The Story About

Stonehouse is the dining room at San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, set inside a 19th-century citrus packing house on one of California's most storied resort properties. Stone walls, a fireplace, and gardens outside: it is old California romance, preserved down to the last detail.

The menu is regional and polished, and the restaurant keeps a large wine cellar of its own. Views run toward the ocean and the Santa Ynez mountains, and dinner here is the Ranch's main event, the meal guests dress for.

Corkage is $75 a bottle, up to two bottles. That prices it as a special-occasion policy: bring the one great bottle the night deserves, and let their cellar handle the rest.