About the Café:

The Arts & Letters Café serves classic California cuisine with an emphasis on local seafood, all set in our beautiful courtyard in the heart of Historic Arts District in downtown Santa Barbara. We serve lunch seven days a week and dinner Wednesday through Sunday.

In all of his menus, Chef Erick Simmons participates in the Santa Barbara First program to insure the freshest ingredients. He uses farmers, ranchers and vendors with local ingredients and sustainably raised seafood to prepare his fare in the California tradition. Range fed, antibiotic and steroid free, pesticide free, and organic are our buying preferences. The Café is also pleased to offer a fine selection of California Wines and a Full Bar.

The private Courtyard is the main dining area of the Arts & Letters Café. The seating capacity is limited to 120 people for a formal sit down event. Seventy of the seats are open garden and fifty are in the adjacent De Forest Gallery.

The garden was designed in the tradition of the walled gardens of Spain and Mexico. The central fountain fills the garden area with the sound and sight of water. Whenever there is a chill, the garden is heated. Whenever the sun is too bright, umbrellas are brought to the tables.

The De Forest Gallery (adjacent to the Courtyard) is particularly well suited to private meetings and serves as a secondary exhibition space for the Sullivan Goss Gallery. The space encompasses about 800 square feet including a Full Bar. Exhibitions rotate regularly.

The Arts & Letters Café also seats people on the Front Porch of Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery. Elevated a few feet from the street and separated by a wrought iron railing, the Front Porch is the perfect place to enjoy the Café's wonderful food while still immersed in the excitement of the street scene of Santa Barbara's gallery row. Seating is limited to 14 at private tables.

Come find out why we have been a local favorite for nearly 20 years or why the New York Times made our pumpkin soup famous. Chef Erick Simmons and our professional staff will take good care of you.

Location:

ARTS & LETTERS CAFÉ:

The Arts & Letters café is located in the heart of Santa Barbara's Historica Arts District, across the street from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, around the corner from the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts, a block from the home of the Santa Barbara Symphony at the Arlington Theater and within walking distance of many other galleries, libraries and art venues.

For directions, click here.

HOURS:

LUNCH
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Seven days a week
DINNER
5:00 PM - 9:00 PM, Wednesday - Sunday
5:00 PM - 10:00 PM, Friday and Saturday

Opera Under the Stars

On Thursday evenings during the summer, the Arts and Letters Café offers Opera Under the Stars, which features professional opera stars performing the greatest arias and songs from the worlds most famous operas and Broadway hits.

2009 Opera Season Schedule (PDF format - 49KB)
To learn more about our exciting new season of Opera Under the Stars, click here.

Menus:

Lunch Menu (PDF format - 224KB)
Dinner Menu (PDF format - 224KB)

Reservations:

Book your reservation online with OpenTable.

If you prefer, you can also call (805) 730-1463. For private parties, catering and special events, ask for Events Manager, Lisa Neustadt. You can also e-mail Lisa at the addresses below:

Weddings and Events:

The Arts & Letters Café offers exclusive private banquet service seven evenings a week as it has for many years. Because we now offer regular a la carte service Wednesday – Sunday, the opportunities for private dining are listed below.

During our regular dinner service we offer banquets of up to 14 on the Front Porch, 16 in the garden Courtyard, and 26 in the indoor De Forest Gallery. Parties larger than 26, must reserve the entire Café, which can accommodate 120 guests.

Our banquet menus are revised and updated regularly and the chef can create special menus for those who would like a unique dining experience or those with special dining restrictions. We would be happy to send or email our banquet menus for you to review. Please call the Banquet and General Manager, Lisa Neustadt at 805-730-1463 or .