2025 UPDATE: AVA Santa Barbara is now the Santa Barbara Wine Collective; Lafond Winery Tasting Room is no longer in the Funk Zone; The Santa Barbara Art Foundry is permanently closed.
Located between West Cabrillo Boulevard and Highway 101 in Santa Barbara, the Funk Zone is a neighborhood of artisan shops, art galleries, hip eateries, award-winning microbreweries, and a craft distillery. For many years it was an area of run-down and empty buildings, located in probably one of the best real estate areas in town, blocks away from the beach and the picturesque Santa Barbara Pier. Local businessman Brian Kelly had the vision to renovate and started luring artists, winemakers, and up-and-coming chefs to take up shop in aged warehouses and forgotten scuba shops, transforming the zone into an eclectic array of hidden gems unique to California’s Central Coast.
If you are visiting Santa Barbara and do not have the time to drive to the wine country, the Funk Zone is home to (as of the date of this post) 8 wine tasting rooms, making a day of sampling the l ocal Santa Barbara County wine fun and easy. Additionally, 5 of thewineries located in the Funk Zone are part of Santa Barbara’s Urban Wine Trail.
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| On Anacapa St, Pali Wine Co. is a good place to start |
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| Buy a cheese plate and a wine flight and enjoy the day |
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| With wines on tap you can refill your bottles as often as needed |
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| They have two labels marketed under Pali and Tower 15 |
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| This is a great label |
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| AVA Santa Barbara is right next door and another good stop |
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| And across the street is the Lafond Tasting Room |
If wine is not your thing, you could spend your day channeling your inner artist, by visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara’s satellite location at Hotel Indigo or taking a tour at The Santa Barbara Art Foundry. In addition, there are many restaurants in the area, one of the most popular, and hard to obtain reservations, is at The Lark on Anacapa. Or to grab a quick bite, you might find a food truck or two stationed at one of the intersections. No matter your fancy, head on down to check it out.
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| The Lark is housed in a very cool space that was the former fish market |
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| The space was designed by San Francisco restauranteur Doug Washington |
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| Crispy Smoked Pork Belly |
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| Grilled Spanish Octopus with Israeli Couscous |
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| The Lark shares a parking lot with the Lucky Penny Pizzeria |
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| The entire facade is decorated with pennies |
I hope y’all are having a wonderful week. Bye, bye September, and hello October!
‘xo M
