The main restaurant at The Post, the reinvented Las Aves complex across from the Andrée Clark Bird Refuge, is going to be Jemma Montecito. It’s a sister of Jemma di Mare in Brentwood and the forthcoming Jemma Hollywood, from Jackson and Melissa Kalb of Memento Mori Hospitality. Their other restaurants are Jame in El Segundo and Ospi in Venice Beach.
The space, which faces Cabrillo Boulevard, will be 2,761 square feet inside and 1,276 square feet outside. Promotional materials describe the atmosphere as “coastal Italy meets coastal California.” The restaurant plans to be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and also offer “picnic and pantry” items. As you can see from the sample menu below—sorry it’s blurry, but that’s how it came to me—the food leans heavily toward classic Italian-American, with menu items such as garlic bread, chicken parm, clams oreganata, and shrimp scampi.
The space is still raw, but when it opens—Jackson Kalb says they’re shooting for September—it will be part of a new wave of restaurants to dramatically change the Montecito dining scene. Also in the works: Thomas Keller’s revamp of Tydes at the Coral Casino (which will be open to the public), the new restaurant taking the Montecito Wine Bistro space in the Upper Village; Clark’s where Cava used to be; the RH (Restoration Hardware) restaurant in the Upper Village; Lilac Montecito, Lilac Patisserie’s spinoff in the old Mesa Burger space; Alma Fonda Fina at the Montecito Country Mart; something more casual TBA at the Post; and whatever is happening at the Biltmore.
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Yay, another new restaurant with zero healthy or plant-based options. The Post property looks nice though.
Another opportunity for you to whine vs forging a partnership with a place & showing the vegans that you can do more than point out what you don’t have…at some point you are going to have to come clean about your agenda
Ohhhh Jenna,
Here we go again complaining about another restaurant that doesn’t cater to your needs. Maybe it’s time you stay home and prepare your own meals and stop complaining.
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Jenna is a very busy person. She doesn’t have time for such pedestrian tasks.
I’m not a chef but pretty sure those salads are plant-based. Healthy too if you go easy on the dressing.
I’m just happy to see a great community like Montecito get some great options for restaurants all over the spectrum for everyone to choose how they want to dine. I’m not Vegan or Vegetarian but appreciate Oliver’s and all the other restaurants that offer something for just about everyone. Kudos to the restaurant owners for having the courage to actually be in business. It’s a tough business that tends to steal your soul at times. Happy Sunday to everyone!
I agree with Jenna, Jemma Montecito does have a very heavy menu and we already have so many similar Italian restaurants very close by. 5 or 6 in Montecito.
They lost me at “gapagool”. Pathetic
Andrea, yes very pathetic. Capicola was my father’s favorite deli meat. If the restaurant is “helping” with the pronunciation they are off the mark there too. The Italians pronounce it pretty much as it is spelled — with two hard c’s.
You know, there’s already a really great restaurant there. . . . okay, it’s not really a restaurant, it’s a food truck. Monday thru Friday in the mornings. I can’t give it four stars because it is in fact, a truck serving food, but the food is amazing! I give it Four Tires!! Yum.
I like Stella Mare as most locals do. I wish the Post would just leave them alone, but that’s not going to happen.
I agree. It’s a fabulous restaurant in a beautiful, historic building. I’d definitely visit the new shops etc after dining/lunching there but if there’s no Stella Mare I’d never go there.
Warms my heart to see “Sunday gravy” on the menu. Reminds me of growing up in East Boston and the North End.
There are more of us choosing a plant based diet, including my husband who is from Montana and rarely ate anything without a mother. After a year long effort we have never felt better and it is not boring. That said, when a new business opens I feel we can gently ask them to add one great dinner, not just salad, to the menu and I just bet they will. Maybe, sweet potato hash, black rice and mushrooms, with avocado and a drizzle. It does take courage and risk to open a new business and with so many of us going forward on a wellness journey I know they will include us.
with that approach, I’m pretty sure you’ll 2 meals on the menu!
I hope they are not going to demolish the wonderful Marge Dunlap fountain, “It’s Raining.”. It is a Santa Barbara treasure.
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