This place is beautiful and the concept is great but the execution is horrible they told us we have…read moreto come back for our cupcake tasting. We didn't have appointment which I can understand but when you say you can sit anywhere I shouldn't have to come back and forth when I'm having a wine tasting. The cupcakes were super sweet the pairing were on point. Family oriented! Eventually they came through out for one arriving. I would not suggest this place if your looking to relax don't come you have to service yourself. Met amazing people while we were here

Do not miss this winery! There are many tasting rooms to choose from so this is to help you choose…read morethe top wines. We loved their wine, we did a tasting which I typically skip right to the reds. I did the full white and red wine tasting. Every wine was so well balanced, smooth, and ready to enjoy, We were fortunate to be served by Kieth Saarloos who was so informative about the wines, the region and the family history. We were captivated by not only the experience but also both the white and red wines, we left with quite a bag full. Tip: some bottles can be less expensive at the winery vs online. Cant comment on cupcakes experience hopefilly next time. But the wines 5 stars absolutely

Emy was amazing! She had fabulous recommendations and we loved everything. Most of us did the…read moreSparkling Wine Tasting and one Discovery. Beautiful ambiance and excellent service.

So I have to agree with Pris P review when it comes to the checking in process and how reservations…read moreand seating non reservation guests are handled BUT then there is Emi. If you are fortunate enough to have Emi as your server you will not only have the best service of your life but a lesson on what true hospitality is all about. She has great knowledge of the product and knows how to handle multi groups and yet make you feel like your the only one there. As far as the bubbles our favorite is the sibling bubblery. Sparkling granache you say. YES! Give it try. We love it and cross your fingers your lucky enough to get Emi as your server.

After a day of exploring the wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley, we stopped at Nella Kitchen & Bar…read morefor dinner, and after experiencing it firsthand, it's easy to understand why it's consistently ranked as one of the top restaurants in Los Olivos on Yelp. From the moment we walked in until the moment we left, we were genuinely impressed. The service was warm, attentive, and welcoming without ever feeling overbearing. Every member of the staff made us feel like guests in their home rather than customers in a restaurant. The food was just as memorable. I ordered the filet mignon, which was cooked perfectly to my requested temperature, and I really appreciated that they were happy to substitute the vegetables on the plate to fit my preferences. We started with Nonna's meatballs, served with fresh bread, and they were absolutely outstanding--rich, comforting, and the perfect way to begin the meal. To finish, we shared the ice cream for dessert, and it was the perfect ending. It was incredibly fresh and creamy, and the garnish of fresh mint elevated such a simple dessert into something that felt thoughtful and refined. What stood out most, though, was the atmosphere. Nella has a whimsical charm that instantly makes you feel comfortable. Rather than feeling like a busy restaurant, it felt like being welcomed into someone's beautiful home for dinner. That warmth, paired with exceptional food and genuine hospitality, made this one of the most memorable meals of our trip. If you find yourself in Los Olivos, do yourself a favor and make a reservation at Nella Kitchen & Bar. It's absolutely worth the visit.

Juan was the best - seriously one of the best waiters I've ever had! He was so friendly and…read moreknowledgeable about the menu and went above and beyond to accommodate gluten-free needs and food allergies. Only rating based on a lunch visit but it's a great spot for lunch. We sat on the patio which was a beautiful vibe. We ordered the salmon salad and the artichoke special and everything was great! Artichoke dish could have used a squeeze of some citrus on top but other than that it was great. Salad was very fresh and salmon was great quality.

The Los Olivos Wine Merchant and Cafe has a name that seriously undersells what is happening…read moreinside. It sounds like a place where you buy a bottle, eat three responsible almonds, and leave. Instead, they are serving some of the most satisfying farm food in town while the name stands outside pretending this is all perfectly ordinary. The building feels old in the right way. Not fake old, where someone bought distressed wood last Tuesday and charged it with having memories. It feels like locals have been wandering in from nearby vineyards, ranches, farms, and homes for years, sitting down without needing to study the room first. The tourists discover it. The locals appear to already have a system. The focaccia arrived soft in the middle with a crisp little edge that made tearing into it far more entertaining than bread has any right to be. The olive oil tasted raw, green, and incredibly fresh, as though the olives had been pressed somewhere nearby and were still slightly annoyed about it. The vegetables come from the restaurant's own farm just down the road, and they looked almost suspiciously healthy. Bright, crunchy, colorful, and full of life. Most restaurant vegetables sit beside the meat like nervous witnesses. These had confidence, opinions, and possibly retirement plans. The burrata was creamy and uncomplicated, with excellent olive oil doing what excellent olive oil does, which is make you briefly consider whether bread, cheese, and oil might be enough to sustain human civilization. The skirt steak was beautifully cooked and full of flavor. Every cow only has one skirt, which seems like a design flaw considering how many people want to order it. The vegetables alongside it were not there to provide moral balance. They were good enough to start arguments over who got the last one. My mushroom ravioli was exactly right. No puddle of oil. No cream sauce trying to bury the evidence. No pasta cooked to the consistency of a damp envelope. It was rich, earthy, and satisfying, with every bite feeling complete rather than simply preparing you for the next one. The wine wall is practically a geography lesson with alcohol. Santa Ynez Valley, Los Olivos, Paso Robles, Napa, France, Italy, and enough local bottles to make you wonder whether every nearby hill has quietly started producing wine. The wines we tried were approachable and easygoing. They joined dinner politely instead of barging in and demanding we admire their résumé. We finished with crème brûlée, which remains one of the few desserts that begins with minor property damage. Cracking through the warm sugar into the cool butterscotch custard underneath is childish, elegant, and deeply satisfying. Marcos was upbeat, knowledgeable, and clearly knew the menu well enough to recommend it without sounding like he had memorized a hostage statement. The whole evening felt relaxed, local, and completely unforced. This is the kind of restaurant where you finish dinner, walk outside, and immediately start wondering what time they open tomorrow.

The Wine Merchant is a nice wine country restaurant on the main drag in Los Olivos. Had dinner here…read moreafter a day of tasting. The restaurant decor is nice, though nothing special, with a sizeable patio for outdoor dining. We started with a couple of local wines by the glass. The wine list here is heavily biased towards local wines as one would expect from a wine country restaurant. Kudos for the local focus! The menu here is wine country, farm-to-table and the restaurant even has their own organic farm a short distance away where they source ingredients. For dinner we started with the beet salad special served over a citrus yogurt. For main courses we had the grilled rack of lamb and a quinoa bowl with salmon. Every dish was expertly prepared and delicious. The fruits and veggies were exceptionally fresh being sourced directly. David was our server and coincidentally was our server at a wine tasting earlier in the day. His service and that from the supporting team were professional and friendly. I give this restaurant my highest recommendation!

The beer was delicious and staff was amazing overall experience was awesome would definitely…read morerecommend.

We arrived at 1145 on a Saturday and the place was packed. And there was one bartender. She rocked…read moreit tho and was able to get everyone a beer as fast as possible. No food, but a great taco truck was curbside and selling delicious Mexican food. It's loud inside so not sure I'd go back in the summer when it's too hot to sit outside. Nice garden and outdoor seating for when it's not so hot outside.

What a wonderful find! There are so many fine wineries in the region that it is easy to miss a…read morereally excellent one. Luckily, a club manager at another winery suggested that we try Tercero, in large part because Larry makes it so interesting. As luck would have it, we will have to go back for that experience because Rebecca was hosting the morning we dropped in and she was terrific. What you want in a host is someone who is passionate about the wines and represents them well, is knowledgeable, and who "reads" what you are enjoying and adjusts the flight accordingly. She was all of those things, plus warm and humorous. She made it a first rate tasting experience. We also appreciate a wine maker who risks making small production varieties what are somewhat unusual in an area, and Tercero does this, as well as making the usual suspects for the SYV/SRH. Prices are more than fair for the quality of the wines, which is very high.

My favorite winery! They have my favorite wine, Grenache! All the wines that I tasted were amazing!…read more If you love Grenache, then you will love their wine!

We were in Los Olivos this past weekend and visited Stolpman on Saturday for a leisurely afternoon…read moretasting. I booked our spot in advance and would recommend you do the same. The place is casual and not tiny, but it definitely fills up. I don't think they were taking walk-ins while we were there. The tasting room--or tasting patio, I suppose--was really pleasant, a breezy outdoor space in front of a charming brick-red house with a strong Los Olivos aesthetic. My only complaint is that the bathroom was a porta-potty, though it was the nice kind, with running water. We got our own table and a friendly, knowledgeable young server brought us our wines and explained what we were drinking. He was busy, so this was one of the less in-depth tastings we did on this trip, but the experience was easy and enjoyable. There were two tastings on offer, the classic estate flight and the "fresh and esoteric." Since this was our first visit, we both went with the estate, and it was a great introduction to Stolpman's wines. We tried the 2025 Sauvignon Blanc, the 2024 Chenin Blanc, the 2024 La Cuadrilla, the 2023 Sangiovese, and the 2024 Angeli, the label's flagship Syrah. They were all excellent and very well priced--the Cuadrilla goes for $26. It's also a delicious wine with a cool provenance, a red blend made by Stolpman's vineyard workers on a designated block, in what looks to be a successful profit sharing project. The tasting fee was $25, waived with a three-bottle purchase. We snapped up three each of the Sauvignon Blanc and the Sangiovese, which cost $24 and $36 a bottle. Tremendous value for such outstanding wines. I have a feeling we'll go through these quickly, and may be tempted to join the wine club if we do. Either way, though, I hope to go back to Stolpman. I'm definitely curious about that second tasting.

Great little winery with a cute tasting area. Whitney was wonderful and explained all the wine…read moreoptions thoroughly and even let me taste some additional wines I was curious about. Purchased 3 bottles which covered the tasting. Definitely stop by if you're in the area and want to do a wine tasting that's a reasonable price. Bottles are also very reasonable in pricing and plenty to choose from. Great staff and super attentive.

Tony makes the BEST breakfast burrito in the valley! Great breakfast and sandwiches.read more

We stopped at this pretty little gourmet market to charge our Tesla on a business trip from LA to…read moreSan Luis Obispo. There are 8 charging stations. While charging, we wandered around the market to look at all of their high-end goodies. You will pay full retail plus here, but you're paying for convenience. We got stuffed olives, Crunchmaster Avocado Toast crackers, cheese, and a large bag of Cowboy Jerky for our hotel room. They also have a deli where you can order sandwiches and sides; homemade desserts and pastries; coffee; produce; wine ; and lavender bath products. There's one small bathroom for guests, and a dining area to sit and eat and wait for your Tesla to charge. All in all, this is a great little stop to charge your battery, stretch your legs, and browse a very cute little high-end market.

Ruby took excellent care of us today. We stop by twice each…read moreyear, when we're in the area. Carthartt is a must stop. The back patio is charming, with gorgeous wooden seating and tables, several water fountains, lots of shade and plants. Inside has leather chairs and cool decor. Staff is always welcoming and knowledgeable. Tasty wines at area-comparable prices.

Carhartt Family Wines gets five stars for being the only tasting room in Los Olivos that stays open…read morepast 6:00. It was the first of five tastings we did during our weekend in town, and the wines were, admittedly, the least impressive. They went down easy, though, and we had a pleasant visit. We checked into our hotel on Friday around 5:30 and quickly realized that all the wineries on our list were closed. We asked the receptionist where we might be able to do a tasting, and she said Carhartt was our best bet. It was quite open when we walked in, almost intimidatingly so, the live music loud as we rounded the sidewalk outside the enclosed patio. Jack welcomed us into the tasting room and suggested we do a vibe check on the patio before deciding where to sit. We peeked outside and it seemed fun in a way we weren't looking for, a bit of a party atmosphere with a live band and a lot of people. We took our seats in the quieter tasting room, where we were able to enjoy the music from a distance while we drank some wine. We both did the house tasting, which came with five pours of Carhartt wines: the 2024 Top Branch, the 2022 Sin Nada, the 2022 Sangiovese, the 2022 Rebel Roan, and the 2020 Northerly. Jack also gave us a taste of the 2021 Graciano. They were all nice wines, but we particularly liked the Sin Nada, the Sangiovese, and the Graciano, and took home two bottles of each, getting one $25 tasting fee waived with each purchase of three bottles. Jack was a great host, and he told us all about the wines and winery as we went along. (He pre-empted our first question, saying that yes, they were the same Carhartts as the Carhartt clothing label, but not the same company. I guess just the classic generational wealth to winemaking pipeline.) It was a helpful introduction to both the Carhartt wines and Los Olivos, and Jack was good company. I said Carhartt was the least impressive of the wineries we visited, but it's also worth noting that it had the lowest price point. Carhartt isn't gunning for Robert Parker ratings. The wines are accessible and tasty, and I have a feeling we'll go through our bottles very fast.

This place is truly something special. I've been drinking Dragonette wines for years, but this was…read moremy first time visiting the tasting room and I came away seriously impressed. I'm a huge wine nerd, so I tend to ask a lot of questions, usually because I'm genuinely excited about what's in the glass. Kevin was pouring during our visit and the depth of his knowledge absolutely blew me away. No matter how technical my questions got, he seemed to have an answer. Most people probably wouldn't care about that level of detail, but for me it made the experience that much better. It was a pretty slow day when we visited, so we were able to have a really personal tasting experience, which is always my favorite. If the room had been packed, I'm sure the interaction would have been different, but that's not a knock on them at all. We just got lucky with the timing. The tasting room itself isn't doing anything wildly unique, but honestly, who cares when the wines are this good? The focus here is clearly on what's in the glass, and Dragonette continues to make some of my favorite wines in Santa Barbara County. There's a very good chance I'll be joining the wine club sometime soon.

My friends and I came up from Temecula, CA and stopped by Dragonette Cellars Tasting Room, and…read morewe're so glad we did. David's hospitality and service were absolutely amazing. He took the time to walk us through the history of the area and offered thoughtful recommendations for other places to visit while we were in town, which we truly appreciated. The wine was very good, and we left happy with a few bottles to take home. A great experience all around, we'll definitely be back!