Chef Diego Moya had always wanted to work in California. The well-travelled Chilean-born chef—whose resume includes stints at Peru’s Astrid y Gastón, Paris’s Le Comptoir and L’Arpège, and Best of Award of Excellence winner, Casa Mono in New York City—said of his move to Montecito, Calif., “After getting used to the rhythms of being in New York for the last 20 years, I was looking for something else.”
A few years ago, Graham Duncan, a Montecito resident with a background in investment firms, was looking for a chef to head up a restaurant he was opening with friends Eva and Bryan Schreier. He reached out to Moya through some regulars who knew his food.
The location: Montecito is an affluent suburb along the American Riviera, home to celebrities like Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, Ariana Grande and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. But its 8,500 or so residents, celebrities notwithstanding, generally enjoy a slow-paced, quiet lifestyle.
[article-img-container][src=2025-12/restaurant-news-little-mountain-montecito-interior2-121125_1600.jpg] [caption=The design of Little Mountain pulls from surrounding Spanish Colonial architecture.] [credit= (Courtesy of Kort Havens)] [alt= The interior of Little Mountain in Montecito, California][end: article-img-container]
Little Mountain—the translation of Montecito—took over the Montecito Wine Bistro, founded by the late Santa Barbara vintner Pierre Lafond. The space, which had been unoccupied since the pandemic, is just down the road from Wine Spectator Grand Award winner the Stonehouse.
When it opened: Nov. 6
The menu: “My idea is to take inspiration from coastal grilling traditions around the world, like Baja and San Sebastián,” said Moya. “Places where there’s access to seafood and mountains; there’s not many places like that, but the food tends to be amazing.”
Moya’s focus is on vegetables and preparing them in a variety of interesting ways. He says 95 percent of the produce will be sourced locally, including through a partnership with farmers in nearby Hollister Ranch to grow specific seasonal vegetables for him. “Think tomatoes in the summer, or like right now we’re growing these obscure Italian chicories,” he explained.
A hearth at the center of the restaurant is used to cook many of the dishes. One current offering that exemplifies Moya’s culinary vision is a humble salad of black coco shelling beans with hearth-roasted delicata squash. “We’re taking the three sisters idea [from Native American cuisine], with these gunmetal black beans that are creamy and delicious, delicata squash and sweet corn,” says Moya. “The vinaigrette is made with miso, passionfruit and sweet corn, finished with a bunch of my favorite herbs.”
[article-img-container][src=2025-12/restaurant-news-little-mountain-montecito-hearth-121125_1600.jpg] [caption=Chef Diego Moya cooks seasonal produce and even desserts in Little Mountain’s hearth.] [credit= (Courtesy of Kort Havens)] [alt= Chef Diego Moya at the hearth inside Little Moutain in Montecito, California][end: article-img-container]
Another dish that speaks to what he’s aiming for is a Basque cheesecake with Mexican-inspired flavors. “I admire the hidden skeleton of Mexico here,” Moya said of the Santa Barbara region, which is steeped in Mexican-Californian history. “I wanted to weave in some of those flavors.” The cheesecake is infused with café de olla, a traditional Mexican coffee brewed with cinnamon and piloncillo, with other spices such as cloves or star anise. Moya burnishes the cheesecake with coals from the hearth and serves it with crème fraîche.
The wine list: The small producer-focused list leans into organic and sustainable farming practices, showcasing the Santa Barbara wine scene, as well as other coastal and mountainous regions around the world that offer clean, crisp styles of wine.
Moya said the concise starting list of 100-plus bottles will grow steadily. “The space is a challenge, because there’s not much room, but we’ve adjusted and built some mini cellars. We’re looking for an off-site cellar—at that point, the sky is the limit.”
For now, the wine list leans heavily on France, with everything from well-priced whites like François Chidaine Touraine from the Loire Valley ($72) and Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Clisson ($66) to classic collector reds like Domaine Dujac Morey-Saint-Denis and Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau. Other collectible wines from around the globe include Napa’s Mayacamas and Philip Togni, as well as Vietti and Aldo Conterno from Italy, and more.
The design: The restaurant seats around 120, including an airy outdoor covered patio, moody, lamplit, dark wooded bar-lounge area and a 14-seat private dining room. The building’s Spanish Colonial bones lend a warm, inviting atmosphere to the main dining area. Muted earthen tones and light-hued wood mix with rustic materials like antique terra cotta, ironwork and exposed wood beams in an understated, elegant and classic manner, punctuated by the hearth at the center. “It feels like a home you could have walked into 100 years ago,” said Moya.—Aaron Romano
Who’s behind it: Best of Award of Excellence winner Ilili NYC, a longtime New York City destination for authentic Lebanese food, expanded with a second Manhattan location, in Midtown. The 150-seat restaurant, on the ground floor of the towering 601 Lexington Ave. building, accompanies its elevated Mediterranean menu with a 120-selection wine list. Both the kitchen and wine program mesh the Levant’s centuries-old culinary traditions with modern, international flair.
The original Ilili opened in 2007 in the Flatiron District after chef and co-founder Philippe Massoud, dismayed by the shortcomings of store-bought hummus and pita pockets, felt compelled to bring the cuisine of his homeland to the United States. Massoud was the right person for the task—his family’s roots in the restaurant industry go back to the 1800s. He received his initial training at the Coral Beach Hotel, a resort in Beirut owned by his grandparents, where he apprenticed with the head chef. After earning a degree in hotel, resort and restaurant development in the United States and working stints in kitchens abroad, Massoud opened Ilili’s flagship location with his brother and business partner, Alexander Massoud.
Ilili also has a location in Washington, D.C.’s The Wharf neighborhood, which opened in 2021.
[article-img-container][src=2025-12/restaurant-news-ilili-midtown-dishes-121125_1600.jpg] [caption=Ilili Midtown’s 120-selection wine list highlights Lebanese producers.] [credit= (Courtesy of Ilili)] [alt= Dishes and glasses of wine from Ilili][end: article-img-container]
When it opened: Nov. 7
The wine program: “We want people to travel without going anywhere,” the restaurant’s beverage manager, Ian Garcia, told Wine Spectator. Indeed, the list is noteworthy for how much global diversity it packs into its 120 selections while still maintaining a comprehensive picture of Lebanese wines, which make up roughly half the labels.
Garcia acknowledges that most customers aren’t familiar with Lebanese wines, but he sees that as an opportunity for distinction: “In New York, we have a thousand restaurants, right? So what can we do to stand out? I think the Lebanese wine selection is going to be a major component of that.” He credits the legendary Chateau Musar with “creating the market” for the country’s wines, but he aims to highlight the broader diversity and rich history of the region with the budding program. Other Lebanese producers on the list worth seeking out include Massaya, Domaine Wardy and Chateau Kefraya, among others.
[article-img-container][src=2025-12/restaurant-news-ilili-midtown-interior-121125_1600.jpg] [caption=The opulent dining room of Ilili Midtown was designed by Nasser Nakib Architects.] [credit= (Courtesy of Ilili)] [alt= The dining room of Ilili in Midtown New York City][end: article-img-container]
While adventurous wine lovers have plenty to explore within the Lebanese selections, Garcia notes that “New York is a Burgundy town.” A solid collection of well-known Old World and domestic producers flesh out the other half of the list, with bottlings from the likes of Burgundy’s Domaine Laroche, Barolo’s Paolo Scavino, California’s Ridge and more.
The menu: There’s a cosmopolitan edge to the otherwise customary Levantine fare: Terms like chimichurri, meunière and escabeche pepper the menu. A few of the more contemporary creations include Wagyu skewers served with scallion and bitter orange kosho, beet shawarma made from spicy shaved beetroot, and tuna crudo served with pomegranate aguachile, purple ninja radish and smoked jalapeños.
The foundation of the menu, however, is the traditional cuisine of Lebanon, particularly mezze—small, sharable plates like hummus, tabbouleh, labne and fattoush (a garden salad with sumac lemon vinaigrette). Larger traditional offerings include lamb shank served over “Lebanese dirty rice,” falafel served with fava bean croquettes and—a dish Massoud has been honing since childhood—a mixed grill platter of chicken shish taouk, beef kebab, kafta, lamb chops, Lebanese salsa verde, lemon, toum duo and harissa.
[article-img-container][src=2025-12/restaurant-news-ilili-midtown-tk-121125_1600.jpg] [caption=Grilled meats and platters anchor the Ilili menu.] [credit= (Courtesy of Ilili)] [alt=A steak from Ilili Midtown][end: article-img-container]
The design: Conceived by Nasser Nakib Architects, the dining room of Ilili Midtown displays a mix of polish and opulence, with plenty of gold accents and bejeweled chandeliers. (A large mirrored wall adds to the sparkling effect.) Lending an earthy anchor to the aesthetic are long horizontal paintings of treetops, blue-and-green velvet chairs and black marble tabletops. Near the entrance, a spacious lounge with a 13-seat bar welcomes guests, and an eye-catching wall of wine refrigerators holds many of the restaurant’s bottles behind sleek, tinted-glass doors.—Greg Warner
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