santa ynez food zine
vol. 01 / fall 2026
Los Olivos
The tasting-room capital.
Dinner in Los Olivos
Bar Le Côte's seafood or The Tavern at Mattei's, a former stagecoach stop. How to pick and how to book each.
A day in the valley
Three routes from LA, each with lunch, walk-in tastings and dinner before the drive.
Walk-in wine tasting
Who pours without a booking, town by town, and where you must book.
Los Olivos hit list
Bar Le Côte
Los Olivos
A Michelin-listed seafood tavern from the team behind Bell's, cooking from the Central Coast's daily catch.
The Tavern at Mattei's Tavern
Los Olivos
Dinner in Mattei's Tavern, an 1886 stagecoach stop, with a Michelin-listed, ranch-inspired menu and produce from its own garden.
Carhartt Vineyard Tasting Room
Los Olivos
Friday live music 5–8pm at the only place to buy Carhartt. Tasting room at 2939 Grand Avenue.
Verified picks coming soon.
The valley's tasting-room capital: 35-plus rooms on a few walkable blocks, where Dragonette's 97-point Sta. Rita Hills Pinot and Stolpman's Ballard Canyon estate wines pour steps apart.
Los Olivos has more than 35 tasting rooms in a few walkable blocks (Visit the Santa Ynez Valley). [3][5][12]
Where to eat in Los Olivos
Start within a 5-minute walk of the flagpole on Grand Avenue: seafood at Bar Le Côte on Alamo Pintado Avenue, a porch table at Nella and the Wine Wall from the Sideways double date at Los Olivos Café, both on Grand. For dinner, add the 1886 stagecoach stop at Mattei’s Tavern on Railway Avenue. Early in the week, check first: Bar Le Côte closes Monday and Tuesday, and Petros Winery, just outside town on Foxen Canyon Road, closes Monday to Wednesday. Our Los Olivos restaurants open today grid has every kitchen’s hours for each day of the week.
Los Olivos guides
Eat · Santa Ynez Valley
Best pizza in the Santa Ynez Valley
Stone-hearth flatbread in Los Alamos on 50 Top Pizza's 2026 USA list, slices at Stica and pinsa at the Fess Parker inn from the S.Y. Kitchen team, and contact-free delivery from Gino's in Buellton. Eleven pizza stops and when each one is open.
Vacation rentals in the Santa Ynez Valley: the rules
Solvang caps short-term rentals at 40 permits downtown, Buellton bans them in homes and the county wants a permit. Here is how to book a legal one.
Figueroa Mountain: drive, wildflowers & ride
Spring poppies and lupine from February to April on the Los Padres National Forest mountain above Los Olivos, plus a famously hard road climb.
Los Olivos restaurants
Bar Le Côte, the Michelin-listed seafood tavern Eater calls a Los Olivos gem, dinner in Mattei's Tavern's 1886 stagecoach stop, and the easy lunches and coffee between tasting rooms.
Los Olivos Grocery & BB Sushi
Wine-trail sandwiches by day, then BB Sushi at the same Highway 154 counter after 4pm.
Where to stay in Los Olivos
Only two hotels in town: the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn, with a fireplace in every room, or The Inn at Mattei's Tavern, an 1886 stagecoach stop with a Michelin Key. How they compare, plus pet cabins.
Los Olivos wine tasting
The valley's tasting-room capital: Sta. Rita Hills Pinot at Dragonette (97 points) and Brewer-Clifton, and Stolpman's Ballard Canyon estate wines, a short walk apart. Fees and walk-in rules for nine rooms.
Foxen Canyon Wine Trail
Old ranch country from Los Olivos to Santa Maria: taste in Foxen Winery's Shack, an 1860s blacksmith shop, picnic at Zaca Mesa and stop at the 1875 San Ramon Chapel, where Benjamin Foxen, the sea captain Foxen Canyon is named for, is buried.
Santa Ynez hotels
Polo House's 14 keys built around the valley's polo culture, The Genevieve in the old western township, and a 21+ rooftop pool at the AAA Four Diamond Chumash Casino Resort. Plus quieter inns in Los Olivos and the hamlet of Ballard.
Eat · Santa Ynez Valley
Michelin restaurants in the Santa Ynez Valley
Bell's holds the valley's one Michelin star, and its tables open on the 1st of each month. The other three on the 2026 list, and who dropped off.
Wineries with restaurants in the Santa Ynez Valley
Chef Terri Buzzard cooks from Roblar Farm next door, Refugio Ranch fries a weekend smashburger and Petros runs a full Greek kitchen. Where to eat a full meal at a winery, and how to book.
Cult wineries: scores and how to get in
Stolpman's 98 from Vinous, Dragonette's 100 from Dunnuck, and which famous names pour by appointment or list only.
The Inn at Mattei's Tavern: know before you go
An 1886 stagecoach stop with a Michelin Key, where the $75 resort fee buys cruiser bikes and Mercedes-Benz house cars. Spa prices, The Tavern and the history.
Fess Parker Wine Country Inn: know before you go
A fireplace in all 19 rooms, free tastings at Fess Parker Winery and Epiphany, Nella Kitchen & Bar downstairs and an expansion up for a vote.
Weekend · Santa Ynez Valley
Santa Ynez Valley wedding guest guide
From the porch at Mattei's Tavern to the 1880 Union Hotel: where to sleep near seven open venues, the rehearsal dinner, the brunch after and how to get home when the valley bus has stopped.
Weekend · Santa Ynez Valley
Live music in the Santa Ynez Valley this week
Maverick Saloon's weekend bands, Carhartt's back patio and the last of the winery Fridays. Dates, times and cover from each venue's own calendar.
Taste · Santa Ynez Valley
Wine tasting experiences in the Santa Ynez Valley
Ride a horse through the vines for $150, meet a camel and a zebra on a private ranch tour, or blend your own bottle. Prices, lengths and booking for each.
Weekend · Santa Ynez Valley
Stay at a winery in the Santa Ynez Valley
Sleep at Sunstone, in Carhartt's Sangiovese or in Firestone Vineyard's 1890s farmhouse. Who sleeps how many, what it costs and who takes dogs.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons and Unsplash. Photo credits and licenses