Restaurant in Los Olivos, United States
Mattei's Tavern
210ptsHistoric setting, live fire, real cooking.
About Mattei's Tavern
A Michelin Plate-recognised dining room operating inside a restored 19th-century stagecoach stop, Mattei's Tavern brings Auberge Resorts' California hospitality to Los Olivos wine country. Chef Rhoda Magbitang's shared-plates menu draws from an on-site garden and a live-fire kitchen, with dishes that sit comfortably in the California farm-to-table tradition while reaching toward more ambitious technique.
Is Mattei's Tavern worth booking for dinner?
Yes — with the right expectations. Mattei's Tavern is a Michelin Plate-recognised restaurant operating inside a historic property reimagined by Auberge Resorts in Los Olivos, California. Chef Rhoda Magbitang runs a shared-plates, live-fire Californian menu that draws on an on-site garden. The price point is $$$$ and the setting is genuine: a stagecoach stop from the late 1880s that later became a Prohibition-era hangout, now restored without stripping the character out. If you are visiting Santa Ynez wine country and want one serious dinner on the trip, this is the booking to make.
What to expect on your first visit
The atmosphere at Mattei's leans unhurried and warm rather than hushed and formal. The room carries the weight of its history — exposed wood, the kind of ambient energy you get from a space that has hosted generations of travellers , but it does not feel museum-like. Noise levels are conversational rather than loud, which makes it well-suited to dinners where the company matters as much as the food. First-timers should arrive expecting a relaxed pace; this is wine-country dining, not a city restaurant running two sittings.
Service here is where the Auberge ownership becomes relevant. Auberge properties are known for attentive, polished hospitality, and Mattei's benefits from that infrastructure without tipping into the stiffness you sometimes get at hotel dining rooms. The staff understand the menu and the garden sourcing behind it, which matters when you are eating shared plates and trying to sequence the meal correctly. At this price point, that level of guidance earns its place.
What to order
The braised abalone finished with abalone liver mousse over mushroom confit in white miso butter is the dish to start with , technically precise and a strong signal of what the kitchen can do. Among the wood-fired sides, grilled wedges of cabbage over tomato stew with spiced chickpea and salsa macha is worth ordering even if it sounds incidental; it is not. Finish with the dark chocolate soufflé with crème anglaise and butterscotch. Large main dishes are built for sharing, so resist the urge to over-order on mains and use that budget on the sides and a dessert instead.
Leading time to visit
Los Olivos is leading visited between late spring and early autumn when the garden sourcing is at its most productive and the Santa Ynez Valley is drawing visitors for wine weekends. Weekday evenings are the easiest booking window; Friday and Saturday dinners fill quickly given the limited restaurant options in the area and the draw of Auberge guests. If you are travelling specifically for this meal, a Thursday or Sunday dinner gives you the most relaxed service rhythm. Book well in advance , this is rated Hard for booking difficulty, and the combination of a small-town location and a recognised name means availability tightens fast.
How It Compares
Know Before You Go
- Address
- 2350 Railway Ave, Los Olivos, CA 93441
- Price range
- $$$$ (shared plates format)
- Awards
- Michelin Plate (2024)
- Google rating
- 4.3 / 5 (150 reviews)
- Booking difficulty
- Hard , reserve well in advance, especially for weekends
- Leading for
- Wine-country dinner, special occasions, couples, small groups
- Dress code
- Smart casual is a safe assumption at this price point and under Auberge management
- Dietary restrictions
- Contact the restaurant directly before visiting; menu not confirmed online
Explore more in Los Olivos
- Bar Le Côte , Seafood with a Spanish-California angle, a strong alternative for a lighter meal
- Stolpman Vineyards Los Olivos Tasting Room , worth pairing with a Mattei's dinner on the same trip
- Our full Los Olivos restaurants guide
- Our full Los Olivos hotels guide
- Our full Los Olivos bars guide
- Our full Los Olivos wineries guide
- Our full Los Olivos experiences guide
Pearl Picks , if Mattei's is not right for your trip
- The French Laundry, Napa , if you want the definitive California fine dining benchmark
- Single Thread Farm, Healdsburg , farm-to-table at a higher technical level, also wine country
- Addison, San Diego , Southern California's Michelin-starred alternative for a formal occasion
- Providence, Los Angeles , if seafood-forward California cooking is the priority
- Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Tarrytown , the closest national comparison for garden-driven live-fire dining
Compare Mattei's Tavern
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mattei's Tavern | American | $$$$ | Hard |
| Le Bernardin | French, Seafood | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Lazy Bear | Progressive American, Contemporary | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Atomix | Modern Korean, Korean | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Atelier Crenn | Modern French, Contemporary | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Benu | French - Chinese, Asian | $$$$ | Unknown |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I order at Mattei's Tavern?
Start with the braised abalone finished with abalone liver mousse over mushroom confit in white miso butter — it's the dish that signals what Chef Rhoda Magbitang is doing here. On the wood-fired side, grilled cabbage wedges over tomato stew with spiced chickpea and salsa macha are worth ordering even if you're not usually a sides person. Close with the dark chocolate soufflé with crème anglaise and butterscotch.
Is the tasting menu worth it at Mattei's Tavern?
Mattei's operates a shared plates format rather than a traditional tasting menu, so the experience is more flexible than a locked-in omakase or chef's progression. At $$$$ pricing, the live fire cooking and garden-sourced ingredients justify the spend if you order across the full menu — starters, mains, and sides. If you're looking for a strict tasting menu format in wine country, that's a different category of restaurant.
What should I wear to Mattei's Tavern?
The setting is a reimagined 1880s stagecoach stop operated by Auberge Resorts, which signals a step above casual without requiring formal dress. Los Olivos is a small wine country town, so the local register tends toward relaxed but considered — think polished resort wear rather than a blazer-required room. The atmosphere leans warm and unhurried rather than hushed and formal.
Is Mattei's Tavern worth the price?
At $$$$ for a shared plates dinner in Los Olivos, Mattei's is positioned at the high end of Santa Ynez Valley dining — and the Michelin Plate recognition (2024) confirms the cooking merits the price point. The on-site garden, live fire program, and technically precise dishes like the braised abalone give you clear reasons for the spend. If you're looking for $$$$ value in a tasting menu format, this isn't that; if you want a well-executed Californian meal in a property with real history, it holds up.
What are alternatives to Mattei's Tavern in Los Olivos?
Los Olivos is a small town, so the restaurant options at this price tier are limited. For a comparable wine country dining experience in the broader Santa Barbara region, the choice usually comes down to Mattei's or driving into Santa Barbara proper. Mattei's is the clearest case for staying in Los Olivos if you're already in the Santa Ynez Valley and want a full dinner rather than a tasting room snack.
Is Mattei's Tavern good for a special occasion?
Yes — the combination of a historically significant property, Auberge Resorts' hospitality standard, and Chef Rhoda Magbitang's Michelin Plate-recognised cooking gives it the weight a special occasion needs. The shared plates format makes the table feel social rather than ceremonial, which works better for celebrations than a strict tasting menu progression. Book ahead; at $$$$ in a small town, this is not a walk-in option for groups.
Does Mattei's Tavern handle dietary restrictions?
The menu is built around a shared plates format with an on-site garden and live fire cooking, which suggests reasonable flexibility for vegetable-forward adjustments — the wood-fired sides in particular offer a strong vegetarian direction. That said, dishes like the braised abalone and the garden-driven Californian menu are protein-forward by design. check the venue's official channels before booking if restrictions are significant, as specific accommodations are not documented in available records.
Recognized By
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