Caruso's — Restaurant in Montecito

This was our first time at Caruso’s. My husband took me for my birthday and we were very impressed with everyone from the moment we entered the property, we knew we were at a very special place.We arrived about an hour before our reservation and were warmly greeted by the hostesses. They were friendly and a pleasure to talk to. They showed us to the bar where we could wait for our table. At the bar, we were greeted by Ian, who was professional and very kind. He was very knowledgeable and was able to help us order drinks that we very much enjoyed.We were shown to our table at the exact time of our reservation and it was one of the best tables there because it had a front row seat to overlooking the ocean. The entire wait staff were professional, personable and eager to please. We opted for the 4-course pre fixe dinner. And made our selections from each course offerings. They brought an amuse bouche that was creatively plated and equally palette pleasing. We could tell right away that the chef was not only well versed in flavor combinations, but understood the importance of texture as well. We enjoyed the descriptions that the wait staff offered when the dishes were served. I had a tomato salad that incorporated a dollop of luscious buratta and wonderfully crunchy croutons. In addition, there was a cup of tomato water that was to be drunk after finishing the salad., (Honestly, I was so engrossed in it, that I completely forgot what my husband had).The next course was a pasta dish that had little cups of fresh pasta with perfectly cooked fish in a complementary sauce. (The wine might have erased some of the memories of what exactly was in the dish, I just remember swooning)The main course was black cod for me and duck for my husband. By this time I was getting pretty full, but dug in and enjoyed almost every bite of perfectly cooked fish. Dessert for me was “S is for Strawberry,” all the desserts had names and themes. My husband had a honey inspired dish that was truly creative and an amazing mouth feel treat. The textures in both desserts elevated them.They brought me a Michelin star shaped dark chocolate filled with raspberry sauce. It was probably one of the top 3 meals over ever eaten. We...

Great food, great wine, service cold as ice.

Addendum: After speaking with the general manager of Caruso's, I believe that our experience was not the typical dining experience, and it is not what Caruso's strives to deliver. When we are in Santa Barbara, we look forward to dining at Caruso's again in the future.

My wife and I opted for the eight course chef’s tasting dinner with the Wagyu beef upgrade. We also opted for the enhanced wine pairing for each of us. The food was well prepared, Shibani, our chef, did an excellent job with our meal. She was one of the few staff members that came to our table, and was warmly engaging. A true CIA graduate! Jaime’s wine pairings enhanced our courses. Jaime did a fine job as our sommelier. Thomas, a member of the waitstaff, was the only other staff member we interacted with during our entire meal. The rest of the waitstaff interactions we had were with with staff that displayed a robotic, mechanistic delivery of our food courses.

The major disappointment of the evening stems from the poor coordination of service that accompanied our meal. During our 3 and a half hour meal, we spent significant portions of our meal without food or wine. The staff seemed to avoid eye contact, and was difficult to engage. The overall experience was cold. It appeared that the restaurant was under staffed. Most egregious was the service around our upgraded Wagyu beef course. The meal was served well before the wine service was ever acknowledged. The wine service came long after the course was served. The meal was not able to be enjoyed at proper temperature. When we mentioned our displeasure, we were shunned.

We raised our concerns with Michaela, the manager that evening. Up to that point, she was unaware that our table seemed to have been forgotten. She apologized, and said she would take our concerns to higher management. Let’s hope she does. While Michelin stars are awarded mainly based on food quality, the service detracted so much from the meal that had Caruso’s been reviewed for a Michelin star on the evening we dined, they may not...

It's not worth the price point, to be honest. Given that we live in LA, we have no problem spending money on amazing food, but when the food and service quality does not reflect price point, that is when I believe it is reasonable to complain and give my feedback. We were not asked by our waiter if we were satisfied with our dishes in between courses, which I would have provided my honest feedback if prompted.

For a Michelin star restaurant, we had higher expectations for a perfect or near-perfect meal. Although the food significantly improved as the courses progressed, the meal did not meet our expectations.

We were really underwhelmed with the first course dishes. The octopus appetizer was not that impressive despite the waiter telling us that they used their pizza oven to ensure the octopus was cooked perfectly, which was not the case. The octopus did not have that soft & juicy texture with the perfect charring that we were hoping for. The king crab was not at all what I was expecting - it just tasted like a bland off-balanced chowder, which overpowered the king crab chunks, a forgettable dish for sure.

The "dulse gnocchetti sardi & Stephanie's uni" was excellent dish and the " I grew up in Trastavere, you should try this carbonara" was an assertive dish with explosive flavor - would consider ordering again both.

The dry-aged liberty duck was the phenomenal standout dish of the night! The A5 Matsusaka ribeye upgrade dish was a quality dish as well, though I probably would not pair an A5 quality steak with the truffle bordelaise as you do not want to ruin such a quality cut of steak!

The dessert was very solid with the tiramisu and the "our bees went to Ojai" was fantastic. They even provided us with a chocolate dessert our anniversary.

Overall, would we come back and spend the same money?...