TOMA RESTAURANT
ADDRESS: 324 W Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
WEBSITE: https://www.tomarestaurant.com/
My girlfriend Cami and I took a trip out to Santa Barbara, where we stayed on the southern side, near West Beach. One night after catching the sunset out by the water, we walked over to Toma Restaurant, which had been recommended by my friend Yuji. Fortunately for us, they had a table availability, even with us being a walk-in around 8:30PM.
The atmosphere within the dining area could definitely be described as more on the intimate side, with dimmer mood lighting, white tablecloths over all of the tabletops, and miniature candles placed at each table. There were a good mixture of two-person, four-person, and six-person tables to accommodate the various party sizes. Even though it did feel like the dining room had a lot of people inside, the tables were spaced out well enough to prevent you from feeling like you’re sitting immediately next to the group over.
For food, there is a good variety of pastas, meats, and seafood options to select from, coupled with a set of different starter plates as well. To pair with your food, Toma also offered an extensive selection of different wines as well, including red, white, champagne, and rosé. Cami and I decided to get a diverse selection of dishes to sample the different areas of their menu: fried artichokes to start, then the rigatoni pasta, along with the braised beef short rib entrée.
Even though the place was still pretty packed near the end of their dinner service, the kitchen was definitely still in a good rhythm, with us getting our fried artichoke plate probably 10 minutes after we put in our order of food. Breaded in semolina flour, the artichokes had a nice crunch to them while still maintaining their characteristic slightly bitter flavor. They were served with some pickled sweet peppers and a lemon aioli, and the aioli did have a prominent flavor that helped with contrasting from the heaviness of the fried breading.
Just as we were wrapping up our artichokes, that’s when our rigatoni and beef short rib ended up coming out to the table. Both dishes looked and smelled amazing, and we decided to dive right into the rigatoni first. Immersed in a sauce made with San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and grape tomatoes, the pasta was joined by some spicy Italian sausage, and the dish was garnished with Parmigiano Reggiano and freshly chopped parsley. The sauce had a rich flavor, enhanced by the robust and salty flavor of the Parmigiano. The spiciness from the Italian sausage was just enough to have a lingering heat after you ate some of it, but not overwhelming either. It was certainly a very hearty plate of pasta that was enjoyable with every bite.
We transitioned from one rich and hearty plate of food to another, as the braised beef short rib was just as delicious as the pasta, but leaned more towards the earthy and umami flavor profiles instead. The beef itself was cooked super tender where it shredded easily with the side of a fork. The umami flavor was brought on primarily with the natural pan jus that was spooned over the meat after it was plated, and also melded together well with the whipped potatoes, red onion confit, baby carrot, and broccolini. This dish was certainly a nice counter to the more acidic flavors brought on with the pasta and its rich tomato sauce.
I certainly have my friend Yuji to thank for the recommendation to check this place out, along with fortune favoring us to walk in and still be able to grab a table that night. It has a great location nearby the beach that makes it very accessible, along with walking distance to a number of different hotels in the nearby neighborhood. With quality ingredients in the food along with a nice variety of different options to choose from, Toma is definitely a great spot to check out for visits to the Santa Barbara area.
Let’s now take a look at the Toma Restaurant Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Crispy Artichokes **
Artichoke hearts breaded with semolina flour and fried, served with pickled sweet peppers and lemon aioli.
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** Rigatoni ala Emilio’s **
Rigatoni pasta served with a San Marzano tomato sauce, garlic, oregano, grape tomatoes, and spicy Italian sausage, garnished with fresh chopped parsley and Parmigiano Reggiano.
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** Braised Beef Short Rib **
Braised beef short rib served on a bed of whipped potatoes, red onion confit, broccolini, and baby carrots, topped with natural pan jus.
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And finally, here are my rankings for Toma Restaurant:
Food: 5 / 5
Rich flavors, excellent quality ingredients, and a great variety of different Italian options to choose from. You can’t go wrong with the dishes you choose here, and their wine selection will definitely let you find something to pair along with the food you order.
Atmosphere: 4.5 / 5
At nighttime, it is definitely a more intimate atmosphere, with the dimmer lighting and candles at each table. The large windows in the front of the restaurant would help to let in a lot of natural lighting during the daytime as well.
Service: 4.25 / 5
The pacing of the food came out at a very good speed, with us not needing to wait too long after we ordered before we received our starter plate. The main entrées then came out just as we were on the last bites of the artichokes. Our waiter came around periodically during the meal also to check in and see if we needed anything else.
Price: 4.75 / 5
For the price points of the various dishes that we got that night, it was all very much worth it for both the quality of the ingredients as well as the location of the place. Our artichokes came in at $18, while the pasta and beef short rib were $28 and $42, respectively. Certainly prices I would gladly pay again.
Overall:
18.5 / 20
(93%)
Categories: California, Restaurants
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