Hitching Post

Not much else can be said about a 70 year old restaurant that hasn't already been stated. We did enjoy our meal hear very much so. Located in the middle of nowhere on the edge of Vandenburg Space Force base sits this bustling steak house in the middle of the most beautiful cow pasture and mountains that you have ever seen. The steak does not get much fresher that this. Its almost as you can point to the Black Angus roaming the pasture and point and in 30 minutes it will be resting on your plate cooked to a perfect temp.

Seriously, this is as classic of a steak house you can find and prepared in the Santa Maria Style of BBQ over well seasoned red oak fire pit. You have to appreciate this spot for its uniqueness and continuing to prepare food the way it has always been done at this joint for generations. The staff has been serving folks for decades. If you had a bad time at this joint, take a look in the mirror and smack that entitled attitude of yours right off your face. Food takes time to prepare and you just need to be patient.

I had the Ribeye and it was perfectly cooked and seasoned very well. I loved the little bay shrimp cocktail that was included with the dinner. For dessert they had homemade butter pecan ice cream and you better believe it came from the cows roaming the pasture. Everything in our meal was excellent.

Just a few suggestions for your visit:

1. Make a reservation
2. Arrive early
3. Enjoy the history of the restaurant
4. Your phone won't work, so enjoy your company and have a conversation
5. ENJOY!!!

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.

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.

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.

The service was above Five Stars.! Guillerm deserves 10 stars he was so friendly and explained everything to detail. The Busser was amazing as well. My friend and I shared the Ribeye and Lobster . It was delicious and we also got our own salad shrimp cocktail and dessert for only $18.00. The decor was different very unique. Definitely coming back.!!!

Couldn't pass going up here twice in a row Easter Weekend!
Their Santa Maria style cooking simply is unbeatable ! Check out how great this ribeye chop looks before I cut it up for both of us. Don't forget to ask for the shrimp cocktail....good size baked potatoes with dairy fixings! And a Salad.. Perfect size garlic bread to clean up all the leftovers! Simply the best dinner!

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.

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.

I love steaks and ribeyes and the Hitching Post came highly recommended to me. Specifically the location in Casmalia. So reservations were made last week for tonight. I highly recommend making reservations to make sure you get in. I like how lit up and bright it is inside compared to other steak houses that are sometimes dimly lit. Every person I interacted with smiled when they talked to me and was very friendly. I haven't even ordered yet and was already having a good experience.

As soon as we were seated waters were automatically brought out along with a small plate of pickled veggies followed by a cocktail waitress. The drinks came out quickly then our server came and took our order. The great thing is each dinner comes with bread, cocktail shrimp, salad, and the choice for grilled veggies, French fries, or potato plus ice cream for dessert. The food comes out in courses so it makes the time go pretty quick.

I ordered the ribeye and it was cooked perfect. Nice char on the outside, delicious fatty charred bits, cooked perfectly. You can tell that the meat wasn't just pulled out of the fridge and thrown over the fire because it isn't over cooked or burnt on the outside and raw on the inside it's perfectly pink throughout. I wish I'd taken a photo of the cross section of the ribeye. Regardless it was very good.

It's a little bit in the middle of nowhere but if you want a good ribeye that's cooked perfectly I highly recommend trying this location out. Again I recommend making reservations to make sure you are able to get in

Wow what a find!

After a silly long drive, way off the beaten path, in the middle of what seemed like nowhere, I see a sign for "Worlds Best Steaks" in a red barn like building. I knew I'd found my destination. Yes, I was looking for this little find as it had been recommended to me prior to our trip.

I was told to make reservations - else I would wait forever. Surprisingly, after doubting the thought during the long drive to this place, we had to wait about 40 minutes after our 7:00 reservation! If I wasn't warned, I'd be upset, as the bar was full, we sat at the door waiting to be seated.

The building was tagged at best. Expanded on over the years and patched as repairs needed. It's a grungy place to have a really nice meal in the country.

A great sign - when driving up, there were so many patrons the parking was as you could find it and not in dedicated spaces but along side the road in the ditches. Inside was packed with everyone from visiting high rollers to the cowboys from the ranches in Lompoc.

Everybody was interested in having great conversations and consuming their food their was quite the buzz. Wait staff was busy bussing tables, serving drinks, bringing food, taking orders and general small talk with the patrons. Through the glass everyone could see their steaks being prepared on the wood fired grill. Servers were watching patrons as we completed each dish and were quick to scoop up our spent plates and bring the next course - they worked so well as a team it was very refreshing as they were totally swamped with customers at 8:00 on a Saturday night in August.

We were a party of three and sat at a table behind a rowdy over imbibing bunch of 8 ranchers. They were well into beers and cocktails when dinner was brought to them and boy that table suddenly went silent - the food was so good and they were famished. We placed our order for a bottle of wine, and a artichoke appetizer. Then we ordered steaks and potatoes. As part of the dinner you are brought 1) a vegetable medley to share and snack on 2) individual shrimp cocktails 3) individual dinner salads 4) garlic French bread and after dinner individual bowls of ice cream. Unfortunately our artichoke appetizer was forgotten about until our steaks were brought out, so needless to say, we were getting full by this point and ended up not being able to totally consume our meals.

Regardless of the shortcomings, the staff was incredible for both as busy as they were and overall friendly personalities. In general the restaurant was old and worn but it's character really added to the charm. It is unfortunate that when dining in a nice establishment like this some patrons forget their manners, over consume their alcohol, and proceed to get louder and more profane. I'm not a saint and need to remind people as I remind myself, other patrons don't want a foul mouth dining with them so if someone at your table is being loud or cursing, ask them to speak more quietly.

Lastly, for the price, it was expensive but the value was great considering you really had a complete meal and the staff was amazing! My reason for dropping a star was 1) because of making a 7:00 reservation, arriving at 6:45 and waiting until nearly 7:40 to be seated and 2) forgetting my artichoke until I asked about it after my steaks arrived.