Brace yourselves, foodies. There’s a seven-day sweet and savory storm heading to Lompoc in the form of the city’s seventh annual Restaurant Week.
In conjunction with this year’s festivities, several restaurant owners throughout Lompoc are offering exclusive deals for $20.22, the same price as participants of Santa Maria Valley’s Restaurant Month, albeit within a much shorter time frame. Here’s a speedy rundown of some of the meal deals you can expect to find in town between Monday, Feb. 21, and Sunday, Feb. 27.
Fishy business
For the most authentic English pub-style fish and chips in Lompoc, you need only seek out the town’s lone red phone box. The vintage booth rests just outside Alfie’s Fish and Chips, the only remnant of a former franchise that originated in 1969. Hundreds of locations throughout the U.S. have been dismantled one by one over the decades. In 2019, Lompoc’s venue became the last known Alfie’s in the country.
In celebration of Restaurant Week, Alfie himself—the eatery’s iconic mascot in a bowler hat—is offering patrons the chance to purchase two two-piece fish and chips combos for a total of $20.22. If you’re a Central Coast local who doesn’t remember Alfie, you clearly didn’t grow up during the early 2000s. Consider this my petition to bring back the family-owned pub’s locally produced television commercials, full of James Bond parodies and a tagline that echoes in my mind to this day—“Don’t forget about the hush puppies.”
For Alfie’s full menu or more info, call (805) 736-0154 or visit alfiesfish.com. Alfie’s Fish and Chips is located at 610 N. H St., Lompoc.
Burgers, breakfast, and so much more
There’s nothing overly traditional about the burgers and sandwiches you’ll find at Lompoc’s Old Town Kitchen and Bar, even with a nostalgic name that harks back to days of yore. The descriptions of the pastrami cheeseburgers and Central Coast cheesesteak sandwiches are enough to get my mouth watering, and the barbecue smoked tri-tip burger the venue chose for its $20.22 option is just as taste-bud triggering.
The tri-tip burger comes with house-made barbecue sauce, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and caramelized onions, and its dinner combo includes a soda, fries, and the kitchen’s signature Old Town corn bites. There are two additional dinner deals to steal if you’re not in a burger mood: an order of steak bites served with grilled bread and a salad; or a plate of pan-seared fish served over creamy linguine pasta, also with a salad.
The kitchen is also offering a $20.22 lunch special: split macaroni and cheese, with a choice of sauce (classic cheddar, alfredo, basil cream, or sun-dried tomato cream), and two topping options (choose your favorite duo between tri-tip, chicken bites, bacon, peppers, and caramelized onions). The lunch combo also comes with a salad and molten chocolate cake for dessert. Find out more about all of Old Town Kitchen’s lunch and dinner options by calling (805) 741-7631 or visiting oldtownkitchenlompoc.com. The restaurant is located at 319 E. Ocean Ave., Lompoc.
Also known for its burger variety, Tom’s Burgers is participating in Lompoc’s Restaurant Week by offering its own pair of two-themed specials: two chicken strip sandwiches with two drinks and a half order of fries (offered Tuesday through Saturday); or two pancakes and two eggs, with a choice of two bacon pieces or two sausages, with coffee or juice (offered on Friday and Saturday only). Both combos are $20.22 of course. Tom’s Burgers is located at 115 E. College Ave., No. 13, Lompoc.
Burger buffs and sandwich swooners can also get their fix at O’Cairns Inn and Suites, which is offering patrons two burgers or two chicken clubs for $20.22. Both pairs come with one drink. The hotel is located at 940 E. Ocean Ave., Lompoc.
Pizza palate
Mi Amore Pizza and Pasta in Lompoc is spreading some week-long love with two separate Restaurant Week options: one medium one-topping pizza with two dinner salads; or two half orders of spaghetti with two dinner salads. Both of these $20.22 deals only apply to dine-in orders at the restaurant, located at 1321 N. H St., Lompoc.
Pizza prices are just as wild over at Wild West Pizza and Grill, located at 1137 N. H St., Lompoc. Not only does this venue’s $20.22 option come with a medium specialty pizza and a dinner salad for two, it also comes with a cannoli for dessert.
Meanwhile, Eye on I is locally known for its diverse pizza selections, but its Restaurant Week offering showcases a different side of the eatery’s expansive menu. “A Taste of Ethiopia” is $20.22 and includes doro wat, misir wat, gomen, and injera. Eye on I is donating proceeds of this special to Future Lompoc, a community outreach organization that aims to empower local high school students. Visit facebook.com/futurelompoc for more info. Eye on I is located at 131 N. I St., Lompoc.
Appetizing additions
The list of Lompoc’s Restaurant Week participants—which currently also includes The Bread Board Deli, Floriano’s Mexican Food and Fresh Cuts, Pali Wine Co., Central Coast Specialty Foods, Valle Eatery and Bar, and Sweetzer Cellars—continues to be updated through the promotion’s start date, and can be found at lompoc.com.
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood is starving. Send comments to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 17-24, 2022.