We cook the way we'd cook for friends on a Sunday, which is to say generously and without much ceremony. There's a section for children on the menu, named for actual children. There's a $7 plate of rapini and a $310 Brunello on the same list, and we think both belong here.
We come from two other restaurants — Nella Kitchen & Bar in Los Angeles, S.Y. Kitchen in Santa Ynez. Ancora is a sister to both, not a copy of either. The room is smaller. The list of wines is more Italian than you'd expect, and more Santa Barbara than that. The dining room is quieter on a Thursday than you might expect from a place this far south on the coast, and we are fine with that.
We open for dinner Thursday through Monday. We are still finding our rhythm, so if something on the menu is gone by 9 pm it is because we cooked the last of it. Come back another night. We will be there.