One of Santa Barbara's newest restaurants, Anchor Woodfire Kitchen is an exciting addition! The atmosphere is quite lively and vibrant. There's a constant movement and buzz, especially as things are quite busy with curious locals and tourists. Located in the new Hotel Indigo, near the train station, you'll see some visitors, but locals are filling the majority of tables. I sat at the bar with my friend and we ordered a couple cocktails. I enjoyed Jason's Negroni (served on the rocks, though they normally do it up) - St.George Botanivore gin, Carpano antica, Campari orange.
Clean, crisp decorations fill the space. The wood fire oven is in plain sight and all the guys and gals in the kitchen do their wonderful dance, churning out dish after dish.
This lovely side of wood oven roasted Maitake mushrooms in olive oil, sea salt, and thyme was beautiful in its simplicity. Super mushroom flavor.
The seared scallop over sea urchin risotto looked beautiful nestled in its own deep bowl. The dish was overly salty (and I adore salt) and the risotto too al dente (and I like my risotto al dente), but the base flavors were there. The scallops were cooked to perfection and full of their characteristic sweet, rich flavor.
My favorite dish was the Duck Egg Raviolo with mascarpone, truffles, duck brodo. The pasta is house made and when you cut into the raviolo, the duck egg yolk comes running out mixing with the brodo and parmesan cheese. What a bite this creates!
We also enjoyed a margherita pizza with prosciutto on top. They make their own charcuterie so we just had to add it on the pizza. The prosciutto had a less salty and more mild flavor compared to the Parma kind, and a bit more smokiness. I can't wait to try all the other meat creations they had on their menu. The pizza was good, but I would go there for the pasta and other meat dishes instead.
Make sure to get a reservation or take a chance for a spot at the bar. It's quite the hot spot to go right now so a little planning helps ensure a wonderful night. I am looking forward to biting into the other main meat dishes and exploring the cocktail menu a bit further...not to mention breakfast and lunch!!
119 State Street (Hotel Indigo)
805-845-0989
Mon - Sun: 7:00 am - 12:00 am
