Owner Crista sent me an update about Scarlett Begonia at 11 W. Victoria St.:
Hi John,
Scarlett Begonia is now offering a seasonal tasting menu every Sunday. The menu changes every week and it is amazing. I don’t take reservations, but for this menu I will. Could you please inform your readers and link it to my website? It is scarlettbegonia.net. Located on the Brunch menu button.
Thanks!
Crista Fooks
Whoa, when did Scarlett Begonia move towards molecular gastronomy? I am seriously impressed. I don’t think anyone in town has touched this at all.
Yum on the 63 degree eggs. I had it the first time with uni at Cafe Atlantico and it was seriously good.
Good call Lily. Cafe Atlantico rocks. I hope Scarlett starts using their immersion circulator to make their soft scrambled eggs. They used to do a great job but lately the chef is really overcooking it. I understand it’s difficult and very time consuming to *slow* cook eggs but if you can’t do it right, why offer it on the menu?
No Brunch Menu button!
Click menu then click brunch
I really want this place to succeed as the menu and concept are so promising but it really under-delivers, mostly on the service\management front. As far as front of the house goes it really is amateur hour. It is clear the owner has no previous restaurant experience as the service is soo poorly manged. The servers are some of the most clueless in all of Santa Barbara, like their mind is on another planet and their vibe is almost nervous at times. No one seems to have a clue what is is going on about which tables have been served, who needs to be seated, etc. The main culprits appear to be poorly trained servers/lack of competent front of the house management and the terrible iPad order taking system.
Taking orders on an iPad seems like a novel and cutting edge concept, but it is a total failure at this place. The way the iPad system is set up makes for a very odd and uncomfortable experience for the guests. Often you will tell the server your order completely then they have to go back through the iPad menu system to check off every little single thing asking you repeatedly what you want as they fumble through it. Say you just want a glass of water, they have to fumble around with the machine before they can even just pour you something so simple. You’d think with a system like this orders would be received more efficiently and correctly to the kitchen, well wrong. If the iPad does not sync up properly with the kitchen your order can be “lost” and you have to start all over again or just the clunky interface and often brainless servers can’t seem to enter it right. Ditching the iPads and using good ole pen and paper I think could really improve the experience overall.
As far as the food, it shows so much promise, but still inconsistent. The menu descriptions sound wonderful and sometimes your meal ends up living up to it and other times you wonder what is going on in the kitchen. Also numerous times they are out of things and if you’re lucky you find this out before you order or if you are not you find out after your order has been placed. Kitchens run out of things, it happens, the problem more has to do with how the servers handle the situation which is ever so ungraceful here. I’ve also seen a table told they were out of the item they ordered even though they had already finished their meal and were paying their check, bizarre and the guests were left wondering what the server was even talking about. They use high quality products and almost all of it is homemade which is always appreciated as far as I’m concerned. If they could really nail the dishes it would be great. I really hope they notice what a crap show the dining room often is and can get what appears to be relatively easily fixable issues in order as this really could be a great place.
As far as being the only place using “molecular gastronomy” or more correctly put, modernist technique, no they are not the only place. Julienne uses many modern techniques in their dishes it is just not overly detailed about this on their menu (a good thing IMO)
I agree with your review. The service is really lacking. And thank you for schooling me on culinary terms.
I like Scarlett B.
However…..This a place, like so many in SB, that tries to be all things for all people too soon. I wish they would simplify the menu, only do the things they can afford to do (labor & materials) train the line so they can really learn a dish, be consistent, allow the kitchen lead to run an efficient line and the servers understand their job. It takes time and effort to learn a dish, a technique. Just because it’s written on the menu, and the cooks ‘understand’ the dish doesn’t mean it can be delivered consistently. It’s really difficult with a long learning curve….