Scarlett Begonia

The courtyard offers a very cozy atmosphere making you feel like you’ve been whisked off to a village in southern France. A simple menu with lots of tasty choices. I had the Kale Cesar salad which sadly had only a tiny piece of avocado, hardly worth mentioning it in the menu description. But it was fresh and a generous serving. The Jumbo Lump Crab Salad would be a better choice. Lavender lemonade is pretty but really, really sweet.

I worked closely with Scarlett’s head chef George to put together a fantastic four course meal for a friend’s bachelorette party this past weekend. Despite it being Solstice weekend, George and Lisa (the manager) were incredibly helpful and worked with me to make a menu that fit everyone’s dietary restrictions and included a vegetarian option for the picky eaters in our midst.
We arrived at 7 and had most of the separate dining room to ourselves. They allowed me to pick the music to match our tastes, and every single course was perfectly balanced, portioned and presented. Among some of the dishes were a farmer’s market split pea soup made fresh in house, the most mouth-​wateringly delicious beet salad I’ve ever tasted and a flat iron steak au poivre that melted in your mouth. We had a cake specially made for the occasion and I can honestly say it was the most delicious cake I’ve ever eaten in my life.
Seriously, you can’t go wrong here. Everything we ate was amazing and everyone in our party felt the same way. Our server Chooch was very skilled and charming. He also had the most luxurious beard I’ve ever seen in my life. ¹⁰⁄₁₀. All in all I give the ambiance 10/​10, drinks 10/​10, service ¹¹⁄₁₀ and food ¹¹⁄₁₀. If you haven’t eaten here yet, you’re missing out.
If you’re looking for a more relaxed vibe, their brunch is excellent as well.

Lemon ricotta pancakes were light and refreshing! And the Eggs Benedict which my husband had was flavorful, savory! Biscuit was delicious. As a visitor to Santa Barbara I would definitely come back and recommend this place to eat.

I’ve been here 3 times in the 5 years I’ve lived in Santa Barbara, not a breakfast type of person, but since I have a puppy I try coming to places with outdoor seating. As soon as I entered, the hostess greeted my mother in law and I promptly with a genuine smile. Once seated they brought out a bowl of water and treat for my puppy. Whoaaaahhhh!!! Impressive!!! I’ve only had the shrimp and grits each time I’ve been here, seriously to die for!!! Vanilla latte is my normal togo drink and this place serves them well! I have had their bloody Mary here twice and I remember it being refreshing, however I do think it’s a bit pricey. the quality of food and drinks are very fresh and greatly prepared, the price here is average/​high. I would gladly come here many more times! I need to try their pancakes!

Friendly staff, food was delicious, and we loved the atmosphere of the place! It’s a bit hidden… just keep walking inward and you will find it.

This place is amazing. Stopped in for breakfast on a recommendation from a friend in Pasadena, Ca. So glad I did. A bit hard to find as its back in a little courtyard off W Victoria, pretty much right behind Bouchon.
The choices for breakfast make it hard to choose. Inspired takes on French Toast, oatmeal, pancakes; gluten-​free options too. Everything served with an «old world» casual elegance you don’t see much of anymore.
There are indoor and outdoor seating options, but hard to pass up their beautiful patio and Santa Barbara weather! Plenty of shade on the patio and you are secluded away from the hustle and bustle of the Santa Barbara streets.
I had just ordered my coffee when I was presented with a nice little tasting of their house made granola! Where do you ever see this done for BREAKFAST?!
I was in the mood for eggs and bacon, and decided to add a side of the smoked sausage as it sounded good. Glad I did, it was sublime. The organic eggs were perfectly done sunny-​side up and not over cooked. Bacon was crisp and tasty. The rye toast was served with a house made preserve. I really couldn’t think of anything I would change about this meal, place, or service (which was attentively done by Nicole).
If you are in Santa Barbara, I highly recommend Scarlett Begonia. If I was staying here a week, I’d come back everyday, and if I lived here, this is the kind of place I’d start every day at.

Came here for brunch. Food was pretty good but service was a bit slow — took a while for our food to come out and a server couldn’t remember which table the order he brought out was for — subtracted a star for this.
Ordered the Lemon ricotta pancakes with side of a scrambled organic egg. Pancakes were good — lemon flavor was strong (which I prefer since I love lemon pastries!) and they were quite fluffy. Fruit on top was an amazing addition and complimented lemon flavor well. Wasn’t a fan of the other topping however.
Subtracted a star for the egg side. Came out cold and was not worth the 3 dollars. Could buy a carton of a dozen organic eggs for $ 4 and done better. No flavor so added some salt on my own.
Overall — would go for ambiance and the nice outside dining space. If you like lemon and sweets, order the pancakes.

Cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. Inventive cocktails. Ambitious dishes. Impressive playing. Short sentences.
Fairly priced for an exquisitely executed dining experience.
Please visit.

I am never disappointed in the food here. It’s always fresh, delicious and beautifully displayed. However, I’ve yet to receive particularly good service (everyone is nice, yes, but slow and forgetful no matter who’s helping). Also, every time I’ve been, they have been out of stuff. Considering they have a limited menu to start with, this is annoying. So I guess my advice is that, if you’re not in any hurry, and/​or don’t have your heart set on one particular thing on their menu, you’ll enjoy a meal there.

I went here for brunch on a Sunday morning in beautiful Santa Barbara! It was absolutely beautiful weather and my spirits were high! I was in a good mood and decided to indulge in a bloody mary. Unfortunately it tasted like shit and I didn’t drink it. My friend got the «coconut breeze» drink and that was gross too, avoid alcohol here.
Anyways moving on, I was starving so decided to go hard with a burger and truffle fries. The burger was soooooo good like one of my favorite burgers I have been had! Get the burger 100%. You can pass on the truffle fry upgrade though, those were nothing special. But yes the burger was GR8T!
The ambiance is wonderful as well! Most tables are outdoors in a little hidden patio area behind state Street. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a brunch spot in Santa Barbara. Just don’t order a drink! That is the reason for my one star deduction.

Sat outside because we brought our dog. So not sure about an indoor setting. Umbrellas give some relief to the bright sun but then you’ll have to squeeze in when the sun moves. They should really put up sun sails for more coverage.
Ordered the buffalo oysters — tastes just like boneless buffalo wings. And shared the shrimp and grits. Came with two poached eggs. Asked the waitress if it was a large enough portion to share and she recommended ordering something to go with it. To be honest, many of the breakfast items are large enough to share and fill up on (another example is eggs Benedict). So the buffalo oysters just put us over into the overly full category. But the shrimp and grits were slightly above decent. Nice that it didn’t just taste like butter but I’ve had smoother grits that I prefer.
Parking is plentiful in the lot with the first 90 or 75 minutes free. And $ 1.50 for each additional hour.
Overall, good spot to eat with your dog and have okay food.
Remember: food adventures are out there. So eat ‘em up!

It’s tucked into the center behind the stores facing Victoria and State street with a nice patio (no sun if you go early in the morning though). The food was excellent: my daughter had lemon ricotta with fruit compote pancakes and they were some of the best pancakes; I had lox and bagels and my husband the spring (veggie– Swiss chars, wild mushrooms) egg scramble. Service is good until you need something extra (like a fork because you dropped yours, or cream for your coffee). Brunch for 4 was about $ 93 with 4 entrees and 4 drinks. So not great value but it’s downtown Santa Barbara so I’d expect that.

I absolutely loved this place! It’s in a great location and parking was very easy. I was able to call in 15 minutes prior to arriving to put my name in and my table was ready as soon as I walked in. Vivian was our server and she was very nice and informative. We started with the salted pretzel and salami, which was amazing. We also got the shrimp and grits and pork belly sliders. Both the dishes were really good. I was a little sad that they had ran out of the cinnamon rolls though :(Everything was very tasty and the portions were perfect. I love that they make a lot of items on the menu in their own bakery. Everything was absolutely as fresh as can be.

This was our first time coming here. My cousins both ordered one of the breakfast meals and I ordered a blueberry muffin and a side of the pee wee potatoes. The food was great. The muffin was loaded with blueberries and the potatoes were nicely seasoned. After trying one of my potatoes, my cousin said, «that’s a whole lot of flavor for such a small potato!»
The atmosphere feels very much like a hipster coffee shop. The playlist included bands like Purity Ring. The table had glass cups, cloth napkins, and brown sugar cubes in a bowl. We had a great experience getting breakfast there.

It was a mini mission finding this little gem.
Their brunch menu changes seasonally, but when I came here I had the following:
brioche french toast
warm spices, orange marscarpone, fresh berries, almonds, mint, house-​made syrup
— this dish was alright, but not very memorable. the marscarpone was a little overpowering.
shrimp and grits
sautéed prawns, two soft poached eggs, paprika sausage, caramelized onions, roasted red pepper
— no joke, this dish was really good. the prawns were cooked nicely, the eggs were the definition of yolk porn, and the grits were nice and creamy.
bloody mary
— made with organic vodka. I was skeptical at first but decided to try it anyway and was glad I did because it was very refreshing and was spicy to my liking!
recommendation: shrimp and grits, bloody mary

Went here for my birthday brunch and it was the perfect way to celebrate! The patio is super secluded from the noise of State street and is a lovely backdrop to a delicious meal with some friends.
The only drawback was the service: I initially called ahead to say that I was on my way & asked to put my name on the list in case there was a long line (it was a Saturday). The hostess said ok & took all my info, but then when we got there she said she had made a mistake and that «reservations» weren’t allowed. I thought that was kind of silly, since it was only a «reservation» for 20 minutes into the future! So we ended up waiting about 15 min, which wasn’t bad.
We tried the biscuit sampler — so good! It comes with a buttermilk & a maple bacon biscuit. The maple bacon one is to die for!
I ordered the fried chicken sandwich, which was HUGE and flavorful. I really loved the addition of the slaw to add moisture. However, the fried egg on top was way too overcooked, which sucked.
I also got the toasted coconut breeze cocktail, which gives you a lot of alcohol for only $ 10. The rum was very strong, but went great with the sweet coconut.
I’ll definitely be returning to try Scarlett Begonia again! If you want a more in-​depth review, check out my post here:

This is truly a hidden gem!
— great ambience! I love the outdoors seating area, especially on a sunny day!
— service was great. People were friendly and willing to recommend.
— food is fresh and menu is constantly changing based on what’s most fresh.
I got the Soft Scrambled Eggs. It was creamed spinach and scrambled eggs over a bed of potatoes. Presentation was nice, but not super remarkable tastewise. Its a safe dish to order.
The biscuit sampler ($ 7) was AMAZING. SO WORTH. It was one berry and one maple bacon biscuit. They were both very flaky. The maple bacon one was carmelized on the outsides too, which added a really nice touch.
My friend got the Fried Chicken Breakfast Burger and it was huge! The slaw and brioche with the thick piece of chicken was great but the egg was made slightly overcooked.
I also got to try the Scarlett Burger and it was REALLY flavorful! It comes with bacon marmalade too. The fries kinda tastes like well done fries at In n Out, which is my favorite.

First time here and I will be back!
Ordered the Shrimp and Grits which was on point! The fresh poached eggs brought all the flavors together deliciously.
The French toast was mediocre. Could’ve had more flavor to it.
The Bloody Mary was great and freshly made.

Really late review of my experience back in April. Sorry!
Def one of my fav brunch spots in S.B. Excellent attentive service, nice patio area, hidden in a plaza. We had a party of 20+ who arrived at different times (celebrating a bunch of milestones). Although they did not take reservations and was on a first come first serve basis, they were able to accommodate as tables in the patio became available, quickly and efficiently. We didn’t mind being seated in different areas. Just wanted to get in and out :)
Highly recommend:
1. SHRIMP AND GRITS: sautéed prawns, two soft poached eggs, paprika sausage, caramelized onions, roasted red pepper; so delicious and memorable
2. SPRING SCRAMBLE: asparagus, oyster mushrooms, spring squash swiss chard, garlic, shallot, organic eggs, grained potatoes, goats cheese; ingredients were so fresh
3. AVOCADO TARTINE: bacon, marinated tomato, organic poached egg, on Deux ciabatta; a little bit dry but overall good
Complimentary homemade toffee was great!

The food is good. The atmosphere is dirty.
After being open this long, I expect much better than the lazy service Scarlett Begonia seems to reluctantly offer. Does anyone what to be at work? It does not look like from where I’m seated.
Over the years I’ve come here the story is always the same. Long waits, even when they took OpenTable reservations they could not honor, unclean tables, chairs and silverware, staff that did not look or act like they wanted to be there flowing into jokingly slow service dishing out delicious food. Yes. Absolutely delicious food.
On my last and what I hope is my final visit, we learned they now take your phone number and call you when your table is ready. I chucked wondering if our brunch get together will turn into dinner by the time they call. It was only about an hour and we spent our time enjoying bloody marys down the street. The four of us are seated at a set table where little care and attention had been spared. My place mat was splattered with ketchup, napkin was dirty and so was my knife. It would not be a visit to this little eatery without a menu that you can’t order from due to many items selling out. I think by 11:30 am they were already out of 3 dishes. Ok, I’ll have whatever’s left. I could go on but you get the picture.
It’s not all dark and negative, kids. The food is really good. I mean REALLY good.
Go with the $ 16 Shrimp & Grits. It’s constantly a winner. I’ve enjoyed pork belly, breakfast sandwiches, biscuit samplers and hash. All were delicious. Come to think of it, I’ve never had anything bad here. Food that is.
Here’s the bottom line.
At this point after all these years (opened September of 2011) I expect you to know what you’re doing both in the front of house and the kitchen. Scarlett B is a master in the kitchen but clueless up front and for that, I give up on you.

Certainement le meilleur restaurant américain où nous avons mangé!
Le service est irréprochable: rapide, gentil et efficace. Le cadre est romantique: petite fontaine avec fleurs dans une cour. La nourriture est bonne: j’ai gouté le cheeseburger dont le pain est maison.