What a wonderful and special place! I agree with all the hype and I definitely recommend making a reservation ahead of time. We got there early for ours and we were able to wait outside in their beautiful patio. The food was delicious, I got the rib eye and it was cooked to perfection. I chose the fries as the side and they were so good. I didn't think much about the little shrimp cocktail that comes included with the entree from reviews I read, but after tasting it, it's an amazing little treat while you're waiting for the rest of your meal. We will be back! Our server Lupe was really nice, quick, and efficient. read more

Hitching Post - Rib Eye (12 Oz.) with side of fries - Barbeque Near Me - Casmalia, California

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Came by for a friend's mother's birthday this past Monday. I decided to get the beef ribs that are only available on Mondays. I ordered the 3 beef rib dinner ($37). They also offer a 5 beef rib dinner ($44). Their dinners include a chilled tray of vegetables (pickle slices, carrot sticks, green onions,etc), crackers, small shrimp cocktail, small basic salad, garlic bread and one side dish. I chose fries as my side and asked for them to be crispy. Ribs came out timely and looked amazing. They were cooked to my desired doneness and my fries were crispy. Ribs were excellent. They were meaty, tender, and flavorful. I regretted that I didn't opt for the 5 rib dinner so I could have more to take home. Service was excellent. Didn't have to ask for a refill on my water glass. Place was very busy with many tables celebrating birthdays. Parking was full at the restaurant. We parked in the lot across the street. read more

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Once again a fabulous meal in a unique setting. A classic relish dish, crackers, bowl of butter, a very small shrimp cocktail, then a tasty dinner salad with excellent blue cheese dressing. Then came the main event--the petite filet mignon, grilled to a perfect medium rare. Although it was a small steak, with the generous baked potato, garlic bread and jar of salsa, I couldn't even finish it--not the steak's fault, as the smokey seasoned meat was as delicious as ever. The restaurant now has new bathrooms and a patio, but has retained it's non-pretentious atmosphere. Several parties were celebrating birthdays, with the obligatory song. They handled a celebrity guest and his companion in a very low-key manner. Not a sports fan, we learned later the guest was a former Bulls basketball star--seated directly behind us. read more

This place is phenomenal. The staff are so unbelievably friendly and welcoming it's almost like they've known you for years. Like with many things you get what you pay for, so don't let the price scare you away. Our group had so many delicious offerings. We had the whole rack of ribs which were delicious and didn't need any barbecue sauce however I definitely recommend trying the barbecue sauce because it is like nothing else you have ever tasted. It was so good that I bought a bottle of it on the way out. Other members of our group had different cuts of steak from ribeyes to New York's to sirloins and each and everyone of them was amazing. Some people in our group had medium rare steaks all the way up to a well done steak. Now one true test of an amazing steak is if when you get it well done it is still soft and juicy and melts in your mouth and it's not like chewing on beef jerky. My husband is one who likes his steaks well done he gave me a few pieces to try and I was completely blown away. I have never had a more delicious well done steak in my life. It melts in your mouth and it is phenomenally delicious. We sat inside and the Decour is very much old west next time I would love to sit outside in their large back patio. This was our first time at this location and we will definitely be back for sure. read more

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The pork ribs here are the absolute best, best, best! Love the complete dinner with delicious dinner salad, shrimp cocktail, and even ice cream for dessert! I always order ribs but I've never heard complaints about the steaks. Call waaay ahead for reservations! It's in an 1800's hotel? So very rustic. read more

Want an old fashioned good old bbq? Whether you order steak, chicken or seafood this is the place that visit. Service is 5 stars and the food best on the Central Coast. Nicole was our server and let me tell she is top notch. Meals come complete with salad bread appetizer and dessert. I had the filet and it was amazing. Can't wait to visit again. Casual atmosphere and kid friendly read more

Went for Dinner Food - 5/5. The bay shrimps were meaty with a robust cocktail sauce. The fresh, vibrant flavors of the shrimp cocktail along with the refreshing and sour vegetable tray were a great way to start the meal. T-Bone steak was grilled to a perfect medium rare with a beautiful pink center, gorgeously rendered fat and seasoned well. Fries were golden brown and crispy with a soft center. The garlic bread had good char on them, the salad was fine, and the strawberry cheesecake ice cream was just sweet and tart enough to cleanse your palate after a great meal. Service - 4/5. Friendly, professional service. Value - 3/5. The prices are on the higher side with most entrees being in the $50 range, but that price does include appetizers and dessert. It is a bit of a landmark restaurant and could be worth a visit for that experience but regarding the food, I felt that the price and drive was not worth it. The meat quality was good but did not really justify the higher price and drive to its remote location when compared to its competitors serving Santa Maria-style barbecue. Parking - Private Lot (Free) read more

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Simply the best in the area! Little pricey but definitely worth it with everything you get and quality of food. My favorite restaurant steak! read more

Was in the local area and decided to stop here on a recommendation. Was not disappointed. Arrived just as they were opening, and they were already busy with patrons! Got a take-out order. Portions were exceptionally generous! Staff is very friendly and helpful. Will definitely return if I'm in the area. read more

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This is the OG! Come in and taste the flavor of the landscape from the grass fed beef and Smokey oak this charmer hasn't changed in decades- and god bless um! If it ain't broke don't fix it! They have it all, space travel memorabilia from the many astronauts who love this place, western charm and cowboy comfort food. Charm that is elevated by the steaks a wine list full of the central coast's finest. I love this place so so very much! read more

Had dinner with Family several weeks ago. First time at this location. Ambiance is Country style, deer heads on the walls, with a small bar. Wood tables that seat six people. Came at 5 pm. By six pm the place was full and quite noisy. ( Four stars, because of the noise.) So if you want a quiet ambiance, this is not the place. Ordered Grilled Artichoke and Longuisa sausage for appetizers. Had Sirloin steak, Small Filet ,Baked potatoes and small salads. Ice cream or Fruit sherbet for desert. Services was great. read more

Three-and-a-half, maybe four stars. Definitely good food, good service until the end. We had to summon the check after we were finished, which didn't come from our server. Noise level unacceptably high. I don't plan on going back. read more

Went with a large party for the first time. Historic establishment and a soup-to-nuts offering that includes salad, veggie tray, and dessert with a baked potato. Having been to Jocko's with a similar offering I wondered who copied who, though it appears the Hitching Post was established in 1952, a few years before Jocko's, but who knows which started the everything-included meals. Maybe that was the style back in the day and it's just been preserved. I've had this restaurant on my food bucket list ever since relocating to the Central Coast. Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, my wife and I parked on the side of the road and fed flowers to the cows across the street. Country atmosphere, country folk, country feel, it's the kind of place the big cities often try to but can never replicate. Truly awesome. Unfortunately my meat (NY Strip) was excellent with one major exception: a total lack of seasoning. No salt, no pepper, nothing but the meat that was cooked over wood so it had a pleasant and light smoke flavor. But zero seasoning. I took 1/2 of it home and seasoned it, and verified the meat quality was outstanding. Maybe the kitchen was off that day, I'll return and see if I can get a seasoned steak next time. read more

First time eating at the Hitching Post Very impressed with everything!!! The food was amazing! The atmosphere was great! The amount of food you get with your choice is beyond words! Definitely going back soon read more

Finally checked this place out after having dined at Hitching Post II many times. Had 630pm reservations but didn't get seated until 7pm. Got our salads pretty quickly. My filet was cooked medium well even though I specified medium rare. Since it took 25 minutes to arrive I didn't bother sending it back. The "famous fries" were limp and soggy. Service was decent but I'll stick with the Buellton location from now on. Definitely not worth the hype. read more

Food was really good, Lupe is a amazing server friendly good energy and very knowledgeable and helpful when it came to ordering food.

Great steaks. We were a party of 5 and had no time for pics other than the 2 I posted we all enjoy the amazing food and service . Recommend 100% read more

Hitching Post - Barbeque Near Me - Casmalia, California

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Hands down the best steak I've had in Cali. The steak is always cooked to perfection. It's by far the juiciest steak yet. It's seasoned all the way through and it just melts in your mouth. So tender you can cut it with a spoon. The service is top tier. All the waitresses help each other out, it's ran to perfection. If you in Pismo it's only like a 25 minute drive. This is a must stop at place if you like a good steak. Don't forget to tip the chef! read more

Hitching Post - The Chef ! - Barbeque Near Me - Casmalia, California

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What happened to the old Hitching Post? This has always been an expensive $$$$ place to eat, and on occasion the best place to enjoy oak fired BBQ. Our recent trip, 5 people, $460 w/tip, was not even close in quality to past trips to this restaurant. Rib Eye is always the best here @ $56 per plate. Swordfish was a bit dry and looked previously frozen. Artichokes - though $16@ ! - were great, as usual. My wife always loves their 7oz Sirloin @ $37 Hey - It's pricey to come here! We knew that, but our friends from Maine wanted a good BBQ experience. Here's my problem - waiters seemed to not even care what you wanted, seemed rushed and constantly looking over their shoulder at other tables while we were trying to ask questions about the entrees. Salad was obviously out of a bag with a plop of ranch thrown on top - no extras at all - by that I mean tomatoes, carrot slices, cucumber, etc. - just some iceberg lettuce with a plop of Ranch on top. Don't these prices call for a better salad? Rare meat choice wasn't really rare, more like medium - kind of sad considering the price of the cuts. Always so loud you can't speak with your guests - but it's a small place. We knew that, but always have hoped for quieter. Costco sells certificates at a discount - a good thing. read more

Average food for exorbitant prices. The place smelled of smoke, and even the water was smoky:). It might be the old world charm that draws people to this place and for these prices! The dinnerware is easy below average. The service was average as well. read more

Nice room: packed and bustling. The scallop appetizer was perfect. The steak (NY cut) was very good: for $70 it ought to be. The fries were fine, the baked potato shrunken and withered. However the service was a cross between a wedding reception and an arriving bus tour: fast, but to the point of rushing; coordinated, but too impersonal for the considerable amount of money spent on our dinner for two... read more

Food is excellent!! We has the ribeye, like butter. We'll seasoned, very good. We also had the pork ribs. Highly recommend. read more

This is the best barbecue place in California! We come here for every birthday. The service is great, and the people working here are so nice! read more

Excellent Excellent steak, food, atmosphere, service, drinks, all was very good. I strongly recommend calling ahead to make reservations, it's a very popular place. read more

Hitching Post - Ribeye, wine, creamy horseradish, baked potato, and salad. My photo doesn't do it justice. Very good - Barbeque Near Me - Casmalia, California

This was such an amazing choice to spend with friends to celebrate their anniversary! We were greeted with a friendly smile from the hostess who seated us center in the middle of all the action. Our waitress was very accommodating and suggested we started with (2) appetizers, pork spare ribs and grilled shrimp. Our order came with a petite shrimp cocktail and salad. By the time our main meal arrived, we were just about full from the tasty treats prior. My ribeye (medium rare) was absolutely delicious! Seasoned just right. No need for anything else. This is THE place to go if you want a true ribeye steak experience!!! read more

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Amazing Date Night with my Hubby! If you have never experienced the Hitching Post in Casmallia, do yourself a favor and put it on your bucket list! You definitely need a reservation too! This place is hopping busy! We live fairly close so with our sort drive we arrived about 45mins prior to our reservation time. Place was packed! A very cheery hostess greeted us check on her note pad that we were there. Then handed us a drink menu and menu with appetizers and invited us to enjoy the back patio with drinks and appetizers. The back patio is WOW it is so fun and inviting. Not high end restaurant inviting, but rather sitting in your Grandmother's back yard that has had so much love and efforts put into it inviting. There was even a local kitty sun bathing in what was left of the sun rays. The waitress was happy and enjoyable too. Now, dinner...OMG! We have been here in the past in a group. That was fun, but this time was even better! We got the pleasure of being seated next to the window where you can watch Chef grill and the staff bustle around to get the patrons severed. The Chef was clearly very focused. No matter how much effort my husband embodied his 10yr old self by trying to get the Chefs attention he failed. Lol We order the rib eye that was cooked to perfection! It was huge! 12oz! Nice thickness too not super skinny. Ultimately, we decided that we need to frequent this place more often. The atmosphere is just fun and eno read more

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This place was talked about a lot by locals so obviously had to give it a shot. Came at 5pm on a Thursday. It just opened and was already busy. Every staff member was very helpful and kind. We didn't have reservations and they still managed to get our party of 4 seated within 30-40 mins. Food was decent. For appetizers we ordered: Grilled Artichoke, Linguica, and Scallops. All of which were great. Love the flavor of the red oak wood. For dinner we ordered: Filet Mignon, Rib Eye, and Scallops entree. Presentation was not the strongest, but the flavors were ok. Our servers were amazing though. Can't speak highly enough of the staff. The food was just ok in my opinion. read more

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We went fairly recently and none of the servers, cooks, cashier, etc was wearing or attempting to wear a mask. We still ate here. However, there is still a state mandate requiring masks and they are not exempt. One star is all I will give. If they were wearing masks 5 stars. read more

Hitching Post - Wonderful Baby Back Ribs - Barbeque Near Me - Casmalia, California

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This place is a classic and never disappoints. On a Sunday afternoon we were able to get a same day reservation, I recommend always calling ahead before you drive out to Casmalia. Last night I had the Halibut and it was fantastic. My daughter had the kids steak which was out of this world. The meals include salad, relish tray, salsa, bread, shrimp cocktail and ice cream! Last nights meal was easily one of the best I've had in a very long time! read more

Hitching Post - Ice cream is included with your meal - Barbeque Near Me - Casmalia, California

I love this place. Normally I go to hitching post II but this one is so much better. Be warned this is in the middle of nowhere and can be frustrating to get there at night. You can literally hear cows moo and roosters crowing here lol oh and there is no cell service. But the food is amazing. I've gotten their smoked duck breast a few times. Always amazing. Their grilled artichoke is amazing and so is their dip they give you. Their shrimp doesn't look good when they give it to you.. but it is really good and so is the cocktail sauce. The best is their smoked steak and smoked veggie. It's so smoky and delicious and I will be ordering this from now on. The duck breast before was my favorite but this is so much better. Oh also they give you a little veggie platter before your meal, and I love it so much I make it at home! Love love this place. read more

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Swordfish is the best ever. Steaks and baked potatoes oh so good Can't beat the service. They turn their tables quickly but you don't feel rushed. Ambiance,,,poor acoustics making it noisy. Lots of fun for friends and relatives however a little too noisy for a business meeting, read more

Servive could of been better. Was not told about specials until after we ordered, when we over heard it given to another guest. Ribs were dry and tuff. Filet mignon was cooked to pufection. Overall experience was not as good as last year. Think we will try another steakhouse. read more

we are at the Hitching Post a week ago. I ordered a medium rib eye. Although the first few bites were very good it was more medium well than medium. Lupe came by and asked how things were. I mentioned the steak but said it was fine. a few minutes later, she returned with another true medium steak! delicious food and amazing service. thank you, Lupe. we shall return!!! read more

To start, Casmalia is a small town right down the street from a cow pasture. Not sure if that is where the meat comes from though, but the sniff is really strong outside of cow urine and feces. Hence, the cocktails from the bar are very SF. I suggest a jalapeno margarita. Wi es are also reasonable if you buy a bottle. Steaks were very good and at the advice of a friend, we picked up gift cards at Costco. Saved us $20 at our dinner. I do like that so much is included in the meal: mini shrimp cocktail, salad, veggie/starch, and ice cream for dessert. Steaks are grilled to perfection on a santa maria style bbq. Service was very efficient although a bit rushed for a Sunday night. Overall, it was good, but the stench outside really impacted our ability to enjoy the meal. read more

Hitching Post - Rib eye and potato - Barbeque Near Me - Casmalia, California

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Some of the best BBQ I've had outside of TX! I went with a group of friends (many of whom lived in TX for a long time) and we all loved it!! The atmosphere was relaxed BBQ and smelled of lovely smoke and meat. The cocktails were strong and tasty and well executed. And the dinner was a huge amount of food for a pretty reasonable price. Basically each of us chose a cut of BBQ steak and then each got veggies, crackers, garlic bread, a side, a salad, a shrimp cocktail, a coffee or tea, and a choice of ice cream (Rocky Road was great). The portions were decent sized and we all were very full at the end. The steaks were obviously the centerpieces of the meal and they were all excellent quality! read more

2nd time around! Every time I am at Solvang, this restaurant is a must to visit. Got rib-eye bone it and it was soooo mouthwatering, flavorful hunk of meat! Every part of the steak was tender and so delicious! You can never get wrong with their steak. OMG!!!! The green pea soup? It was delicious too because it was creamy with a handful of cubed beef. read more

Hitching Post - Barbeque Near Me - Casmalia, California

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Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded. We made a same day early reservation and were seated immediately on arrival in their overflow heated tented patio. It was surprisingly nice. We were h The first ones there and it filled up pretty quickly. The steaks are still off the charts fabulous, but they have cut back on son of the old school touches: the basket of crackers, the little bay shrimp cocktail. They have a lovely Pinot Noir called The Highliner, don't miss it. Bonus Feature if the name verflow room: There is a huge screen showing a live picture of the grill. I could watch that darn thing for hours. It is amazing how they turn out so much quality food. Extra special Bonus: Celebrity Sighting! Golden Globe , screen Actors Guild, and Acedemy nominated very talented actor and in my very favorite movie so exciting for me. I did not make a scene. We may have been the only ones who noticed. read more

Love the food, can taste flavor from the red oak wood fire pit on all the meat. Everything seasoned and prepared correctly. Nice to go into a meat restaurant, order a certain temp and actually get it prepared correctly! If you go when they open at 4pm, you can order from the "twilight" menu, a discounted price of full size meal. The prices no matter what are good considering your entree comes with drink, app, meal, and dessert. Service is good, plenty of staff helping each other. The restaurant inside is outdated, but it's original to the small town so it works for them. Make sure you go to the backyard of the restaurant by the bathroom hallway. Cut coi fish pond, bridge, and relaxing area. Would recommend, I prefer this hitching post vs buellton location. read more

Wow what can I say about the hitching post. Nothing but wonderful things. We made reservations for my honey bunny's birthday. Driving there was interesting. You felt like you were going to ghost town. The place was old and rustic very charming. The service was right on. You are well taken care of from the first greet to the thank you hope to see you again. Now to the food. We had a variety of stuff and we like to share. Artichoke hearts yummy, mushrooms wow. I had rib eye steak. Asked for medium rare and it was perfect and the flavor was delectable. We had scallops my tongue was wanting more (but not my plate). The hitching post gave us a wonderful time in celebrating honey bunny's birthday. He got a dessert and they sang happy birthday to him. read more

So some friends of ours invited us to go to the hitching post, and we had not been there in quite a number of years. We had reservations, and we were a little early, but still were seated promptly. It was too noisy for me maybe for younger people, but you couldn't even hear the person next to you talk. Some of the people were seated right in the aisle Way, no way for me. Our server was Amanda and she was very nice and friendly. I had an old fashion, but I commented the cherry was incorrect ha ha. My girlfriend and I both had fillet mignon 8 ounces. Didn't look like 8 ounces to me. We had salads and appetizers, but I compared it to a couple other restaurants not too far away, and I thought it was lacking. read more