Aerial view of Montecito, Calif., on March 5, 2021. (David Mcnew/AFP/Getty Images)

The small, wealthy enclave of Montecito, located just south of Santa Barbara, is known for many things. There are the famous residents, for one (including Oprah and, of course, Harry and Meghan), and their famously lavish homes. There's the stunning landscape, sandwiched between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific. And last but not least, the tiny town is littered with high-end resorts.

And now the upscale community, which has about 8,800 residents and had a median home price of a cool $5.5 million in 2024, might soon be a bona fide dining destination. An influx of recent and upcoming openings, some coming from seasoned restaurateurs from the greater Los Angeles area, are about to make sleepy Montecito flush with places to eat.

That's not to say this sunny stretch of coastline has lacked good restaurants. Ever since Bettina opened its doors at the tony Montecito Country Mart in 2018, it's been a destination for artisanal pizza and seasonal Cal-Italian fare. Sushi by Scratch, which opened in 2019 and helped spawn a nationwide chain, earned a Michelin star in 2021 and 2022. And Hillstone fanatics have made Honor Bar, with its sweeping outdoor patio, an always-busy destination for French dips and crispy chicken sandwiches.

The crudo plate at Clark's Oyster Bar in Montecito, Calif. (Photo by Justin Cook)

But recently, the openings have been fast and furious. Late last year, the team from LA's Little Dom's opened the Mediterranean-leaning Bar Lou, after opening Little Dom's Seafood in Carpinteria in 2020. Posh Aspen import Clark's Oyster Bar, which also has locations in Austin and Menlo Park, debuted on Coast Village Road, the town's fancy shopping and dining strip, in December. "Top Chef" contestant Jackson Kalb brought his easygoing LA Cal-Italian spot Ospi to the Post shopping center in May, and that's just the start.

Plenty of newcomers are still on the horizon. Little Mountain, which has New York chef Diego Moya (formerly of Casa Mono and Racines) attached to the project, is hoping to open in Upper Village later this summer. Legendary (and recently controversial) chef Thomas Keller has been linked to an upcoming restaurant at the Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club, and the team behind LA coastal Mexican restaurant Loreto are also slated to open near Ospi in the Post.

The dining room at Bettina in the Montecito Country Mart. (Trevor Tondro Photography)

Rachel Greenspan, who co-owns Bettina with her husband Brendan Smith and recently opened the more casual Tina's Pizzeria in Carpinteria, thinks that the recent influx of new restaurants can be at least partially linked to the pandemic.

"So many people from LA and San Francisco moved up to Montecito permanently, so the population increased," Greenspan says. "Then a bunch of restaurants closed, so there were vacancies, but everything takes so long. It probably took these operators four years to go from being a tenant to construction to opening."

Graham Duncan, one of the partners in Little Mountain, lives in Montecito and has seen the opportunity grow for his team's brand of seasonally focused, wood-fired food.

A raw bar platter at Clark's Oyster Bar in Montecito, Calif. (Photo by Justin Cook)

"The demographic has changed just because of the sheer number of people who are here full-time now. There's just more demand," Duncan says.

And it's not just locals. Montecito's restaurants benefit from the community's affluence as well as a regular stream of visitors from LA.

"People here have the income to frequent and support restaurants often. We get so many people from LA, and we're in a vacation destination," Greenspan says.

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Tom Moorman, a partner at hospitality group McGuire Moorman (owners of Clark's Oyster Bar), also sees the community as one of the best reasons to open a restaurant in the small town.

"There's a lot of Montecito-Aspen synergy," Moorman says, noting that the Clark's in Montecito offers some local specialities like Santa Barbara sea urchin and Dungeness crab from up the coast. "Montecito is probably my favorite place in California. My business partner and I pretty much only want to open Clark's in places where we want to hang out."

The sign for Ospi at the Post in Montecito, Calif. (Courtesy of Ospi)

Dishes at Ospi in Montecito, Calif. (Courtesy of Ospi)

Kalb's outpost of Ospi has been busy since opening; unlike the locations of the restaurant in LA and Orange County, this one serves breakfast and is outfitted with a wood-fired grill.

"I wanted to be up there for years, since 2021, but it's a really small community and everyone knows everyone, so it can be hard to break into," Kalb says. But the benefits to breaking into the scene are obvious.

"We see people going out seven days a week," Kalb says.

Along with all of the typical challenges that come with opening a restaurant, Montecito does have a particular area that can make operating a challenge: staffing. "It's very hard for employees to find affordable living here. A few of our managers commute from Oxnard," Greenspan says. (That's about a 40-minute drive, depending on traffic.)

"For front of house, at least half of our team is seasonal (in college), so we know they're not going to last long," Kalb says, adding that operating a Montecito restaurant from LA presents its own particular challenges. "We thought we had a good infrastructure in place, but when a chef quit with no notice, I've suddenly been working harder than I have in seven years."

Bettina's patio at the Montecito Country Mart. (Courtesy of Bettina)

Greenspan, whose still-buzzy Bettina has reached the seven-year mark, now finds herself part of the old guard of Montecito restaurateurs, and she's curious to see how everything will play out for the newcomers.

"Is there enough business for so many places? Hopefully there is," she says. "I am curious if there will be an LA-ification of Montecito, or if people want to keep it a chill little town."

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