Mollie’s Settles into Santa Barbara

“I’m here because I enjoy what I do,” says Mollie Ahlstrand, the five-foot-tall talent, heart, and tenacity behind Mollie’s on State Street, speaking with the well-worn clarity of someone who’s been in the industry for decades.

As I look around her new establishment, which opened in June, I see diners happily slurping up plates of freshly made pasta and digging into bowls teeming with fresh mussels and fish bathed in an irresistible tomato sauce. Ahlstrand’s passion for cooking is palpable in every dish, but I realize that there’s more to the story than that. She’s dancing from table to table, laughing with guests like old friends, giving hugs goodbye, her face beaming as she doles out enthusiastic cries of “Ciao bella!” It’s obvious that Ahlstrand’s dynamic personality is also a key ingredient to her success.

Such warmth is why the new location is already earning lines out the door. The original Trattoria Mollie, which opened on Coast Village Road a quarter century ago, was a beloved locals’ haunt as well. Said Ahlstrand, “The customers are who make me who I am.”