Aegean — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

As a self-proclaimed Mediterranean food aficionado, I was immediately intrigued when I heard Aegean was opening a brick-and-mortar location—and I knew I had to check it out.

Let’s start with the service: warm, welcoming, and incredibly attentive. The staff let us know it was their very first week of service and asked for a bit of patience—but honestly, had they not mentioned it, we would’ve never known. Everything ran smoothly, and the team made us feel genuinely cared for.

Now, the food. THE FOOD. I didn’t even pause for photos because it was that good. Our group went all in: fries, tzatziki, marinated olives, hummus with zoug, falafel, crudo, the special tomato salad, tabbouleh, and kebab.

Every single dish was spot-on—fresh, flavorful, and beautifully balanced. I’m only kicking myself for not saving room for dessert!

It’s a bit tucked away and might be tricky to find, but don’t let that stop you. This place is 100% worth the visit—and trust me, you’ll be dreaming about that...

As a native Chicagoan, one requirement is you have to love Greek food. After all, Chicago has the third largest population of Greeks out of all the cities in the world (~150,000)! Since relocating to Santa Barbara, I was disheartened to not find many Greek or Mediterranean restaurants that serve authentic cuisine. Thankfully I happened upon Chef Effe representing Aegean Neotaverna during one of his pop-ups. He cooks up not only healthy but delicious recipes. I tried a few dishes including hummus, tabouli, chicken kebab and Kavurma (brisket). Every.single.item was spectacular! Full of authentic flavors whether it is tahini, pinenuts, garlic and beyond. The hummus was smooth yet perfectly delectable. The meat was extremely moist with char flavor. I also loved seeing how organized Chef Effe was in preparing each plate--as if the pop-up was a Michelin Star restaurant. He obviously takes pride in his work and it shows. Can't wait to see where he pops up next...

We had an enjoyable experience at Aegean. The food was delicious and well flavored and our server was adorbs. A few things to consider. Restaurant opens at 5pm but kitchen doesn’t open until 5:30pm. It’s strange but must serve some purpose. Show up at 5pm and (for now) you won’t have a wait…anything after that you will wait. Aegean has around 10-15 tables and dinner is an experience….not an eat quick and go. Plan on 2 - 2.5 hours for an enjoyable multiple plate dinner. When you come here you must share plates…it’s family style dining. I found the menu to be the perfect size and all the ingredients were of good quality with some unique food ingredients which elevates the dinning adventure. I will return and I would recommend for couples, families, and groups of 2-6. Any party larger is really not going to work with the small restaurant foot...