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Pappy's Restaurants
Category: Restaurants American (Traditional) American (Traditional) [Edit]
1275 E Betteravia RdSanta Maria, CA 93454
(805) 922-3553
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner, Breakfast, Brunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
25 reviews for Pappy's Restaurants
Review Highlights
25 reviews in English
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Review from Rachel N.
Alameda, CA
1/9/2012
I've been stopping at this restaurant on my way from the Bay Area to L.A., to visit family, since I was tyke. Off the bat you can tell this is a regular trucking diner and nobody should think differently of it. Personally I think it's kinda cool that it is, cause been one a few I've ever been to.
I've always loved the food. In fact, on my trip to and from L.A. I had just had their BBQ Burgers and OMG, it was one the best burgers I had in long time. I almost had to wonder if I had been that out of touch with burgers to think that. But the first bite of that burger was amazing. And I'm glad that they haven't changed the decor over the years. If they did that, it would be like destroying a piece of my childhood. To see it any differently is like having to accept that your family has moved out of the house you lived in for years.
I had to admit though, having nothing but country western music did get annoying after awhile. At this time it's the only reason I couldn't give a full 5 (though I really want to give it a 4 1/2). You can tell it was on a CD set at repeat when you come in one day and hear rhinestone cowboy and then another (at the exact same time) coming in the same lyric you came in the first time. Kinda spook if you think about it. -
Review from Pam P.
Vista, CA
2/2/2012
The only reason I gave it a star was for the service but don't plan on a great coffee shop meal it was undercooked , cold and no flavor don't waste your money.
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Review from julie m.
Los Angeles, CA
1/12/2012
I stop at Pappy's whenever I'm in the area. A clean and friendly place. The owner, Bob Torres, is a good guy. The food and service are first rate.
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Review from David B.
Palmdale, CA
1/22/2012
Intriguing atmosphere, excellent service, and a tasty tri-tip sandwich. I'll be back.
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Review from John L.
Santa Maria, CA
11/29/2011
Wow.....! Glad to see it is changing hands. Milt Guggia will clean up the place and turn it around to be one of his best diners in Santa Maria. The current owner (only one of the four origional owners) has let the place slip into an average truck stop. It was once a really great pancake joint.....! Hope it might just return to its place on my list of great pancake houses.
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Review from Angel B.
Pasadena, CA
10/23/2011
Truck stop diner description hits it on the nose. i stopped there on the way to Monterey for breakfast. As noted portions were generous. Nothing fancy, i just ordered eggs and bacon. Nothing extraordinary nor bad about the meal. I had forgotten what regular pot coffee used to taste like. The service was great, the waitress was on it. Yes the dated decor, but it is a great stop for a warm meal. I wish I had sampled the BBQ, as it was heavily advertised through out.
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Review from Wing W.
Cupertino, CA
7/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
It's a truck stop diner. Been here for ages and been serving all walks of life. Ice cold and thick milk shakes WITH the tin. Great good to boot. Make a stop, gas up, and stop at Pappy's for some good trucker's diner road food.
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Review from Kelly N.
Santa Maria, CA
3/30/2011
Pappy's is consistent. Adjacent to the town truck stop, it caters to travelers and locals in-the-know.
Standard cafe fare, with home-made specials and a slant towards regional favorites. Often the cooks will be in the parking lot cooking tri-tip for the day.
Service is always pretty attentive, but the place is no looker. Time for a makeover, but then some of the charm would erode. Eh, whatcha gonna do? Prices are a bit higher than you might expect, but not unreasonable.
Definitely a better choice for stretching your legs and getting some chow while traveling the 101. Easy-on, easy-off. -
Review from R S.
Santa Maria, CA
7/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
Asked my son if he wanted to try someplace different for lunch today. He said, "Sure! Where are we going?" I chose poorly. I've seen Pappy's a hundred times, as the Betteravia exit is a key link to Santa Maria shopping. Additionally, I've seen their local TV ad and thought, "That BBQ might be good!" Today was the day . . . and thankfully, tomorrow is another and I can move on.
PROS: "Old school" setting; great location, just off the 101; food was served in a timely manner; service was okay
CONS: Cleanliness. I loathe when I am seated at a booth along a wall and I discover assorted food remnants between the two. I REALLY loathe when the wall is splattered with food bits and juices . . . just gross. Tri-tip sammy? Fresh bread and decent salsa, but the tri-tip, while plentiful, had a faux quality about it, and the perfect grill marks didn't help. Come on folks, if you're gonna brag about your tri-tip, make it and serve it like the tri-tip we all know and love from the weekend BBQ sales in the parking lots of Santa Maria and Lompoc! The avocado sammy was, regrettably, no better. The "egg bread" was like Texas Toast, and it was good. Bacon was tasty, as was the turkey (although they skimped on the latter). My issue? While there was plenty of avocado, it came in 2 halves -- looked like an egg was centered between my bread halves! Perhaps my task was to further slice the avocado, or maybe attempt to smear it, but I don't think so. Taste was okay, but presentation took the afternoon off. The fries? Average. Iced tea? Weird after taste.
If you've perused any of my previous write-ups, you know I respect the "old school" shtick. Pappy's is old school, established in 1959. I don't suspect they've tinkered too much with the place, but in a good way: it has charm and is not run down. That aside, the chow is just . . . average . . . at best. My main problem? Cleanliness! It isn't that hard. It just takes a little extra time, a little elbow grease, and some tender loving care. I'm not under the impression the cleanliness issue is a recent phenomenon, but rather, it's an endemic problem. Yet another place I really wanted to rave about, but I can't. I don't plan on returning.
Cheers!
RS -
Review from Steve P.
Santa Maria, CA
6/11/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Pappy's is pretty much a truck stop diner. This isn't a 5 star restaurant but SURE IS a 5 star truck stop diner. I've eaten here about 5 times now and the food has been GREAT every time. They have typical american cusine and an excellent selection of mexican food as well. I've had breakfast, lunch, and dinner here and they've gotten it right each shift. I love consistency and great taste. Portions are large and prices are just about right.
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Review from Francesca L.
Colorado Springs, CO
3/13/2010 1 Check-in Here
Cute local diner with easy access off the 101. My friend grew up in the area and remembered coming in as a kid.
I got the shrimp and avocado omelette with a biscuit and she had the 101 breakfast which came with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and orange juice. The waitress saw us attempting to split the oj into 2 glasses and not only did she help us by making sure the glasses had exactly the same amount of juice, she also came back with refills when she noticed we weren't drinking it cuz we were trying to savor it! :)
My omelette wasn't great--frozen shrimp, tasteless hollandaise. Biscuit wasn't as good as it looked, but the service was friendly and it was in a good location. -
Review from KK C.
Los Angeles, CA
An average local diner place. Nothing special but good service.
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Review from Sunny D.
4/19/2010 5 photos
After a few hours of wine tasting in Santa Maria, my friends and I stopped by Pappy's for diner grub. This place is situated next to a Chevron gas station and is an easy exit from the 101 freeway. Lots of locals and truckers inside and friendly staff gave this restaurant a home town feel.
Pappy's definitely has good eats at reasonable prices. I could not resist but try the Santa Maria BBQ that this Valley is known for. I think what convinced me was the Santa Maria Style barbeque grill placed in front of the restaurant for all to see. The scent of red oak infused tri-tip was calling my name and I ordered it. Man, it was good! Tender and juicy slices of tri-tip perfectly rare. The red oak gave the meat some nice smokey flavor. I believe my meal was $13.99. Not bad.
The next time I am in Santa Maria Valley area, I'lll drop by Pappy's for diner grub. I heard that the breakfast is pretty good there too. -
Review from Myrna J.
Long Beach, CA
2/23/2009 5 photos
Pappy's is classic! Opened in 1959 and doesn't seem to have changed a whole lot. It is a truck stop, a good one! We had tri-tip and it was yummy. Huge portions, and good, everyday food. It's not fancy but it is satisfying and a good stop along 101 Hwy.
The service was outstanding by the way and there are lots of cool cowboy photos to look at on the way to the restrooms! My husband and I loved it. -
Review from Garrett M.
Santa Maria, CA
12/9/2010
Large trucker size portions and low cost are big points but it's the warm and welcoming atmosphere that'll keep me coming back . The food was good but not great. I'm definitely coming back to try more. I am a fan of truck stops and this is another notch on my belt.
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Review from Chad C.
Grover Beach, CA
2/26/2011
Chicken Fried Steak was absolutely perfect!! Pan fried and delicous, pancakes and a glass of OJ. I like that they keep the juice filled up. Price was decent and the service was there when you needed it. All in all, it's my favorite spot to eat when I'm driving on the 101.
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Review from Katrina v.
San Jose, CA
8/10/2010
sorry folks-- haaated it! i had some kind of breakfast nachos entree that sounded good on paper..but tasted downright gross. oh, and the food took FOREVER.
maybe i should've bad the bbq? -
Review from Joe E.
Seal Beach, CA
12/6/2009
Had the tri tip and eggs on the way to San Luis Obispo, it was so good I had it again the next time I passed the Betteravia exit. It's right off the exit. I love it; great atmosphere. Cowboy pictures are amazing, kind of breakbacky. Plan your trip up the 101 so that you end up hungry when you reach this area.
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Review from Chris F.
San Jose, CA
8/18/2009
Decent food. My sirloin steak sandwich had good flavor and cooked a little more than medium so it was a little dry for my liking. The service was good and friendly. The server was attentive and filled drinks often. I like the decor - there are plenty of interesting pictures on the wall to look at
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Review from Sharon F.
Santa Barbara, CA
11/24/2010
We purchased gift certificates online and headed off to this locals restaurant in Santa Maria. It is a cozy diner with good food and lots of it. Our favorite meal is the huevos rancheros which comes served up with heaps of rice and beans. They make the best ranchero sauce I have ever tasted. We go there every week or so just to partake of this wonderful meal.
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Review from M M.
San Jose, CA
4/27/2009
Had to make an impromptu trip down to Santa Maria to visit my mom's auntie. As to not disturb my cousin's family's Sunday routine (church) we got up early and headed off.
After a quick cemetary visit to my grandparents & an uncles grave - we went south on 101, 1 exit to the world famous Pappy's - well, famous to those from Santa Maria and the central coast.
I knew i was going to have the tri-tip in some shape, but i definitely wanted breakfast as well, this is how it went down.
Tri-tip omelete side of pancakes - and ate off of the moms and wife's plate.
Omelete - 4 of 5 - Omelete consisted of egg (duh) tri-tip, pinto beans, & jack cheese. Egg was over-cooked, it had waaaay too many of that burnt brown stuff which i scraped off. The tri-tip was awesome, had great flavor and i didn't need to dust it with salt or pepper, only gripe was that there wasn't much of it, the beans were pretty good, they were firm but still cooked all the way thru, and the cheese was of good quality.
Pancakes - 3 of 5 - standard fare, they didnt have warm syrup, to thats a minus, i ate the stack of 3 though, no problem.
Bacon - 5 of 5 - awesome and crispy - and they gave like 7 strips when most places give just 2!! You have to love a place that makes it happen for its customers.
Home Fries - 5 of 5 - i think they were roasted, there wasn't a description but they were seasoned well, cooked all the way thru and had a nice texture, i siphoned these off of my moms plate.
Service - 5 of 5 - old fashioned, quick, very friendly. The lady at the register made conversation about my dog (his pic is on my debit card) and she was younger and it felt natural. I also purchased a bottle of their Santa Maria seasoning.
The place has been around since 1959 and i recommend the joint to anyone traveling on the 101 - its only about 30 minutes pass SLO and about 45 minutes before you get to Santa Barbara.Listed in: Steak & Eggs!
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Review from Lynn N.
10/7/2008
Especially for those long road trips, Pappy's is the ideal stop for breakfast or lunch. Its a mixed American and Mexican based restaurant, and so far their menu has held steady. Their eggs benedict and a hot chocolate is a filling way to start the morning. The staff there are very much a small-town folk, always warm and welcoming.
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Review from FRED N.
Springfield, MO
5/10/2010
Stopped in while out on the bikes. This is your classic old town restaunt. Food was good and lots of it. Tri tip was really well done. Staff were attentive and friendly. Prices are a little high but not bad value. Worth another stop next time we are through the area.
Enjoy, Mr Fred -
Review from Randolph M.
Box Elder, SD
10/17/2008
Think "truck stop". OK... generous portions... food's not bad... price is reasonable... friendly waitress. Perfect for RV's since it's just yards east of Highway 101 at the Betteravia exit and has a huge parking lot.
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Review from PB A.
San Mateo, CA
1/8/2011
A decent enough place, and conveniently located near the freeway for those of us looking for a non-fast-food stop on our long drive along Highway 101. We had the beef stew (polenta was bland, but went well enough with the salty stew) and a bacon burger. The best part was the speedy service, and we were out of there in less than 40 minutes.
