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Downtown Santa Barbara has another Mexican cuisine restaurant.
Azul Cocina held a soft opening on Thursday. The new restaurant, at 7 E. Anapamu St., is the creation of owners Edgar Estrada and Jesus Manuel Diaz, who is also the chef and known as “Chef Manny.”
The restaurant bills itself as “exceptional authentic Mexican cuisine and mixology with a modern contemporary twist on flavors and traditions.”
“Azul Cocina is my baby,” Chef Manny stated in an Instagram video. “Being executive chef is a lot of pressure, but I love what I do.”
He said he put together an “amazing team.”
“We created this concept,” he said. “It’s beautiful.”
The location has faced turnover in recent years, housing places such as Somerset and La Cocina, after a long run as the Arts & Letter Cafe.
It’s the latest of three Mexican food restaurants to open in recent weeks in downtown Santa Barbara. Azul Cocina follows Elena’s Kitchen, at 738 State St., and Corazon Comedor, at 29 E. Victoria St.
Official Grand Opening
Italian restaurant L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele held its official grand opening on Wednesday.
“We are thrilled to bring the taste of Italy to Santa Barbara and be a part of the downtown community,” owner Francesco Zimone said in a news release. “We can’t wait for everyone to try our delicious pizzas and experience the warmth and hospitality of L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele.”
Zimone is an Italian entrepreneur and restaurateur who opened the first U.S. restaurant in Hollywood in 2019. The original restaurant opened in Naples in 1870.
Items on the menu include gnocco fritto consisting of deep-fried pizza dough and stuffed with burrata, prosciutto and arugula.
The spaghetti nerano features housemade spaghetti, fresh zucchini, parmigiana, pecorino and basil, and the maccheroncini carbonara is made with macherroncini, guanciale, egg and pecorino, according to a news release.
L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele has been about for about two months.
Lompoc Food Truck Celebration
The Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce will hold an event at 4:30 p.m. next Thursday to celebrate the expansion of the Savory & Sweet Eats mobile food truck.
The ceremony will take place at Temperance Cellars, 1637 E. Laurel Ave in Lompoc.
State Street Closure
Cold Stone Creamery at 504 State St. in Santa Barbara has closed.
Temporary Closure
Bedda Mia Sicilian Cuisine at 1218 State St. in Santa Barbara posted on its website that it is closed through January.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.