Coast restaurant opens at reworked hotel

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

After closing its doors in October for a complete remodel, Coast Restaurant and Bar opened Monday at the Canary Hotel in downtown Santa Barbara, with hotel managers describing its rebirth as fun, fashionable and friendly.
Formerly known as 31 West, after its location at 31 W. Carrillo St., the restaurant has undergone a complete facelift — part of an overall reworking of the hotel previously known as the Hotel Andalucia.

Drawing its new moniker from the Canary Islands, general manager Manfred Timmel said the Canary Hotel’s overall theme is reflected in the warm atmosphere of Coast.
“We keep with the Spanish décor, but it switched to a Spanish island décor,” he explained. “…The restaurant was totally redone. There is nothing left from 31 West.”
As manager of the hotel for the past two years, Timmel said he has seen the restaurant transformed into a more inviting dining destination and characterized the menu as locally inspired.
“It is really a wide spread so you feel like coming back more than once a week,” he said.
After tasting each dish during the dry training runs in the past two weeks, Timmel pointed to the shaved prime rib sandwich, rigatoni with beef ragout, and flat iron steak as standouts.
Coast also offers a raw bar with fresh seafood and a largely local wine list, with selections from Santa Ynez and the Santa Rita Hills. Appetizers run from $6 to $12, while salads and sandwiches range between $9 and $14. Entrees run the gamut from $14 for fish and chips up to $28 for the grilled ribeye.
Construction on the restaurant’s new look ended about two weeks ago. Timmel said while business was slow on Monday due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Coast had plenty of dinner reservations for its opening night.
“I’d rather start slowly than briskly,” he said.
He explained that a decision to bring the hotel and restaurant more in step with its sister hotel in Santa Monica, Shutters on the Beach, prompted the complete overhaul. A restaurant there, also dubbed Coast, has a similar atmosphere and menu, Timmel said, adding that the chef at Coast Santa Barbara, Fermin Arias, has made a few changes to appeal to local residents.
“We hope to achieve a buzz and really create a meeting place and watering hole for the local community,” he said.
Coast is open daily for breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and dinner from 6 to 10 p.m., with a 4 to 7 p.m. happy hour on Monday through Friday. More information is available by calling 884-0300.
“I’ve been working on this for quite some time, naturally,” Timmel said. “It’s very exciting. There isn’t really a restaurant like this in Santa Barbara, so I think it’s a great addition to the Santa Barbara restaurant scene.”