Four Eateries Under One Roof: “Scratch” Reveals Dining Concepts for Montecito Inn

by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo
photos by Jakob Layman
story published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 9/7/17

“Not much of what we do is typical,” admits Philip Frankland Lee, chef-owner of Los Angeles-based ScatchlRestaurants. It’s a mantra that has served him and his partner-wife, Margarita Kallas-Lee, well in the last few years, and which speaks to the imaginative slant to the way they do business.

 

“It doesn’t cost any more to have an original idea,” he adds.

 

The buzzed-about chef’s star has been rising steadily since the couple launched their latest their multi-layered endeavor in Encino in 2015. Four restaurants in all – four storefronts connected through the back – including the marquee eatery, ScratchlBar, where chefs playing servers drives a personalized experience and where tasting menus can feature 25 courses. As the name implies, most everything on the menu is made by hand and from scratch. The couple also runs Frankland’s Crab & Co., Woodley Proper and SushilBar, all on the second floor of a strip mall along Ventura Blvd.

 

“Instead of one giant space it’s four spaces of different sizes, four different styles and four different levels of commitment,” says Chef Lee. “It reminds me of a great hotel in South Beach or Las Vegas where you go in and have several restaurants on the first floor. I like that.”

 

Philip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee 

The Lees are hoping the concept will translate just as successfully to Montecito, where, between now and the end of the year, they plan to premier four unique concepts inside the Montecito Inn. The 2500-square-foot bar and eatery spaces that flank the historic hotel’s entrance along Coast Village Road have been closed and covered up to walkers-by for more than a year. This will be the culinary couple’s first business venture outside of L.A., though not entirely in unfamiliar territory. “I grew up and went to high school in the San Fernando Valley,” says Mr. Lee, 30, “and I remember spending quite a bit of time in Santa Barbara.”

 

The Lees are revealing their four concepts in stages, beginning later this month with the second outpost for Frankland’s Crab & Co. Located inside the inn’s former cocktail bar, this casual spot will be accessible from the street and will feature standards like “peel-and-eat shrimp, lobster rolls, crab rolls, clam chowder and fried chicken sandwiches,” says Chef Lee. “Like a Malibu or county line crab shack.” Food, ordered via walk-up counter, will be for dine-in or take-out.

 

"Scratch" in the works at the Montecito Inn (my pic)

October will see the launch of The Monarch inside the longtime former home of The Montecito Café, just off the hotel’s lobby. Breakfast, lunch and dinner items will focus on Central Coast vegetables, seafood and game and will be complemented a regionally focused wine list and by cocktails prepped at a newly built 40-foot bar. The Monarch will also handle room service for Montecito Inn guests.

 

Margarita’s Home Made Iced Cream will open in October, too, a pet project of Mrs. Kallas-Lee, an accomplished pastry chef. Orders will be taken at a counter inside The Monarch as well as through a walk-up window along Coast Village Road. “I envision ice cream as a composed dish: the sprinkles complement the ice cream, which complements the cone,” says Mrs. Kallas-Lee, 28, who plans on featuring eight different types of cones. “And everything will be made from scratch and with natural ingredients. Like the sprinkles – things like beet powder and lavender oil and a little charcoal for color.” Among her sweet creations: chocolate ganache ice cream on a chocolate cone with dulce de leche sprinkles; roasted plantain ice cream in a corn cone with corn sprinkles; and triple-crème camembert ice cream in a sourdough waffle cone with sourdough breadcrumbs, wild honey and lavender sprinkles.

 

“There will be standards, but I like focusing on ingredients not usually highlighted in desserts,” she says.

 

Lobster rolls at Frankland's Crab & Co. in Encino

The Lees are most tight-lipped about their final concept, due in late December. The Silver Bough will focus on luxury dining – “The French Laundry for Santa Barbara,” says Chef Lee – with only 16 seats and only two seatings per night. Located in a space toward the back of the hotel and not visible from the street, the fine dining venue will require reservations up to a month in advance and will give seating preference to inn guests.

 

The couple, who’ve been married for five years, is living at the Montecito Inn while their latest enterprise unfolds. They admit their vision is ambitious but believe it’s in synch with today’s foodie culture, and therefore timely. “Ten year ago, it was difficult to eat well, then it was expensive,” says Chef Lee. “Now, eating well is more convenient and very much in fashion.” And the pair sees their arrival in Montecito as a partnership with nearby restaurants, not as a rivalry. “We don’t look at it as competition because no one is serving the same food as we are,” says the chef. “The more successful and the stronger the restaurant community, the better we’re all going to do.”

 

For up to date information, check out scratchrestaurants.com.

 

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