Restaurant group shows what’s in a name at Santana Row

Augustine looks markedly different from anything else on Santana Row by design. Even the font used for the logo is utterly distinctive and suggests a tony coastal look and feel.

It all started with the name.

“I keep a journal of restaurant ideas and I jot down names all the time,” said Bacchus Management Group Executive Tim Stannard, who had 50 names in the hopper before he came up with the winner in 2023. “I had seen Augustine somewhere, and I loved the name. It rolls off the tongue.”

Augustine is the second restaurant on Santana Row for San Francisco-based Bacchus; the first was Pizza Antica.

“We were the third business to open after the huge fire” in 2002, said Stannard. “There were only two other retail shops here at the time. We had wanted to do another project on The Row but never found the right space.”

When Sino closed its doors, the perfect space became available. Stannard set to work with Left Coast Design and S.B. Brady Design to imagine a place that would feel like an instant sanctuary. Hasz construction executed on that vision.

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The first thing visitors see is the outdoor patio with its handsome tables and cushioned chairs, framed by ivy and climbing roses and accented by gas lamps and lanterns. Inside is a dramatic u-shaped Carrera marble bar, gleaming with glassware, all sparkling beneath the light of the dazzling chandeliers.

French oak floors and mahogany-stained wainscotting give the place a touch of Old World elegance, lifted by the predominance of blue and gold in the upholstery and wall coverings. Distinctly separate dining areas create the sense of privacy, with a combination of banquette seating, booths and free-standing tables.

Everything is brightened by aged brass accents and custom light fixtures. There are private dining spaces, accommodating eight to 30 people, including a “private club” for craft cocktails.

Augustine’s cuisine is focused on the Riviera. Stannard said this region is near and dear to executive chef and partner Mark Sullivan, who oversees all the Bacchus properties, among them The Village Pub and The Village Bakery in Woodside and Selby’s in Atherton. In his youth Sullivan traveled around France and Italy and fell in love with the tiny town of Eze.

“This is Mark’s soul touchpoint and north star,” Stannard said in 2023. “The cuisine in many of our restaurants represents the intersection of France and California, but this is the first time we are exclusively inspired by the food of the French Riviera.”

There are rivulets of the Riviera running through the menu, which showcases coastal Californian cuisine infused with Italian and French influences, inspired by seacoast destinations like Monaco and Eze. The menu is roughly divided into Caviar Bites, Sea, Garden and Ranch offerings, and leans heavily into the produce of local coastal farms, offering up salads and vegetable-based dishes, along with some Middle Eastern influences.

Augustine’s wine program features 400 selections, focusing on California and the Mediterranean, including wines from islands like Santorini, Crete, and Sicily. There are selections from Southern Italy, the French and Italian Rivieras and Spain, and an extensive reserve list as well. The cocktail menu revives classic drinks from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. The Augustine martini, made with olive oil-washed gin, seasonal vermouth and lemon bitters will tickle your salt tooth.

Augustine’s hours are Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.- 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m.- 10 p.m. For more information and reservations, visit https://www.augustinerestaurant.com.