The California Coast Guide - Santa Barbara County Part Three
Santa Barbara and Montecito
Hey there! We’ve reached part 3 of 3 for the Santa Barbara County Guide, the grand finale (moving to the Central Coast next!) This guide will focus solely on Santa Barbara and Montecito.
Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Santa Barbara was a relatively frequent destination - from family day trips as a kid to weekend stays with friends attending UCSB in college. It holds a special place in my heart, and I’ve always contemplated living there one day, when I’m more settled and craving a more laid-back lifestyle.
For my IG followers, you got the heads up - I spent an extra week putting this guide together because I overcommitted, and I only want to give you guys the best! I not only used the time to take another day trip up there to cover a few more spots, but I also created a comprehensive Google Map covering ALL SB COUNTY RECS (!!!) Let’s get into it!
Santa Barbara
Stay
Full heads up - Stay can be very spendy in SB. Unless you’re willing to spend $700-800/night on a hotel, I recommend looking into Airbnbs first, and also looking at areas close by like Ojai or Ventura. Luckily, SB is a very easy drive (1.5 hours from LA) and can easily be done in a day if you’re just doing the hits!
Eat
Breakfast/Coffee/Snacks
Dune Coffee - my favorite coffee shop in SB! You may have seen their beans before stocked in some LA shops
Dart Coffee - delicious coffee in a very cute setting. Sometimes Dart hosts mini makers markets across the street, check their IG for dates/times
Helena Ave Bakery - amazing pastry + bread selection, and a lovely breakfast spot too!
Blenders in the Grass - one thing about me… I love a sugary, no health content type of smoothie. Blenders is perfect for that. (Think Jamba Juice but better)
Lunch
La Super-Rica Taqueria - a no frills, cash only spot serving top tier tacos (on FRESH tortillas) and tamales
Brophy Bros - looking for clam chowder in a bread bowl? This is your place. Fresh seafood options too, overlooking the marina no less. Perfect
Santa Barbara Public Market - the town’s riff on a food hall. IMO not the best food SB has to offer but great for a quick bite or if you’re with a group and want options
Dinner
Bibi Ji - INCREDIBLE modern Indian cuisine + natural wine. I can’t wait to go back and try more things. Seat yourself on the back patio for the best vibes. Also where that spooky fishy-looking picture comes from up above ^ a twist on the Santa Barbara staple, uni, with biryani rice inside the shell!
Loquita - delicious farm to table Spanish tapas
To Do
Shop
State Street - for the most part, State Street has a lot of stores that will already be familiar to you. However, coming out of the pandemic the street has become full pedestrian-only and it’s a lovely place to stroll
The Eddy - very new very cute gourmet grocery shop selling local baked goods and curated wine/snacks/pantry ingredients
The Blue Door - incredible 3-floor vintage store! This is a must-stop on every SB trip for me. Primarily furniture/homewares but also some clothing and accessories
The Shopkeepers - women’s boutique
Art from Scrap - a secondhand art supply store; more on this in a future TTS very soon!
Wine Tasting / Breweries
Funk Zone - I will fully admit - the last time I was in the Funk Zone for wine tasting was 2017, LOL. I am usually there in the mornings for coffee & a pastry + shopping before it gets busy. So you may want to phone a friend for winery recs as I’m sure things have changed! But here are a few—
Urban Wine Trail - here’s a comprehensive view of all the wineries in the greater SB area!
Museums
Santa Barbara Historical Museum - Manifesting getting married here one day. Admission is free!
Old Mission Santa Barbara - if I can find the time, I love to sprawl out on the lawn facing the Mission and share snacks with a pal or read. It’s usually at this spot where I start thinking “Wow… I could definitely live here”
Walk the pier for kitschy coastal cuteness
On My Radar For Next Time
Sama Sama Kitchen - Indo-fusion cuisine
Satellite SB - farm to table & veggie-forward fare
Oat Bakery - bread <3
More Mesa Beach - views
Montecito
Montecito Country Mart - a chic and charming outdoor mall akin to the Malibu & Brentwood Country Marts
Clic - women’s boutique/homewares
Mate Gallery - coastal curated homewares and apparel
Bettina - on my radar for next time, DYING to go here! Pizza pizza pizza
San Ysidro Ranch - Voted #1 Resort Hotel in California, Travel & Leisure 2022 (see here) - and I GET IT! The most stunning place, but that comes with a price tag $$$. The resort is closed to the public/restricted to guests only - unless you charm the security guard into letting you take a quick jaunt… or make a reservation at one of the restaurants!
What did I miss?? Reply to this email or in the comments with your SB go-to’s. And ICYMI - Santa Barbara County Part 1 (Solvang, Santa Ynez, Buellton) and Part 2 (Los Olivos, Los Alamos, Lompoc) here. And once again… FULL MAP OF SB COUNTY RECS HERE!
Ticket to Sarahdise Event Digest - Week of 9/18
Every week, I’m sharing events you should be checking out in LA. Here’s this week’s download:
Elysian Valley Arts Collective Festival - This coming Saturday, EVAC is hosting an arts festival along the LA River in you guessed it.. Frogtown! More info at link
Braindead x Jeff Goldblum - EPIC COLLAB ALERT! The limited drop is available now at Braindead Studios, and will go live online this coming Tuesday.
Sweetgreen x Renee Rapp - ANOTHER ECA! Renee Rapp’s Sweetgreen order is available now. Love the visuals for this one. I think I have to try.. I love being involved
Don’t forget - I’m also sharing tons of coastal content up on TikTok as a part of this series, don’t miss it! Thanks for reading, watching, etc!