A Room With a View

UC Santa Barbara will have a fine dining venue on campus when the former Faculty Club, rebranded as The Club at UC Santa Barbara, opens in the University Center (UCen) on Monday, Sept. 29. The Club will operate as The Club at The UCen through the 2014-15 academic year while the new building is under construction.

Situated in a partitioned section on the second floor of the UCen, the temporary location features a cozy indoor space with seating for approximately 30 guests. The patio accommodates an additional 20. Both areas offer a panoramic view of the campus lagoon, albeit from a different angle than the 50-year-old Charles Moore building that housed the Faculty Club since 1968.

In partnership with UC Santa Barbara Housing & Residential Services, that facility is undergoing an extensive renovation slated to begin later this fall with an anticipated opening before the end of 2015. When completed, the lagoon-front club with ocean views will be twice its former size, with increased dining and meeting space, 34 boutique-hotel-style guest rooms and an outdoor terrace.

“The Faculty Club was always a beacon of hospitality and essentially the campus living room. In its new incarnation, The Club at The UCen will preserve this appeal, offering a fine-dining luncheon option in a comfortable setting for members and the campus community during renovation,” said Sara Engebrits, The Club’s director of member services.

Executive chef Sean Studds has revamped the menu, which focuses on fresh, local and sustainable foods while retaining such perennial favorites as tortilla soup, risotto and Asian salmon salad. He is using the newly outfitted kitchen in the adjacent Corwin Pavilion for food preparation.

“I’m really excited for the opening of our new dining room,” said Studds. “We are in a great location in the UCen and our new kitchen is state of the art. Our menu will be similar but with a few exciting changes. I can’t wait to see all of the familiar faces and I look forward to getting to know new customers.” 

The Club at The UCen is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For reservations, call (805) 893-3096 or email info@theclub.ucsb.edu. For more information on The Club’s renovation and expansion, visit www.theclub.ucsb.edu.