Though closed at the moment like many restaurants in town, Santa Barbara Dining and Destinations reports that new things are happening at the Wine Cask, the classic Santa Barbara restaurant at 813 Anacapa Street. New owner John O’Neill, and former owner of Elements Restaurant and Bar, one of Santa Barbara’s top culinary destinations for nearly a decade, has set out to breathe new life – and more fun – into SB’s most revered fine-dining establishment. How will the grand dame of Santa Barbara dining look after a makeover? Details are still being decided, but think fresh, bright and new, says O’Neill adding, “I feel the responsibility to treat this place with love and respect.”

The menu will change but not dramatically, O’Neill says, offering “a brighter, fresher vision of the historic flavors that have come through the room”; in other words, new, refined takes on the modern-American palette. The 7,500-square-foot restaurant will offer something exciting — a martini bar, perhaps — in the current tasting room; an enlivened but still-casual experience in Intermezzo and a new bar and a livelier style in the dramatic Gold Room.

Diane Garmendia, who designed Elements, is leading the Wine Cask project. “We want this historic building to have a fun, new feel. The idea is relaxed glamour with casual sophistication.” The Gold Room’s hand-painted ceiling will inform the rest of the design, says, Garmendia. My job is to make “sophisticated and cool” tangible. From the moment you enter, the lighting, colors, textures and music prepare you for the culinary experience you, about to enjoy.” Call 805-966-9463