Jocko’s Steak House

What can you say about an institution like Jocko’s? Yeah, the place kinda looks like a dump. Yeah, sometimes the wait staff can be a bit surly. Yeah, it can take hours to get a table. It still adds up to the best steaks and burgers I’ve ever had and I’m from Texas. All meats are cooked to order and they are actually what you ordered. I like rare meat and most everyone overcooks it, especially burgers. But not Jocko’s.
Before 4 pm they have a limited lunch menu, but don’t be fooled. The steak sandwich is a huge steak on a piece of roll. Only problem is no baked potatoes until after 4. But why worry? Get the best burger you’ll ever eat and a huge basket of fries for $ 12. That’s about the same as crappy McDonald’s these days and you’re getting much better food.
Reservations are limited and it gets crowded and noisy every night… EVERY night. Save yourself the headache and call to pick up your order. The large Spencer steak gets a huge ribeye, salad, relish tray, potato, beans and all the fixins. It comfortably feeds two.
Stay away from the enchaladas. I don’t know why but the waitresses will suggest you try something else if you order them.
Go for the burgers, stay for the steaks.

Paso Robles is our new favorite place for wine. And now we have a perfect place to eat when we go there. It is about an hour drive from Paso, but we will NEVER go to Paso again without eating here.
The large Spencer is really good. No need to get the small, because you will want leftovers. It is good at home for steak sandwiches or steak omelettes.
The second time we went, we ordered the lamb, cooked on open pit like the Spencer and was every bit as good (if you like lamb). We split the lamb between the two of us, but ordered a Spencer to take home. Brilliant!
The sides are OK, but you don’t come for sides, you come for STEAK. And what a steak it is.
Bring a bottle of wine from home, the corkage fee is very reasonable.

Awesome! Long wait but very worth it. Staff was very friendly. First time here but definatly not going to be the last. Only problem I have is, now I’m spoiled and can not find anything local to me where I live that comes remotely close to the flavor of jokes steaks!

The filet or the Spencer! Omg if you’re within 1 – 2 hours from here it’s so worth the drive. My family had been coming here for years.
Bar serves strong drinks, large portions of the most delicious steaks!

Wow must try in your life! This is last meal good! I had the steak open sandwich and i still dream of it! Make a reservation and plan for a wait also don’t make any plans for after. Food coma !

Jockos. Got. STEAK! and pork chops, and much more. Spencer steak — outstanding always.
A family institution that deserves the perpetual line out the door.
Portions are yuuuuge, prices are very modest. You’ll get at least two meals for the price of one.
Super friendly service. The owner may stop by your table. She’s great. Friendly fun bar if you have to wait. Stick with cowboy drinks and you’ll be fine.
Total throwback to many decades ago. A must if you are anywhere in the area.

The best steak I ever had period. We ordered the large spencer and shared it bw 3 people. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium… no other steakhouse I’ve been to has ever done that before. It’s so easy to overcook it. But alas it was a perfect pink all the way through… so tender, juicy, and so darn good. Perfectly seasoned on the outside, so no steak sauce needed!
We also ordered and shared the half chicken and ravioli. The chicken was delicious and moist. The skin was crispy and perfectly seasoned as well.
The sides we chose were baked potato and steamed rice. The rice went really well with the steak and chicken. The beans not so good. The ravioli was pretty normal, very tomatoey.
We had a reservation at 445. Came at 430 was seated almost immediately. The meals started off with salad, salsa and a plate of pickles. The salsa didn’t look appetizing, but it actually tasted pretty good with the crackers hehe. Never saw such a variety of pickles, pepper and scallions before. Nothing special though.
Two plates for 3 people was the perfect portion for us. We ate everything and had no leftovers (except for beans). This place deserves 5 stars for both its chicken and steak! We saw a rooster roaming around the parking lot :)

I have finally found the ultimate restaurant to stop at on my many car trips to Santa Barbara. We shared the large steak breakfast. The steak was exquisite, tender and juicy. I was not driving so I indulged in the gin fizz, yummmm.
We will always stop here!

Amazing meats, cooked perfectly, large.
Excellent service, fair priced for what you get.
Did I say «large» chunk of meat? :-) Large portions! :-)
We’ll definitely be back.
Best to make a reservation.

Good steaks but hideous management if at all, called for reservations, showed up, not on the list, cluster at the door! Spinning blaming me for not getting persons name who too reservations!
The question to me was «what do you want me to do about it»? Sat at bar, still took an hour plus to get a seat!
I guess it’s too much to expect reservations to be honored so why bother?
Sorry Jocko’s you sucked for the last time!
It’s not he food, it’s not the atmosphere, and the wait staff is run into the ground, it’s your lack of management/​management by accident the has this local penning this Unilocal!
Bet you don’t have the guts to reach out to make it rite!

This place serves prime meat, which is hard to find anymore. We divert on our drive from Sacramento to Los Angeles for dinner at Jocko’s. We even stay overnight in Pismo Beach just to get the best steak available anywhere. Cooked on red oak charcoal on an outside BBQ and seasoned with salt and pepper only. Cooked exactly right! If you want to taste the best pork chops in the world, get Jocko’s, cut thin, thick or double cut — you pick it!
We usually order the large spencer steak and split it as it is still a huge meal for two with all the other stuff that comes with dinner. You’ll make new friends while you wait even though you’ve made reservations. BTW, don’t show up at 6PM on Friday and expect to be seated right away. This place draws customers, like us, from many miles around. Can’t wait for our next steak dinner on Feb. 16^th!

the only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is the wait time. Other than that this place is fantastic! you get so much bang for your buck. HUGE yummy steaks for very reasonable prices.
the free salsa is tasty.
the free crudités are awesome.
and the garlic bread is very good.
you do have to pay to split, but it’s worth every penny.
if you can get thru to make a reservation, do so and you’ll be the happiest person this side of the mississippi.

If you can appreciate a great piece of meat… You will love Jockos. I have a sister that goes to school about a half hour away from this restaurant but every time I come to visit, we always make the extra effort to try to eat at this place.
I have been here multiple times for dinner and once for lunch. Every time I’ve come I always order either the steak or fried chicken. The steak is always cooked a perfect medium rare. Chicken is juicy and tasty. Portions are large so whether it’s lunch or dinner, come prepared to eat a lot or take leftovers.
Unfortunately, because this spot has become a hot spot to go for dinner, you have to make reservations a few days in advanced to get a spot at a normal dinner hour. The one time I went for lunch we only waited a few minutes but the menu for lunch is not nearly as extensive as the dinner menu.

Made a reservation for 730, arrived early but was not seated until 800. But it was a Friday night and we were aware of this from previous Unilocalers.
The wait is still way worth it! The service was great! Had an older gal who was very kind. Got the large spencer cooked at a perfect medium. In fact, all 3 steaks ordered were cooked differently but exactly how it was ordered. So good job chef on the pit. Everything was great!
Will be back, since my parent live in town.

My steak-​loving fiancé and I visited Jocko’s last weekend. We came on a Saturday night with a reservation, and we were seated right on time (which I’ve heard is uncommon).
Many people mention that there is no ambiance at Jocko’s, but I would argue that it has quite a bit of character and a fun ambiance. Definitely different from what you might expect from a steakhouse, but Jocko’s is really more of a cowboy’s steak joint than a steakhouse. We had fun interacting with the people around us and people watching!
Not much to add about the food, given all the other reviews. I got the small Spencer (~16 oz?, not small by any means!), medium-​rare, with the loaded baked potato and blue cheese dressing for the salad. Fiancé had the large Spencer (had to be over 20 oz!), same potato but with ranch on his salad. We were both really impressed with how tender and flavorful the meat was, and we loved the food overall. We both took home quite a bit of food, as the portions are huuuuge! The value is incredible though: our two steak dinners together cost under $ 60, including salads, sides, coffee and dessert! And we got a second dinner out of the leftovers.
We will definitely be back!

Not the best place to eat at but maybe due to limited options I may more easily see why. I came by after reading the reviews and even stayed an extra night. To come by in the morning.
I wasn’t impressed with food taste.

I really like this place. The food has been great every time and so has the service.
I’ve avoided the insane crowds and wait time by eating early (5ish). If I can do it, you can do it.
I think I’m in love with their piquinto beans. Would it be wrong to take a bath in them and rub them into my skin? That’s how much I love them. They are absolutely delectable.
Tremendous value here for both quality and quantity. And chickens roaming the parking lot, too. Now, THAT’S free range.

This was a local recommend but we didn’t check the online reviews before going there. This isn’t a fancy steak house so you don’t need to dress up to come here. As others have mentioned you should definitely have a reservation and even with one they get behind on them. We made a reservation for 8 but since we weren’t doing anything we got there early thinking they could probably seat us earlier if were waiting there. Wrong. We showed up around 7 and got sat around 8:30. We got some drinks in the bar area while we waited and I went through the reviews at that time. One person from our party had been there before and recommended getting the filet mignon but based on Unilocal reviews I actually went with the large spencer (rib eye).
We tried a local wine, Laetitia Pinot Noir. It was really drinkable. As others have mentioned the side aren’t really that remarkable. They are very unique sides though: salsa with crackers and breadsticks, salad with a beet slice, garlic bread, and beans. The steaks came with either rice or baked potato. As for the steaks, the spencer was definitely more flavorful compared with the filet. But the filet was SO huge, it was the largest filet mignon I’ve ever seen, at least double the size of a regular filet. All the steaks were cooked correctly with a nice crust. There was definitely too much food so with the exception of 1 in our party, we took home about half of our steaks. I also took home most of my baked potato. We also got dessert with our steaks, so I got the vanilla ice cream, which was fine.
In terms of heating up the steaks later, the spencer got really tough, but the filet was still incredible tender. The steaks themselves really deserve 5 stars but the sides could really improve. I guess one one is coming here for the sides though.

I’ve been to this place twice and its probably the best steak in town but not the best steak everrrr.
The restaurant is located in a small town by Pismo Beach, its literally in a town. Located in a residential area, not really any other businesses around. It looks kind of sketch from the outside but its like a whole in the wall kinda thing. Theres limited parking around the restaurant but theres another parking gravel area near by.
THIS PLACE IS ALWAYS PACKED. The first tine i came, we had reservations, came on time, but still had to wait 45 MINUTES…
The second time I came, the wait was 3 hours long so we just ordered to go and ate at Pismo Beach.
My boyfriend and I order the large spencer, medium well, and we share. I don’t eat a lot but because the steak is HUGE, it fills us up. We usually order our steaks medium but this steak is a thicker cut and medium is like still rare. Learned my lesson from the first visit, so just a tip. Their salad is good and their garlic bread is also pretty good.
As far as their service, they’re normal, friendly and get the job done, except for whoever takes the reservations… so call ahead of time because they are ALWAYS busy and get booked up pretty fast. The restaurant is big too, its not small so theres a lot of tables. It isn’t fancy either, very casual.

FOOD: entrees come with salsa, salad, beans, (rice, potato, or fries), garlic bread, dessert, and coffee!
— ½ Chicken & Ravioli
– Chicken: 4 large pieces of BBQ chicken. The meat is very flavorful and tender. I enough leftovers for 2 meals! ⁴⁄₅
– Ravioli: 4 pieces of meat ravioli in marinara sauce, topped with cheese. Lacked flavor. ³⁄₅
– Spumoni ice cream: a large scoop of yummy cherry, chocolate, and pistachio combo. ⁵⁄₅
– Fries: not good. I do not recommend. ²⁄₅
SERVICE
Friendly, attentive, and professional. The wait was about 40 minutes. ⁴⁄₅
FINAL THOUGHTS
Come hungry! I got uncomfortably full and I didn’t even finish half my entrée. The amount of food for the cost is ridiculous! I came with 5 friends and the bill came out to $ 178. My friends raved about the lamb, filet mignon, and the spencer.