Santa Barbara Funk Zone Rebranded Bar Nods to Its Namesake

Acme Hospitality, in its quest to bring the best experiences to Santa Barbara, is ever eager to tinker. Take its new revamp of Pearl Social, now with Cocktail Club completing the name. You don’t have to join a club to go, but you will want to, as the space has become more parlor, less standard bar.

The interior changes come courtesy of hotshot L.A. designer Nathan Turner, who says he wanted an early California collected feel. “I started with my ‘Cowboy Toile’ wallpaper, a very traditional print but reimagined with California motifs like cowboys and mountain lions,” he explained. “Then I layered elements like tufted velvets, gilded mirrors, and a dusty pink color palette. The last, most fun part was compiling the gallery wall, filled with paintings depicting our surroundings, and maybe a few Pearl picked up on her travels.” That Pearl is of course beloved Santa Barbara preservationist Pearl Chase, for whom the bar is named. No doubt she’d be charmed by one wall chock-full of hardcovers — who could resist the pull of a stirring narrative and a stirred drink?

That’s where Acme’s new beverage and bar manager Liam Baer comes in. Baer has worked around the world, from N.Y.C. to L.A. to Taipei, and for Pearl he has developed delights like the Pixies-shoutout “This Monkey’s Gone to Heaven” (American single malt, brown butter, banana and pasilla chile liqueurs, Mexican fernet, mole bitters), a newfangled Old Fashioned, and “In It to Nguyen It” (dark rum, salted coconut, Brucato Amaro, cold brew, makrut lime leaf), an after-dinner sipper seemingly imported from an island retreat I hope to travel to someday.

Then there’s “Le Bien, Le Mal,” inspired by Baer’s time in Paris. The menu cleverly bills the drink as free-spirited — it’s composed of elderflower, passionfruit, Verjus, lemongrass, cucumber, and bubbles — but it refreshes on a summer eve and brightens the senses. He claims, “Having N/A options that are just as complex and thoughtful as the regular cocktails is something that I find super important.”

The food, don’t worry, still comes from Chef Jason Paluska at The Lark. “Overall, the goal was simply to pair delicious food with delicious cocktails,” is how he described the new menu. He still has a favorite item, though, the Caribbean Fried Chicken inspired from a trip he took to Belize many years ago. “We toss the fried chicken in a ‘jerk-spiced’ gastrique that has clove, allspice, garlic, cinnamon, and chili flakes,” he spells out. “It’s also served with some tangy pickled okra and fresh lime to squeeze on top.”

“We couldn’t be more excited about the timing of this redesign,” says Acme Hospitality founder and managing partner Sherry Villanueva. “Nathan’s signature style and creative vision seamlessly align with our brand’s ethos, and we knew that partnering with someone of his prestige would elevate our identity in a fresh, exciting way. We also wanted a new space to showcase Liam’s mixology talent and felt Nathan’s inspired design would be the perfect complement for it. This collaboration marks a pivotal moment for us, and we’re thrilled to unveil the results of this inspiring reimagination.”

Think of the redo as brand spanking old. And don’t fret your ugly-sweater-wearing self: Pearl will still put the darling kitsch in Christmas and transform into Miracle for the holiday season.

 Pearl Social Cocktail Club; 131 Anacapa St., Ste. B; pearlsocialsb.com