Jack Ranch Cafe

Stopped here on the way home from San Simeon. The food is homemade and is good. We also had the homemade pie and that was delicious. The cook was nice and the waitress was welcoming. Only reason I didn’t give it five stars was they were out of soup, and mashed potatoes. And my salad was just straight out of the bag, no croutons no cheese, no tomatoes just salad. To be fair it was towards the end of the night and about an hour before closing time. My husband said it was the best meal all weekend. We will definitely stop in to eat again!

We must have gone to a different restaurant than everyone else.
We were welcomed in and advised we could sit anywhere. The waitress approached and took our drink order which for 2 waters seemed to take a long time considering the place wasn’t very busy.
We perused the menu and settled on the Ortega burger for me and a tuna melt for him. It seemed to take a while for me to get her attention for refills on my water. I was quite thirsty. After 2 refills the waitress brought me a larger glass-​yay for that.
After a reasonable time our food arrived. The Mr. Ordered a tuna melt. He’d asked the waitress what comes on it and she gave a fair run down, but did not include the part about rye bread. The Mr. Dislikes rye bread. He asked if he could get it with sourdough since that’s what he used to. The waitress became a smidge defensive about rye being the traditional bread used, but acquiesced and after a reasonable time for a refry was served his melt on sourdough.
My burger– came with fries which were ok, the burger itself was fairly built. My big caveat with romaine lettuce on burgers is that when it gets covered in burger grease and warm, it wilts and becomes a mess. After removing that, it was quite good. The Ortega chili might have been cooked just a little. longer as it was still a little crunchy. But for me, that wasn’t a deal breaker.
On the whole I was happy with my meal. I might ask for a salad instead of fries next time. The Mr. liked his tuna melt and said his fries tasted a little off.
The service was the reason we just couldn’t go a full 4 stars. She spent so much time with the what I figure by her conversation were regular local kine folks.

Best boysenberry pie! I’ll be back. Good food and nice folks. Refreshing to know places like this still exist.

Unilocaled this while I was driving on the 46 heading to the 5 freeway. The name kind of sounded good so I decided to stop and get some breakfast and cup of Joe.
No, I did not come here for James Dean memorial, nor I came here for wine tasting which they happen to have a room for that near the Café. I came here to eat and beat it… lol
As I walk in, the sign says «Please seat yourself» and I head on to the counter. The place had no other customers, maybe one or two. The nice lady offered me cup of coffee and brought me the menu.
+++FOOO+++
==Ham and eggs with sour dough toast===The eggs were perfectly cooked and were not oily. Ham was on the small size but it was delicious. I think it was maple ham, very tasty. Toast was fresh, buttery. I did enjoy my meal for sure. Coffee was good as well, just your average taste. I like mine Dark and strong, this was not.
+++THE AMBIANCE+++
This place had the feel more of country theme than anything else. Big place, many tables and chairs. Signs hanging all over the kitchen wall (Most are funny, but some people might find them offensive). If you are a country music fan, then you will like this place. Country music playing some oldies from Hank William to Garth. I did enjoy this place, it was comforting.
+++CLEANLINESS+++
From the outside this place look clean. In the inside looks old and rusty. Too many things visible to the eye if you are seated at the counter. Open trays of Pies, dirty towels and other things. Maybe they should keep an eye on that.
+++SERVICE+++
Service was good. My coffee was kept full and the nice lady kept on checking on me.
I would stop here on my way next time. I don’t see any reason why not.

We where starving after driving from Forest Ranch, the in and out in Kettlemen City was backed up, so we decided to keep going. Saw Jacks Ranch and had a burger it was worth the wait!!! Good beef and cooked to perfection. We will stop there again.

Great little place. Glad they were there to stop at. I had the Patty Melt and Bowl of Chili.

The Man and I weren’t expecting much this being in the middle of nowhere.
Some reviews were brutal but, we wanted to check out the James Dean memorial after years of passing by.
This is really a hidden gem of a classic small diner experience. We were greeted by quick friendly service. +1star!
Our drink order was taken immediately and returned promptly as well.
Our orders were taken in an equally prompt and friendly manner.
Before we knew it our food was being served to us!
The Man loving his spicy food ordered a jalapeño Bacon cheeseburger and before I could ask him how it was he had devoured it; So I guess it was good.
I ordered the bacon Ortega cheeseburger and ooh yum the bacon was scrumptious… Not that micro thin junk. As usual much more than I could eat at ¹⁄₃ pound. The fries had that perfect crispy outer and soft center.
My dinner salad was nice fresh crisp greens nothing special still it was fresh. (I had forgot to order this and our waitress was very cool about it when we asked after placing our order and again delivered very prompt!)
I was pleased with my meal and while doing the valley to coast trip would stop in again saving room for pie next time.
Added benefits there is shaded parking,
The James Dean Memorial site albeit his crash site is actually the junction of ⁴¹⁄₄₆. There are souvenirs available as well. You can also get sodas etc to go.
Last but definitely not least clean restrooms for customers only!

Cute little place to stop by & have a bite to eat. Food is okay. Staff is very friendly & welcoming :)

This spot is great. Home grown, good burgers, milk shakes in the old metal containers, clean, good service and great to see a mostly local resident clientele. We had the patty melt and fish and chips, both good. For .50 extra you can add local grass fed beef, nice.
Got to talk to a cowboy and his grandson who told me the history as this is part of a 73,000 acre ranch. The James Dean posters and memorial outside are great history as he died a short distance away .
Lastly, one guy wrote there were hate articles on the wall. Don’t know where that comes from, place was very nice and people were too. Try it in route to SLO, PR or the beaches

Standard roadside café fair reasonably priced. Next to James Dean memorial crash site. Selection in souvenir shop very limited selection, No James Dean T shirts damn.

Classic road trip diner stop — in this case the road is into Paso Robles. Great hamburgers and pie. We all loved it. If you are traveling the 46 highway through Paso Robles, this is the place to stop for a snack.

Amazing Burger! It was fresh and delicious nothing like a fast food burger! We might go back on our way home!!!

Not bad for being in the middle of nowhere. I stopped in here to check out the monument. I had a piece of pie and it was pretty good. Price was good and the place was clean. The guy that served us did a fine job. The interior could use some updating, but other then that it was a positive experience. Stop in and check it out!

Delicious! You feel like you stepped back into your favorite childhood diner. The staff was welcoming and attentive. So glad we stumbled upon this little gem! A plus is that you can wine taste next door at Hearst Ranch Winery and then go have an amazing burger. What more can a girl ask for!!!

This is the restaurant closest to where James Dean died. They have a memorial and that’s nice. The good was ok, but when I got up to use the restroom and look around the little gift shop area I noticed a few articles that were displayed on the wall. After reading them I felt sick. I was sorry I had chosen this place to give my money too. I didn’t buy anything more then what I’d eaten. The articles were all hateful towards, Hispanics, Blacks, and homosexuals. I don’t ever intend to give them my money again. The place wants good enough to make me forgive three hate.

Stopped in here for a quick bite to eat, while on the way to a field visit. This places claim to fame is where James Dean apparently met his demise. The restaurant itself is full of James Dean memorabilia with a little bit of an Americana conservative edge to it. They have weekly specials on their menu. Since it was Friday I ordered myself a fish and chips dish, however if was was any other day I probably would’ve went for the Hearst Burger. The fish was pretty good, it wasn’t as oily and greasy as most fish and chips dishes come. The fries were crisp during the course of my meal and didn’t end up soggy toward the end. The food was overall basic and decent, the ambience was a little bit of an older crowd from the golden age of country music and old time rock n roll.

Yummy all from scratch food. The fries are delicious! Loved my BLT and the hubs had a juicy burger. Fun place to stop.

Stopped by here Sunday on our way home from Monterey.
It is packed with James Dean memorabilia. Only positive.
Service and food was just bad.
Coffee was awful. How do you screw up coffee?
So resist the urge to eat here just because it’s down the street from where James Dean happened to die. Yes it has a lot of pictures, cheesy ones (James Dean, Elvis playing pool) and all. It’s nothing new, they can be seen anywhere.
Save your money.
The place is crap.
Another heads up no breakfast after 11am.

This quaint, James Dean themed café is quite the «Americana» experience.
Grab yourself a cup a Joe, a piece of pie and run out the door as fast as you can.
I have just finished the worst cheeseburger ever.
I recall the hamburgers from public school being fresher. This fare was truly sh-​t on a stick. Two hours later, I’m chewing Tums to get rid of the heartburn.

Excellent service. Even better food. I had the Ortega hamburger with Swiss cheese. The meat was cooked perfect and the bun was toasted to perfection. The fries actually tasted like potatoes (who woulda thought) and were a perfect pair to the cheeseburger. Finally, we decided to have a piece of banana cream pie… creamy goodness!!!