Chef Efe Onoglu Brings Aegean Cuisine to California

“José Andrés always told us food needs to have a story,” Chef Efe Onoglu philosophized as we sat down to a tasting menu created by the biomedical engineer–turned–international cooking mastermind, who seasons each meal with the spice of genuine stories. This Aegean sofra (“a table set for a meal” in Turkish) is held in his Eastside kitchen each Tuesday evening, and is just one of the many chef’s hats that Onoglu wears.

Before working as Chef de Cuisine at José Andrés’s Zaytinya in Washington, D.C., Onoglu was honing his cooking skills at home in Turkey, learning from his grandfather, a farmer; and his mother, an avid home cook. Those memories continue to inspire the dishes he makes today.

“Mediterranean families spend more time in the kitchen than the living room,” Onoglu said of how his ambitions began. His hunger to explore and to cook led him to culinary school; to Cape Town, South Africa; and back to Turkey, where he opened two restaurants. That same exploratory spirit landed him a job at the Four Seasons in Washington, D.C., where Andrés recruited him for Zaytinya. He expanded to working at Boston’s Nahita, and then finally to California, where he cooked at Bavel in Los Angeles. 

It was during the pandemic that he sought to escape the L.A. hustle and bustle with trips up to Santa Barbara, and he became the executive chef for Angel Oak at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara. In 2022, Onoglu noticed everything was reopening and was itching to stretch his culinary wings once more, so he opened his catering company, Aegean Neotaverna, and started doing pop-up menus for Draughtsmen Aleworks, Old Town Coffee, and Brew Lab.

“When I met the people I now work with at Draughtsmen and had all these people supporting me on my real business, I realized this is not a fake place,” Onoglu said, noting his gratitude for and faith in the S.B. community. “It gave me the bravery to jump out of the corporate life.”

His Mediterranean menus featured every Wednesday at Draughtsmen include options like fresh and herbaceous dolmades served with labneh and dill; grilled asparagus salad with walnuts, feta, zhoug, confit tomatoes, and olives; or lamb kofte with a bright and zingy tzatziki. Other highlights at his sit-down multi-coursed sofras include more of a fine-dining lens, with dishes such as a beautiful lemon-koji-cured branzino served with potato soufflé, or a sun-dried sweetcorn corn soup with cured asparagus and a quail egg, so ethereal, comforting, and silky that I slurped it up in record time. Onoglu’s cuisine changes with the seasons and with the catch of local fishers, mushroom foragers, and farmers with whom he has built close relationships.

“It’s not completely Turkish or Greek,” Onoglu says of his food. “Sometimes it has a French effect or a Japanese effect, or I’m using local S.B. uni.”

Whatever the influence, you can always bet on a good story. For example, at a recent sofra, as an ode to his mother, Onoglu served her favorite fish, branzino, stuffed with basil and zucchini to reflect her green eyes.

Another promise of Onoglu’s cuisine is a delicious spelt grain sourdough made with Draughtsmen spelt, toasted and served with a lovely whipped brown butter. It’s so addictive that each sofra begins with an admonition to not fill up on this comforting carb, since there are many more courses to come and you’ll want to enjoy them all.

The sofras feel like an intimate, undiscovered gem in Santa Barbara. In fact, the small group of eight other diners at our communal table seemed a bit wary that I was writing about this not-yet highly publicized dining experience. Onoglu’s following is both loyal and fierce. This is partly due to him consistently taking the time to get to know each customer. He’s even converted people who never thought they’d eat something like marinated beef liver into full-blown fans.

“This creates personal connections with people. I know their allergies. I know their dietary preferences. We’ve created a trust between us,” Onoglu said.

Little touches like antique dinnerware, candles, and fun additions — such as a shot of Draughtsmen’s Crimson and Clover Red Ale to complement a mussels course — add novelty and surprise to the three-hour sofra experience. Guests can bring their own libations, and a fun spirit of sampling often spills over between tablemates-turned-friends. Diners also share a generous selection of mezze platters, from roasted sweet-potato hummus with pickled blueberries to a wildly delicious artichoke salad, featuring crispy leaks, Parmigiano Reggiano, truffle oil, lime, and chives. 

Fortunately, the serving sizes on these appetizers are plentiful, so no one’s fighting for the last house-made pickle. The actual meal is coursed out in individual servings, so you get the fun of family-style dining but the comfort of knowing your foraged chanterelle fricassee and Chilean sea bass is all yours.

Onoglu started hosting the sofras in 2023 and is hoping to take this idea and open a restaurant in 2024. “I have the momentum, and I have the crowd that I need,” he said.

In the meantime, he plans to continue hosting his Tuesday night sofras, Wednesday pop-ups at Draughtsmen, and everything in between, such as collaboration dinners with local wineries and chefs, like the one he had last week up at the fantastic Peake Ranch Winery in Buellton in partnership with local fisher/forager Travis Meyer.

When you talk to Onoglu about his food, a relentless passion comes through — clear as the crisp flavors of limoncello, cinnamon, and pear in one of his delightful sorbet palate cleansers.

“That’s why it’s worth standing on your feet eight hours a day,” Onoglu said of his true love for the art of cooking and entertaining.

Born from family memories, this drive has taken him through four continents and, hopefully for us, to a lasting home in S.B.

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See aegeanneotaverna.com.