofia Gallina and her husband, Giovanni Comin, serves. up simple, well-executed dishes under the direction of Chef Stephane Cepax and sous chef, Robert Prelazzi. We started off with a bresola and arugula salad, topped festive curls of fresh parmesan, and an order of fried calamari with a crispy cornmeal crust and a dipping sauce of bright, fresh ragu. We washed down Spaghetti alla Scoglio, perfectly al dente pasta topped with sautéed clams, mussels, calamari, shrimp, and salmon in a spicy tomato sauce, and Ravioli di Carne con Salsa Aurora, prime ribs stuffed into fresh pasta with a cream and tomato sauce, with a rich Barolo from Piemonte
The next morning, fueled by a surprisingly addictive orange cardomom coffee from Dawn, the coffee shop downstairs, we set off for breakfast in the Funk Zone, a vibrant and evolving neighborhood. The formerly industrial neighborhood is now dominated by wineries, breweries, galleries, boutiques and restaurants.
We set our sights on The Lark, a decade old farm-to-table spot with an inviting outdoor patio. There was a chill in the air so we grabbed a seat by one of the fire pits. Mimosas and a half-dozen oysters topped with a bloody Mary granita and horseradish were followed by a cast iron baked shakshuka, piquant with briny picholine olives, the bite of aleppo pepper and the tang of French feta and accompanied by long, slender grilled ficelle. Nearly full, we managed to polish off on order of their version of Eggs Benedict which spills a grilled jalapeño hollandaise over a tower of soft poached egg, bourbon pickled jalapenos, Duroc pork belly, tarragon and fat Texas toast.
Stomachs lined, we commenced our morning of wine tastings, sipping a crisp Sauvignon Blanc at The Valley Project and “Market Price”, an orange tinted blend of Gewurtraminer, Pinot Noir and Muscat, at Pail Wine Garden and picked up some t-shirts at Mollusk Surf Shop. Soon enough it was time to wind over the back roads of Santa Barbara towards Montecito and Lotusland for our self-guided afternoon tour.
Considered one of the top ten gardens in the world, the 37 acre non-profit botanical paradise was the brainchild of Polish opera singer Ganna Walska. Created over four decades, it spotlights hundreds of endangered and rare plant species laid out in small enclaves including the Blue garden, a Japanese garden, a Cactus garden, a Butterfly garden, and a Parterre garden fragrant with lush roses. While it’s long been on our bucket list, reservations are notoriously hard to come by. Their annual garden gala and fundraiser (this year’s event takes place on July 20) is a spectacular introduction to its singular, magical beauty.
Back at The Funk Zone, we toasted to our afternoon in the garden with Fesstivity from Fess Parker, their aptly named Sta. Rita Hills sparkling wine (we also picked up a bottle of their 2023 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Rose for a friend) and drooled over the Comrade Sling and Dumpling bags at Jess Conti Leather Goods.
By sunset, Santa Barbara had turned distinctly chilly. We stopped at our room to grab sweaters before heading to dinner at Bluewater Grill. We slid into a booth at the nautically themed restaurant, perched on the water overlooking Stearns Wharf and the iconic lighthouse at the gateway of Santa Barbara’s Wine Country. While it was too cloudy to see the Northern Lights, we soothed our disappointment with a delicious meal: Grilled Spanish octopus, Ponzu sashimi sea scallops, Misoyaki black cod and Mussels with Spanish Chorizo.
Sunday, we packed up and loaded up the car before heading around the corner to Dune for coffee. Then we walked up Anacapa Street, stopping into Alessi Patisserie to swoon over their gorgeous pastries before ducking into Jake and Jones, one of our favorite clothing stores, picking up a dress from Momento with a bubble hemline and pockets that was perfect for our Monday morning presentation. Then we ducked into their men’s shop and their boutique corner grocery store, The Eddy, grabbing some beautifully packaged snacks — Fishwife conservas, twisted fennel biscuits and lomo — to stock our LA pantry.
A glass of rose at Frequency Wine Comany fueled us up for the drive to Goleta, where we stopped into Macher, a modern general store, where we picked up some perfume then scooted down to Boathouse at Hendry for a fish platter. We’d schooled our hunger with a lobster roll from Santa Barbara Fish Market, prepared for the crowds at this first come, first serve spot. But, unexpectedly they found us a spot at a high top table right next to the fire. Lobster bisque warmed our insides and left plenty of room for their medium sized fish platter.
After stops at the Montecito Country Mart, where we drooled over the offerings at Clic, Doen, James Perse, Malia Mills and Claire V., and in Summerland, where we wandered through their mesmerizing row of home decor spots — The Well, The Porch, Field & Fort, Botanik, Summerland Antique Collective — we headed back to Los Angeles, sated in body and soul.