Coast Range & Vaquero Bar brings big-city sophistication to Solvang

Over the past few years, the dining scene in California’s Solvang area has been picking up speed and evolving as steadily as a spinning windmill. The Danish village now offers a range of options worthy of its Santa Ynez Valley wine-country location. A sophisticated newcomer is steak and seafood restaurant Coast Range & Vaquero Bar.

Partner-chefs and industry veterans Anthony Carron, Lincoln Carson, and Steven Fretz have joined forces with local sommelier, winemaker, and James Beard Award winner Rajat Parr.

The dining room evokes a classic big-city steakhouse, with dark woods, cozy private booths, and flocked wallpaper, but the Central Coast is front and center. Prices are on the splurge-y side, but worth it.

Local ingredients shine in dishes such as chilled rock crab claws and the daily fresh-fish crudo appetizer with dashi, topped with slivered jalapeños and yuzu kosho, a fermented chile–based Japanese condiment. Another standout starter is the California artichoke with Espelette pepper and pecorino cheese.

Dinner entrées from the grill in the menu’s “Coast” section include fresh-off-the-boat daily catch, a consistently good bet. The “Range” section offers beef cuts such as a Japanese A-5 Wagyu, a Creekstone Farms rib eye, and a hefty 30-ounce Cape Grim tomahawk, with some cuts sourced from the Santa Ynez Valley ranch that Carron owns with his wife and business partner, Hillary Calhoun. An illuminated case shows off the array of meats that are expertly grilled over red oak on the outdoor fire pit. Other recommended entrées include beef Wellington with house-made puff pastry and miso black cod with mushroom-ginger jus.

Sip from the evolving list of steak- and seafood-friendly wines curated by Parr. For dessert? Hot brioche doughnuts served with a brown-butter glaze.

Insider tip: Pop in for lunch at Vaquero Bar or on the roomy patio and order the fish-and-chips, featuring local vermillion rock cod and hand-cut steak fries with dried-onion tartar sauce. Brunch service is a new addition.