A J Spurs Saloon & Dining Hall — Restaurant in Buellton

Sadly i recently went here for dinner with my family, it has been around two years since we last ate here. I was completely disappointed. On previous experiences the worse rating I have given them on a bad night would be four stars. I hope that my family and I just had a rare, and unusual experience. My wife ordered the full rack of pork ribs they arrived completely saturated in grease, they were extremely fatty ribs and it seemed they didn't trim any fat from the ribs. With absolutely no flavor, other then a small smattering of bbq sauce, and dripping wet with fat or moisture. It seemed like they were boiled and finished under a heat lamp for five minutes with a very small amount of bbq sauce, and no seasonings added through the whole process. If they were ever actually barbequed or seasoned, it lacked any traces of it. My oldest son ordered the seafood Alfredo pasta. The seafood was scarce, was beyond overcooked, and what sauce there was tasted flavorless, completely bland. My youngest son, and i split a blackened gambler steak with the garlic butter. It was tough and lacked seasoning, the garlic butter was brought in separate side dishes completely melted, when it is normally served on the steak from a small scooper not melted and had no flavor of garlic at all. At one point my son was putting the soup base on to his steak to try for some flavoring to make it taste better. I am greatly disappointed all around it was for years mu favorite resturant. I am not sure what has gone on with the quality of the food, because we used to eat here at least once a week, and what we incountered was not anything of qhat it use to be. I have previously ordered everything we had and was always very happy, not once was i disappointed but when even the garlic butter they serve with the blackened steak was gross i think it says everything. The service was okay but not the quality we were used to, and not once were we asked how our food was. We ordered 2 sodas, a blue moon beer, seafood Alfredo pasta, full rack of pork ribs, and the gambler steak blackened, the total came to $158.00 not including tip. I believe it was not worth the drive, let alone the price. If this was my first experience i would never try it again. As it stands it will be awhile before we try it again. Once again i have not been here in 2 years, and all other experiences were excellent rating constantly 4 to 5 stars. So I can only hope that my current experience was a...

Traveling through Buellton, my wife and I decided to recreate the positive dining experience we had at AJ Spurs a decade prior. Unfortunately, we didn't have a good experience this time. The food was poor and the decor had turned from quaint to dusty. At least the service was good.

We were famished when we sat down, not having eaten since early that morning. While the prices seemed much higher than we remembered, at least they offered four courses.

The 1st course was Vaquero Soup. I've heard it said that "revenge is a dish best served cold". So, apparently, was the soup. It was tasty, but barely above room temperature.

I asked my wife, who is a big soup and salad person, why she was unable to finish her salad. She said she felt ill and excused herself. When she returned, she reported that something in the soup didn't agree with her; perhaps that bit of meat that seemed odd. Um.... the soup didn't have any meat.

So, as the main course was brought in, I had to try to finish it quickly as my wife stared at her untouched meal. When we ordered, I asked our charming server if they served Santa Maria style tri-tip. "No", she replied, "we serve real steak". She was right. If by "real steak", she meant a hunk of gristle. The flimsy steak knife flexed as I tried to cut my steak; partly because it was gristlely, and partly because it was under cooked. I had to send my raw "medium rare" Top Sirloin back for another go at the grill. Even then, 1/4 of the steak was too tough to cut or eat because of gristle.

We decided to forego the final dessert course in order to flee AJ Spurs. My wife did box and bring her meal to eat when she felt better. She reported that it was difficult to discern the flavors of her Chicken Oscar because of the excess sauces, but it seemed that the shrimp and lobster had all the flavor frozen out of it.

Needless to say, we did not enjoy our dining experience at AJ Spurs. Your milage may vary. At least our server was cheerful...

A J Spurs is a hidden Gem in Buellton! If you want meat on your plate this is the place to go. You can order over 30oz of stake cooked the way you like it. There was 5 of us guys and its no joke the size of the steaks they brought out to us. Each plate comes with rice pilaf, garlic bread and a large side salad. Refillable drinks non adult and adult type. You also receive a cast iron pot full of cowboy stew with black beans and salsa on the side. Plus a cast iron pan with sliced potatos to share with everyone. I had a full rack of BBQ pork ribs that the meat was just falling off. Hadn't eaten all day in anticipation of eating here and still took half my ribs home. All of us took something home. Then go to find out you get three choices of a dessert with your meal. I had the root beer float and was able to squeeze it in. The waitress was a joy. She joked with us and even anticipated us needing refills etc before we even asked. The building is all atmosphere being made from logs with a high pitched ceiling. When you pull into their parking lot you can't miss a red stagecoach on the roof with A J Spurs on it. They have all kinds of old west style items on the walls but the main attraction is all the real stuffed animals. They are placed so well in and on the building it's as if they were all a live again. They even have a polar bear. There is plenty of seats for big parties but it does get busy during weekends and peak hours like you would expect. The price was up there but honestly for the quality of the meat and all that you get it's just a price of a really good meal. They do have a large bar area to fill your adult needs which is on the North side of the building completely separated from the dinning room. I recommend to anyone who visits me A J Spurs for a great meal and...