Best Fine Dining Restaurants in Montecito

Dined here while on vacation from LA. What an experience! Is this place pricey? Yes. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it. To start, we were seated at the upper terrace. It had such a wonderful atmosphere there. There isn’t much lighting, but there are oil lamps at each table as well as a mini light for looking at the menu. A nice touch. The wine and drink menu is very extensive. I ended up with a glass of wine while my wife had a mocktail that was served smoked with pear wood. Presentation was A+. For starters, we had the tuna tartare and the strawberry gazpacho. The tuna was delicate and served with seaweed chips. My wife was raving about the gazpacho as well. For entrees, my wife had the black cod and I had the duck a l’orange. The sauce was flambéd table side. While the duck was excellent, the black cod was better, in my opinion. We also shared two sides: the mashed potatoes and the broccolini. I’m not sure how they made the potatoes so creamy. They were very, very good. The broccolini wasn’t too bad either, but wasn’t as good as the rest. The char flavor was a bit much at times. For desert, we shared the lemon tart. They use house grown Meyer lemons. It was excellent as well. Overall, the food was excellent, the service was superb, and the atmosphere was charming and romantic for the two of us. While the pricing would prevent us from coming here often, I’d 100% recommend Stonehouse for special occasions. We’ll definitely be coming back next time we’re in the area.

Excellent service from the hostess to the bus person. Very low key, quiet, with delicious food and wine. My sister and I stayed at the Beachside Inn next door so this was a lovely way to end a day I’d sightseeing. We recommend the swordfish (special), seafood pasta, all of the salads, and the chocolate torte for dessert. Fantastic wine list.

Our first visit to Lilac as former California residents in Santa Barbara on vacation. Excellent service, clearly well trained and highly focused on delivering exceptional dining. Our wait staff team provided great suggestions and was attentive without being invasive. The food was excellent all around, high quality, classically prepared, and delivered on all fronts. Ambiance was perfect, understated, lively jazz, and dinner appropriate lighting. A perfect date night end to our quick vacation.

I love Stella Mare's...have been going there for more than 20 years...and I'm very sad that it is closing on January 1st. The old French country house ambiance is so enjoyable, and the food is wonderful. I truly hope they will find a suitable new location in Santa Barbara and reopen soon. It's especially troubling that the building will become a Mexican restaurant. I love Mexican food, but it's not as if we don't already have more Mexican restaurants than a town the size of Santa Barbara could possibly need! Farewell, Stella...hope to see you again soon.

The most phenomenal meal and filet we’ve ever had. 10/10 for special occasion dinner.