Chef Karim Chhibbane was born in Marrakesh, Morocco. Even as a small child, his dream was to be a French Chef. He spent most of his formative years learning Moroccan cuisine in his family’s kitchen gleaning all the knowledge he could from his mother and his aunts.

Then Karim took to the road and went to France where he worked as a chef in hotels and restaurants and then back to Morocco to further his craft. Eager to visit the United States, he met a couple traveling from Santa Barbara. They invited him to visit them and he rest is history. Chef Karim fell in love with Santa Barbara and its people.

Since 1990, Chef Karim has been feeding the hearts and souls of his customers. Karim is living proof that Moroccan culture is alive in well in his restaurant. “In Morocco, we treat our customers as family” he has been known to say. There is no better explanation of exactly how he feels about his restaurant and its food.

The success of Chef Karim’s is evident in its reputation and reservation list.