Ventura, located on the southern end of the Central Coast, has all the hallmarks of a chill California beach town: a long pier, spots to catch a good wave and loads of excellent vintage stores. Until recently, though, its culinary scene has been overshadowed by nearby destinations like Santa Barbara, the wealthy enclave of Montecito and the rich-hippie paradise Ojai.
Lately, that’s been changing. Ventura’s dining options have expanded tremendously in recent years, thanks to a mix of homegrown concepts and imports from other California cities. Although there has long been a strong brewery and coffee culture in the diverse city of 110,000 people, as well as plenty of legendary local favorites — such as the casually awesome Jolly Oyster truck parked right on the beach, as well as two locations each of brewery Topa Topa and well-known Central California chain Pizza Man Dan’s — a new wave is starting to crash onto these purposely sleepy shores.
People walk on East Main Street in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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Dishes from Model Citizen in Ventura, Calif.
Courtesy of Model Citizen
Wine sold in Buena Bodega in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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The start of the wave may be Model Citizen, a chic neighborhood bistro serving cocktails and dishes like steak tartare, Little Gem salads and a handful of pastas that opened in 2022. Brothers Blake and Derek Ulrich, the proprietors, also launched Prosperity Coffee in Ventura in 2017.
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“Ventura County produces so much amazing agriculture, but all of it goes to restaurants in LA,” Derek Ulrich, a former lawyer who lived in San Francisco for several years, tells SFGATE. Opening Model Citizen allowed the duo to begin “taking advantage of what’s in our backyard.”
He adds, “Our inspiration was just our favorite neighborhood restaurants in LA and San Francisco, the places we’d want to go weekly. We’re not doing anything overly ambitious, just a restaurant that’s chef-driven and seasonal.”
The interior of Buddy’s Wine Bar in Ventura, Calif.
Courtesy of Buddy’s Wine Bar
Diners enjoy natural wine and drinks at Buddy’s Wine Bar in Ventura, Calif.
Courtesy of Buddy’s Wine Bar
Since then, the openings have been moving along at a steady pace: In 2023, former film art director and prop manager Alexis Wade opened Buddy’s Wine Bar, which serves natural wine and playful bites like hot dogs and ham-and-butter sandwiches.
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“I grew up coming to Ventura all the time, and my parents retired to Oxnard,” says Wade, a former Angeleno. “I started coming up more during the pandemic, and I would think, ‘Where’s the wine bar here?’”
Tessa Bigtree, who’s lived in Ventura with her husband, Rich, for 10 years, just opened the doors to her delightful new cafe and shop, Buena Bodega, in a strip mall east of downtown Ventura at the beginning of the year. There, in a bright, airy space that used to house a dive bar popular with the Hell’s Angels, Bigtree and her team are serving coffee, natural wine and casual daytime fare like grain bowls, bagels and chicken Caesar wraps. The retail section stocks a variety of snacks and food products from thoughtful brands, like Fly by Jing noodle packets, Flour + Water Foods pasta, Algae Cooking Club oil and Maazah sauces.
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A customer orders at the cafe in Buena Bodega in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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A chicken Caesar wrap outside at Buena Bodega in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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“We have a 3-year-old, and we wanted to open a place that was family-friendly without being corny or cheesy,” Bigtree says. “The food we serve is quick, easy, delicious and nutritious.”
What’s also become a hit is Buena Bodega’s soft serve, which can be topped with everything from matcha to lemon curd with Ritz cracker crumbles.
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“I always thought that Mom could have a coffee or a glass of wine and the kids could have ice cream, but it turns out that adults love it too,” Bigtree says. “It’s really hard to be in a bad mood when you’re eating soft serve with rainbow sprinkles.”
Right next door, Luke Tada has been slinging deli sandwiches at Luke’s on Main since December. His menu includes options like tri-tip roast beef with fontina cheese, roasted tomato, onion, dressed pea sprouts and aioli on house-made focaccia.
The exterior of Mothers Tacos in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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An assortment of tacos at Mothers Tacos in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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Chef Felipe Cuevas poses for a portrait in Mothers Tacos in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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Now out-of-towners are getting in on the game, too. Mothers Tacos, which originated in Napa, opened its second location in Ventura last May in a 4,000-square-foot industrial space just east of downtown.
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“A lot of people would say that Ventura is a lot like Napa, but by the beach,” says co-founder Ben Koenig. “We felt like there was an undercurrent of momentum for better dining and better food in the area — and it was exciting for us to feel like we were getting in closer to the third inning of growth than the eighth or the ninth.”
Mothers operates as an order-at-the-counter Mexico City-style taco shop during the day, with favorites like asada and cabeza served on freshly made flour tortillas. At night, the menu changes over to modern Mexican fare developed by chef and East LA native Felipe Cuevas. Dishes include red snapper ceviche crudo, chicken mole de madre, steak con papas (Cuevas’s take on steak frites) and freshly fried churros reminiscent of Mexico City legend El Moro, which recently opened its own outpost in Los Angeles.
The exterior of Room Service Coffee in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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The interior of Room Service Coffee in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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“We’ve changed and evolved a lot over the past year,” Koenig says. “Hopefully, the customers feel we’re there to be invested in Ventura and want to be part of the community.”
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Other recent imports to the area include a location of Ojai-based bakery and pizzeria Pinyon, as well as an outpost of chef Ramón Velázquez’s modern Mexican restaurant Corazon Cocina, which he initially opened at the Santa Barbara Public Market in 2016. Oxnard-based Carnitas El Rey also debuted a Ventura location in 2024.
Even the beverage scene, from bars to coffee, is on the rise. Tequila and mezcal bar Jaguar Moon debuted in 2024, as did tropical drink specialist Ten Tigers and beer destination the Loose Cannon. Singing Sun Coffee now has two locations, and former Sightglass employees Dennis and Carrie Medina of roaster Coastal Coffee opened their coffee shop, named Room Service, in September after doing pop-ups since last spring.
A cappuccino from Room Service Coffee in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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Dennis and Carrie Medina, owners of Room Service Coffee, pose for a photo in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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“We love Ventura, and we feel like it’s not really tapped yet,” Carrie Medina says. “There’s so much potential. We have the audience and there’s a yearning for better food and options, but it’s still few and far between.”
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Many of the operators share Medina’s sentiment, acknowledging that while the food and drink options are growing, Ventura is still on the rise.
“You see the foundations of a restaurant community,” Wade of Buddy’s says. “The community is ready. We just don’t get tourism the way Ojai, Santa Barbara or even Montecito does. We’re reliant on our community, which does show up.”
Derek Ulrich of Model Citizen feels the same.
The coastal town of Ventura, Calif., illuminated by streetlights.
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Shops and restaurants on East Main Street in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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San Buenaventura State Beach and the Ventura Pier in Ventura, Calif., on April 2, 2026.
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“Geographically, where Ventura is positioned, it should be a more popular place to visit,” he says, adding that many folks think of the city only as they pass it en route to points elsewhere. “We don’t have the tourism infrastructure or nice hotels. Our business is about 80 percent locals, 20 percent tourists, instead of being the other way around.”
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Still, they’re all optimistic about the future and hope that Ventura will maintain its unique character, despite the recent growth.
“Ventura itself has come a long way,” Bigtree of Buena Bodega says. “It’s still a little salty and gritty — which I love about it.”
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