I did make reservations from Open Table.com, luckily...there was a 2 1/2 hour wait at 6pm, but we were seated within 3 minutes. Highly suggest making a reservation, even if you come a few minutes early.No complaints with the food, and wine, everything was delish. We were seated in the room, right off the bar. There were 2 fairly large groups of people seated in the same room.. One group was very loud, to the point of being rude. I can assume it was the wine talking. But by the time we left my throat was sore from having to shout to talk....yes it was that loud. I suggest going to the room to the left when you come into the door and not the smaller room, that may have helped. We were a party of 4, the other 2 tables were 8 and 12.

We visited the Hitching Post twice, and both times thought the steaks were exceptional and the ambiance nice. However, also both times, we were greeted at the door by a "hostess" with quite an attitude problem. She seemed to want us to know she was busy, irritated, and had far more interesting things to do (such as chat with the help) than acknowledge us or seat us. The first time we visited, we were seated at a table right beside the grill, where the smoky fumes were very annoying. A very sweet waitress moved us to another table. The second time we arrived, same nasty attitude from the hostess, and this time the service was lackluster. So we won't be visiting this restaurant again anytime soon. The steakhouse next door, AJ's, has the same great quality food, but a much more casual atmosphere and fantastic, friendly servers and greeters.

We're 'somewhat' local. (Live about 45 minutes from Buellton). Yet we hadn't tried this steakhouse. Since my mother in law and nephew were coming for a visit, we made reservations for 5pm on a sunday evening. We arrived about 15 minutes early. The parking was adequate, however it's not paved. If your unstable walking, be sure to take your time. Once we got in the door we were seated within a minute or two, as they weren't very busy. Water was brought to our table immediately along with a relish tray containing carrots, celery, pickles, olives, pepperoncinis, and radishes. I personally felt the tables were a little too squished together, but not to the point of bumping elbows with your neighbors. Cloth table dressings and napkins were provided. A large basket of crackers and butter were pre-set on the table.

We ordered the artichoke appetizer (I believe it was $9, I think their prices are on their website.) Spare appetizer plates were delivered before the artichoke arrived, as did our drink order. The artichoke itself was quite impressive. I am personally not an artichoke fan by any means, but this was quite mild and palatable. The "magic dust" seasoning they use is quite wonderful, the smoky flavor of the grill was fabulous and imparted strongly in the light flesh of the artichoke. The mayonaisse for dipping had a perfect kick to off-set the sweetness of the artichoke. The four of us shared the appetizer and had plenty.

Three of us ordered the 8 oz. filet mignon, each with a different side dish. My mother in law ordered the grilled shrimp. My husband opted to get the included shrimp cocktail which consisted of a reasonable portion of shrimp, diced celery, a fairly "normal" (as he put it) cocktail sauce, and a lemon wedge. The fork and dish were chilled which adds a nice touch not always found in a restaurant. Our nephew ordered the clam chowder and said it was quite tasty. Three of us ordered salads which were quite good. My mother in law ordered the salad dressing on the side, which wasn't provided as asked for. It seems the salads are tossed with the dressing before delivery to the table. I'm sure our waitress just forgot to put hers on the side. Freshly ground pepper was available from the server.

Prior to our entrees arriving butter, sour cream and chopped green onions were brought to the table for the 2 people that ordered baked potatoes.

Our entrees arrived shortly after finishing our salads. I ordered the 8 oz filet mignon butterflied well-done with rice pilaf. The rice pilaf was pretty good, a mix of long grain rices, carrots and sliced almonds. I personally thought it was a bit bland. The steak came out much rarer than expected. I would say it was more toward medium than well-done, there was quite a bit of pink, and even a bit of blood. I debated sending it back, but opted not to. Sorrily I wasn't impressed with the steak at all. It was seasoned well but was relatively fatty for a filet mignon.

My husband ordered his steak medium with french fries. He enjoyed his steak quite a bit, it was very flavorful, cooked appropriately and seasoned well. Again there was a little more fat than is normally expected. The french fries were fresh cut potatoes cut in to relatively thick shoestring fries. They were crispy, hot and seasoned well.

Our nephew ordered the filet medium rare with a baked potato. He had no complaints about his food, he pretty well devoured it and loved every second of it.

My mother in law had the grilled shrimp which she said were quite good, and the baked potato was fabulous.

It was a bit difficult to get drink refills during dinner, but I believe our server was a little overwhelmed because people seemed to flood in very suddenly.

After dinner 3 of us did order dessert. Two people ordered the orange vanilla bean creme brulee. The custard texture was perfect and the sugar topping was caramelized perfectly. I ordered the bittersweet chocolate torte. I have a little mixed review on this since there was very obviously some cayenne pepper in it. I'm a purist, when I want chocolate I want it plain and as dark as it gets. This didn't really satisfy the craving even though the chocolate was quite dark, and the tart texture was devine.

The indoor decor is almost a little too bland for the rustic feel they try to portray. The walls were all but bare. The dining room is relatively dimly lit.

I can't honestly say I would go out of my way to visit this establishment. The food was "ok", the service was "ok", the ambiance is "ok", over all it was just "ok". Nothing stood out to make me "wowed" or even contemplate revisiting.

OK, I'll admit it. We went to the Hitching Place II because of Sideways.

Well, that, and we had heard the food was really good.

We weren't disappointed, but don't go expecting really innovative food. Basically the HPII does solid, well executed steakhouse fare. We didn't order appetizers, but the entrees ($30 each or so) come with a dish of fresh and pickled veggies, soup or shrimp cocktail (we had the shrimp -- tiny bay shrimp, a nice cocktail sauce, and minced celery), salad, garlic bread, and a choice of starch. We both had the flatiron steak, which was terrific -- very tender, perfectly seasoned and grilled, and with a nice, if unnecessary, cherry-peppercorn sauce. The smoky flavor from the grill was terrific.

We each had a glass of the house pinot noir. They have 3 grades, and we had one glass of the top grade ("Highliner," $14/glass) and one of the second grade (I forget the name, $9/glass). Both were nice. At first they seemed disappointing, but once the steaks came the wines opened up and were great with the meat. The Highliner is really nice and worth the extra few bucks.

We were there on a weeknight and it was not very crowded. We had made reservations but showed up a full hour early and were seated right away. The service was a little brusque but not rude.