Restaurant Review: Lucky's

A few months back, we were watching a show on the Food Network called The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Chef Cat Cora named Lucky's as her favorite dining spot for a strip steak and both Eric and I drooled over our TV. It was a little lot out of our price range, so I really wasn't expecting to go there any time soon.

Not to mention, it's in Montecito.

For those of you not familiar with the area, you probably have no idea what that is or that Oprah lives there or that it's definitely not a place for commoners like me.


Lucky's is located right on the main strip in Montecito. We lucked out with street parking directly across from the restaurant and it was free because it was after 6pm.

We started off with a cocktail. Eric ordered an Old Fashioned and I ordered the Blueberri Patch:

"Stoli Blueberri, Sweet & Sour and a Secret Splash. Served chilled and up with a sugar rim. An Ezra Atwill original."

I ordered the petit filet mignon. It was juicy and tender and came with grill marks that I don't even think were made with a marker. This place is way better than Sizzler!, I thought to myself. I asked for it medium and it was cooked to perfection- slightly blackened on the outside, pink through the middle. With just two saws of the knife, slices of meat were practically falling off. The steaks come with a sauce of your choice- I went with the peppercorn, based on our server's advise (who, by the way, was extremely helpful and friendly). It looked like a brown gravy and the flavor was rich and very buttery. There were whole peppercorns in it, but it definitely didn't have an overly peppery flavor.

Eric ordered the Bone-In New York, Delmonico. It was easily a larger cut than mine and, according to our server, had more marbling throughout. I tried a bite and it seemed pretty similar to the filet, but with a little more consistency.

For our sides, we went with a baked potato and the hashed browns with Gruyere cheese. The baked potato was topped with Cheddar and bacon and included a side of sour cream. The hash with Gruyere... A gooey, carboloaded treat.

Both potato versions were decadent and rich and you can't go wrong with either. But if you're going to splurge, do the Gruyere.

Worth noting: the steaks do not come with any sides. When you order a hunk of meat, you'll get a hunk of meat and that's it. I thought that was a little disappointing. Maybe that's just how fancy people eat. Fancy people hate side dishes.

If you're in the area and looking for a nice, quaint restaurant that oozes Santa Barbara style, head to Lucky's. Even if it's just for a drink, it's more than worth it.

(Thank you, Eric, for the best birthday dinner ever.)