Far Western Tavern

Made reservations for a Saturday. Got there and was immediately seated… Really nice. But then the Waaaaaaaaait began. Waiter was nice, but it took sometime to get first drink, then ½ hour for salad. Food took over an hour and a half to get to the table. All was great, but when you start feeling neglected it just takes the fun away. When I mentioned the time, the table next to us said, yes are you growing the cows back there. When all was said and done, from sitting down to actually eating was close to 2 hours. Very sad for such a Santa Maria Icon.

Again a great meal at The Far Western Tavern. Sunday breakfast is really good and the service is EXCELLENT. The wait staff is attentive and very friendly. We always enjoy going there. Our favorite nearby restaurant. We’ll be going there again this week. Try the chili bird sliders or sandwich. My friends loved the Tavern burger. My husband only eats beef there because of the quality. Our friends from France said it was the best beef they have ever eaten while in the US!!! Kudos to the Sunday bartender, she was great.

i was recommended by contractor who did there copper topped tables. Rack of lamb was excellent. Portion size is smaller than their old Guadalupe location close to Vandenburg AFB but service was great and new location is truly attractive. I recommend this place.

Haven’t been to Far Western since they moved from Guadalupe. Wife and I tried it tonight. We split a full order of baby backs along with the tavern add ons. The ribs were some of the best I’ve tasted with the sauce glazed onto the ribs which in my opinion is they way they should be done. (seems like many places cook the ribs then slather on some weak bbq sauce). Not these. The soup, salad, relish tray and shrimp cocktails were good as well. The hostess and wait staff were very cheerful and professional and the restaurant was neat and clean. We’ll be back.

No reservation 515 Sunday dinner. Not crowded at all which was a nice change. Mason was our friendly server. Mason suggested boneless ribeye for my husband. It was 14 oz cooked perfectly medium. He ate every bite which was unusual because ribeyes tend to have some fat that is inedible. Side was twice baked potato that was as hot as lava. Spread it out to cool it down! It is delicious creamy cheese and bacon covered heaven. I had the 6 oz filet. And even though I ordered it medium well, it was fork tender, moist, and flavorful. I know I’m a barbarian. Hubby opted for the Tavern style add on with relish dish, shrimp cocktail, and salad. $ 10 for that. I passed. Pleasant atmosphere, attentive service. Great end to the weekend!

Not even the same place as before!!! They should have changed the name when they changed the location. We won’t go back ever.

The Far Western Tavern has five star food as well as service. Every time my fiancé and I visit this restaurant for dinner or even just a quick stop in the bar, we are never disappointed. Shelley in catering is excellent as well as Shiloh in the bar and Sara in the restaurant. We love the Far Bar! I highly recommend the Filet and the new Mac N Cheese appetizer on there most recently done menu.

Lunch time was good. Wasn’t blown away eating here but it was good. The staff was completely friendly and professional (besides mixing my sprite for water, lol, no big deal). I had the cuban sandwich, it was good, well cooked and goof flavor. And the fries arr really good. I will have to try dinner next time and see how it goes.

My husband and I were on a short after Christmas «get-​a-​way» and had saved our last night in the Santa Maria area to enjoy a good meal at the Far Western Tavern in Orcutt, CA. We were BIG fans of this restaurant when it was in Guadalupe, so we were excited to see what changes had taken place with the new location.
We made our reservation and showed up about 20 minutes early but were happy to wait if need be. They seated us right away (but at a table not a booth that they had earlier asked if we’d wanted.) Right from the get-​go something felt odd. The room was nearly empty and there were wait people everywhere bustling around. FINALLY a male waiter came and asked what we’d like to drink. We ordered some drinks. They didn’t come… and didn’t come. About 15 minutes later he looked at our table and said, «oh, you didn’t get drinks yet?» Then they came. He came back later and asked what we wanted to order and we gave him our order, and also added an appetizer.
We sat for 40 plus minutes. As we sat, we noticed the table next to us was having several wait people talking to them, and it looked as though it may have been a coupe who were unhappy about something because everyone was apologizing and offering something extra. We didn’t hear much but clearly something wasn’t right.
Back to our table… we finally saw our waiter and flagged him down… he said, «your food is being plated and should be out soon. 15 minutes later I decided to go and find a manager but explained that I didn’t want a big scene, we just wanted our meal. We’d been sitting over an hour. Long story short it was a very uncomfortable experience. Shelley, who turned out to be the Operations Manager came out with our food and apologized over and over again, saying that this whole corner of the restaurant has been a mess all night and she was so very sorry. Her manager came to our table too but he was not very professional and kept using the standard line, «I’m so sorry YOU’RE not satisfied» as if we were the problem… Shelley on the other hand was very understanding and made sure our evening wasn’t totally ruined.
Truthfully, it was so uncomfortable that we may not return, and yet it may have just been the night we chose to go.
Recommendation: Hire some professional people for this upscale place! You’ve spent a lot of money to make it «pretty» and the food is excellent, but waiting for over an hour to eat and have people ignore you is just not okay.

I am writing this as I just got seated. We made a 6:30 reservation and showed up at 6:25. They promised us we would be seated next and proceeded to seat a family before us. We just sat down at 7:01. If you are going to take reservations please be respectful an honor them.

I started with a with house salad which was crisp and dressed in a tangy tasty 1000 island. At the recommendation of our server Sara I had a filet mignon rare. A true masterpiece of central coast cooking. If you order steak order the creamed horseradish sauce to accompany it. I brought my own wine, a 2011 Mugneret Fixin (I hate snobs). As good as the wine was I really should have paired with a California Central Coast Pinot Noir.
This restaurant is an excellent reincarnation of it’s earlier restaurant meaningfully decorated. Three words, go, go, go.

Been a big fan of Far Western Tavern since the late 70’s from its humble beginnings in Guadalupe, CA. We stop by Guadalupe to have dinner at FWT all the time and never get disappointed.
Now that we live in Northern California, my wife and I did not have an opportunity to visit FWT until recently. I truly enjoy their Bulls Eye steak (their version of Rib Eye) and my wife just go crazy with their sweetbread (Thymus Gland) and one of the motivation to drive 5 hours.
Prior to the drive, we called if they still serve sweetbread and they said it is a bar menu and they do still carry them.
The new restaurant was beautiful and modern, the staff are friendly and attentive, although a bit younger than what we were accustomed to (no pun intended).
And the food, what a f***ing disappointment! The Bulls Eye steak I used to know, it is now smaller, thinner and does not appear to have all that wonderful marbling properties of a true rib eye steak. I have better steak at The Outback and I hate that place. I ordered medium rare, i got medium well! For $ 40 bucks a pop, by it self, mind you, I am expecting like a cut worthy of Ruth’s Chris or Tads or Peter Luger’s standard or at least close.
I guess that explains why on a Saturday evening, there are only a handful of patrons eating (unless folks nearby to Orcutt sleeps early)
And the worse let down. NO Sweetbread! They run out! WTF?
I guess we will just have to drive and visit Orcutt and enjoy other stuff but have a steak someplace else.

The quintessential California steakhouse! Guadalupe location was fine but off the beaten track. Now in Orcutt, it’s more convenient; I love the beautiful building that is so tastefully classic California Western. Whether for lunch or dinner, I can hardly ever get past the classic steak sandwich — strip steak grilled over red oak, served on grilled garlic sourdough, along with the relish tray, beans, and other sides — that’s usually more than I can eat! Great wine list, too. Have been in twice over the last month, once for lunch and once for dinner, and happened to have the same server both times, and experienced excellent service both times. Most recent visit for lunch w/​two friends, we arrived 5 min before they stopped serving, but you would never have known it, the service was relaxed and friendly and we never felt rushed. Wish I lived closer; I’d go even more often!

We have not visited the Far Western for several months… excited to say last nights dinner was great! Service was great and the food outstanding… I’m ready to become a regular… I have lived in the SM Valley for a long time and it was like the old days with a new twist! Good job, my compliments to the Family…

Here for the first time and super impressed! A little on the pricey side but totally worth it… and Roseann, our waitress, was absolutely the best! We’ll definitely request her when we return!
We ordered the cowboy sirloin, which was super tender, very savory and juicy! The Mac n cheese surpassed our expectations… comfort food goodness!:-)
The only negative we can think of… is they don’t currently offer a military discount, but they say it’s in the works…

I was there last night with my parents having dinner. They are usually very picky about their food. Glad to say day enjoyed what we ordered last night. We had the jalapeños with prosciutto for an appetizer they were absolutely delicious. We also ordered The steak sandwich which I got to say the meet was amazing. My father ordered the seafood plate don’t remember what it was called but it was salmon bake potato. Overall our experience was amazing. Although I did not give it five stars because we could not connect with our waiter he was super serious. It almost felt awkward. But like I said the food the ambience was amazing date do you also offer him outdoor seating which for the lovely weather we’ve been having is perfect.

Far Western has always been a favorite. Now very convenient being in Orcutt.
I have been there several times, food is delicious, service is excellent. Drinks are good and reasonable.
I often take out of area guests here.

What a difference a sever/​waiter can make. Our waitress (if you want, message me to get name) took our initial drink order, dropped them off and took our food order and basically hid from us the rest of the dinner. I’m sure I didn’t stink, I took a shower this week, so that’s not it. The amuse bouche (shrimp cocktail and veggie tray) were very nice. Wife ordered steak medium, I got mine MR, and they came out «backwards» and were just pedestrian, did NOT meet the hype. I tipped just under 15%, a first for me in a VERY long time. And, what’s more, they missed a chance to fix things; as we left they said «see you next time» and I replied «No, you won’t». They won’t.
To compare, we watched another waiter absolutely HANDLE his tables with aplomb. If we’d had him as our waiter, I suspect the steaks would have been right and we’d have had better service.

Went here for the first time this weekend. We sat in the patio area off the bar, it was pretty nice out there and the waitress didn’t forget about us at all, even though we were the only ones out there. Our waitress, Shiloh was the sweetest
I ordered the steak sandwich which was not at all what I was expecting. It was a thin piece of meat that look like hamburger. Flavor wasn’t very good. The fries were good. Relish tray was a bit boring, the chips they bring out in the beginning were good.
All in all, just so so. Probably won’t be back unless someone else chooses the spot.

We consider a dinner at the Far Western to always be a special experience. Old school, yes, but there’s a place for that in this world.
Want a chuckle? Read William B’s 1-​star review. A true Unilocal troll who only writes (if you can call it that) bad reviews.