Even a June-gloomy marine layer doesn’t boring the allure of the poolside location of Saint Remy, the newish (debuted on Boxing Day 2022) restaurant on the coronary heart of State Avenue’s Courtyard by Marriott. (Outdated-timers will know the spot, past its enlargement and in depth spiffing-up, as La Quinta or El Prado.) Trying a bit like a David Hockney portray sprung to life with its midcentury trendy design, the situation hopes to lure locals in addition to lodge company.
The spot can be a boon for “an unlimited contingent of Marriott followers” who now get a lodge in downtown Santa Barbara. A minimum of that’s how Tim Billing, vice chairman of operations for the AZUL Hospitality Group, explains it to me. AZUL operates this lodge for StonePark Capital, the hospitality growth firm led by Andrew “The Bachelor” Firestone and Jess Parker. StonePark and AZUL hope to grow to be larger gamers on the Central Coast, for together with this location there are two in-transition initiatives: Resort Cerro, about to grow to be an Autograph Assortment with Marriott in S.L.O., and the Waterman, previously the hostel Wayfarer, about to grow to be a Moxy with Marriott. And sure, Billing made certain to make clear that it’s “M-O-X-Y, not M-O-X-I,” given its Funk Zone proximity to the museum of exploration and innovation.
Though Courtyards by Marriott have a tendency to return with a company name for a bistro idea that includes grab-and-go meals, Billing says, “We had been afforded the luxurious of a waiver, and the branding crew obtained their tooth into it.” They opted for a melding of the French Riviera and the American Riviera, therefore a Mediterranean-inspired menu and the identify Saint Remy for the restaurant. Alas, there’s no secret backstory like the truth that Remy was the identify of Andrew Firestone’s childhood canine or something.
Billing ran by means of the menu’s highlights and diner favorites to date, pointing to breakfast’s shakshuka benny — a poached egg bathed in cream cheese hollandaise with a crimson pepper sauce and feta crumble over sourdough — and the all-day menu’s crispy short-rib hummus — consider it as a bean dip with a beefy, crispy kick on lavash. Past some baking, the whole lot is made in-house.
As an indoor-outdoor house, cocktails are paramount, and Billing praises director of the beverage program Sarah Watson for what she’s been devising. “She makes what we have now right here ridiculously distinctive,” he factors out, “She will supply no matter she needs.” One prompt favourite is the Stevie Nicks, a refreshing spin of gin, grapefruit, Aperol, lime, and easy syrup. However then there’s additionally the provocatively named Fever Dream in a Mexican Airport for the adventurous — blanco tequila, Ancho Reyes, crème de cacao, and lemon.
Saint Remy can be desperate to work with native purveyors, having not too long ago held a bar takeover by Re:Discover Distillery up in Paso Robles. It’s a pure connection, as Re:Discover makes its rye utilizing the leftover mash from Firestone’s 805 beer. “Such occasions are a superb profit for us,” Billing asserts, “and it permits for great publicity and important actual property for corporations to advertise their merchandise.” They hope to do extra, and maybe even herald high-profile cooks to do pop-up evenings.
A few of these happenings could possibly be held on the expansive third- and fourth-floor patios that Billing hopes entice locals for his or her particular events. That prime ground has a surprising 360-degree, ocean-to-mountain view that, given the spot’s “elevation” at 1601 State Avenue, makes you need to attain for the pano characteristic in your iPhone, and Billing says they’re open for all sizes of occasions.
See saintremysb.com.
