Is The Hitching Post II Still Open? Best Thing I Ever Ate Update
Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 3 Buellton, California
Current status
As of October 2026, The Hitching Post II is listed open on hitchingpost2.com, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.
What the source shows: A direct check of hitchingpost2.com on 2026-09-08 found a current holiday notice for the Labor Day weekend of September 7-8, 2026, along with listed dinner hours, and a Visit Santa Barbara tourism listing continues to carry the restaurant as an active business. How we decide a status →
- Episode Season 3, Episode 8
- Address 406 E Highway 246, Buellton, CA 93427
- Website hitchingpost2.com
- Show map
© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?
Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 3, Episode 8
On 'Hidden Treasures,' The Hitching Post II in Buellton, California, was featured for its oak-grilled, Santa Maria-style tri-tip and steaks paired with the restaurant's own Hitching Post Pinot Noir, a house wine label that gained wider recognition after the restaurant appeared in the 2004 film 'Sideways.' The steakhouse and winery sits along Highway 246 in the Santa Ynez Valley wine country of Santa Barbara County. A check of the restaurant's own website, hitchingpost2.com, on 2026-09-08 found a current notice announcing the restaurant would close for Labor Day on Monday, September 7, and Tuesday, September 8, 2026, along with listed dinner hours of Wednesday through Monday from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and a bar opening at 4 p.m. A regional tourism listing from Visit Santa Barbara also continues to list the restaurant as an active business. No reporting was found describing a closure, sale, or relocation.
Food Paradise, Season 1, Episode 6
The episode featured The Hitching Post's Santa Maria-style barbecue: oak-grilled steaks and tri-tip served in the restaurant's steakhouse dining room in Buellton, California. According to Wikipedia (revised 2026-07-11), The Hitching Post and The Hitching Post II are upscale American steakhouses in Santa Barbara County's Central Coast region, best known locally for this Santa Maria-style barbecue. The restaurant's own website, hitchingpost2.com, checked 2026-09-08, includes a 'Sideways Events' section referencing the restaurant's association with the 2004 film Sideways, along with its wine list, dinner and lunch menus, and gift shop.
The episodes
Also in Season 3
Season 3: 63 of 93 still open · 3 renamed, moved or under new owners
-
Ep 7Avec
Open -
Ep 7Cafe Fanny
Closed -
Ep 8A&M Halal
Closed - Open
- Open
- Open
- Open
-
Ep 8Table 52
Closed
Nearest restaurants
-
Food Paradise
Closed -
Food Paradise
Open -
The Chef's Touch BBQ Rig (The Chef's Touch)
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Open -
Best Thing I Ever Ate · Man v. Food
Open -
Food Paradise
Closed -
Food Paradise
Open
Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources we checked
- hitchingpost2.com https://hitchingpost2.com/
- santabarbaraca.com https://santabarbaraca.com/businesses/hitching-post-ii-restaurant-winery/
- aaa.com https://www.aaa.com/tripcanvas/restaurant/hitching-post-ii-AA752
- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitching_Post
- hitchingpost2.com http://www.hitchingpost2.com/
We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.
Record btiea-0255 · checked by Cal Marchetti.