Hitching Post 2
Steak house · Buellton ·
Oak-grilled meats, distinctive wines, and movie fame.
Oak-grilled meats, distinctive wines, and movie fame.
"A Buellton institution just off the highway (and a much easier drive than the family-owned original in Casmalia, a town just north of Vanderberg Space Force Base), the Hitching Post II is where locals mix with tourists over grilled steaks that come with classic sides like baked potato, rice pilaf, or French fries. Interestingly enough, there isn’t any tri-tip on this menu, so Hitching Post calls their style “West Coast Barbecue,” instead of the more familiar Santa Maria-style. Popularized in the movie Sideways, the grill is on full display in the dining room, albeit behind glass, while the bar on the opposite side of the place lets folks play out their own cinematic wine dreams. The restaurant also produces many of its own wine bottles, which are worth trying." - Nicole Adlman
"A Buellton institution just off the highway (and a much easier drive than the family-owned original in Casmalia, a town just north of Vanderberg Space Force Base), the Hitching Post II is where locals mix with tourists over grilled steaks that come with classic sides like baked potato, rice pilaf, or French fries. Interestingly enough, there isn’t any tri-tip on this menu, so Hitching Post calls their style “West Coast Barbecue,” instead of the more familiar Santa Maria-style. Popularized in the movie Sideways, the grill is on full display in the dining room, albeit behind glass, while the bar on the opposite side of the place lets folks play out their own cinematic wine dreams. The restaurant also produces many of its own wine bottles, which are worth trying." - Matthew Kang
"Known as the gateway to wine country, Buellton gained fame from the movie Sideways. It's home to The Sideways Inn and Hitching Post II, and offers some of the best coffee in the valley at Little King Coffee."
"I learned that pitmaster Aaron Franklin will collaborate with the Hitching Post II in Buellton on May 3, 2025, for a Sideways-inspired barbecue feast—an epic dinner that fuses Texas and Santa Maria barbecue traditions and includes a raw bar by David Lentz and Sea Stephanie, bread from Bob’s Well Bread, pizzas by Full of Life Flatbread, sides by Nick Priedite of Priedite Barbecue, and regional wines. Tickets will be auctioned live on October 5 at the LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade fundraiser at UCLA, priced at $5,000 per couple, with proceeds benefiting childhood cancer research; those who can’t attend the fundraiser were invited to inquire about tickets by email." - Matthew Kang
"One of the Central Coast’s most well-known restaurants, Hitching Post II sits just off the 101 and offers a meaty reprieve from the road. The focus of much of the wine country gossip over beers from the bar (as immortalized in the film Sideways), the main dining room is a rustic throwback to a burlier time. In fact, you can still watch your meat being cooked off from a viewing window looking over the Santa Maria-style grill in the kitchen." - Karen Palmer, Eater Staff
