Hitching Post II, Buellton

BlossomGirlNC is out of her (or his) mind. The Hitching Post is justifiably renowned as one of the best steakhouses in the state. The restaurant is absolutely clean - it only LOOKS like it hasn't been rennovated since the '70s, but that's deceiving because it was rennovated in the mid-'90s. Nevertheless, the retro-look is part of its charm. This restaurant has no pretentions of being upscale or shi-shi. Its focus is entirely on the quality of the food, which is unsurpassed. The best beef, poultry and game commercially available, cooked over an open red-oak wood fire. It's absolutely wonderful. Yahoo! users are urged to completely disregard BlossomGirlNC's negative review - she was probably having a bad day and took it out on the restaurant. The Hitching Post II is an institution, and rightfully so. Don't miss it!

We went to the Hitching Post in the last week of September 2008. I was very pleased. It was clean and the tables nicely presented with linen tablecloths. I orderd the salad, shrimp cocktail and sirloin steak. My wife had the soup and flat iron steak. Aside from her rather ordinary soup the rest of the meal was very good and the prices modest. We had a glass of their Cork Dancer Pinot and it was also three stars good. Go for a nice staek in a casual plus dining room

The Hitching Post's menu says it features corn-fed midwestern beef. Certainly tasted like it. Haven't had a steak that good since I was last back home in Iowa. Well worth the money.

This is one of those places where one takes ones time and just enjoys the great wine list and then settle down for some GREAT FOOD....wonderful way to spend the evening....

Sit at the bar before dinner, ask for a wine you like, and then have a nice dinner. Good, big steaks!

After seeing on TV's Travel and Food channel this restaurant touted as one of the best places to get BBQ ribs, we decided to go and try for ourselves while doing a weekend in Solvang. We made reservations, drove 250+ miles and were looking forward to some great ribs (my wife and I are both into great food, she even cooks professionally for a living) to say we were ready for a great dining experience is an understatement. We were seated and given a menu, I looked immediately for the ribs, found them- a full pound of Baby Back Ribs w/sweet sticky sauce-perfect. But wait, what is written underneath...Baby Back Ribs served Sun thru Fri. ONLY. WTF, you have got be kidding! I asked the manager about this and she told me that there is not enough room on the grill on Saturdays due to the volume of people that dine on that particular day. Well I let her have it, verbally and written to pass on the Chef/Owner. This place is always packed and has to be doing pretty good financially, so why not install another grill inside or outside to make up for the lack of grill space HELLO!!! Nowhere on the webpage does it mention this little tidbit of information, and if you’re not a local you would not know this as well. And another thing, they advertise BBQ and steaks, where are the rest of the BBQ items? The ribs are the only thing on the menu that is BBQ (unless you call cooking steaks over a wood fire BBQ?) After been seated and finding this out we kind of felt obligated to stay and order something else. We both had a steak (Ribeye and Filet Mignon) which were both very good. All in all the meal as a whole was very satisfying, a bit on the pricy side but still good. Bottom line…if your going for ribs…don’t go on Saturdays.

The question to be answered is do you want meat or a meal. If you want meat, this becomes a four or five star restaurant. I want a meal and give this three stars. We went Sunday night. The first reservation we could get was 9 PM for a party of two. After some service hiccups, we got a table about 9:20. We both ordered ostrich, which was excellent. My rice pilaf was mediocre and vegetables were poor. Why do chefs who insist on rare meat incinerate vegetables?! My wife did a bit better with her French fries. The cheesecake for dessert was also top-rate. The wines are very good and this could easily get reviewed as a wine bar, too. The Hitching Post label is most famous for Pinot Noir- and deservedly so- but we enjoyed a Hitching Post Big Circle Syrah with our ostrich. It is a highly recommended combination.