Los Olivos isn’t waking up until 6 am. In the year that Mattei’s Inn Tavern, Auberge Resorts Collection began its opening with a café that began serving espresso shots at six each morning. The times in the Felix Coffee Shop were the talking point of the town. More specifically, the talking point of the 2.5-square-mile community that is not incorporated in Cali’s Santa Ynez Valley.
The wineries number 27 is located in Los Olivos, which means there’s an open tasting room for every .01 sq mile. Don’t worry, you will not be driving. The main drag in Los Olivos is Grand Avenue, which is located just two blocks away from the hotel. In order to let visitors enjoy the wine, mostly wineries that produce pinot noirs as well as chardonnays soaking in the cool microclimates of the valley, there are several amazing new restaurants, which brought Los Olivos the honor of being Travel + Leisure‘s first-ever top town for food and culture within the U.S.
The chef who put Los Olivos on the culinary map is Santa Ynez Valley native Daisy Ryan. She was a James Beard Award nominee who opened the now Michelin-starred Bell’s located in the nearby town of Los Alamos, together with her husband, Greg Ryan, five years ago. They then took on Los Olivos. Over the last two years, Ryans have brought the brand-new Bar Le Cote, an atmospheric seafood restaurant with a dark atmosphere that is just a few steps from the wineries, and The Other Room, a beer hall that was added to Los Olivos. “To see, over the last five years, the attention now being paid to this area, we’re humbled by it every day,” she says. “It feels very cool to come home to the place that raised me and create some awareness about what’s so incredible about this place.”
To witness in the last five years how much attention is paid to this issue. We’re humbled by the attention that’s been paid to this area each day.
Food and Culture
It wasn’t the wineries who brought Los Olivos on our radar, but it was The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, Bar Le Cote, The Other Room, and Gin’s. The talent pool that has put permanent roots in Olivos is simply amazing and includes Auberge Resorts Collection, one of the most prestigious hotel names in California, as well as Ryan, one among Food & Wine‘s Top New Chefs for 2020, and a graduate of NYC dining establishments that serve fine cuisines such as Per Se and Gramercy Tavern.
According to Ermoni Best, who serves as the Sommelier at the Inn in Mattei’s Tavern, previously stated to T+L, “They say this place is like Napa 50 years ago.” It’s not going to become Napa, Of course. The enclave isn’t large enough to make sure that Los Olivos never balloons to the size it is today. And no one would like a multitude of office-star resorts, Michelin three-starred restaurants, and castle wineries. But, you must go now to drink and eat and enjoy a stroll before too many people discover about the 2.5-square-mile town located in central California.
The Best Times to Visit
There’s never a better time to go to Los Olivos, but the most pleasant weather is during spring and autumn. The hottest month is August, and the coolest time is from December through March. The spring season brings breezy weather into the 70s, and during the rose season, i.e., when the majority of vineyards launch their latest roses. Danielle Laudon Ruse, VP of marketing for Santa Ynez Valley, favors autumn. It’s the time when “wine lovers get to experience a little harvest magic and watch the leaves change in the vineyards,” she states. “The weather is still wonderfully warm in the daytime while the evenings offer a nice cool down, so alfresco dining is still very much a thing as the season changes.”
Laudon Ruse adds the Taste of Santa Ynez Valley takes each fall beginning in September. 28 through October. 1. This year. It will include the “multi-chef, multi-course dinner served at lengthy communal tables on the lawn of the Inn at Mattei’s Tavern,” she adds.
Things to Do
Drink wine.
“For so long, when you heard California wine country, your mind went to Napa and Sonoma,” Ryan states. “Of course, people are aware of Santa Barbara County wines, but I think more and more people are realizing it’s not just the younger sibling wine area — that, instead, the wines produced here are world-class, incredibly interesting, innovative, and well-crafted.” Alongside the 27 wineries located in town, There are wineries and tasting rooms all over the Santa Ynez Valley. The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern also has a Meet the Maker program, which lets guests explore vineyards and enjoy wines with the vineyard’s owners and winemakers.
Shop locally.
The main thing to remember for shoppers in Los Olivos is locally owned businesses, whether you’re looking for homewares, clothing, or even wine. See our shopping recommendations below.
Where to Stay
The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, Auberge Resorts Collection
The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern first opened in 1886 as a 7-room Central Hotel, an overnight for travelers on the Pacific Coast Railroad. In April 2023, the hotel opened in the form of the Auberge Resorts Collection hotel. However, the resort’s 64 rooms are a celebration of the past. If guests arrive at the restaurant for dinner at The Tavern, they’ll do it in the stage office in which Felix and Lucy Mattei, the original owners, will greet guests. The time came when Felix -the coffee shop which is open at 66:30 has been named in honor of Felix. Lucy would like to extend the kitchen. In the early 1910s, they enlisted Gin Luang Gin. Today, there’s an alfresco bar that’s painted a stunning white amidst an old cedar barn and the red-roofed water tower named Gin’s. It serves food and drinks from across Asia, as well as local wines on a tap.
Where to Eat and Drink
Stolpman Vineyards
Of all of the Los Olivos and Santa Ynez wineries, Stolpman Vineyards is perhaps the one that has made the biggest splash in the nation. Stolpman’s natural wine is small-batch and includes a well-known carbonic Sangiovese, known as Love You Bunches, plus a delightful patent made of Chenin blanc and a pet’nat chenin blanc that are available in the Stolpman Fresh Garage as well as the vineyards say trendy, modern wines. Sample Stolpman’s wine from his estate, such as Syrah and Roussanne — on the patio next to the Fresh Garage.
The Other Room
“It was something we’ve always wanted to do,” Ryan describes the Other Room, which is a wine as well as wine establishment she, along with Greg, launched in 2022. They and Greg regularly visit the Back Room, in Solvang and Solvang, where “we’re big beer drinkers” and decided to open The Other Room in response. “We simply wanted to create an establishment where we’d be able to enjoy a pint or glass of wine. We also are very focused on having wines from other areas, because, obviously the tasting rooms are centered exclusively on wines from the area,” she concludes. The place is open on Tuesdays, which is a rare thing within this part of the Santa Ynez Valley.
Bar Le Cote
the bar Le Cote, which the Ryans opened in 2021, is a warm, cool California seafood restaurant located in the middle of town. Poppies decorate the white and green walls; local produce is a major ingredient in what’s on the dishes (the Olive Oil Cake has strawberries from close by Finley Farm this season), And, in the true California style, they’re serving Santa Barbara urchin and Tomales Bay oysters.
Story of Soil
There’s an interesting detail about the Santa Ynez Valley wineries: the percentage of them owned by women owning the business is considerably higher than the average for all wineries. (“Santa Barbara County is home to the highest number of female wine makers per person than other regions around the globe almost twice that of the average national rate, which is 10 percent.” says The Visit Santa Ynez Valley.) Story of Soil is one of these wineries that is run by the winemaker Jessica Gasca. Their tasting area is as tasty and welcoming as the Syrah Pinot Noir and Sauv Blanc Gasca create.
Where to Shop
Los Olivos General Store
A must-see in the middle of town. Los Olivos General Store offers every California-chic accessory you can imagine. You can visit for the candles as well as the pottery and stay for the kitchen accessories local to Los Olivos, such as olive oil made from blood oranges from the Los Olivos Olive Oil Company and Santa Ynez sage blossom honey.
Avec Moi Decor
Have you ever wondered how people from Los Angeles look like they have just walked out of a cover shoot sporting a Nancy Meyers-approved dress? The trick is to shop at stores such as Moi Decor. Moi Decor during raunchy weekend getaways.
How to Get There
The nearest Airport closest to Los Olivos is the Santa Barbara Airport, which is just a 40-minute drive. It is also possible to reach Los Olivos from Los Angeles, fly to LAX, and drive two and a half an hour (130 miles) north. If you’re planning a coast trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco (or San Francisco to Los Angeles), Los Olivos is a great stop. After a scenic drive from Santa Barbara on CA-1, travelers can drive into the interior, stop at Los Olivos, and then go back to the coast by picking Highway 1 in Pismo Beach.
