The Santa Ynez Valley, heart of Santa Barbara wine country on California’s Central Coast, will run its annual Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Weeks for the ninth time, this year expanding the promotion to two weeks: January 27 through February 10, 2019. Part of Visit California’s “California Restaurant Month”, this year’s Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Weeks feature three-course meal deals – all $20.19-plus – at a record 32 restaurants in the six Santa Ynez Valley towns of Ballard, Buellton, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez, and Solvang.

In addition to culinary adventures made more approachable in price, seven of the region’s wineries and tasting rooms will offer exclusive tasting deals and experiences, a once-a-year chance to explore wines from both emerging and established labels at special rates, with some added benefits.

“We originally planned [Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Weeks] as a hospitality promo to spur overnight visits to the Santa Ynez Valley during what is traditionally a slow time of year, but both visitors and locals simply eat it up … pun intended. Avid fans of this promotion wait all year for this opportunity to hit multiple ‘SYV’ restaurants within a short time range, and it gives visitors to the area ample – and affordable – excuses for a wine country getaway,” says Shelby Sim, President / CEO of Visit the Santa Ynez Valley.

As added fuel for either staycations or foodie road trips, nine Santa Ynez Valley lodging properties will offer room discounts and assorted perks during the Restaurant Weeks stretch. Hotels, inns and glammed-up RV resorts are all represented from iconic, family-friendly roadside stops to lap-of-luxury, design-heavy boutique stays.

Sim continues, “Santa Ynez Valley’s food scene is rapidly evolving in terms of both quality and quantity; it’s even challenging the region’s reputation for world-class wines. Our restaurants these days, rule.”

Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Weeks menus shine with farm-fresh examples of wine country’s seasonal bounty, with tasting menus crafted by celebrated – and in some cases, celebrity – chefs. Exemplary, and locavore, Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Weeks dishes include S.Y. Kitchen executive chef Luca Crestanelli’s “Bird’s Nest Lasagna” (with fontina cheese, roasted butternut squash, chanterelle mushrooms), his “Fried Sous Vide Organic Egg” (with cheese fondue and chicory), and his “Saffron Gnocchetti (with butter and sage, optional bone marrow, raspadura cheese). At The Bear and Star in Los Olivos, chef/partner John Cox’s Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Weeks menus include the likes of his “Wagyu Empanada” (with black beans and Cotija cheese), utilizing proteins pulled from nearby Fess Parker Ranch.

In Solvang, new chef de cuisine at Root 246, Crystal “Chef Pink” DeLongpré, puts her locally- and sustainably-sourced, TV chef touches on an “American Lamb Burger” (Bellwether Farms Jersey ricotta, house-pickled mustard seed, smoky tomato jam, served with fries or Chef Pink’s famous Brussels sprouts), which is destined for the eatery and lounge’s Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Weeks menu.

The food-centric hotspot of Los Alamos will boast chef and restaurant participants like the town’s culinary founders, chef Jesper Johansson of Plenty on Bell and chef Clark Staub at his Full of Life Flatbread enterprise; chef Drew Terp of PICO fame; chef Conrad Gonzales’ Valle Fresh; and Norman restaurant and bar, the dining and drinking component at mid-century motor lodge marvel, Skyview Los Alamos.

At Buellton’s pioneering Santa Ynez Valley food-scape player, Industrial Eats, chef/owners Jeff and Janet Olsson will celebrate the foods of, with 100% of proceeds benefitting, the People of Yemen. Yemeni dishes will comprise the bistro’s Restaurant Weeks menu, with specialties like Shourba Bilsen (lamb broth lentil soup with coriander), Hor’ee (braised beef shank with basmati rice), and Bint Al-Sahn (dough cake with honey).

 

Select, participating wineries will offer food and wine pairings, such as wines paired with craft chocolates, artisan cookies or locally-curated cheeses, while participating hotels offer room discounts (some as much as 20.19%), with certain properties also pampering Restaurant Weeks guests with complimentary bottles of local wine or free shuttle service to and from Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Weeks dinners.

The 2019 list of participating Santa Ynez Valley restaurants, wineries and lodging properties includes:

RESTAURANTS

Ballard

  • Ballard Inn & The Gathering Table, 2436 Baseline Ave., 800-638-2466

Buellton

  • Campfire Café (at Flying Flags RV Resort & Campground), 180 Avenue of Flags, 805-688-3716
  • Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., 45 Industrial Way, 805-694-2252
  • Firestone Walker Brewing Co., 620 McMurray Rd., 805-697-4777
  • Hitching Post II, 406 E Hwy 246, 805-688-0676
  • Industrial Eats, 181 Industrial Way, 805-688-8807
  • La Tequila Restaurant, 35 W Hwy 246, 805-697-7776
  • Santa Ynez Valley Marriott, 555 McMurray Rd., 805-688-1000

Los Alamos

  • Full of Life Flatbread, 225 Bell St., 805-344-4400
  • Norman at Skyview, 9150 US 101 Hwy., 805-344-0080
  • PICO, 458 Bell St., 805-344-1122
  • Plenty on Bell, 508 Bell St., 805-344-3020
  • Valle Fresh, 380 Bell St., 805-865-2282

Los Olivos

  • The Bear and Star, 2860 Grand Ave., 805-686-1359
  • Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café, 2879 Grand Ave., 805-688-7265

Santa Ynez

  • The Lucky Hen Larder, 1095 Meadowvale Rd., 805-691-9448
  • S.Y. Kitchen, 1110 Faraday St., 805-691-9794
  • Trattoria Grappolo, 3687 Sagunto St., 805-688-6899
  • Willows Restaurant + Bar (at Chumash Casino Resort), 3400 CA-246, 805-686-0855

Solvang

  • Cecco Ristorante, 475 1st St., 805-688-8880
  • First & Oak, 409 1st St., 805-688-1703
  • Fresco Valley Café, 442 Atterdag Rd., 805-688-8857
  • Hill Haven Provisions, 448 Atterdag Rd., 805-691-9025
  • Hummingbird Restaurant, 453 Atterdag Rd., 805-403-7100
  • Leonardo’s Ristorante 632 Alamo Pintado Rd., 805-686-0846
  • Los Arroyos Mexican Restaurant, 1992 Old Mission Dr., 805-693-2994
  • Mad & Vin at The Landsby, 1576 Mission Dr., 805-688-3121
  • River Grill at The Alisal, 150 Alisal Rd., 805-688-7784
  • Root 246, 420 Alisal Rd., 805-686-8681
  • Solvang Brewing Co., 1547 Mission Dr., 805-688-2337
  • Succulent Café Wine Charcuterie, 1555-1557 Mission Dr., 805-691-9444
  • Toscana Pizzeria, 485 Alisal Rd. #163, 805-697-7445

WINERIES

  • Alma Rosa Winery, 181-C Industrial Way, Buellton, 805-691-9395
  • Hitching Post Wines, 420 E Hwy 246, Buellton, 805-688-0676
  • Kalyra Winery, 343 N Refugio Rd., Santa Ynez, 805-693-8864
  • Loring Wine Company, 201-B Industrial Way, Buellton, 805-691-1300
  • Pence Vineyards & Winery, 1909 CA-246, Buellton, 805-735-7000
  • Roblar Winery & Vineyards, 3010 Roblar Ave., 805-686-2603
  • Sunstone Winery, 125 N Refugio Rd., Santa Ynez, 805-688-9463

LODGING

  • Flying Flags RV Resort & Campground, 180 Avenue of Flags, Buellton, 805-688-3716
  • ForFriends Inn, 1121 Edison St., Santa Ynez, 805-693-0303
  • Hampton Inn & Suites Buellton / Santa Ynez Valley, 600 McMurray Rd., Buellton, 805-686-1555
  • King Frederik Inn, 1617 Copenhagen Dr., Solvang, 805-688-5515
  • New Haven Inn, 271 Alisal Rd, Solvang, 805-618-8541
  • Pea Soup Andersen’s Inn, 51 E. Highway 246, Buellton, 800-732-7687
  • Santa Ynez Inn, 3627 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez, 805-688-5588
  • Sideways Inn, 114 E CA-246, Buellton, 805-688-8448
  • The Landsby, 1576 Mission Dr., Solvang, 805-688-3121

Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Weeks menus do not include tax, tip, or beverages, and reservations are strongly encouraged. Exact dates of participation vary by establishment.

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