Stonehouse

Stonehouse Restaurant Review:

Stonehouse makes sense of the oxymoron “refined rustic.” Housed in a squat building once used for packing citrus, the restaurant of the San Ysidro Ranch resort is on the short list of Santa Barbara’s most rarified establishments. (This is, after all, where JFK and Jackie honeymooned.) Chef Matthew Johnson works with organic herbs and vegetables grown onsite. His steak Diane, made with grass-fed, free-range Prime beef, is flambéed tableside and served with brandied crimini mushroom sauce and organic haricots verts. Bellwether Farms fromage blanc and Asian coleslaw accompany a smoked Muscovy duck and avocado spring roll. A romantic setting adds to the dining experience: wood smoke wafts here and there, mingling with the scent of herbs from the garden; a historic adobe stands nearby; a heated stone floor warms the ocean-view patio. It’s so peaceful, you half expect a Labrador retriever carrying a pair of slippers to greet you in the restaurant’s countrified foyer.