bouchon

A quarter-century celebration of fine wine

As I walk into bouchon on a Tuesday evening, the place is joyously hopping with the clink of wine glasses and the laughter of guests, with waiters adroitly gliding between the full tables where diners are enjoying the restaurant’s signature wine-country cuisine.

Mitchell Sjerven, who, with his wife, Amy, owns and operates bouchon Santa Barbara, is a restaurateur par excellence, attentive, hospitable, clear-eyed about the challenges this competitive industry poses, yet still in love with the work after 26 years of making bouchon a reference on the crowded Santa Barbara dining scene. People keep coming here for reliably excellent food, superior service, and a great wine list largely dedicated to showcasing the best regional wines.

Sjerven’s beginnings in the industry were humble. He was just starting high school when he got his first job as a dishwasher, and quickly worked his way up.

“I became a cook and then a line cook,” he recalls. “I was almost 17, and a young kid who was using the big Hobart slicer almost took his palm off all the way. So OSHA came into the restaurant and talked to the ownership, and they pulled everybody in who was a minor like myself, and said that the dough mixer and all that is considered heavy equipment. So you’re either laid off or you can take a job in the front of the house. I wanted to keep my job, so that’s how I became a busboy. It only took me about a week to figure out this is way more fun, you know, meeting the girls, getting a cut of the tips, interacting with your customers. I went, ‘This is great!’ and became a waiter.”

Sjerven studied international relations in college and contemplated a career in law or finance, but the hospitality industry kept drawing him back in. “I knew I could make more money in law or finance, but I also realized it wouldn’t make me happy,” he says.

Sjerven always knew he wanted to own and operate his own restaurant, but he recognized that he first had to acquire the knowledge and experience required to make it a success. The restaurant business may look romantic from the outside, but the margins are small and the failure rate is high.

“Being a successful restaurateur takes a lot more than being a great front of the house guy or a good cook,” Sjerven notes. “If you have a wonderful meal by a great chef, the next thing most people say is you should open your own restaurant. The business of a restaurant isn’t running a dining room floor. And it isn’t cooking food. The business of a restaurant is like any other business. Can you do any bookkeeping or accounting? Do you know about insurance, payroll taxes? Can you look at a spreadsheet and figure out your budget?”

First at Andria’s Harborside on Cabrillo Boulevard; then at Acacia under the tutelage of Steve Singleton; then at Meritage, a small craftsman cottage on De La Vina Street that he ran with partner Lidia Gaitan, Sjerven patiently honed his skills. Meritage was an instant success, but too small to support two salaries, so Sjerven bowed out and looked for his own place. The stars lined up in 1998 when the space that had been Oysters became available.

Santa Barbara County wines had begun to build a national reputation, but the concept of wine country cuisine was still new. “I felt that this was an underserved part of the market,” Sjerven says. “My goal was to have the best restaurant in Santa Barbara. I really wanted it to be focused on wine country. The interest level was just starting to get going. People were like, oh, there’s wine here, Sanford and Cupe and Au Bon Climat, and a few others. And then it took off after that, so the timing was good.”

Bouchon opened with a wine list entirely focused on regional wines, and offered close to 50 wines by the glass, something no one else was doing, and that sparked immediate interest. It made a lot of sense, because it encouraged diners to be more adventurous in their choices and to try wines they’d never tasted, whereas they might hesitate to purchase an entire bottle of an unknown label.
Discovering new local wines continues to be one of the joys of dining at bouchon. During a recent visit I ordered the Tocai Friulano from Paul Lato with my trio of scallops — huge, gorgeous, juicy diver scallops that bouchon is known for. I’d never tasted this exciting wine, and it paired beautifully. The Pinot Noir from Brewer-Clifton that came with my deliciously tender filet of venison is a reference, and again was perfect.

“I think there’s a natural affinity between good food and good wine,” says Sjerven. “And even for the locals, and I love that, there is always something for them to discover. I’m always tempted to say where are you visiting from? De La Vina Street? Oh, and you’ve never heard of Sanford winery? Wow. Is that possible? So, in a way, it may say bouchon has been like an ambassador to not only local food, but a local wine industry.”

“I think there’s a natural affinity between good food and good wine. And even for the locals, and I love that, there is always something for them to discover.”
—Mitchell Sjerven