Haven’t been to this establishment in awhile. However we enjoyed our Pre-pandemic visit some time ago and decided to go again. Well, we were so please either everyone and Eve thing at the Wine Merchant. Our waiter Karrie was extremely helpful on selecting a local...wine for lunch. My wife wanted.Chardonnay and I wanted a red. She requested a couple and then gave us a taste so we could select the one we liked best. My wife had a ABC Chardonnay and I had 2016 Bernat, Sangiovese. Both selections were very good and I especially like the Sangiovese I bought a bottle before leaving.For entrees they have a a good selection. I opted for the mushroom and cheese ravioli which was fantastic I’m my opinion and plentiful. My wife decided on the Ahi Tuna tostadas which she really enjoyed also. I can recommend the Wine Merchant Cafe without hesitation. You won’t be disappointed. We plan on eating whenever we visit again.More

The food here is good. Thin crust pizza, lamb merguez meatballs, Caesar salad all good choices. Lots of local wines to choose from. Service is a little slow and not anticipatory. A lovely little place in the delightful village of Los Olivos.

With all due respect it's been essentially 2 years since we've gone out to eat ... or gone anywhere. Los Olivos Wine Merchant Cafe has been one of our favorites. It's essentially the only good sit-down restaurant in Los Olivos proper. But they have changed...a lot over the last 2 years. While their Pizzas are just as wonderful, they seem to think that they can charge anything they want for wines. I drink a lot of wine but most of the ones on their new menu are ones I had never heard of. And $50 for the least expensive Chardonnay in the heart of a great wine producing area? Candidly, it is price gouging. I was direct in my disgust for it with the Wine Sommelier. His only comment that paying $80 for the wine he suggested for a $20 pizza was just fine with him and it should be just fine for me. Sorry. It was both INSULTING and CONDESCENDING. But we almost always have a bottle of wine with lunch. So I got the least expensive Chardonnay on the menu, a bottle of Tyler. It was good. But not $50 good. In the process my wife looked around the restaurant and could not find anyone else having a bottle of wine. A glass of wine, yes. A bottle, no. Before I tell you how this "conversation" ended I must tell you that the Pepperoni Pizza we had was one of THE BEST pizzas I have ever had in my life. And that is saying a lot considering all the places in our World Travels (look at my TripAdvisor detail to see how much of the World) we have been. Without any reservation, that Pizza is something you must have ... and it is priced very conservatively for what you get. So here's how the "conversation" ended ... I told our waiter (who was very good btw) that I was not tipping a penny on the wine. It was far over-priced and his restaurant was getting more more from it than was deserved. But I pointed out that the Tip I left for him was based on the Pizza ... and amounted to about a $40% tip. The Waiter understood and agreed. I hope "Ray", the Wine Sommelier, reads this and realizes that, on his own doing, he made the restaurant he works for lose a valued customer. One last thing ... I love dogs but I hate them being paraded around a restaurant or even being allowed there. The 2 in my attached pictures were fairly good dogs except when they barked very loudly or tried to rub up against your legs. Come on Los Olivos Wine Merchant Cafe! They shouldn't be allowed.More

Fun place to visit with some history as a featured restaurant in the movie sideways. It is part restaurant and part wine merchant. There is a large bar in the middle separating the two sides. Wine merchant side has a large selection or interesting wines....Problem is there are no prices listed on each bottle so you have to request a price sheet and look each bottle up as you browse. Not ideal. The food and service were very good, though we could sense what appeared like new ownership and growing pains with staff. For us, it was a great place to get a beer and some food to break up all the wine tasting. And it excelled in those categories. The Hazy IPA was great and went well with the flat bread and hummus - a very tasty appetizer. The mushroom pizza was very good as well.More

We were in town to check out the wineries. Really enjoyed lunch here. Had a wonderful salad and a sandwich. All the food was fresh and tasted great. Great selection of wine as well.

As first time diners at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe, we were very pleased with our delicious lunch. I enjoyed the hamburger with a side salad, and my husband chose the yummy Cafe Turkey Sandwich. I especially liked the 1,000 dressing on the...burger plus the house made bun. My husband said the turkey tasted fresh roasted. His fries were excellent, too. Service was great and our server even recommended a picturesque rout back to Santa Barbara.More

We've dined here many times prior to Covid. Yesterday we were only offered the choice of alley or patio next to gigantic street barriers...we chose the alley..the server seemed overwhelmed and forgot many of our requests....tea, cheese on the side, extra plate to share our...main courses...and the loud, repetitive musician strumming his own arrangements of pop songs absolutely ruined our ability to converse. At the end of our meal when using the restroom we saw many people dining inside, which would have been my preference but was not even offered as an option to us.More

Los Olivos Wine Merchant has been a favorite of ours for many years. We love eating on the porch and enjoying great food and service. Yesterday we came back since the COVID pandemic and we were extremely disappointed. The menu was extremely limited from the...past visits. We ordered a Reuben sandwich for me, and the Little Gem Salad and Ziti for my wife (the waitperson did recommend not going with the Ziti. The Reuben was good, but the salad was gross as it was covered in dressing. They also brought the Ziti and it looked very dry. We then ordered the Ravioli instead. The Ravioli was really good. Service was not what we have had in the past.More

Stopped by this restaurant mid-week for lunch and the place was hopping! We put our name in for a 30 minute wait and decided to stroll around the main street (Grand Ave.) while we were waiting. My friend and I noticed that there didn't seem...to be many other options available for lunch - but by the time we returned to the restaurant we were told we could be seated -- inside -- immediately. So we agreed! We ordered a wine flight (3 glasses each - totaling 7 ounces of wine) of wines from the Bernat winery -- and they were fantastic. However, it took a long time for the wine to be delivered to our table and, in fact, our lunch entrees arrived before the wine. My friend ordered an Asian chicken salad that had an overabundance of chicken - so he was satisfied. I, however, ordered the antipasto salad. And while it was not labeled as a starter it was heavy on lettuce but light on the other ingredients you traditionally find in an antipasto salad. Our server was very friendly but probably a bit overwhelmed because the place was very busy.More

Great service and wonderful gourmet lunch. Lots of variety in the menu with great salads and pizza as well as sandwiches. Portions are very generous so my daughter and I split a salad and appetizer. The flatbread with humus and tapenade appetizer was generous and...so tasty. Loved the musician playing guitar and singing to enhance the atmosphere.More

Outdoor lunch on a beautiful day with delicious food and a lovely Bernat wine tasting. The baked Brie was amazing! The gnocchi was among the best I have ever had—so pillowy and wonderful with the light sauce and shaved Brussel sprouts and carrots. Like spring...on a plate. The Sangiovese was also among the best I’ve tasted. The short rib had beautiful flavor, but was on the dry side; the accompaniments were lovely, however.More

We had lunch here the second time within a couple of years and the quality of food was consistently good, had different salads and dishes,, all was really fresh and tasty. Outdoor seating is good, once back indoors the atmosphere will be back to awesome....Great wine selection and very accommodating service. One of the few places where you can bring a under 21 old minor while visiting the wine country. Much appreciated.More