MONTECITO COCKTAIL BARS
High Spirits on the American Riviera
Lion’s Tale (Coast Village Road)
After several tries over the last decade, the Montecito Inn has finally landed the perfect concessionaire to complement its classic hotel.
What was once (years ago) a full-on restaurant with an auxiliary bar is now a full/blown cocktail lounge on steroids with bar plates as an aside. That said, one such aside, their angus filet mignon & crispy frites (for only $38) may be one of Montecito’s best steak dishes.
Service: The Tale’s young & hip mixologists are knowledgable, obliging and attentive.
Everything you want in a bar down to a whole spectrum of secondary ingredients for stirring or shaking anything the nucleus accumbens in your brain demand. (And they stock Sipsmith gin, bless them).
If Hemingway was still around, you’d find him here (or at nearby Bar Lou, glowingly reviewed here two weeks ago)…
…drinking a mojito stirred with melon, blanc vermouth, lime, kirsch, soda and fresh mint leaves.
In place of Hem, you might find Montecito-based Thomas Sanchez or TC Boyle, two of America’s finest novelists. (Haven’t see either here yet, but if they’re still guzzling down the road, well, they’re smart enough to figure out where they need to be.)
Mondays: All-evening Happy Hour.
Live music Wednesdays at 6.
Local (Coast Village Road Montecito)
Aside from being local, this watering hole/eatery has struggled to find a clear identity. Menus and hours shift unpredictably—and it feels like they’re still figuring out what they want to be.
The horseshoe bar? Beautiful. But, unfortunately, the pours don’t justify their premium pricing.
Some restaurateurs never seem to learn: profit margins on alcohol are far better than food—especially when spoilage is factored in. So you need to lure folks in with well-priced cocktails and strong (not constricted) pours. Montecito folk may be affluent but its locals are a discerning bunch who expect good value for money.
Locals know this place as The Fallback i.e., the default spot you hit on a weekend evening when you forgot to book a table anyplace else.
Los Arroyos (Coast Village Road)
It was a welcome move when this longtime cantina finally added a proper bar: a dozen stools lining a newly minted counter. And yes, this is absolutely the right place for a wide range or tequila, mezcal, great Cadillac Margaritas and a chilled Modelo Negra (or any other cerveza of choice).
But here’s the rub: Families with small kids are seated just behind the barstools. So if you're hoping for a peaceful drink… this might not be el oasis. Consider earplugs if you’re noise-sensitive. And maybe sunglasses to dim too-bright wattage.
That said, there’s no finer spot for cheese enchiladas, rice and beans, fresh guacamole, corn chips and Pico de Gallo to accompany your libation. And the tab is shockingly reasonable for Montecito.
More cocktail lounges to follow, perhaps next Wednesday.