Funk Zone Bars | Your Santa Barbara Nightlife Guide
Ready to check out Santa Barabara’s Funk Zone? The Funk Zone is known as the home of some of Santa Barbara’s best bars and happy hours, so we’ve done the research and given you the best of the best below.
Looking to do a bar crawl a little differently? Hop on the bike with us and take a tour of the Funk Zone!
A tiki-inspired neighborhood bar, the Test Pilot features a variety of craft tropical cocktails in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone.
Oaxacan Dead
The Oaxacan Dead is our adaptation of Donn the Beachcomber’s most famous creation, the Zombie. We modified the classic tiki drink to include a softly aged tequila and fiery mezcal, as well as include our own house-made cinnamon cordial, absinthe, fresh local citrus, and bitters.
Carr Winery is a full-production site located in downtown Santa Barbara and has been producing boutique wines since 1999. They believe the best wines start in the vineyard and they pride themselves on precision farming. Each of their vineyards are meticulously farmed to produce low yields, hand harvested, and farmed using only organic practices. Some of the varietals that they are known for include Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc. We invite you to experience the art of winemaking at Carr Winery.
*Carr Winery is located just outside the Funk Zone, but we love visiting them on our tours!
Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. was founded by father and son team, Jim and Jaime Dietenhofer, in 2010. With a passion for craft beer, they set out to pay homage to the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley with handcrafted beer and hand-drawn artwork depicting the local landscape on their labels.
Named after the mountain seen from their family home in Los Olivos, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company opened in Buellton, California with only a handful of employees. In a short 7 years, the company has grown to become one of the fastest growing craft breweries in America and now has a staff of over 200 which they affectionately call the #FigFam.
There are currently six taprooms along California’s Central Coast. Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. beer can be found in their taprooms or at select retailers and restaurants throughout California.
Brass Bear Brewing opened in February 2016 and is located one block from the beach inside the Funk Zone of Santa Barbara, CA. They serve high-quality craft beer (including their own), wine, and cider. Their food consists of charcuterie boards, meat/vegetable plates, and hot toasted sandwiches sourced from Santa Barbara and surrounding counties.
The Brass Bear name came to be during a National Parks cross-country road trip from New York to California. At their favorite park, Glacier, they did backcountry camping (the kind where you sign your life away at The Ranger Station and all they do is arm you with a safety video and bear spray for protection). As ‘luck’ would have it, after 6 hours of hiking and seeing no one, they came face to face with a family of three Black Bears.
The late afternoon sun hit the bears just perfectly and turned them into a beautiful brass color. They glanced our way and with a decisive grunt carried on. They agreed over dinner that night that this would be the perfect name for their own business one day, to remind them to face their fears and keep on trekking!
Nestled in the shadows of the Topa Topa mountain range, Topa Topa Brewing Company lives by their motto of ‘Good Vibes, Great Beers.’ Surrounded with everything that inspires them— amazing friends, farms, mountains, and some awesome surf— Topa Topa prides themselves on excellence of quality, remaining independent, and making sure everyone feels welcome.
When you stop to sip on a Chief Peak IPA (Topa Topa Brewing Co’s flagship beer) the piney hops are first to arrive. The tropical tones of passion fruit, orange, and gooseberry aren’t far behind. This west coast style IPA is clean-drinking and has been known to please even the biggest of hoppy beer skeptics.
