Hitching Post II Restaurant & Winery

Our service was great and the waiter was adorable. Ambiance was romantic and definitely recommended. For the music,,,I would recommend jazz or house and the people were cool. Portions were good. more

After a long day of wine tasting w/ my husband, we decided to try this place out, we were told by the hotel staff that the food was really good, and Sideways was filmed there blah blah blah. So, we walked over to try it out on a Monday night (7/25/11 to be exact). It was pretty busy but luckily we had made a reservation, we were called about 10 minutes after getting there. The hostess was very nice while seating us, our server was a different story. While ordering, we had questions and our server had a look of annoyance on her face and answered us as if we were morons when she answered. Her whole attitude was of impatience and rudeness, (she was a middle aged woman w/ blonde hair, we were seated in the back, on the left of the restaurant). Moving on...we ordered the grilled artichoke, filet mignon and lobster tail. Not an inexpensive dinner, but we were still treated w/ attitude, for some reason we still can't figure out. Now the food- The Artichoke- very good, The Filet-sooooo good, one of the better filet's we've had, (Although Jocko's is better), and now the lobster-really BAD! It looked like lobster, had the texture of lobster, smelled a little like lobster but tasted like NOTHING but the butter you dipped it in. Very disappointing. Then, when our server drops off the bill we waited quite a while before deciding to go to the front and pay. This is when she appears and suddenly has time for us. She follows us up front and turns on the charm, hovering over my husband while he fills out the tip on the credit card and chatting away w/ me about kids... Then proceeds to look at the credit card slip in front of us and says ""Oh, okay"" Very tacky! I was a server/bartender for about 12 years and never looked at a credit card receipt in front of a customer to see what they tipped, much less made a comment about it! We are normally very good tippers, but honestly, I don't think she deserved anything, and my husband still tipped her $12! I guess she thought since she was nice at the end, she should get 20%? She barely acknowledged us while we were seated! I suggest you go elsewhere. I think because this restaurant was in Sideways they think highly of themselves and don't think they don't have to have good service. We LOVED Firestone Brewery and Mother Hubbards, good food AND service when we went there. Wish we would have went next door and tried AJ Spurs instead. more

One of the best meals I ever had. An awesome Filet Mignon, amazing fries, great wine, great appetizers (get the Roasted Artichoke!). If you're in Santa Barbara or Solvang, GO HERE!!!! I can't wait to go back again...this weekend! Make sure to make a reservation though...it can get VERY busy. more

My family and i visited this restaurant because the hotel concierge told us it was one of the best steak house in the COUNTRY! yes, that's what he said. There was an event in town and there were tons of tourists everywhere, including us. The hostess said the wait was 45min. We were actually there for 1:20min.. I begged my family to hang in there in order to find out if the food was as good as they claimed. I ordered the most expensive meat they had that night on the menu. It was a ""Natural"" Rib-eye. i had ordered medium rare. When the food finally arrived at about 9:35, everyone was starving. At this point, they could have brought out McDonalds and we would have eaten it and I do not eat at fast food places, ever! I ate my rib-eye and the flavor was so bland and the piece of steak was soooo tiny, I thought it might have been a mistake. My husband ate his steak and made no comment. Which can only mean that it was just average. I told the mgr. what i thought and she acted like it was my fault that i did not like the food and they did take the steak, reluctantly! They brought me out another small piece of filet mignon because it was faster and i was hungry. This time it was not only bland but it was rubbery. I was so pissed at this point, I told my family to finish their food so i can pay the bill and leave the place. I was completely disgusted w/ the food, service, ambiance. My overall impression was that many tourists, like myself, have very few choices to eat in Buellton or Solvang and forced to actually believe this food as being great. Other than the 15 minutes in the movie Sideways and someone claiming that this place was great, I could not figure out people would wait to pay for the junk they pass off as best steakhouse in the ""country"". I have tasted way better steaks at Lone Star or Morton. I am not a big fan of any kind of chain restaurant, but they seem to know their steaks much better than this overrated ""steakhouse"". I am almost embarrassed to call this place a ""steakhouse"" because it is not deserving of the title. This could have been Carrows and I would not have noticed the difference. The decor or ambiance of the place tries very hard to be rustic and charming. But, when you actually sit down in one side of their dining area w/ the cheap chair and decor, you realized you are in a diner in a small town and all that comes w/ it. YUCK!!! so, save yourself and go somewhere else in Solvang or the steak place on the same road. DO NOT believe the hype or the 15 minutes of fame from an old movie. I wished I had just gone to a fast food place and went back to my hotel about 3 hours earlier. The Hitching Post ruined my impression of Solvang and be aware of concierge that try way too hard to sell you on the best restaurant in the ""country"". Cons: Steak was way overpriced, bland, boring and chewy! more

Last time we went, I ordered a lobster tail. They brought it out, and it looked great, but the waitress said the Chef didn't like the way it cooked up so he was making another one. (It tasted just fine to me!) So we got two lobster tails. Steaks are always flavorful, tender, juicy, and cooked perfectly. If you don't think it is cooked correctly, they'll let the chef check it out and cook you another no questions asked. The french fries are to die for. Full of flavor, not greasy... they CANNOT be beat. Also try the artichoke. It is very flavorful and comes with a phenomenal dip. Highly recommended. You won't be disappointed. Pros: Steaks, Artichokes, Lobster Cons: Pricy - But that should be expected more

An excellent steakhouse with the added appeal of being a central Sideways location. The steaks are expertly... more

An excellent steakhouse with the added appeal of being a central Sideways location. The steaks are expertly prepared with an amazing spice rub (wh... more

An excellent steakhouse with the added appeal of being a central Sideways location. The steaks are expertly prepared with an amazing spice rub (wh... more

Love this place! The Hitching Post is always my fave part of visiting SB County. You can ALWAYS count on the best steak you ever had, but don't forget to have the artichokes. I'm addicted to the Magic Dust and buy a few packs to take home with me along with a bottle or two of Hitching Post wine. Really like the Generation Red wine, too, and it's a good price. Staff is friendly and helpful. If you can, get a seat near the glassed-in barbeque for watching the chefs do their thing. I like the NY Steak the best, but my friend swears by the Rib-Chop. It's huge! Pros: Best Santa Maria BBQ Steaks ever more

Don't bother making reservations. The food is overrated for its price and the service can sometimes be condescending. My friend and I came ten minutes early for reservations at 8:45 pm. Several parties that came in after us were seated before us and we didn't get seated until well after 9 - when we were the last party waiting for a table. When I reminded the hostess that we had reservations at 8:45, she dismissed me by saying that I had only waited fifteen or so minutes and that it wasn't a big deal. You can find better meals and better service elsewhere. The only great thing about this place is the fact that it was featured in ""Sideways"". Pros: Featured in Sideways Cons: Horrible service more

The hitching post was a locally known and wildly popular place long before ""Sideways"", and perhaps in some ways the rush of popularity and fame has made it difficult for the place to maintain the friendliness and service that we all have loved for many years - given the crush of extra folks trying to dine there. Pros: fantastic oak grilled steaks, pleasant service, consistently great Cons: can get very busy on weekends - make a reservation ! more

This place has the worst customer service we have ever encountered. The hostess was very rude and made us feel like we were'nt good enough to eat at this place. We were told that we could come in and get a table since it was pretty early and there was hardly anyone there. We were there in about 5 minutes but when we got there we waited about 15 minutes to be told that we needed reservations!!! She then told us if we wanted to wait , we could ,but she couldn't tell us when she would seat us, ""it could be about 1hr or more""!!!!! We saw that there were plenty of empty tables, so what was the problem???? Other customers came in with no reservations and were seated so why not us???? Needless to say, we will never ever come in this place again!!!!!!!! That hostess should be fired !!!!!!!!!! She's rude and nasty!!!!!!!!!!!!! more

Unbelievably BAD service. I am a 30 year old, female and self-described foodie. I have never been treated so poorly. I recently relocated to California and ventured to this restaurant with my boyfriend after curiosity was piqued by ""Sideways"". While waiting for our table, we sat at the bar and ordered a glass of wine each. The bartender refused both of us service because our licenses were from out of state. I offered another forms of picture id, credit cards, insurance info ect. Nothing was good enough to prove we are older than 20 years old. Even the manager was not properly trained to know how to evaluate licenses from out of state. I don't recommend wasting your time with this kind of attitude and poor service. Obviously, the sensationalism they've encountered was due to no more than serving as a backdrop to a movie. Cons: Awful service more

I attempted to have dinner with my girlfriend at Hitching Post on Saturday June 2, 2007. While waiting for our table, we were asked by the bartender to produce identification. After producing valid government issued identification, detailing our birth dates in 1976, the bartender refused to serve my girlfriend and attempted to retain her valid driver's license. When I demanded to see the manager, he was rude and made us to plead for the return her license. The manager and the bartender continued to be rude and made disparaging comments. The bartender and the manager clearly violated the Alcohol Beverage Commission's FLAG system for identity verification. A staff member is not entitled to refuse to return a proffered identification. Furthermore, the bartender did not use the FLAG system to evaluate the valid ID, in clear violation of ABC policy. When we attempted to resolve the situation by moving to our table, I was then denied service by virtue of sitting at the same table as my girlfriend, despite having accepted my identification earlier in the evening. Even after producing numerous forms of additional identification (including credit cards and corporate-issued IDs), the manager still refused service to us. He created an environment of hostility in the restaurant, and caused a great deal of public embarrassment. The staff violated the public decorum of customer service, and as a result of their actions caused serious emotional distress for my girlfriend. more

Fine dining restaurant prides itself on steak, quail, and chicken dishes. It also specializes in its wine selection as it is in the heart of wine country (Santa Ynez Valley). All entrees come with a large selection of side dishes and appetizers such as soup, salad, vegetables and shrimp cocktail. Those appetizers were pretty good but not fantastic, however the steaks were excellent and cooked just right. Be sure to make a reservation on a busy holiday weekend in advance. You can make a reservation online through Open Table as well. My waiter was great, he did everything I was thinking of - for example, when I felt like this basket of butter or crackers was taking up too much space on the table (table made only for 2 people), he came up in a few seconds and cleared it. Seemed to read my mind, this type of thing happened several times. Pros: Great service, extensive wine list Cons: Need Reservations more

I visited the Hitching Post on the 4th of July weekend. The food was good, the steak was great. I highly recommend the 15oz Prime Sirloin, it was a great cut of meat with a very good seasoning. I ordered it Medium Rare and it was cooked to perfection. The service was also excellent. It's a tad pricey. The 15oz steak had a menu price of $30, this included a salad and potato. It is a very romantic atmosphere. I would highly recommend reservations, we opted to ""walk-in"" at 8:55pm and had a 1 hour wait at. Overally, I would definitely recommend it. Pros: Great Steak, Romantic Cons: Long Wait, Tad Pricey more

Went here over the Presidents Day weekend. Went in on Saturday just before opening time (5 pm) to make a reservation. My options were 10 pm Saturday or 8:30 pm Sunday. We went for Sunday. The shrimp cocktail and salad were very good. My girlfriend had the baby back ribs and I had the NY steak (Chefs favorite). They were seasoned to perfection and the oak wood flavor really comes through well. Unfortunately my medium rare steak was fairly tough and not very juicy at all and instead of the meat falling off the ribs you had to fight to get it off. Theres no excuse for that. Im thinking that with the increased patronage due to the movie that they may be bringing the meat up quicker in the rotation and not aging it enough. Maybe Ill try them again when the movie fervor has died down. more

Food, service great A liitle noisy though Try their Apple Pie........... tops off the meal Pros: food, steaks more

The first time I tasted thier filet mignon I almost fainted from pleasure! It's as soft as butter & tastes like heaven. The flavor of the red oak fire compliments everything from the artichoke to the ahi & last but not least, the steaks! The Hitching Post wines are outstanding as well & go nicely with the food. This place fills up fast & if you don't have a reservation make sure to get there by 5:30 or you'll be waiting for hours. I've eaten at the bar & have been served by the vinter himself! Pros: Everything! Cons: waiting... more

i love eating here-every meal i have had has been exceptional right down to the dessert. the artichoke is a must-i love the grilled turkey dinner- and hands down the best cheesecake i have ever eaten. a great way to end a day of wine tasting in San Ynez more