Ty Lounge - Santa Barbara

Had a couple hours to kill and Stacie totally saved me from my boredom. Got a couple cocktails here and the calamari. Omnomnom. The calamari was freaking huge and I had to take it to go and yes I even brought it with me during our 6 hour drive back to SF. Cocktails were huge and they even let me take it in a to-go cup so I could walk around outside and enjoy the view. One of my raspberry vodka cocktails tasted a lot like tequila though for some reason and I hate tequila but I asked Stacie and she confirmed it was vodka hmmm. There was complimentary popcorn and snack mix that I munched happily on as I played on my phone. They also have a new drink every day in a giant vat and they gave me a shot of it too. Stacie didn't judge me at all when I told her to just put all my drinks in one cup. Yes I am gross and no I do not care.

When you arrive in late afternoon for the sunset, end up spending 6 hours, enjoying the view and then the fire pit, you know it's amazing. Loved the wine list, the food and the Moscow Mule-wow!

I got off work late and wanted to celebrate a little victory, and decided on the Biltmore for its lovely ambiance (especially their decorations in winters ! We got the seat in front of the fireplace (yay and checked out their menu. I was grateful that there was a legend for what was vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free (although the labeling was hard to read . There seemed to be only one vegan option (the olives , but upon asking the nice server, he was able to verify that other things could be made vegan. I got the veggie burger (made vegan with the truffle fries (veganized by removing the parmesan . Delicious! I would probably get regular fries next time, because I found these were really oily (yes, there's truffle oil on them, but there was a lot and I've had truffle fries that weren't this oily . My partner had the tuna empanadas and thought they were okay. He loved his cocktail (I think the one with cacao bitters? , which I found really sweet. There were A LOT OF OLIVES. They were tasty, but we brought them home and are still eating them a couple of days after! All in all a delightful time. Service was excelent, the food was tasty, the ambiance was romantic, the decor was festive.

We recently enjoyed handcrafted cocktails in front of the fireplace on a chilly fall evening. There was a local musician playing Spanish style guitar in the corner and the server brought us tapas (dried apricots and roasted chick peas) to enjoy with our drinks. I think some of the furniture could use a little makeover, the couch in front of the fireplace was a little musty, but we generally enjoy the atmosphere in the lounge and can always count on a good cocktail here.

My absolute go-to for a sunset martini. Excellent and elegant.....one of the best spots in Santa Barbara.