Santa Barbara’s Foodie Hot Spot - The Lark, Santa Barbara, California

Last time we visited Santa Barbara we had a longer list of restaurants to experience, than days. It is becoming a wonderful field-to-table dining destination. One “foodie” spot that we regretted not having time for was The Lark.

Last weekend we had another opportunity to drive up to Santa Barbara for the weekend. We put dinner at The Lark at the top of our activity list.

Located in the thriving Funk Zone and within walking distance from the Santa Barbara train depot, the restaurant is named for the sleek overnight Pullman train of the Southern Pacific Railroad that serviced Santa Barbara from 1910 -1968.

Architect Clay Aurell of AB Design Studio designed the 130 seat full-service restaurant attached to the Lucky Penny wood-fired pizza restaurant.

We made a 5 p.m. reservation on a Saturday night, because we had a 6:15 p.m. event at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Parking along Anacapa near the various wine tasting rooms, we remarked how lively the street was with residents and visitors shopping in the art and crafts stores, sipping wine and meeting friends and family. It has become a big social hub.

Waiting in line to be seated at on the patio, two parties in front of us asked to be seated at the popular communal table inside. We sat near the kitchen window and peeked in to see if Executive Chef Jason Planks was there creating signature dishes.Originally from Texas he was the Sous Chef at Michael Mina’s RN74 in San Francisco. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).