Another dining destination has closed its doors in Santa Barbara.
La Cantina, a casual bar and restaurant, announced in a social media post that it has permanently closed effective February 28, 2026.
The restaurant added that it will return with a new concept this spring.
The establishment did not announce the reason behind the closure.
View this post on Instagram
Thanking patrons who visited and supported the restaurant when it was operational, La Cantina said it has enjoyed serving guests.
Located at 199 South Turnpike Road, La Cantina was known for its Mexican cuisine and craft cocktails. The full-service restaurant included a square bar, two heated outdoor patios, and multiple televisions to watch games, according to its Yelp page.
The restaurant opened in September 2024 at the Turnpike Center, according to The Restaurant Guy.
In addition to an array of classic and signature house cocktails, La Cantina served Mexican dishes reflecting the regions in which they were first created, according to the restaurant’s website.
Tuesdays were celebrated as Taco Tuesday, with La Cantina serving a selection of tacos all day long. Menu options included carnitas, pescado, crispy chicken, ribeye, aguacate, and more.
The restaurant made its food fresh every day, including corn tortillas and salsas.
Guests could end their meal with a variety of desserts, including the traditional churros, jericalla (Mexican crème brûlée), and a modern twist on the traditional arroz con leche (rice pudding infused with cream and shredded coconut).
Other Restaurant Closures in Santa Barbara
The closure of La Cantina comes at a time several other dining establishments are closing their doors across the city. In the past few months, several restaurants announced they were closing or had already closed down.
Home Plate Grill, a longtime Goleta restaurant, announced it will be closing later this month, after serving patrons for nearly 10 years. The casual, family-friendly restaurant was unable to renew its lease, forcing the owners to decide to close the restaurant.
Located in Goleta’s Padre Shopping Center, Home Plate Grill has become a neighborhood dining spot for locals and visitors. The restaurant will close on March 31, 2026.
Earlier this month, Rincon Brewery, a staple of craft beer at the Funk Zone, wrapped up its Santa Barbara location. The popular brewery was known for its menu of handcrafted beers and food items.
While the Santa Barbara location closed on March 1, 2026, Rincon Brewery’s other two locations, at Carpinteria and Ventura, will remain open.
In February, Riviera Bar, the bar and restaurant known for its classic cocktails and elevated tavern fare, announced it had closed.
The restaurant opened in summer 2021 at the former site of The Sportsman, continuing a tradition of over eight decades of a bar and restaurant at the historic address.
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Jeez! How many unique, local places do we have to lose? This place was pretty good! Decent prices, good food.
Well, this is definitely cause to blame State St. for not having cars driving on it! Fix that and all our local favorites will finally be able to afford rent and keep prices affordable for consumers. Right?
Wow, that didn’t last long. Menu looked good. Funny thing – I went to go eat there a couple months back, and was met with a handmade note on the door stating they were participating in the ICE/Trump protest that day and not open for business. A number of places did that and most didn’t because their employees need to work to make income. I went somewhere else.
“I went somewhere else.” Yeah, you chose not to eat at a closed restaurant. LOL oh so brave and principled of you, BASIC! HAHA!
Basic, great story rube.
“and was met with a handmade note on the door” WTH, should they have used a laser printer to make the note?
“A number of places did that and most didn’t” Sounds like a cognitive Trumpian muttering
Anti ICE = anti American welp, now they can dedicate more time to the protesting…but it’s Iran now, right? I (won’t) keep up with the latest lefty trends…
You (can’t) keep up with facts, history, or decency.
Psst… no need to put it in parentheses. It doesn’t make you look smarter.
Can you repeat that? It’s hard to hear you through your sobbing.
And F ICE.
One by one….
Hard for any restaurant to go head-to-head with Cody’s, which is in essentially the same location. Cody’s has been a staple in that area for quite some time and continues to attract most of the restaurant-going public from the nearby neighborhoods. When times are financially challenging, people tend to stay at home and when they do go out to eat/drink they are looking for value in most cases. Craft cocktails and Noleta aren’t usually terms used in the same sentence. Not comparing the quality or service of these two restaurant/bars, but one remains open. Good luck to the owners of La Cantina and I hope they do well in their next venture(s).
They weren’t going head to head with Cody’s – nonsense. Lompoc is calling.
Speaking of Lompoc, here are two gems close to the intersection of Ocean & H that are quite good:
– Mama’s Caffe
– Old Town Kitchen & Bar (formerly ‘The Chop House’)
You cannot go wrong with either one. Great service, atmosphere, prices, and each has A-plus food. When we go to Old Town Kitchen, we always place an order of steak bites to take with us…sometimes they don’t make it home! Mama’s has incredible desserts for anyone who has a schweeeet tooth.
Agree on both, and La Botte (evening time) has stellar italiano. Let the nay sayers trash our little town. We have plenty of wonderful places to wine and dine. And the BEST Mexican food options, any 20 spots in Poc would belittle the best options in SB!
Lompoc isn’t sending us its best people.
STEVE – “any 20 spots in Poc would belittle the best options in SB!”
You know that’s not true. Look, I like Lompoc. Got some cool things and it’s a little more spruced up than it used to be. That burger place with the A-Z burgers has by far better burgers than I’ve had in SB, definitely more choices.
But, to say they’re better than SB’s finest restaurants is just not true. Not knocking Lompoc, just saying there’s good and then there’s Michelin.
I said we have the best Mexican food, and any 20 of our (Mexican) spots so I should have clarified I was saying our authentic Mexican food is better than SB’s Mexican food. But SB has many of my favorite restaurants and Lompoc can’t even compete with Harry’s, Tee-Off, Chuck’s, Jill’s Place…no argument there. We do have a great Italian place in Lompoc called La Botte, but also some of the best Italian I have had close by…Ulivetta in Orcutt, Grappalo in SY, and Steakhouses like Hitching Post in Casmalia and Jockos in Nipomo. But, I digress…
STEVE – I’ve had some good Mexican food out there, but I don’t know…. I can’t find anything to beat our SB picks. Does the red tent with the “illegal” pastor come out to Lompoc? That is, by far, hands down, the best tacos I’ve had north of the border.
Damn…. now I’m hungry for tacos.
LomPuke has more sex trafficking than anywhere else. A disgusting town full of racist white people and corrupt cops–not at all shocking that you knowingly support a PDF protector.
Of all the things I’ve heard people try to trash about Lompoc….I have NEVER heard it be accused of being a town of racist white people! Ah hahahahahaha….congrats on topping the idiot list pal. Kudos.
https://www.noozhawk.com/article/black-high-schoolers-to-share-study-on-racism-with-lompoc-district/
Lopmoc restaurants are walking health violations. The town certainly isn’t known for arts and sciences or education. Foggy, windy, full of gangs and drug deals, and down the street from a prison – just the place I want to sit down and enjoy fine dining.
Keep spreading that opinion dude…that’s just the way we like it
Does the city still have their lamp post christmas decorations from 1971 ? Maybe they’ve upgraded.
Nope! Same ones….tradition.
Isn’t this pretty common in the restaurant industry? Try a concept and if it fails after a year or two, rebrand as something else.