Satellite SB — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

I live & dine out alot in Santa Barbara CA. This was my 1st time eatting at the Satellite after being highly recommended by other dining friends of the fresh excellent food being served here. So I brought another vegetarian friend along to give it a go. WOW were we VERY HAPPY with the fresh quality tasty food served here...very yummy! We split veggie mix with mushrooms tacos. A phenomenal salad & my favorite a toast sandwich. Plus don't miss out on granny's warm brownie! Turns out the chef recently had just won best vegetarian chef in a local contest for Santa Barbara & I concur she richly deserves the acknowledgement. Our server Nick was informative & helpful with our choosing our 1st meal there. We also meet the owner Drew & complimented him on the tasty excellent meal we had just eaten So yes I highly recommend the food & service to all who want a quality tasty meal. The only thing I would also let you know is that inside it can get noisy due to the hard surface walls...thus hard to hear your conversations. I then recommend sitting in the outside tables or in the window seats. Yet again I am definitely recommending my dinning out friends to the place:...

The staff here was very kind and the ambiance was nice. However, we left disappointed with our food choices. We did not opt for any wine or other drinks which, we realize, is something Satellite does well.

Confit tomatoes with bread: enjoyable but we expected the tomatoes to be cooked down more, perhaps with some additional seasoning. They were kept plain, perhaps to highlight their raw flavor, which was good but not memorable.

Hot raclette: this cheesy skillet was tasty but overwhelmingly fennel flavored. The fingerling potatoes and broccolini were present, but charred to the point of overdone.

Best friend sandwich: tasty, lime-y sandwich with bread that was a bit too crunchy for its contents. This also had fennel but it was better balanced with other ingredients.

Shishito peppers and shiitake with cheese: We found the peppers to be slightly over cooked, so they came out a little limp, but they paired nicely with the mushrooms. The spicy cheese sauce was nice, a good level of heat, but didn’t necessarily add to the peppers...

I could call this place my second home! I'm always welcomed with warm "hello's." The endearing staff consists of wonderful individuals who are knowledgeable about the wine selection. The wine selection comprises of over-the-sea and local wines. Satellite also offers appetizing dishes. The ingredients are mostly procured from the local farmers market. How great is that! The restaurant and bar have an intimate atmosphere. A relaxing place to do work during the day and great for first-time dates in the evening. (:

In regards to the two-star review, the review is biased. The patron offered to buy a drink that I subsequently accepted and complied to chat with. He made an unwanted elicitation, which established uncomfortable advances.

I appreciate Drew, the owner, dealing with the ill-mannered customer on my behave. I'm grateful for Drew recognizing my discomfort and creating a comfortable environment for me.

All-in-all, as a regular, I will continue to frequent and recommend...