A Hidden Gem in Santa Barbara – Stella Mare’s Restaurant

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There is an incredible restaurant on the border of Santa Barbara and Montecito that is a bit off the beat and path.  It is a hidden gem; Stella Mare’s Restaurant.  I attended an afternoon wedding reception there last year and found it to be quite charming.  I remember the food being good, especially for a large catered event, so I decided that I wanted to investigate further and try some of their other offerings.  The building is an historic landmark house on the Bird Refuge.  It was built in 1872 by Captain W. H. Johnson on De La Vina Street in downtown Santa Barbara for his family.  It was moved to this site in 1962 to become an antique store until 1996 when it became Stella Mare’s.  There are three distinctly styled rooms.  We were seated in the glass enclosed Greenhouse Room which adorns a fireplace and sofas giving it a very homey feel.

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The service was excellent!  I was very impressed that every restaurant I visited in the Santa Barbara area this trip, offered top notch service.  While waiting for our other guest to arrive we enjoyed Hendrick’s martini’s with hand stuffed blue cheese olives that were not on the menu, but graciously made for us by request.

Hendrick's Martini with hand stuffed blue cheese olives
Hendrick’s Martini with hand stuffed blue cheese olives

To pair with our martini’s we opted for their Escargots Persillade, escargot served in the shell with garlic and parsley butter.  In my opinion, the only way to eat escargot!  They served us a basket of warm fresh baked french bread with a crispy crust and a delicate soft interior, the perfect condiment to soak up the last of the garlic butter.  

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Escargots Persillade

We also ordered the French Onion Tartine with lardons, caramelized onion, cipolini and gruyere.  It was like French Onion Soup without the soup served on a slice of baguette.  I found it to be tasty but uninteresting.

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French Onion Tartine

I tend to follow the philosophy, “When in Rome, do as the Romans”, so after viewing the extensive steak options on the menu, I decided to order steak.  At our table we tried both the Fillet Mignon Classique (Maitre d’ Hotel – which was an herbed butter sauce) and the Fillet Mignon au Poivre (a Cognac Peppercorn sauce).  They were high quality, butter knife -tender cuts of meat with delicious sauces to compliment them.  Each steak was served with a side of roasted potatoes served crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.  We selected 4 side dishes from their vegetable selections; Ratatouille, Sauteed Mushrooms, Creamed Spinach and Brussels Sprouts & Bacon.  All of them were heavenly, but I was most impressed with the Creamed Spinach.  In most restaurants it is a butter laden, cream dish that tends to be overly rich.  This, however, had a most delectable, flavorful light sauce that complimented the spinach incredibly well.  A true steak house style meal at it’s best!

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A perfect finish to the meal was a selection of two of their McConnell’s Ultra Premium Ice Cream flavors.  The peanut butter and salted caramel chip.  Thankfully they were 3 small scoops of each and a berry.  Enough to satisfy a sweet tooth without making you feel overly stuffed.  

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I highly recommend trying this restaurant for a special occasion or any time that you want to be pampered and enjoy a fabulous meal.  I know I’ll be back!

 

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Comment on “A Hidden Gem in Santa Barbara – Stella Mare’s Restaurant”

  1. What a fabulous meal and a wonderful recounting of it. I’ll have to check out Stella Mare.

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