The title is indicative of both the ambiance and food. This is a butcher shop. You walk in and it's right in your face, a glass case full of meats. There's no restroom, no tables, and it is meant for you to get your fresh cut meats and go. Service is friendly, fast, and they seem to keep busy. However on Thursdays and Fridays they make these amazingly delicious greasy sliders. Two are about the size of an In n Out burger. You have to eat them outside on one of the small picnic tables (which appear to belong to the neighboring stores), or in your car. They're messy, so I wouldn't recommend the car. My buddy brought me here and swore these were the best burgers. Just one bite and I could taste what the fuss was all about. We ordered the cowboy burgers which come with grilled onions, avocado, lettuce, tomato and cheese. They were tasty and oh so tender. My buddy also gets about a month's worth of tri tips and steaks at a time here. They vacuum seal the meat upon request, and my buddy has yet to find a better tri-tip in the area. Well that's this critic's review, until next time, I'll be eating. read more

Watkins Ranch Butcher Shop - Cowboy Sliders - Butcher Near Me - Meiners Oaks, California

This little hidden gem! I ordered a beef tenderloin and it was a nice cut and they made sure it was cleaned up and ready to season and cook!! Picked up a couple of beef knuckles for the pup! I was treated so kindly and to me that makes a big difference! I'll be returning soon! read more

I absolutely love this butcher shop. Great staff, very friendly, and very knowledgeable. And I love the fact that the beef and chicken I get there is local. That means alot to me and Watkins provides that. Highly recommend going here when you need meat for a BBQ!!! read more

The filet mignon steaks taste amazing and the staff are so helpful and nice I can't wait until we buy more

Amazing meats and hospitality!! This is definitely a hidden gem in Ventura county....their house made sliders!! Using their own ground beef, grilled onions, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese on a brioche bun! They are little sliders that fall from the sky's above packing a huge amount of flavor and are cooked to perfection!! read more

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Our first home delivery was fantastic, so it really saddens me that this one was so disappointing. Half our order of filet mignons, rib eyes and packages of ground beef were under the advertised weight ranges. For example, the filet mignon pictured was supposed to be between 7-8 ounces, but was just 3 ounces. For our initial delivery, a time was coordinated with a phone call, but this round the delivery guy just randomly showed up & it was sheer luck I was home. Watkins did refund the weight difference when I called them, but said they had no idea what happened. We won't be ordering again, but if you order from Watkins, my advice is be sure to check your cuts are the right size before the delivery person leaves. read more

Watkins Ranch Butcher Shop - Underweight filet mignon delivered - advertised as 7-8 oz. - Butcher Near Me - Meiners Oaks, California

I used to eat this beef years ago. I picked up my order of 2 ribeye steaks Bone in. Cooked them today medium rare, They were uneatable, so tough! I have my Teeth so does my 30 year old daughter, could not Chew it enough to swallow. Never have I had any meat like this, never Till today. 2 steaks $56.00 and totally uneatable. Will have to cook them down so I can feed to my dogs. Always like the family and try to support local. read more

I'm so excited to have found this place! Local pasture raised meat, reasonably priced. Total mom and pop feel. The woman working there was so kind and helpful. So far we've smoked a tri-tip, cast iron sautéed pork chops and sautéed liver. Oh man so delicious! (Aside from still getting used to liver:) Going to try to get most of my meat from here from now on! I'm working on sourcing my food better (less from the grocery store) and it feels great. If you eat meat I 100% recommend checking it out. read more

The best. My go to for any of my meats if I'm in the area. Barbara is the best and knows how to cook them sliders. Super friendly and very humble. read more

Best local butcher by far! Great service, friendly staff, great options and incredible meat all around! pricing is very competitive and you're supporting a local business. A+ read more

They have amazingly good service and even better sliders. I highly recommend the Cowboss Classic.

We love Watkins! Thank you for serving our area. We have ordered Watkins for at least 4 years and have always been happy with our orders.

Absolutely our fave butcher shop in the 805. Direct from the farm, they've the best pork chops we've ever had. Good prices, friendly service & all around a true gem! Thank you! read more

Big sign on door reminding people of statewide mask mandate. But employees inside wearing masks on chin and allowing customers to go maskless. read more

Great butcher, excellent meat! Picked up a few cowboy steaks and some ground sirloin from Watkins recently and was pleasantly surprised at how amazing their meat was. I will definitely be back, especially for those filets that are always sold out! YUM!! read more

Love Watkins! We especially appreciate Barbara, who always greets costumers with a big smile and kind words.

My mom bought 2 medium size "ribeye" steaks today, cost was $45. Broiled them after marinating for 2 hours to medium/rare appearance. The meat was tasteless and tough and barely edible. Quite a disappointment as a similar purchase last year was much better, have they changed their source? Will not be returning for other purchases given the price and poor quality. read more

We are renting a house in the area that has a huge grill so I went searching for a butcher shop. The folks at Watkins were very helpful and patient with my questions. The tri-tip and chicken were great. I will definitely be back. read more

Watkins Ranch Butcher Shop - Tri-tip, chicken breast - Butcher Near Me - Meiners Oaks, California

Fantastic Butcher Shop! These are professional butchers who have experience actually cooking what they sell! I shop here every Saturday for filets, and while there, choose a pound of house-made bacon, some ground pork for Asian meatballs, some boneless skinless chicken breast or, in winter, a whole chicken. Then I know what we're eating all week! When I want a mid-week roast chicken, here's what to do: On Saturday, prep the whole chicken (salt and sliced lemons in the cavity), freeze till Tuesday, place frozen chicken in the oven with delayed start at 400 for one hour, have a roast chicken for dinner when I walk in at 6 pm. read more

Their beef and pork are fantastic. The Tri-tip was so good on the grill! It's so nice to be able to have local, pasture raised meat delivered. Their customer service is great too. read more

My experience was great up until the time my meat was ready to be picked up. We are new to the area in terms of livestock harvesting. I called the only two places around that kill and package meat to get prices prior to harvest. John quoted me $375-$400 for everything including the kill fee to harvest my hogs. The other place in Santa Paula quoted me $410. I decided to go with John because he is closer and saved me some time and money. My first issue is they have had my hogs for almost two months. I have been very patient with him and figured it would be worth the wait. My second issue was when they were finally finished the guy at the shop told me my bill was just under $1,300 for two hogs!!!! I was completely shocked and reached out to John immediately. John was apologetic and knocked off a couple hundred dollars but at the end of the day the price was still almost $150 more for each pig then he quoted me. I hope the meat is good but I will be using the other place in Santa Paula from now. I have been raising hogs in Northern California for the last ten years and have never paid more then $300 for kill fee and butcher services (bacon, hams, linked sausages, etc...) combined. It was a real shock when these guys tried to charge me $650 per hog. read more

Walked in here after going to the Ojai Farmer's Market and the butcher was so kind. He helped me find the right steaks for my birthday dinner I was having that night. The meat was so delicious and absolutely mouth watering juicy. Will be returning next time we are in town. Also got beef jerry for the ride back home to Santa clarita that tasted amazing too. read more

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Every time I've come in the shop, they've been friendly and helpful. If they didn't have a particular cut in the case (porterhouse steaks), they prepared it for me if they could. The quality of their chicken and meat is excellent and worth the little extra cost. This is a great shop run by a fantastic family and we're fortunate to have them as part of our Ojai community. read more

These guys are awesome! It's great to be able to get such a high quality product delivered to your house. The meat is lean, healthy and my family loves it! read more

Ojai is very lucky to have this old school business close by . The owners are very knowledgable ranchers / butchers , and are very willing to take the time to explain the cuts if meat and help with meal planning . This is meat of the highest quality , like no other anywhere in Ventura county . At first glance the prices seem quite high. , but if quality and content are important up you , this is the place . read more

A few Sundays ago, I stopped at the Santa Clarita Farmers Market at the College of the Canyons. Watkins Cattle Company booth attracted my eye-sight as they stated their cattle are 100% range fed (free range). I decided to buy three large pieces of their Osso Buco Beef cuts. These pieces were frozen and I paid over $29. When I went home, I opened the packages and much to my dismay two of the pieces did not have any meat on them. It appeared to me that these two pieces were knee bones. Needless to say I abandoned the idea of making slow braised Osso Buco as I did not have enough meat. The next day I called Watkins Cattle Company and I explained the situation to the gentleman. I asked him if he could (the following Sunday) replace those meatless pieces. His words to me were "Sorry we do not refund or exchange meat. If we do that we will be losing money." I told him that two pieces were nothing but bones and it was not fair for me to pay over $7.00 per pound for bones. Again the person's response was "Sorry about that!!!" In other words "go fuck yourself." I will not be poor by this purchase, but I will never purchase anything from this cattle company. Once they get the money, you are fucked. By the way, I used these pieces to make homemade beef broth. A little expensive beef broth but was not bad at all. Avoid Watkins Cattle Company at the Santa Clarita Farmers Market at the College of the Canyons. ********** Inline Update on 3/4/2016 ********** Yelper Donna L. states "I don't know what the other reviewer is talking about. The items are packed in clear plastic and you can see what you are getting. Perhaps he should have looked more carefully at the package before purchasing." My Response: On that day that I purchased the Osso Buco Beef, the plastic wrapping was covered with a thick layer of frost, making it impossible to carefully look at the content of the package. Unless the heavy frost was washed with hot water, then perhaps it would have been possible to view the contents. The heavy layer of frost should have been sufficient to warn me with purchasing something that I cannot clearly see. Clearly a huge mistake. An honorable company that stands by their products would have handled my dissatisfaction differently and tried to rectify the situation. Watkins Cattle Company did nothing and I was fucked over. They should be ashamed of themselves! Furthermore, Yelper Donna L. states "And he did say the bones made good bone broth." My Response: I did not purchase frozen Osso Buco Beef to make beef broth. If I wanted beef broth, I would have purchased cheaper cuts elsewhere. Huntington Meats and Marconda Meat at the Original Farmers Market at 6333 W. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90036, carry assortment of meats (beef, chicken, pork, and lamb). They also carry bones for broth not at $7.00 per pound like Watkins. Since my unpleasant dealing with the Watkins Cattle Company, I have switched to purchasing my meats from these two markets. The pieces are visible (certainly not covered with plastic) and there is no need to buy frozen meats. I have yet to have an incident with these establishments. Each purchase is customized to my liking and most importantly, I am a very satisfied customer. read more

Ojai is very fortunate to have the Watkins Ranch butcher shop in town. Free yourself from science-fiction factory meats, and on the occasions you are eating red meat, this is the place to get it. Pasture raised happy cattle, lamb, chicken, pork in every cut you could want. All the employees and Watkins family members have been exceedingly helpful and kind, at every opportunity. The meat is a little pricey but that's understandable. You get cheap meat by confining animals to a miserable tortured existence and pumping them full of hormone and GMO feed; Watkins pasture raise meat products are raised with care fed wholesome foods and allowed to roam free which is, in California, believe it or not, expensive. You get what you pay for and you are what you eat. Treat yourself to a juicy cut of Watkins and tell 'Em Turkey Burger sent you! read more

The best meat I've ever cooked! So good and tender and they are also so friendly and nice! I just moved to Ojai from LA and I was hoping to find a shop like that where I can go and ask for advice! Thank you so much! read more

The best quality meats in the area! The staff is very nice and helpful. They also make a delicious meatloaf when available .

Ordered half a steer, and as promised, it was ready within 30 days. Small butcher shop, but great prices and variety! So friendly.

Best steaks I've ever bbq'd. Bought 2 ribeyes, just a little salt & pepper, m/r to rare...amazing.

My boyfriend and I came to Ojai for a quick overnight stay. I planned to make us a special dinner, so we swung by Watkins to pick up some filet mignon. The owner was very friendly and knowledgeable. Picked us out two equally sized filets, which we snagged for an extremely reasonable $21. They were perfect. Clearly of the highest quality. We'll come here any time we're in town. read more

I was really impressed with the meat selection and staff. Incredibly nice people and very generous as well. The ground beef I bought tasted amazing. read more

I'm retired and can't afford to shop often at the Watkins shop in Meiners Oaks. But whenever I'm in the neighborhood, I stop in to get the only beef liver I will buy. Without fail, the butcher remembers me (the lady who wants her liver cut exactly 3/4" thick), greets me with real enthusiasm, and hands over my custom-cut yet inexpensive order as if I were the Customer of the Month. Old fashioned service at its best, and the liver is delicious. read more

Love LOVE Watkins Ranch. Delicious fresh meat with A + service. I'm there at least once a week when up from LA and it NEVER disappoints. This place is a blessing. Thank you read more

Was doing some research on local grass fed beef and found Watkins! Took the drive to Ojai and was warmly greeted! Told them it was our first visit and they offered a free pound of ground beef! We picked up a few other cuts as well and have been pleased with quality and prices! Will be ordering from them again! read more

Excellent local and grass feed meat and delicious pork and chicken too! Wonderful owners and staff!

Great meat and superb customer service! I received a gift box of cuts as a Christmas present from an out-of-state relative. When I received my box the meat was cool and not frozen as I'd expected it to be. I called the shop and (I believe it was the owner's son) said that UPS must've not followed the delivery instructions and that he had maybe one other delivery issue in hundreds or thousands of deliveries. He offered to send another box and I asked him if he wanted me to freeze what I received and send it back and he told me just to enjoy it and that since it was still cold that it should still be good (and it was). I received another box (this time frozen) and can't wait to use it. Again--superb customer service! read more

Cheers for Butcher Michael!! Though I was only in to ask a zillion questions for future cooking reference, Michael took the time and answered patiently. Impressive that he knew all the answers in regards to the origins of their meat!! Happy to hear they do their own smoking and will break down game for you. I am so excited to buy animal parts to cook from there! read more

The steaks here will blow your mind! All of the butchers and staff are very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. They are also happy to offer excellent cooking advice and tips. Thank you Watkins. read more