After the Star: Sushi by Scratch Defines Its Next Chapter

The incredible Ms. Leslie Dinaberg wrote the last Independent article on Sushi by Scratch back in 2023. While our experiences had overlap — my cup runneth over as well, and I too felt adjacent to royalty (it makes sense why Harry and Meghan reportedly frequent the place) — the menu has shifted in notable ways.

Some things remain constant. The evening begins in the Montecito Inn lobby with a welcome drink — whiskey, lemon, ginger, and sake — refreshing and citrusy, poured past the brim into the saucer to mark abundance. You are then escorted into the intimate 10-seat counter space, where your name is written in chalk.

What has changed, however, is the sense of evolution.

In 2021, the restaurant — then operating as Sushi | Bar under the same ownership — became one of the first in Santa Barbara County to earn a Michelin star. It later lost that distinction after longtime chef Lennon Silvers Lee departed to open his own omakase concept, Silvers, which now holds a star of its own. Sushi by Scratch remains listed in the Michelin Guide today as a recommended restaurant.

While the fish is still sourced globally — much of it flown from Japan’s Toyosu Market — the kitchen is increasingly working toward local sourcing where possible. One chef visits the farmers’ market daily. Another roasts the coffee infused into one of the sauces. Yes, they combine coffee and sushi, and personally I find that to be among the highest culinary achievements known to man. There is a growing effort to ground a globally inspired omakase in Central Coast seasonality.

Then there is the visual spectrum of the fish itself.

Nigiri arrived in whites, creams, pale pinks, and dark ruby reds. Some pieces were nearly translucent; others were draped across the rice in a creamy, fatty, almost languid way. Texture shifts paired with toppings — tiny bursts of acidity, sweetness, or smoke layered like flavor sprinkles.

Pete Wells of The New York Times once described sushi meals as being like “plane flights — some ascend slowly and don’t hit cruising altitude until the appetizers are over; with others, the first piece of nigiri means your descent has already begun.”

At Sushi by Scratch, I would argue the plane ascends gradually, finds its cruising rhythm, and then, toward the end of the night, morphs into a helicopter and goes straight up.

The progression began with hamachi, a pale pink yellowtail brushed with corn pudding for a buttery sweetness. A fatty toro cut from Spain arrived glazed with pineapple and wasabi, rich and slightly sweet. Hotate scallops from Hokkaido came topped with apple nigiri sauce and burnt soju. Hirame fluke from Korea was seared with pickled serrano and fermented honey — smoky heat balanced by sweetness. Shima-aji trevally from Japan appeared with coffee nikiri and brown-butter miso. 

It all may sound like an avalanche of unique flavors, but what ultimately lands is balance — salt, sugar, and fat working together at a level I did not previously know existed.

Throughout the meal, Chef Julian Tham spoke openly about what they call “fish butchery,” a phrase that initially felt harsh. Watching them work, the process seemed closer to fish artistry. Rice is molded softly in the palm of the hand. Sauces are brushed on like watercolor. Nigiri is served on slate rather than plates, while toppings rest in small dishes resembling an artist’s palette.

If Michelin stars are the industry’s highest accolade, perhaps there should be something closer to a Leonardo da Vinci award for this level of technical craft.

Preservation techniques sit at the center of the restaurant’s philosophy.

“There’s a big misconception that sushi needs to be fresh,” Chef Tham explained. “Here, we practice preservation — curing, brining, aging.”

That philosophy reveals itself bite by bite. Lean akami tuna tasted mineral and clean. Norwegian ocean trout arrived cured with lime zest and chimichurri. Kampachi from Hawai‘i was paired with mandarin and thyme oil, briefly torched.

Drink pairings followed a similar logic of contrast. A particularly polished Daiginjo sake landed almost like water at first sip before becoming more alcohol-adjacent. Micro-cocktails leaned into acidity to cut through richer bites.

Toward the end of the meal, the register shifted.

Wagyu nigiri — torched tableside — introduced a decadent cut of cow to the top of a formed rice ball. Next, bone marrow from Texas veal, caramelized with brown sugar, tasted unexpectedly like breakfast: warm maple syrup and home. Freshwater eel layered with matcha salt and poblano chili nearly collapsed under its own tenderness.

There is something psychologically compelling about omakase dining. For $165 per person, plus a $110 beverage pairing, you relinquish choice entirely. To that, I say: Lean into it. The evening moves on a timed rhythm; all you need to do is sit back. 

General Manager Daniel Yoshimi orchestrates that flow from the lobby greeting onward. Bartender Lynn Duquette, warm and engaging, delivers each drink with easy conversation. Chef Tham — part of the Scratch group since its inception — establishes rapport through dark sarcasm and a jubilant smile. Chef Manny Torres works alongside him, guiding diners through the steady procession of bites.

By the time dessert arrives — a pale-green matcha bonbon filled with makrut lime ice cream and white sesame shortbread — the evening has moved through its distinct phases.

The menu itself is about to enter a new phase, with broader seasonal changes already in motion — “Since the start of the year, we’ve changed six to eight bites,” Chef Tham said. “Now we’re looking at a spring shift — more local seafood, more local produce.”

Sushi by Scratch is no longer simply the place that brought omakase prestige to Santa Barbara. It is now a restaurant balancing global luxury, regional sourcing, and the pressure — and possibility — of redefining itself within Michelin’s orbit.

Sushi by Scratch, 1295 Coast Village Rd.; sushibyscratchrestaurants.com/montecito