Jeannine's American Bakery Restaurant

Jeannine's is a famous bakery restaurant in Santa Barbara with more than 25 years of history. We stopped by on the way to some wineries. The Montecito location is very nice, reminds me of the Montana area in Los Angeles. Everyone there look like they walked out of a A&F or J.Crew catalog. The restaurant was pretty small and crowded but the very friendly hostess Nancy helped us find a seat quite quickly.

I read on Yelp that the lobster Benedict is famous. It comes with a generous amount of lobster bits. The sweetness of the lobster meat goes very well with the slightly spicy hollandaise sauce and the salty hash browns. It's not cheap but it's a really nice guilty pleasure to be eating lobster for brunch :)

OJ is pretty good. Not too sour.

The cappuccino is from Peet's coffee. It's good, but I wish they would serve something from a local roaster. Remember to pick it up yourself or the barista will give you a look...

In the middle of the meal, a waiter came and told us they ran out of bananas for the famous banana french toast that we ordered. They were in the middle of buying more bananas(!?!), so the waiter offered us one pastry of our choice as an apology. I picked the croissant because it looks unusually big :P

The croissant is awesome. It's just the right amount of crispiness on the outside and very buttery in the inside. It's obvious why this bakery is so famous just from this one croissant.

The banana french toast came last. It's shocking how simple it is but so tasty. The sauce and the cooked banana are slightly too sweet but it goes well with the french toast. The french toast is fluffy and it's different from any french toast from other places.

I really liked the food and the pastries from Jeannine's. I got a danish thingy, strawberry scorn and chocolate croissant home to extend the experience. I especially love the scone (I love scorns in general) because it's moist and flavorful.

I'll definitely visit Jeannine's again next time I visit Santa Barbara. It's a great bakery cafe with it's own identify and history.

Jeannine's American Bakery Restaurant
1253 Coast Village Rd,
Santa Barbara, CA 93108

 
Bonus: panorama of Lincourt Vineyards, my favorite vineyard in Los Olivos