This is one of the best Santa Barbara-Santa Yanez area restaurants we have dined in. Our friends that brought us here are frequent diners (12x times) and this is their fav. We reserved a great outdoor booth, ordered our meal and then waited 1 hour...for our meals -- at lunch!!! We all ordered salads and a meatball appetizer. Nothing that could possibly take that long to prepare. As a result, we were almost late for our wine tasting appointment. If we had not kept asking for updates, we would have. The server was great, she kept apologizing but there as still no food. We finally, after our meals came and we had to wolf them don, were told by the manager that something went amiss in the kitchen with our orders. They did the right thing – comp’d the meals and we paid for our drinks and tipped the server generously as it was not her fault. But would I go back again? The food was fantastic (drinks were just okay). Our friends loved their salads with fresh tuna, the pea salad with arugula and walnuts was great, the meatballs were very good, and the special soup of the day, asparagus, was outstanding. Still a slow kitchen can wreak a meal and that was the case here, so I won’t be coming back unless someone else picks.More

Very good menu options, plus daily specials. My husband and I both ordered daily specials and I can say that my branzino was one of the best I have had in recent memory. There was a slight hiccup with the drink order in that we...never received the second order of drinks and that’s what resulted in a 4 vs. a 5 rating.More

An excellent lunch at S Y Kitchen. Food, drink, service and atmosphere exceeded our expectations. Niçoise salad, Caesar salad, sides of Avocado and shrimp, Pinot noir, sauv blanc and ending with espresso and Creme brûlée! Enjoyed it so much we may do a repeat tomorrow....Service was excellent. One of the best, if not the best in the Santa Ynez Valley area.More

My wife and I enjoyed lunch at SY Kitchen on a Saturday afternoon. The food is good and the staff is great. We shared an order of Bob's bread, wild mushroom pappardelle, and maccheroncini (pasta with short rib and pea sauce). Everything was perfectly cooked....So why four stars and not five? The cost of the food vs. the portion size is the drawback. A small plate of pasta is $28. The bread, half a small baguette, is $7. To me, this is not value received.More

If you want to pay French Laundry prices for average bar food in a Hofbrauhaus atmosphere, then this place is for you. They really do mean “Rustic” as far as the food prep despite charging for fine dining. The prices this place charges for average...pizza and sliders is only something those who live in Manhattan or LA would pay without blinking. Yet, it’s on a side street in Santa Ynez. The ambiance was very loud with cramped tables, waiters running around bumping into each other and the bar butting right up to the busy kitchen adding to the cacophony. This place is charging Michelin star prices for bar food. Save your money (and your hearing) for the many other better restaurants in the area.More

8 of us had dinner there on a Saturday evening. Reservation process and wait staff were easy to deal with and friendly. My Pasta Vongole was really bad, clams were full of grit, some of the specials were overpriced and nothing "special". We've eaten there...before and this time was not nearly as good - they need som competition in Santa Ynez!More

Have heard great things about at kitchen so dined their last night. Ordered the octopus salad and was very disappointed as the nice tentacle was cut up in little slices and sautéed which made the salad very greasy and in satisfying. I would have liked...the tentacle grilled and placed on top...otherwise. The bread and panna vita were both delicious. A great atmosphere and friendly service in the cute little town of Santa inezMore

Everything from appetizers to dessert was sublime. My husband and I both ordered the specials, Lamb Shank with polenta and Del Monaco steak with porcini mushrooms and roasted potatoes. For dessert we ordered panna cotta with berries and caramel. Loved that they had Menabrea on...tap for beer. The service was excellent. Had the chance to meet the cook who is one of two Italian brothers from Verona, Italy. An absolute authentic Italian restaurant with a California twist.More

This was the first time my wife and I went to S.Y.Kitchen, but it certainly won't be the last. Seating inside or outside and we chose outside. The setting and ambiance are lovely and the service was wonderful. Our server was not only helpful with...menu selections and wine choices, but she was a wealth of information about the area...friendly, efficient and professional, we couldn't have asked for more. We each had a salad, my wife loved the beet salad and I thought the Caesar salad was great. We split one of the pastas and it was terrific. Not inexpensive but a wonderful dining experience. We will return in the future.More

I spent a couple of my teenage years in the Santa Ynez Valley, I love to visit it and see that though it has grown, it is as beautiful of a treat now as it has always been. The area greatly benefitted from a few...more outstanding restaurants and this is now on the top of my list. We had the most pleasant experience while there. Our 7 year old had the most delicious spaghetti and meatballs he had ever had, his face alone made us try it. Well, it would hade made the most seasoned sheff blush as it was the most balance flavored and seeming simply dishes one could have, well it wasn't, it had so much depth that we had to help him with it and order another one. The mushroom pappardelle was the best I had ever had and though served generously, well, like the spaghetti, it was just sad to see it end. Our entire experience was such a pleasure that we have another trip planned soon with two trips to SY Kitchen planned!More

SY Kitchen is a very popular casual dining restaurant. The food is fresh and prepared with love but at a price. We ate here twice whilst in the area. There is an emphasis on Italian cuisine (the chef is from Italy). The pasta is home...made and delicious. However, I ordered a wild mushroom pizza at $23. I was offered fresh truffle grated over the top for an additional $25. That's 50 dollars for a regular size pizza! Add the service charge and it starts to get silly.More

Our family had a very nice dinner at SY Kitchen during our stay in the Santa Inez Valley. We went on the early side with a reservation around 6PM and we were seated promptly at an outside table per our request. Service was very good,...attentive but not overbearing. We shared a few apps, Meatballs, artichoke, and the Burrata and cauliflower salad. I had a cocktail “The Absinthe Father” that was very tasty. For our mains my son had the lamb shank and I selected the Gigli Al Ropeton pasta, my wife did not have an entree. All the food was well prepared and we said the meatballs were our favorite appetizer and both my son and I enjoyed our main dishes. My pasta was cooked perfectly with just the right amount of firmness of Al Dante. We all said that on a return trip to the area this will be a return visit for sureMore