Casual, affordable, beachside eats are much harder to come by in Santa Barbara than they should be, but the purr-fectly situated new Happy Cat Eats — located at 23 East Cabrillo Boulevard across the street from Skater’s Point and Stearns Wharf — is finally open and aiming to please, with an extensive menu of craveable grub.
Owner Tina Takaya, who also owns the upscale Asian restaurant Oku next door and co-owns the downtown stalwart Opal Restaurant & Bar with her business partner Richard Yates, has been envisioning Happy Cat Eats for years. In fact, she started paying on the lease a couple of years ago, but some renovations were needed, among other things, so the official opening didn’t happen until the first week of November.
“It’s been kind of crazy, but I didn’t really have a choice, because I built the bathrooms in between [Oku and Happy Cat] to connect so I could use my liquor license,” she said. Drinks are now served on the ocean-view patio, she noted, as we chatted outside overlooking the cornhole pit on a sunny afternoon last week. “It’s kind of morphed into what it is now, and I’m happy with it,” said Takaya, who grew up in Santa Barbara and began her restaurant management career at The Palace.
The menu, which she developed with her longtime Executive Chef Felipe Barajas, is what she described as “beachy street eats with some kind of unusual things.” And it really is just that.
Breakfast, which is what inspired her original vision for the prime spot (which was home to Surf and Turf in our childhoods, then Cinnabon, then Wheel Fun Rentals), features breakfast burritos and breakfast bowls with a special Takaya touch: mac and cheese is added to the classic grilled potatoes, eggs, and meat of your choice. “It just adds the right bit of creamy to the combination, and has really good potatoes,” said Takaya, who also offers a long list of add-ons like crispy jalapeño chips, caramelized bacon jam, house-made chili, Asian slaw, and gourmet truffle oil, among others.
“We make homemade granola. Everything we do here is homemade,” said Takaya. That also includes a fabulous (not overly sweet) cinnamon roll and fresh house-made scones and muffins of the day, which are just $4 — a price to rival Starbucks’ — but freshly made with an ocean view.
Speaking of coffee, the staff did extensive training to learn to prepare the locally roasted Handlebar Coffee correctly, and they have a whole menu of expresso drinks made with organic milk. They also offer a “local’s cup of regular drip coffee” for $1, a priority for Takaya, about which she said, “Aaron, who owns Handlebar, said, ‘That’s fine.’ I thought that would be a nice gesture for the locals.”
Lunch and dinner highlights include the truffle, mushroom, and smoked gouda Wagyu burger — a delicious hit of umami that I tried and will be back for — the shrimp po’boy, which uses rock shrimp tempura and sriracha aioli to give it a unique Asian flair; and the sushi sando, a Takaya inspiration that has crispy rice as the “bread” with fresh ahi tuna, kani kama, wakame, and Asian slaw. There are also Saigon wings (the one item also served next door at Oku), a California burrito, loaded carnitas fries, an assortment of salads, burgers, tacos, hot dogs (including a panko-crusted Asian dog with sesame slaw), and tempura fish and chips.
The dessert menu includes tiramisu, a killer flourless chocolate cake and chocolate mousse (gluten-free, by the way), and Dole Whip soft-serve, which Takaya is quite excited about. “Oh my gosh, it’s so refreshing, and the texture is so good, and there’s no gluten or dairy in it, so it’s perfect for the vegans,” she said. “It’s super good. And everybody who tries it loves it, so it’s gonna be great in the hot weather.”
At $17, the aforementioned truffle Wagyu burger is the most expensive item on the menu, which seems like a deal, especially on the beach. “The prices do seem low, yeah,” said Takaya. “But I figured, I’ve been paying rent for two years and making nothing, so if I break even for the first two months. I’m okay. I want to make it affordable for locals.”
She continues, “But I also want them, more than anything, to really enjoy it.”
Happy Cat Eats is located at 23 East Cabrillo Boulevard and open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. See happycateats.com.
