The Wine Merchant used to be our go-to lunch spot in Los Olivos. It isn't anymore. Water was served in plastic cups. Wine pours were skimpy. The curry chicken salad had neither curry nor much chicken. The butternut squash and burrata salad consisted of mounds of arugula and little squash with a few cranberries. We asked for bread to go with our salads and were told that we would have to put in an order--for bread! The place was only half full on a Sunday, when it was always bustling before. It's definitely slid downhill.
Nigel U
We nipped in for a late lunch and sat at the bar to enjoy a couple of really good salads along with two different wine flights. We were actually staying on the owners property in an Air BnB, so know that a lot of of their produce comes straight from their own land which is makes all the difference. Service was great, atmosphere was relaxed and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Also def worth noting that they have a dedicated late lunch menu which is absolutely perfect if like us you find that time escapes you with so much on offer in this beautiful area!
Beverly Byrum
We had a delicious pizza very good, oh, and the wine was superb!
rosiea869
A lovely spot in Los Olivos. It’s a small town so there’s limited options, but we thoroughly enjoyed both times we ate here. The serving staff are all fantastic and super friendly, there is a huge amount of choice of wine and the food was delicious. We particularly enjoyed the steak, gnocchi and burger. It is not cheap (but nowhere in this town is) but we feel it was worth the money given the quality. Great atmosphere. Worth noting everywhere in town closes pretty early; this restaurant stops serving at 8pm so by 8:45pm they were closing up shop.
Chimay_Foster
We decided to eat at the Cafe on Sunday, October 16, 2022, after tasting in Los Olivos. We did not have a reservation, so we had no problem waiting up the road at one of the tasting rooms. To be brief, the food and service are fantastic and consistently great. I believe the Cafe was hit pretty hard because of the pandemic and the difficult restrictions placed on the restaurant industry. They are short of kitchen staff like many places so they will not fill the place to capacity if it has a negative effect on customer service. This may have been an aberration given that it was a Sunday. Nevertheless, if there is wait, it is well worth it.
danburton59
We sat at the bar and ordered a couple of beers. At the same time we placed an order for An appetizer and our meal. We waited 30 minutes and still nothing. A couple that came in behind us was already served a pizza and no one had checked back with us. I flagged down another server and she immediately brought us a cold and not fresh appetizer. The owner or manager was very close to us doing a winetasting and I had called him over to explain our situation. He immediately left and was concerned about the timestamp on tickets as I had stated that a couple came in behind us was served their pizza. Instead of dealing with me directly and the problem that we were having he insisted that it was all about timestamps. Our server, Taylor was for sure not wanting to be there this day as he could care less about us and our situation. The manager/owner then proceeded to come back and say well I’m not gonna charge you for your food, which we never received but I am going to charge you for your beers. The beers probably cost about three dollars and for that amount he lost two good customers that usually leave there with a couple bottles of wine as well. We’ve never left there without spending at least $200, we won’t be back.
Bickman50
Haven’t been to this establishment in awhile. However we enjoyed our Pre-pandemic visit some time ago and decided to go again. Well, we were so please either everyone and Eve thing at the Wine Merchant. Our waiter Karrie was extremely helpful on selecting a local wine for lunch. My wife wanted.Chardonnay and I wanted a red. She requested a couple and then gave us a taste so we could select the one we liked best. My wife had a ABC Chardonnay and I had 2016 Bernat, Sangiovese. Both selections were very good and I especially like the Sangiovese I bought a bottle before leaving.For entrees they have a a good selection. I opted for the mushroom and cheese ravioli which was fantastic I’m my opinion and plentiful. My wife decided on the Ahi Tuna tostadas which she really enjoyed also. I can recommend the Wine Merchant Cafe without hesitation. You won’t be disappointed. We plan on eating whenever we visit again.
861reedw
Fun place to visit with some history as a featured restaurant in the movie sideways. It is part restaurant and part wine merchant. There is a large bar in the middle separating the two sides. Wine merchant side has a large selection or interesting wines. Problem is there are no prices listed on each bottle so you have to request a price sheet and look each bottle up as you browse. Not ideal. The food and service were very good, though we could sense what appeared like new ownership and growing pains with staff. For us, it was a great place to get a beer and some food to break up all the wine tasting. And it excelled in those categories. The Hazy IPA was great and went well with the flat bread and hummus - a very tasty appetizer. The mushroom pizza was very good as well.
Curtis F
As first time diners at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe, we were very pleased with our delicious lunch. I enjoyed the hamburger with a side salad, and my husband chose the yummy Cafe Turkey Sandwich. I especially liked the 1,000 dressing on the burger plus the house made bun. My husband said the turkey tasted fresh roasted. His fries were excellent, too. Service was great and our server even recommended a picturesque rout back to Santa Barbara.
ConnieJR48
We've dined here many times prior to Covid. Yesterday we were only offered the choice of alley or patio next to gigantic street barriers...we chose the alley..the server seemed overwhelmed and forgot many of our requests....tea, cheese on the side, extra plate to share our main courses...and the loud, repetitive musician strumming his own arrangements of pop songs absolutely ruined our ability to converse. At the end of our meal when using the restroom we saw many people dining inside, which would have been my preference but was not even offered as an option to us.
Los Olivos Wine Merchant has been a favorite of ours for many years. We love eating on the porch and enjoying great food and service. Yesterday we came back since the COVID pandemic and we were extremely disappointed. The menu was extremely limited from the past visits. We ordered a Reuben sandwich for me, and the Little Gem Salad and Ziti for my wife (the waitperson did recommend not going with the Ziti. The Reuben was good, but the salad was gross as it was covered in dressing. They also brought the Ziti and it looked very dry. We then ordered the Ravioli instead. The Ravioli was really good. Service was not what we have had in the past.
Dorothy S
Great service and wonderful gourmet lunch. Lots of variety in the menu with great salads and pizza as well as sandwiches. Portions are very generous so my daughter and I split a salad and appetizer. The flatbread with humus and tapenade appetizer was generous and so tasty. Loved the musician playing guitar and singing to enhance the atmosphere.
ellerose3737
Outdoor lunch on a beautiful day with delicious food and a lovely Bernat wine tasting. The baked Brie was amazing! The gnocchi was among the best I have ever had—so pillowy and wonderful with the light sauce and shaved Brussel sprouts and carrots. Like spring on a plate. The Sangiovese was also among the best I’ve tasted. The short rib had beautiful flavor, but was on the dry side; the accompaniments were lovely, however.
GayleS164
We live in NY, and have been coming to winters in Santa Barbara for more than 20 yrs. The food at this cafe is really spectacular. Fresh vegetables and meat cooked amazing ways. The wine stock is wonderful. Even my grandchildren have visited the cafe since they were children. For them it is the bread and dipping oil.
Eurotraveler280
While looking for a place to have lunch we happened upon this place. From the outside you cannot get a feel for how large it is inside. Plenty of people having lunch at this white table clothed restaurant. Do not let the white table clothed tables fool you into thinking this is an expensive place to eat. This is a casual eating place. The food was good, nicely presented and came to the table hot, always a good sign. They have a very good wine and beer selection as well. Will certainly stop here for lunch next time in Los Olivos.
The Wine Merchant used to be our go-to lunch spot in Los Olivos. It isn't anymore. Water was served in plastic cups. Wine pours were skimpy. The curry chicken salad had neither curry nor much chicken. The butternut squash and burrata salad consisted of mounds of arugula and little squash with a few cranberries. We asked for bread to go with our salads and were told that we would have to put in an order--for bread! The place was only half full on a Sunday, when it was always bustling before. It's definitely slid downhill.
We nipped in for a late lunch and sat at the bar to enjoy a couple of really good salads along with two different wine flights. We were actually staying on the owners property in an Air BnB, so know that a lot of of their produce comes straight from their own land which is makes all the difference. Service was great, atmosphere was relaxed and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Also def worth noting that they have a dedicated late lunch menu which is absolutely perfect if like us you find that time escapes you with so much on offer in this beautiful area!
We had a delicious pizza very good, oh, and the wine was superb!
A lovely spot in Los Olivos. It’s a small town so there’s limited options, but we thoroughly enjoyed both times we ate here. The serving staff are all fantastic and super friendly, there is a huge amount of choice of wine and the food was delicious. We particularly enjoyed the steak, gnocchi and burger. It is not cheap (but nowhere in this town is) but we feel it was worth the money given the quality. Great atmosphere. Worth noting everywhere in town closes pretty early; this restaurant stops serving at 8pm so by 8:45pm they were closing up shop.
We decided to eat at the Cafe on Sunday, October 16, 2022, after tasting in Los Olivos. We did not have a reservation, so we had no problem waiting up the road at one of the tasting rooms. To be brief, the food and service are fantastic and consistently great. I believe the Cafe was hit pretty hard because of the pandemic and the difficult restrictions placed on the restaurant industry. They are short of kitchen staff like many places so they will not fill the place to capacity if it has a negative effect on customer service. This may have been an aberration given that it was a Sunday. Nevertheless, if there is wait, it is well worth it.
We sat at the bar and ordered a couple of beers. At the same time we placed an order for An appetizer and our meal. We waited 30 minutes and still nothing. A couple that came in behind us was already served a pizza and no one had checked back with us. I flagged down another server and she immediately brought us a cold and not fresh appetizer. The owner or manager was very close to us doing a winetasting and I had called him over to explain our situation. He immediately left and was concerned about the timestamp on tickets as I had stated that a couple came in behind us was served their pizza. Instead of dealing with me directly and the problem that we were having he insisted that it was all about timestamps. Our server, Taylor was for sure not wanting to be there this day as he could care less about us and our situation. The manager/owner then proceeded to come back and say well I’m not gonna charge you for your food, which we never received but I am going to charge you for your beers. The beers probably cost about three dollars and for that amount he lost two good customers that usually leave there with a couple bottles of wine as well. We’ve never left there without spending at least $200, we won’t be back.
Haven’t been to this establishment in awhile. However we enjoyed our Pre-pandemic visit some time ago and decided to go again. Well, we were so please either everyone and Eve thing at the Wine Merchant. Our waiter Karrie was extremely helpful on selecting a local wine for lunch. My wife wanted.Chardonnay and I wanted a red. She requested a couple and then gave us a taste so we could select the one we liked best. My wife had a ABC Chardonnay and I had 2016 Bernat, Sangiovese. Both selections were very good and I especially like the Sangiovese I bought a bottle before leaving.For entrees they have a a good selection. I opted for the mushroom and cheese ravioli which was fantastic I’m my opinion and plentiful. My wife decided on the Ahi Tuna tostadas which she really enjoyed also. I can recommend the Wine Merchant Cafe without hesitation. You won’t be disappointed. We plan on eating whenever we visit again.
Fun place to visit with some history as a featured restaurant in the movie sideways. It is part restaurant and part wine merchant. There is a large bar in the middle separating the two sides. Wine merchant side has a large selection or interesting wines. Problem is there are no prices listed on each bottle so you have to request a price sheet and look each bottle up as you browse. Not ideal. The food and service were very good, though we could sense what appeared like new ownership and growing pains with staff. For us, it was a great place to get a beer and some food to break up all the wine tasting. And it excelled in those categories. The Hazy IPA was great and went well with the flat bread and hummus - a very tasty appetizer. The mushroom pizza was very good as well.
As first time diners at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe, we were very pleased with our delicious lunch. I enjoyed the hamburger with a side salad, and my husband chose the yummy Cafe Turkey Sandwich. I especially liked the 1,000 dressing on the burger plus the house made bun. My husband said the turkey tasted fresh roasted. His fries were excellent, too. Service was great and our server even recommended a picturesque rout back to Santa Barbara.
We've dined here many times prior to Covid. Yesterday we were only offered the choice of alley or patio next to gigantic street barriers...we chose the alley..the server seemed overwhelmed and forgot many of our requests....tea, cheese on the side, extra plate to share our main courses...and the loud, repetitive musician strumming his own arrangements of pop songs absolutely ruined our ability to converse. At the end of our meal when using the restroom we saw many people dining inside, which would have been my preference but was not even offered as an option to us.
Restaurantji Recommends
Los Olivos Wine Merchant has been a favorite of ours for many years. We love eating on the porch and enjoying great food and service. Yesterday we came back since the COVID pandemic and we were extremely disappointed. The menu was extremely limited from the past visits. We ordered a Reuben sandwich for me, and the Little Gem Salad and Ziti for my wife (the waitperson did recommend not going with the Ziti. The Reuben was good, but the salad was gross as it was covered in dressing. They also brought the Ziti and it looked very dry. We then ordered the Ravioli instead. The Ravioli was really good. Service was not what we have had in the past.
Great service and wonderful gourmet lunch. Lots of variety in the menu with great salads and pizza as well as sandwiches. Portions are very generous so my daughter and I split a salad and appetizer. The flatbread with humus and tapenade appetizer was generous and so tasty. Loved the musician playing guitar and singing to enhance the atmosphere.
Outdoor lunch on a beautiful day with delicious food and a lovely Bernat wine tasting. The baked Brie was amazing! The gnocchi was among the best I have ever had—so pillowy and wonderful with the light sauce and shaved Brussel sprouts and carrots. Like spring on a plate. The Sangiovese was also among the best I’ve tasted. The short rib had beautiful flavor, but was on the dry side; the accompaniments were lovely, however.
We live in NY, and have been coming to winters in Santa Barbara for more than 20 yrs. The food at this cafe is really spectacular. Fresh vegetables and meat cooked amazing ways. The wine stock is wonderful. Even my grandchildren have visited the cafe since they were children. For them it is the bread and dipping oil.
While looking for a place to have lunch we happened upon this place. From the outside you cannot get a feel for how large it is inside. Plenty of people having lunch at this white table clothed restaurant. Do not let the white table clothed tables fool you into thinking this is an expensive place to eat. This is a casual eating place. The food was good, nicely presented and came to the table hot, always a good sign. They have a very good wine and beer selection as well. Will certainly stop here for lunch next time in Los Olivos.
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