Santa Barbara Life & Style Magazine
30 | CIAO NELLA
For anything from quick tapas to a celebratory dinner, Nella is the right choice.
Around the world in one night at Nella Kitchen & Bar
Imagine, if you will, a space that has all the right ingredients: a custom-built cheese bar, world-class wine cellar, a charcuterie fridge twice the size of most closets. Your imagination transports you to far-flung haunts in Europe and South America, surely, but reality only requires you to make a small trip north on the 154. Los Olivos’ Nella, sister restaurant to the local and lauded SY Kitchen, is nestled inside of the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn on Grand Avenue, arguably the social hub of laid-back Los Olivos life. An overnight stay in the charming town is absolutely justified by the sole purpose of dining at Nella (and gives you an excuse to wine taste the day away), as the SY Kitchen encore is seamlessly doing it all and making their own name with a simple yet diverse globally-sourced menu.
The current star of Nella’s selection is their take on the Roman “Pinsa,” the traditional Italian iteration of pizza. Chef Luca masterfully crafts the delicate dough into a crispy crust that holds such local and worldly jewels as artichoke hearts, black truffle, and—my personal favorite—the Scarpetta, which substitutes traditional tomato sauce for an impossibly rich and fresh five-hour bolognese. Small plates (think venison meatballs and romini lettuces with buttery-tart caesar dressing) and main course triumphs (the likes of Muscovy duck and Wagyu short ribs) typically bookend the crescendo of the pinsa, all to be washed down by the extensive and expertly curated wine list.
In an area where tasting rooms are more common than cafes, Nella had the hefty task to create something truly unique. Going against the grain, the owners elected to infuse a typically-locally-sourced selection with bespoke spirits spread across seven continents. Local favorites from Santa Rita Hills and Santa Ynez Valley saddle up beside New Zealand novelties, Spanish reds, and brut rosé Billecart from the Champagne region in France. Suffice it to say, Nella has the ability to whirl you around the globe within the length of your meal.
The third pillar upon which Nella’s menu— which Luca plans to double in size by the New Year—rests is their cheese and charcuterie offerings that span the spectrum of texture, flavor, and locale. A specialty cheese bar was erected beside the space’s cocktail bar to pay special attention to Nella’s artisan selection. Should diners wish to, they can pull a chair right up to the cheese and charcuterie station and treat themselves to a personalized feast, complete with dozens of bud vases containing handwritten, labeled toothpicks denoting what you’re tasting in impeccable penmanship. At Nella, the divine is in the details and it allows you to practically taste the love put into making this dream a reality.
If a wine and cheese pairing is not in the cards for your date night, may I recommend taking a peek at the cocktail list? Nella’s bartender formerly mixed masterpieces at Rosewood Hotels & Resorts and The Waldorf Astoria in Las Vegas. As a close friend to Luca, he was able to create aperitifs that enhance the diverse flavors of the cuisine, while also getting creative with his own ingredients. Among the more innovative are a gin cocktail, the Wheelbarrow, which somehow expertly combines white cacao and celery, and the Roquette Fuel, a mezcal libation that counts on arugula for a perfectly smoky, herbaceous tang. If you could not already tell, there is really no wrong turn to take when making your menu selections at this soon-to-be hit.
Baby Artichoke Pinsa
Parker Spritz
When I can finally tear my eyes away from the food, delightfully satisfied by fresh, natural ingredients and in no way grotesquely stuffed, I am charmed by the outdoor seating that surrounds me. The Fess Parker property was kind enough to lend Nella their courtyard in order to comply with state dining guidelines and the space, when complemented by the cuisine, is nothing short of magical. Cafe tables are scattered across a perfectly mowed lawn, punctuating clusters of sunken couches and adirondack chairs gathered around stone firepits. In a place so quintessentially representative of the Santa Ynez Valley, I have never felt further from the mundane stressors of everyday life. I take a nightcap (The Parker Spritz, which blends hibiscus tea and passion fruit with prosecco for vacation in a wine glass) to a lounger in the far corner of the lawn, lit by fairy lights, firelight, and the unpolluted starry sky. Nella has only been open for a literal four hours, but guests settle into their tables like they are regulars. Within a week, they will be. Once again, the creators of SY Kitchen have brought not only the world to a cozy inn on a historic strip of road in Los Olivos, they have provided a home base, a gathering grounds, for locals and expatriates alike, a community that will only expand as Nella’s menu and roots do so. *