Greek Goodness

“I finally decided where I wanted to settle,” Chef Efe Onoglu explained of his reasoning for opening his new Mediterranean restaurant, Aegean, tucked behind Longoria Wines off State Street. Entering the cozy spot on De la Guerra, and nestling into a table on the sprawling mountain-view back patio or the candlelit dining room, you’ll certainly want to settle there too. Surrounded by tables overflowing with fresh pita and hummus, flavorful kebabs, and warming desserts, I felt as if I had stumbled upon a cozy hole in the wall on a little Greek island with the authentic food and warm service I remember from my trip to Mykonos. 

Onoglu is an engineer-turned-chef, whose passion for cooking was ignited helping out in the kitchen with family in Turkey. He has honed and shared his culinary prowess in many different places, but it’s Santa Barbara where he hopes to grow his roots and fulfill his dreams.

“S.B. needs lots of education on traditional Middle Eastern food, and they are really willing to do that,” Onoglu said. He’s had a receptive audience for his lessons since starting his Aegean Street Food pop-ups at Draughtsman Brewery during the pandemic. With that momentum, he was also able to find an outlet for his fine dining talents by arranging sofras (communal shared multi-course meals) once a month out of his Eastside kitchen.

These BYOB feasts were punctuated by Onoglu’s thoughtful stories about each dish, whether spotlighting a local fisherman friend, an asparagus soup inspired by his grandma, or a skill he learned from one of his many jobs, such as working as Chef de Cuisine for José Andrés at Zaytinya or bringing Middle Eastern flavors to Los Angeles at Bavel. Now with a brick-and-mortar location of his own, Onoglu can finally run things in a way that feels aligned for him.

“It would never be like a corporate kitchen,” Onoglu said of his restaurant, which features only one sous chef, and a small, tight-knit group of servers who also act as host and busser. “It will always be a very detailed kitchen with lots of touches, effort, and care.”

“I want my servers to pretend like the customers are guests coming to their house,” Onoglu said of their personable service. This is why he initially didn’t take reservations, not wanting anyone to feel rushed. When he realized his clientele was traveling from Montecito to dine and wanted some table security, he started allowing reservations but retained the warm service that invites a spirit of unhurried savoring. 

His slow and community-oriented ethos has found fertile soil in S.B. When I went in for dinner last week, the small sweet garden of a restaurant Onoglu planted was blossoming with lively, large groups laughing, lingering, and recommending to me and my friend that we simply “Order everything!”

With one taste of the doughy pita bread and fresh sourdough from Riviera Bread Company, paired with their delightful oil and vinegar, I was certainly tempted to order one of each dish, which I knew would be teeming with zesty homemade sauces, perfect for dipping. 

“It’s one of the best sourdoughs I’ve ever tasted in my life,” Onoglu raved about the loaves his friend Vanessa Bolden produces at her popular S.B. micro-bakery.

For appetizers, we started with the roasted cauliflower florets, which came doused in lemon tahini, amba sauce, raisins, capers, pine nuts, and chives. Cauliflower apps are quite popular these days, but Onoglu’s flavor and texture combination made this dish feel completely distinct. The produce is also extremely fresh, which adds to the sparkle of each dish.

“I am blessed with the farmers’ market on Tuesday and Saturday right in front of me,” Onoglu said, noting a few of his go-tos. “Our cauliflower is always from Milliken, and our squash is always from Frecker Farms.”

We also opted for the şalgam crudo, a picture-perfect plate of koji-cured hamachi, şalgam leche de tigre, pickled blueberry salsa, crispy garlic, and cilantro blossom. Onoglu’s attention to detail is laser-focused. He’s sure to source his fish from either the Santa Barbara Fish Market or from Santa Barbara Fish Mongers. 

“I try to be as local and sustainable as possible,” Onoglu said. 

This penchant for acquiring the best was on full display with the luscious levrek. The succulent Mediterranean sea bass was a highlight of the night, bathing in a delightful broth of kale, gigante beans, ladolemono, cured baby marrows, sundried tomatoes, dill, and chives.

“I need to like the food,” Onoglu said bluntly of his menu, remarking on how he was eating the ever-popular (and wildly delicious) tavuk kebab recently, and thought to himself, this is really good. It may seem obvious, but in a restaurant world that seems like it’s constantly trying to one-up itself with Instagram-reel-ready, fancy small plates, a satisfying and comforting meal has become harder and harder to come by.

And although a dish like chicken kebab may seem simple, with Onoglu’s meticulous attention to detail and Turkish background, it strikes that perfect balance between homey yet elevated. Harissa and yogurt marinated chicken thighs are cooked to tender perfection, dotted with blistered peppers and candy-like cherry tomatoes, which blanket fresh grilled lavash. The serving of addictive toum (a garlic oil sauce) on the side takes it to a whole new level. 

“We do everything ourselves from scratch except the bread and butter,” Onoglu said. 

When I told him that I wanted to bottle up and drink the coriander seed yogurt that comes atop his delectable brussels sprouts (another omnipresent dish made one-of-a-kind with Onoglu’s flourishes such as dill and barberries), he assured me that he plans to open a mercantile. With exceptional hummus, tzatziki, zhoug, harissa, and more, that new little shop is going to be a go-to condiment consortium for anyone who loves a good sauce.

His beer list pays tribute to Draughtsmen Aleworks, where he got his start, and features three of their delightful brews. For wines, Onoglu went the Italian route with three lovely options, including the crisp Centopassi from Sicily, which complemented all of our dishes with a bright minerality and left us feeling like we were dining on a cliffside overlooking the Aegean Sea. 

Our coastal European vacation continued with a truly unique dessert experience. With his close proximity to the farmers’ market, Onoglu relishes the chance to change up his seasonal specials every couple of weeks, and this week’s dessert was inspired by the local bounty with a playful dish titled “Baba Confused.” A play on baba ghanoush, the creative addition featured a scoop of creamy homemade charred eggplant ice cream atop basma kadayif, circled by an addictive tahini molasses and topped with spiced walnuts and mint. It looked like art and tasted like a baklava sundae with the crunchy, sweet, nutty notes accented with the cool and refreshing ice cream. This whimsical treat left us excited to ask what Onoglu’s next special might be. With sofras and Turkish Supreme Brunches each month, and a genuine passion for culinary innovation, it’s clear that Onoglu is just as excited to answer that question as his customers are to experience it.

Aegean is located at 731 De la Guerra Plaza. See aegeansb.com.