ristorazione — Santa Barbara · California
In Santa Barbara, where the Pacific meets the hills of Southern California, Ca' Dario Ristorante has been serving the cuisine of Northern Italy since 1997, with the fidelity of someone who lived that tradition firsthand. An address that time has only confirmed.
When Dario Furlati opened the first Ca' Dario in 1997, downtown Santa Barbara had few restaurants capable of offering authentic Northern Italian cuisine. Trained in the kitchens of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles — from Prego to Ca'Brea — Furlati brought to Victoria Street a menu with no compromises: imported Italian ingredients, traditional recipes, and the resolve of someone determined to stay true to a precise cuisine.
In the dining room, the rhythm is that of a home: Furlati describes his staff as a family, and that care comes through in the service. A continuity recognized beyond the restaurant's walls as well: Ca' Dario received the OpenTable Diners' Choice award in 2019 and 2023, and the title of Best Italian Restaurant according to Restaurant Guru in 2019.
It is in the kitchen that tradition takes concrete shape: the pasta is made fresh every day, from ravioli to potato gnocchi, following recipes brought over from Northern Italy. Furlati pairs imported Italian ingredients — pasta, cheeses, flour, olive oil — with fresh products from the local market, pursuing a consistency of flavor that, over nearly thirty years, has kept guests coming back.
The butter-and-sage ravioli, the seafood risotto, the fresh pasta made daily: every dish is an invitation to discover the rest of the story.
