We were taking a road trip from LA, CA to Berkeley, CA and we got veerrrrry hungry and could not take it any more so we went to Yelp and got the area's recommendations and this one came up. They mentioned good burgers and I was definitely on board! So my Mom, myself and my 5 year old took a nice little detour from the 5 freeway to get to this spot but it was quite worth it. All the food was really good...we had spaghetti, burger and prime rib and it was all excellent! Prices are not really cheap but not overly high either. While it is a little odd to note but important nonetheless to be as honest as I can about my dining experience; I think it only decent to mention that this establishment leans more on the homegenous side of american rural life and might have a slight challenge with serving those who are not more like them. It was subtle but definitely awkard here and there. While this factor does not affect the taste of the food per se, it definitely might affect some people's dining experience. Hence the 3 stars. read more

We have one the worst meals EVER. Follow me here: 1) We ordered two beers and two shot of 101 Wild Turkey. We got our beers. No shots. 2) We waited forever for our shots. 3) Reminded her about the shots.."oops sorry I forgot" she says. She runs to the bartender. 4) Ah yeah here comes two shots. 5) We cheers and swig down...... Southern Comfort! Sweet and Nasty 6) I told her that wasn't Wild Turkey and she says "are you sure?" "I will go ask the bartender" She comes back and says "Yup those were Wild Turkey" I know my whiskey and guess what somebody was lying. Yup we got billed for them too. 7) Our burgers come. I ordered a patty melt. Onions weren't grilled and only the top side of the bread was grilled! WTF is that? 8) Wife ordered a bacon burger no cheese and BBQ sauce on the side. They forgot her bacon and the sauce never came. Waited forever to get the bacon. 9) We had to vocally call the waitress over for EVERYTHING. 10) We had to ask for the bill and ask for them to take the bill......waited forever. 11) The table next to us all ordered steaks and had to send them back so the waitress comes over with a fork and forks up half eaten steaks and flops them all on top of each other and takes them to the back for more cooking HAHA. They still hadn't gotten their steaks when we left...and they were there before us! I think they are still waiting..... 12) Now keep in mind it was a slow night..can you imagine a busy night. I cant because I wont be there! I have been here before and never had an issue but have always eaten or drank at the bar area. Tonight we sat in the dining area...wrong move. We paid for everything, even the shots they should have taken off the bill, but no tip. I honestly can not remember the last time didn't leave a tip if ever! read more

Great bar with wonderful food and drinks! If you go on Thursday night, they have a lingerie show! Defiantly worth going and checking out. The girls are friendly and the beer is cold read more

I go here every pay day after work to get "good"! Seriously this place spells a good time when your surrounded by funny and crazy people! Drinks are awesome and pretty decent on prices. I usually buy white russians, bottles, and pitchers! Seriously 9 dollar pitches and 5 for white russians (kahlua, cream, and vodka)! Its in the cuts where there's a lot of warehouses and nothing but dirty roads. Honestly, good place to get that great feeling and have a good time with people! read more

Not just a bar! (although it's that too) My boyfriend and I love coming here for breakfast on the weekends! There's usually no wait and we love the waitresses. They're always super friendly and good about things like drink refills and coming and checking on you just the right amount so you don't feel negleted but also not smothered. We also love the homey atmosphere when you walk in; a waitress will yell at you from a corner "sit anywhere you want honeys" and it's like you just arrived at your grandmas house about to get some good food! A fun thing to do while you're there is actually pay attention to the stuff they have laminated into the tables. Most places have very generic stuff in tables like these but they actually have interesting things in there like ship tokens from the 1800's and newspaper clippings from years and years and years ago in Tracy. Well, at least it's interesting to me but I'm a pretty big histroy buff so I love it! read more

The Food is Amazing!... I have to admit I never made it out for dinner... i recently started working in Tracy, CA and remembered this place from a while ago. I introduced my fellow co-workers and now we are all hooked. We even have a Banta Day once a month.... We love the old saloon feel to the place.... If you go for lunch... Get there early or prepare for more than an hour lunch.... it gets packed fast.... The hamburgers are juicy and HUGE!... definately worth the drive if your from "out-of-town".... but know when you do visit.... you will definately feel like your from out of town.... you have to visit to just know what I'm talking about.... Now I can't wait for our next Banta Day! read more

Hubby and two other couples stopped in for lunch today. We had hamburgers, links, triple-decker club sandwich, onion rings, fries, salads, and cold beers. Everyone enjoyed their choice. Our server Jessica was very nice, efficient, attentive and friendly. We definitely enjoyed our time there and the atmosphere. No, we didn't see or hear the ghost but we will return for another try. Oh, we ladies explored outside in the covered patio and lawn area for a possible group meeting venue. No one seemed concerned that we were roaming the grounds. read more

I think my dad put it best when he walked (sauntered?) up to this place: "Want to clean off your spurs before you step inside?" This place is charming, to say the least. From what I overheard, it's a ghost-hunter destination, and all the old signs and license plates and photos on the walls certainly underscore its historical stature in the community. Even if you're not a fan of the food, you'll be mesmerized by all of these vintage decorations. It's practically a shrine to the old west. The food ain't so bad, either, especially because it's (often, I presume) served by a kicky Cloris Leachman lookalike. She was incredibly helpful and accommodating to our HUGE party Most of us had the Eggs and Cakes, which is your standard sweet-and-savory breakfast. I actually expected the meal to be a little bigger than it was, but it was still tasty. A fun, funky Tracy fixture for sure. read more

My daughter and I bought take out !! Great phone service & it was absolutely wonderful ; the dessert , amazing burger!!!! read more

Had dinner Wednesday with two friends. The dining room was quiet, only one other table dinning. Service was great, she was very helpful and willing to substitute menu items, made it easy for us to get our dinner exactly how we wanted it. Got the #5 cheeseburger with fries, it was cooked perfectly. My friends had the chicken mushroom melt and the calamari strips, both enjoyed their meal. The food was great, good flavor, good portion size, overall a good experience! read more

our family has always enjoyed the Banta Inn, but last night was thee worst meal ever, anywhere! i love shrimp scampi and that is what i ordered, after all it was my birthday dinner. i don't know who hired this cook (if that's what you could call him) but he sure did NOT know how to cook for serve shrimp scampi. it was cold hard shrimp in cold water with no taste. it had absolutely no GARLIC and that is thee main ingredient for scampi! the sides served on my plate were steamed zucchini and mashed potatoes both were nasty cold. will not be returning. read more

Great stop on our way coming back from Yosemite! Steak (ny steak and ribeye) was delicious but the veggies were a little over buttered. The hot wings were delicious!!! As were the mozarella sticks. The tri-tip was tender and well seasoned. Decorations were really cute and there was even a ping pong table in the back that we could play on! Not 5 just because it wasnt spectacular but it was really good :) read more

We drive by all the time. Finally, we stopped in for dinner. Yum! I had the Salmon. It was cooked just the way I like it. The baked potato was huge with lots of fixings. My husband had the prime rib and enjoyed it. Friendly service, great food, and reasonably priced. We look forward to returning. read more

What a discovery. Taking a back roads motorcycle ride I passed this placed and almost kept going. Something in my head said "go back...go back... So I did and made it worth posting a comment here. This place is almost in nowhereville. Funky looking outside and a dark woody interior decor with many posters, placards and signs that make you feel like you just made it a road trip. Basic comfort food and large portions too. Good burgers and fries. My friend had the steak sandwich that he had trouble figuring out how to approach it to get a bite. Bottomless soda and ice tea came with it. I'll go back again with a larger group and let them say what a discovery. read more

The Banta Inn has long had a rich and storied history. Some say that it's haunted, some say it's cursed. But whether or not those stories are true, one thing can be said of the Banta Inn: the food is excellent! My colleagues had the chef's salad, the Banta Burger and I had the Steak Sandwich. The service was excellent and quick; the waitress attentive to our needs, and the food came out relatively quickly and was very delicious. Highly recommended - the Banta Inn is a nondescript jewel. You will not be disappointed! read more

I like this place but my wife wasn't as impressed with the food as I was, she had prime rib and I had a steak. Small old diner/ bar with very friendly staff and cast of regulars. I'll be going back read more

My wife and I come here often but today must of been a bad morning for the cook usually our breakfast is perfect but today I could not even eat it at all. My wife ordered her bacon extra chrisp when it came out parts of it was black. It usually is not black. My Denver on the other hand was raw on the inside and the omelette was so cold the shredded cheese they put on top did not even melt. They were nice enough when we brought it too there attention and offered a new one but my appetite was gone. Very disappointed and will not go back for a while and I just referred my friends here. read more

Decided to go out Saturday night for Father's Day instead of fighting the crowd on Sunday. Prime rib was the special for the night. ordered the prime rib with baked potato wife ordered shrimp scamp. They came and said they didn't have baked potatoes tonight and asked if mashed would be ok. I said ok but really wasn't to happy. Wife's diner came, looked like butter with garlic in it rice was cold and looked like left over. Finally got my prime rib, it looked kind of funny so I put my finger on it, it felt like it had just came out of the refrigerator. Very cold. They took it back but left my potatoes and vegetables. My wife was completely done when the prime rib finally came back. Barely warm. Asked for a to go container, they said they didn't have any and brought me two little pieces of foil. I would say save your money. Really not worth the time or money. Oh and by the way, we where the only people eating there. Should have had a clue read more

Well.... I came here on Saturday for Karaoke with my friends and had a great time! My bar bill was high but worth the fun memories. I forgot my credit card and came back today and decided to get their special for dinner, prime rib. It was delivered cold, I asked to have it heated and the lady was very nice and apologetic. It came back with grill gristle which was icky. I had about 2 bites and determined that I could not eat it. I did eat the veggies and most of the potato. The waitress was very sweet and was shocked at my dislike for the prime rib. She still charged me full price for my vegetarian dinner I really wanted to eat that prime rib. I will recommend the place for Karaoke not for the food!! read more

Wanted to try something new and different however order calamari and I got square came out the freezer box looking thing. Especially the price the food wasn't that good. Obviously this is just from my experience. The service was okay. No bashing there. read more

Best service EVER!!! Patricia was the best waitress I've ever had!!! My Salmon was amazing!!! Everything was great. read more

Great food, great service, great prices and great drinks! The Banta Inn is a historic landmark, has been there since 1878 and it's HAUNTED!!! Crazy things happen and maybe you'll get to be lucky enough to experience the phenomenas that happen there with their friendly ghost Tony Gukan who passed away in the bar and has never left! Must try, old cowboy style atmosphere with lots of neat old pictures and signs. It's come as you are.. They serve everything from appetizers to burgers to prime rib with all the fixin's, full bar, and you have your choice of eating in a dining room or the bar area. They also have a great patio that's indoor/outdoor depending on the weather with a beautiful lawn area great for any events and even had a full service bar on the patio. Check it out, definitely worth the experience! read more

The expression on my face the whole time I was at the Banta Inn was one of confusion, wonder and disbelief. How did I get here, what combination of bad decisions led me there and did I scream 'outsider,' or was I just screaming? The Banta Inn is like a real life version of the Douchebags with Hot Chicks book. If there was ever an appropriate place to have a Jagger bomb, I'm pretty sure this would be it. BUT, they do have a pretty large selection of top shelves (more than I can say of some popular bars in SF...tsk tsk) and they offer pretty tasty menu items including a vegetarian sandwich with big pieces of squash and mushroom for $5 with fries. Who knew? So if you find yourself in Tracy, swing on by, throw a dollar up on the wall, prepare to feel really good about yourself and enjoy a solid meal or drink for cheap. Word. read more

okay so I am all about my days in Hollywood beautiful women, great nights at the Standard, Hilton Blow, and sleeping 'till 3pm............BUT life has changed a bit I am now in the bay area working on myclothing line but maintaining a corporate job meanwhile. I am a Coordinator (Fancy word for at the top Manager) of a logistics company in Tracy. I commute 60 miles to work everyday one way, so every morning I drive from the beautiful bay area to the middle of nowhere.......AND damn do I mean nowhere. The surroundings are cows, farms, horses, tractors, plaid shirts, and as hip as they get is Great Plate (the neighborhood sports grill that actually has a great bar)!!! HAHA I know you think I am playing BUT unfortunately I am not. So after work nothing sounds good like a great drink..........usually I go to Great Plate but I am invited to The Banta Inn. Most of the people that invited me first off live out here and well are use to these type of spots, SO I go of course cause I am all about getting to know everything. Well I park on dirt right next to the little ledge that you can tie your horse to, and I walk in to find the ORIGINAL of what the Saddle Ranch in Hollywood is trying to be. YUP I am in a real western movie with cheap drinks, hearty plates, bartenders that are 50 but still party like they're 21, darkness, ceiling fans, and flies from outside. Honestly, and I mean honestly I liked it besides the flies. Topshelf drinks are the price of cheap ones at fancy clubs, the jukebox has Johnny Cash, and their decorations are the real shit, not fake remade memorablia. I felt like Bonaza and always kept in mind that I loved the fact that I didn't fit in and nobody even cared because the only thing that is important in their is "What whiskey your drinking"................SERIOUSLY every citified person should come here. I learned that Grey Goose drinks can be $4, and shots of Patron can be $5. read more

Was in here yesterday for lunch and good thing the food was good because the service sucked!! The waitress had attitude right from the second i stepped in the door. Wish the girl who'd brought drinks to table had been our server. Won't be back anytime soon and had i not been meeting someone there i would have walked out before ordering. read more

For some reason this did not post from 2 years ago when this happened, but I felt it important to do so in the event the waitress is still there. Frankly if I could write negative stars I would. I am by no means the type of person to give bad ratings lightly, but wow do they not deserve even one star. We went out to eat there over a month ago with friends and had a horrible experience. When we go in we seat ourselves and it takes forever for the waitress to come get our drink orders, then nearly half an hour later she comes to give us our drinks. So by then we are ready to order and we order our food. This also takes forever, and all our drinks are empty and we keep trying to catch the waitresses attention to no avail. Frankly I feel if we are paying as much as we are for a meal, we shouldn't have to try and get our waitresses attention. Understand I am in my first trimester of pregnancy, which means without a doubt the chicken needs to be cook. When I get the food I'm starved, "morning" sickness has not been friendly to me! I cut into it and even in dimmed light I can see it is still VERY pink inside. So my husband gives it back letting her know it isn't cooked. Well, she said nothing just gave a dirty look and rolled her eyes as she walked away. She doesn't ask if I want it back or anything. Well, I then lost my appitite and didn't want to eat it. When she brought it back EVERYTHING was in the same position like it had been microwaved or put in a warmer, I don't know, but it still looked nearly as pink as before. My husband told her I didn't want it when she brought it back and she huffed and said rudely she would take it off our tab. My husband ended up not touching his beef which was extremely tough and dry as a medium rare (was supposed to be a tender cut,) so she took this off the tab too without us asking. So despite the issues we weren't too upset even with her attitude and horrible service. Well, we paid for dinner and my husband used his card and authorized $7x.xx which is what our online statement said during processing. A couple days later I was checking my account online and noticed the posted amount was now $9x.xx, a whole $20 extra, I guess turning a 7 into a 9 was the easiest thing to do. We called and spoke with who we believed was the waitress who served us, and wanted to speak with the owners so they knew what was going on. She seemed nervous and said their bookkeeper has the information etc and has to get back to us. She then calls back the next day saying she can either put it back on our card or give us cash. If you pay with your card, just make sure to check your statement once it clears. My husband had marked the tip as $0, which leads us to believe she squeezed the $2 in front of the $0 and turned the total from $70+ to $90+ read more

At one time the Banta Burger was worth the trip, not anymore the roll was replaced with a bun suitable only for fast food places. There was a piece of wilted lettuce on my plate. I had to ask for the tomato. I ordered the beer battered onion rings at one time filled the plate, now I counted five onion rings? No one in the place and service was slow I notice a nice little group of employees having a great time on the patio. Food quality has been increasingly getting worse the first couple times I thought it was a fluke since I been eating there for the past ten years. Something has to change..I loved that place use to eat there all the time. read more

The only ghost there is Joanie Costa. After the it got ripped off from Joanie, the original "Great" food was changed & the prices were raised. Pretty funny considering the downhill slide it took. Used to eat there once a week. Now I don't even bother to drive by. read more

Been here a couple times and every time the food is delicious. Burgers are juicy, fried zucchini mmmm and the ranch is on point.

We have seen this place rise and fall in quality over the past 15 years. Unfortunately the quality is low with the current menu. Seems like the focus is on the bar side of the house and the restaurant is second fiddle. read more

Place is in a country setting, nice people, good food, cheap for lunch. Beers are good, bar is well stocked

I've been a regular at the Banta Inn for more years than I can count and have always enjoyed dining there...until last week. Went in with my wife for dinner and we both ordered the NY steak. Hers medium-well and mine medium. When she cut into her steak it was very bloody and no where close to medium-well and she obviously sent it back. Mine was literally RAW. I don't mean rare. It was raw and literally 'kissed' by the grill on both sides just enough to darken the surface. Mine didn't bleed because it was so under cooked. My steak was also full of fat and totally flavorless. Tried my wife's steak and it tasted totally different...like a NY should. Not sure who was in the kitchen but whoever it was needs to find a new line of work. We won't be going back anytime soon...maybe never. On a brighter note the salad was great...still one of the best in the Tracy area. read more

Went here for then1st time tonight as I heard it was pretty good .. My salad came out with hair in it .. My tri tip was cold .. Like cold ! And I had to ask for my beverage twice .. And we were one of two tables in the restaurant .. Nope never again .. Oh the clam chowder was better than average .. Service = sub par and food overall = thumbs down total bill was 52. Bucks .. And I ate less than 1/4 of it .. Additionally I was charged 1.00 for everything on my baked potato as an add on .. Really ? read more

I must have driven past this place 100 times and never even knew it existed. Have been here twice in the past couple of weeks. Their patty melt was amazing. Adding 99 cents for some onion rings is highly worth it. They give you quite a stack and they taste like they are beer battered. The next time I ordered their burger, which was really good. It didn't come with anything on it for some reason, but the waitress brought out my tomatoes and lettuce after I asked, lol. I wasn't a fan of the bread that they used for this, and would recommend the patty melt. We also tried the calamari. They have a really good horseradish heavy cocktail sauce that worked perfectly for this. Everyone was attentive and super kind the both times we went in, not sure what happened for some of the other customers. read more

Came here for Easter Brunch and loved it! The staff was really friendly and helpful, the food was perfect, it was quiet, and we got to eat outside without getting beat up by the sun! It was perfect! Can't wait to go back! read more

I've never taken the time to Yelp before but I really wanted to recognize an employee who made my experience wonderful and will ensure that I will visit again. My husband and I decided to try this restaurant this weekend. It was pretty quaint and the exterior reminded me of an old Western saloon. Our server's name was Trevor and he was so friendly and both looked and acted so professional. He took the time to list the specials to us and pleasantly answered any questions we had about the menu. I got the fettuccine Alfredo which was delicious but I thought the portion was a bit small for the price, my husband ordered the prime rib which he enjoyed. What really made the experience was our server. Trevor was always so polite and friendly in his interactions with us, he seemed knowledgeable about the menu and he took the time to check on us without being pushy or making us feel rushed even though he had other tables to take care of. If the owner or manager checks these reviews, you have a wonderful employee in Trevor and he is the reason we will come back in the future. My husband and I tipped him well but more importantly I think his boss should know they have a very special employee in him. He never seemed like he was just "doing his job" but that he was happy to be taking care of us and concerned that we had a great experience. read more

It was a pleasant surprise! From recent reviews I hoped we'd like breakfast; and indeed we liked it better than expected. It's a personal homey diner on the restaurant side--you feel comfortable right away. There was nice variety--many omelette choices, generous portions, all well prepared and un-commercialized. Good French toast, linguica, biscuits, etc etc. They serve breakfast 3 days/week--Fri-Sun. We'll be back for that, and to try lunch/dinner. Looking at the burgers coming out, lunch looked promising. What it does, so far, seems to do very well! A great discovery for a Tracy breakfast--a REAL breakfast! read more

Horrible service and food. I ordered tri tip, but they brought out a tri tip sandwich. The tri tip was poorly cooked. Waitress was extremely rude. Would never go back again. read more

Little bit by itself, but I promise you it's worth the effort in finding this place. The burgers are awesome as is the breakfast. The staff is great and it's a definite go to place for me. read more

Love this place. The food is delicious and the service is excellent. We have been regular customers for about 1.5 years. Sometimes we have dinner and a cocktail or occasionally we go in on the weekend for breakfast. I love the friendly, laid-back, home town, non-corporate atmosphere. I have several "favorites," including the bacon cheeseburger, spaghetti, fried ravioli, and the prime rib special...yum. Good prices and fabulous, friendly service. read more