Bar Lou Brings Flavors of the French Riviera to Montecito

If the Santa Barbara coastline is the American Riviera, Montecito is its St. Tropez. This tiny beach town is known for its celebrity residents, jaw-dropping mansions, beautiful beaches and elevated dining scene. Despite being a mere 10 minutes away from Santa Barbara’s bustling State Street, it feels like its own world entirely. The local restaurant landscape has grown over the years, and now restaurateurs Brandon Boudet and Warner Ebbink are bringing Bar Lou, a French Riviera-inspired restaurant focusing on farm-to-table cuisine made with locally sourced ingredients, straight to Coast Village Road.

Chef Boudet and Ebbink, the team behind L.A.’s Little Dom’s and Carpinteria’s Little Dom’s Seafood, didn’t initially set out to open a restaurant in Montecito, and were instead focusing on a larger, ongoing project down in Ojai. However, once they got word that Oliver’s, a vegan restaurant on Coast Village Road, was closing, they knew taking over the space was too good of an opportunity to pass up. “I’ve driven by the location for years and always thought it was a great spot,” Ebbink, who handles the business and architectural side of the restaurants, tells Observer. “Knowing the business that happens on Coast Village Road and how well restaurants typically do there, we recognized the potential and jumped at bid. As the saying goes, opportunity never knocks when you’re sitting home doing nothing.”

The duo, who split their time between Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ojai, brought in Isabelle Dahlin Design and Mahte Design to transform the space into four distinct dining rooms, with mirrored walls, vintage French oak floors and dark green accents. “We were both heavily involved in the finishing touches,” says Ebbink. “We were going for a ‘modern California bungalow meets French bistro’ vibe.” Massive bronze sliding doors open to the patio, contributing to the indoor-outdoor feel, and guests will be able to dine under the stars alongside lush greenery and a cozy fireplace.

By working closely with local farmers and purveyors, Bar Lou hopes to provide some of the freshest fare in Montecito. “We work with local fishermen in and around Carpinteria for both Bar Lou and Little Dom’s Seafood, including Ben Hyman of Wild Local Seafood Co. and Stephanie Mutz of Sea Stephanie Fish, who has the best uni from Santa Barbara,” chef Boudet explains. “We also visit many different farmers markets to find the freshest produce in Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Ojai.”

While Italian food seems to reign supreme in Montecito, Bar Lou will be expanding options with a menu geared toward French Mediterranean flavors. “We saw an opportunity to bring a new energy to a town that’s full of some great ‘old school’ spots and figured we could add something different,” Ebbink says. “Brandon is feeling energized by the French Mediterranean cuisine, but most importantly, Bar Lou offers an intimate scale where we can put our own personal touch on everything.”

The menu will revolve around fresh seafood, vibrant spices and premier produce. From crunchy fried zucchini blossoms to charcoal-grilled beets with horseradish cashew crema, even patrons who follow a plant-based or vegetarian diet will find plenty of options. “The smoked black cod smørrebrød is our take on the Danish open-faced sandwich,” says Boudet. “It features house-smoked cod, dill pollen crème fraiche and pickled fennel, and we serve it on griddled, gluten-free bread sourced from Oat Bakery.”

The sea urchin spaghetti is a classic Santa Barbara dish that locals will love, but chef Boudet expects the chicory, manchego, pecan, date and sherry vinaigrette salad to become a signature Bar Lou item. The menu will also feature a solid selection of decadent desserts created by the restaurant group’s longtime pastry chef, Ann Kirk. Highlights include a vegan chocolate avocado mousse made with coconut cream and cocoa nib brittle and a golden-brown corn, blackberry and ricotta fritters with whipped crème fraiche, which are reminiscent of New Orleans beignets.

Of course, no dinner in Santa Barbara is complete without a bottle of vino. “We worked with a friend of ours, Drew Cuddy, who owns Satellite SB to curate a wine list that features over 30 varietals from France and California,” Boudet tells Observer. The team also put together a cocktail list of original signatures and modernized classics. The Negroni un Café elevates the classic negroni with a coffee-infused gin while the Jaune (“yellow” in French) is a delicate combination of French spirits, yellow chartreuse and lemon. 

Though Bar Lou will only offer dinner service the first few weeks of opening, Boudet and Ebbink plan on offering lunch service along with weekend brunch soon. In addition to bringing back the best patio in Montecito, the team is providing an entirely new dining concept for locals while bringing a true taste of the South of France to the American Riviera.