Tre Lune

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Like a Trip to Italy Without the Airfare

On Coast Village Road in Montecito, Tre Lune has built its reputation on a straightforward promise: honest, high-quality Italian cooking that brings the flavors of Italy to the California coast. The restaurant describes its menu as "thoughtful" and "not afraid of flavor," and a look at what's on offer backs that up without hesitation.

Wine Spectator recognized Tre Lune with its Award of Excellence, a fitting acknowledgment for a restaurant that pairs its Italian cooking with a considered wine list and classic cocktails. That combination — food rooted in Italian tradition, a wine program worth celebrating — gives the room a sense of occasion whether you're stopping in for a weekday lunch or a Friday night dinner.

What's on the Table

The menu moves confidently across the Italian canon. Antipasti range from Burrata alla Caprese with fresh buffalo mozzarella to Carpaccio di Manzo — thinly sliced raw filet mignon with arugula and shaved parmesan — and a Frittura Mista di Pesce of flash-fried calamari, shrimp, scallops and prawns. Pasta is a serious affair: Gnocchi Tartufati arrives as house-made potato dumplings with truffle cream; Fettuccine Mare e Monti brings together lobster meat, porcini mushrooms and a saffron-tomato sauce; and the Rigatoni ai Tre Funghi layers porcini, shiitake and button mushrooms in a light tomato-cream sauce.

For meat, the kitchen offers classics like Ossobuco — braised veal shank with saffron risotto — and a Costoletta alla Milanese, a pounded veal chop breaded and pan-fried, served with arugula. Seafood gets equal attention, from a Cioppino of assorted fresh seafood in tomato broth to a Grigliata Mista di Pesce combining lobster tail, shrimp, scallops, calamari and swordfish off the grill.

Weekend mornings bring a breakfast menu that leans Italian where it can — Uova alla Toscana, eggs baked with parmesan, garlic and parsley; an Italian Benedict with prosciutto on rye — while also covering familiar ground for the Montecito crowd.

The Broader Picture

Tre Lune draws a diverse crowd, and the format accommodates it: walk-ins are always welcome alongside reservations, outdoor seating is available, and the kitchen handles private parties and catering as well. A second location has since opened in Hollywood, but the Montecito original on Coast Village Road remains the anchor — a place where authentic Italian cuisine is served without pretense, and where the wine list has earned the kind of recognition that keeps regulars coming back.