Mike & Annie’s McKittrick Hotel, Penny Bar & Cafe

Mike and Annie’s Penny Bar and Café is an 8^th wonder of the world. I rode through town on my bicycle from San Francisco and was going to stay at the hotel but there is no hotel connected with the place. Annie was kind enough to allow me to set up a tent in their side yard — what a doll. In the morning I had a feast for an unbelievable price. This is a great place

Staff at this unique little café (yes, over a million pennies embedded in walls and floor) couldn’t be friendlier and nicer. Definite must-​stop for motorcyclists riding Route 58. Room for larger parties in the back. They didn’t blink over separate-​check request.

A must stop for the penny bar.

A very long ride to get there. On National Grilled Cheese day. You’d think a diner could get grilled cheese right. How hard is that? Worst ever. Shouldn’t even be on the menu. Embarrassing. I will try to post the pic. Sandwich singles not melted and there didn’t appear to be anything on the bread. Dry and sad.

not really worth the trip if you want to eat… it is a dive for sure which is cool but the food left something to be desired… cheeseburger was ok the potato salad tasted like it was store bought… the wife had a grilled cheese which had two little pieces of sliced cheese and it was hot even melted… nice place to go just so you can say you have been but I would find a place in any other town to eat… th place is for sale but wonder why you would buy it is a ghost town of about 100 people…

I’ve worked around elk hills and the surrounding areas for over 6 years and have always passed by this place to hit eateries closer to civilization. I regret not trying it earlier. And it seems rare these days when you can actually get a no bean chili. ;)

Great little dive to stop in and eat. Had the french dip and it was terrific, partners chili size not so much but I wouldn’t order chili in a café like this. Had a good conversation with owner Mike on the patio while Annie was bbqing. Great place, definetly worth the time to stop in again.

The Penny Bar is a class all its own. It’s one of a kind, and you’ll never find another place like it. If you’re in the area, you must stop in and at least check out the Penny Bar.
McKittrick is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town. It’s an oil community, and comes to life during weekday work hours. Weekends and evenings can be ghostly. The only life in the town comes from this Bar & Café.
The Penny Bar is known for their Rib-​Eye steaks. And while they aren’t the best in the world, they are something special when you get to eat them in a place like this. The Chile size is also pretty tasty. It’s diner style food, so nothing fancy. If you come between 11 and 12 during the week, you may find yourself waiting for a sit. It’s usually packed with local oil-​field workers. And if those burly men enjoy this place, I’m sure you will too.
Service is super. It’s down-​home, country friendly. If you didn’t know the server before, you’ll be best friends by the time you’re done with lunch. It’s like Cheers, everyone knows your name! And while the food isn’t extraordinary, the service is. Sometimes you just can’t put a price on great service.
Check out their Facebook page for weekly specials. They update almost every Sunday. Here’s a sampling of one of their past weeks menu specials:
MONDAY: CHICKEN FRIED CHICKEN STEAK
TUESDAY: MEATLOAF
WEDNESDAY: JAMBALAYA
THURSDAY: SMALL RIBEYE STEAK
FRIDAY: FISH DAY
SATURDAY: COOK’S CHOICE
SUNDAY: OPEN 10 — 3 PRINTED MENU ITEMS

You have to love a place that is a hotel-​slash-​dive bar-​slash-​diner.
Though I can’t (& hopefully won’t ever be able to) attest for the quality of the hotel, the bar & café were great.
Food was hot & fast & tasty. They have sack lunches to go. Watched a waitress fight a fly. Had a drink at the penny-​coated bar with a couple guys taking a break from the oil fields. Got back on the road.
Perfect side trip if you’re tired of barreling up the 5.

Nice little place in the middle of no where. Everyone there is so nice and friendly and the food is good.

Mike & Annie are wonderful people. This is in a place that you have to intend to drive to or maybe your driving by on your way to Carrizo Plains to see the wild flowers in the Spring or catch some of the wild antelope there. Regardless, swigging down an ice cold beer and catching one of their amazing steak specials is definitely worth the visit. Oh, and the bar area is literally covered in pennies from years of collecting. Pretty cool !

Drove through Blink-​and-​you-​miss-​it McKittrick on Friday and spotted this cool looking place, we so wanted to stop but were en route to Salinas on a veeeery long drive. Had big plans and tons of excitement over stopping there on Sunday on our way back to SD but got there at 5:00pm:(sad sad face. I just know we will love this place from the looks of it. Will be back later in the year and will plan better next time!

One of the few places around the middle of nowhere where there is good food. Great story and hometown service. The food is hearty and solid. No thrills, but heck it’s not like it’s just posh LA restraurant. I had the ribs, they were a little dry. Other than that, lots of fries, the chili was delish. Side salad good, and I enjoy green beans! I must add the garlic toast is AMAZING! Best thing about this place! They have a cool little bar area with «Pennies» plastered throughout the wall and floor. Very cool and unique.

Mike & Annie’s McKittrick Hotel, Penny Bar & Café is flat-​out amazing. McKittrick doesn’t have much going for it, except for this unbelievably cool joint.
Here’s the rundown:
The Penny Bar is pure dive. Noisy customers playing pool and singing along to Lodi by Creedence Clearwater Revival. People are having a good time. The place has pennys everywhere. Over 1 million of them, apparently. There is nothing like it. You have to see it. Yeah!
The Café is the real surprise. We figured we’d get some decent grub there. Instead, we go some awesome food. The pork ribs were meaty, moist and tasty – outstanding. The ribeye steak is their speciality, and they do it right. Heck, they’ll cook it rare – real rare, not «city rare,» which is more like medium to appease the health gestapo. My ribeye rocked. One of the sides with the pork ribs was chili. I’ve had lots of chili in my life, and this is hands-​down the best. Meaty, tasty, spicy, delicious. I could go back and just have the chili, but I wouldn’t want to miss out on the ribeye and pork ribs.
The Hotel is no longer used for guests. Mike and Annie live there, so bring a designated driver if you’re hitting the Penny Bar.
I have only one complaint – it’s 2.5 hours from my house!