Chef Ricardo Zarate of Chef Zarate Restaurant Group opened Blue Tavern on Tuesday November 2013. The restaurant is situated just two blocks from the ocean amid Santa Barbara’s most coveted real estate on State Street. Showcasing a natural progression of Zarate’s proficiency for blending cultures, Blue Tavern features quintessential Californian fare, such as pizza, pasta, and grilled meats, envisioned through the culinary lens of a native Peruvian.

This is the group’s fourth restaurant—following the success of Los Angeles concepts Mo-chica, Picca, andPaich?—takes its inspiration from Zarate’s heritage and the relaxed ethos of its guests, resulting in a location that is at once international and local, inspired and approachable.

Zarate, a 2011 Food & Wine Best New Chef and two-time James Beard Foundation Award semifinalist for Best Chef: West, fully realizes the symbiosis of Californian techniques and Peruvian ingredients throughout the menu. The quintessential beet, tomato, and burrata salad is reimagined when tossed in a huacatay-pesto dressing; seafood medley risotto receives a Peruvian makeover with a tomato-aji panca base and salsa verde; and the traditional dish lomo saltado is recast as housemade tagliatelle with filet of beef, tomato-onion stew, and pecorino. The modern space is anchored by a wood-burning oven, which produces hand-tossed pizzas (prosciutto, goat cheese, and burrata, will be topped with huacatay pesto); seafood (steamed mussels and chorizo are given a Lima accent with aji amarillo butter and lime juice); and meat (anticucho-marinated grilled rib eye meets a potato tarte tatin).

“I always try to blend inspiration from my past and present when I create a menu,” Zarate says. “To update classic Californian dishes with ingredients from my country, along with produce”.

Phone: 805.845.0989

Address: 119 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Website: http://bluetavernsb.com/