AJ Spurs

AJ Spurs in Templeton has always been near and dear to our hearts, so for my husbands birthday, that’s where he wanted to go for dinner. I made a reservation for 10 people on a Thursday night. (Little did I know that Thursdays are usually busy, due to the live music. So a reservation was a good idea!) The guy taking the reservation, however, didn’t seem to care that this was important to me, just «how many people, what time?» And he hung up. Okay, I get it, you’re busy.
So we arrive timely and the host is phenomenally nice. He gets a table ready for us, and although our entire party hasn’t yet arrived, we are seated. Perfect for the birthday boy, as he can see guests as they arrive. And our waitress Heather was spot on– as each new couple arrived, she greeted them and took a drink order. And the minute the final guests arrived, she brought the starters and got the party started!
Most of the guests were pleased with their meals (I heard no complaints), and I ordered my usual — the Twin Peaks. Heather DID tell me that it was made with 2 sirloins now rather than 2 filets, but I went with it anyway. Seriously, how bad of a change would that make? Well, let me tell you. The steak under the lobster was tough as nails, but the steak under the shrimp was nigh inedible. I could NOT cut through it. Disappointing? Yup.
So I left a hundred buck tip on a four hundred dollar tab — because Heather deserved it. And I will NOT be back again for a steak unless I hear something good about AJ Spurs. I feel like the last 25 years of my steak eating life at AJ’s have been compromised. I don’t even know what the leftovers will be like in the morning, but I don’t have a lot of hope…
Someone please let me know if you get a tender sirloin here. I’ll stop by and throw confetti to celebrate.

Awesome Lemonade and Steaks!
To start off the Lemonade in the mason jars with sugar on the run is my drink of choice… YUMMY!
Awesome steaks are the cause of travelers far and wide making the pilgrimage from near and far to this feeding spot.

I love aj Spurs until recently. My family and I have been coming to aj Spurs since I was a child as we are Templeton locals for over 30 years. My parents are regulars at ajs where they walk in and the bartender starts their drinks and brings them to them before they order so that was amazing. The bar section is where we have always sat and had great experiences. But since ajs recently has changed their menu and management it has gone down hill. Ajs definitely was already expensive but now the prices are outrageous. We have always ordered off the bar menu where it was a steak bites and shrimp for about 13.99. Now the new manager changed the menu and it’s on the appetizers on the new menu and it’s like 15.99 for steak bites plus 5 dollars for shrimp. Ridiculous. Also the salads they are skimping on. The new manager is absolutely rude, cocky and narcissistic. I heard him on the phone with a customer and he fussed at them for wanting to change reservations saying ‚” why does everyone want to eat at five «and on Valentine’s Day when I was in I asked for a menu after waiting for 15 min and he was all put out and threw one down at me when there were four people at my table. Just crazy. Especially since we are locals and have been eating there forever and are well
Known. This new manager sucks. They need to go back to old prices and old menu. But the food is pretty good. I love the atmosphere and they soup they provide is amazing. Just don’t love how small town ajs is changing into five star restaurant prices.

It was a very cowboy look restaurant. It reminds me old cowboy movies. Service is very good. Dinner comes with soup and options of dessert. Nice live music. It was a good surprise on my way to Santa Barbara.

I came here with a party of four and were quickly seated. Considering it’s the day before Easter we were surprised we were able to get a booth on such a busy day. Our server was polite, quick, and very attentive. She kept a very good pace when it came to soup, salad, and then our entrees. It was nice to receive such great customer service.
Instead of having bread to snack on while we wait to get our orders taken, we were given a pot of minestrone soup and our own bowls. It came complete with blacked beans on the side and salsa. I mixed it all in and had was what positively one of the best minestrone type soups I’ve ever had. It was so flavorful! I then ordered a garden salad with blue cheese and was very satisfied with the portions, but they completely drenched my greens in dressing. I’ll most likely ask for dressing on the side next time.
I ordered a ground sirloin with grilled onions, texas toast, and rice pilaf. The rest of my company got sweetbreads, and two prime-​rib steaks. My company greatly enjoyed their meals. We were told that their prime-​rib steaks were the last two they had. They had completely sold out before 7pm.
I tried my boyfriend’s sweetbreads with linguica and wow. The barbecue on the sweetbreads was nothing short of smoky, sweet perfection. It really dazzled my senses. The linguica was so-​so, but the rest of my company loved it. I was a bit let down by my dish though. I asked for my sirloin to be bloody because that’s my preference, but I felt like I was eating raw meat. I’ve had ground sirloin served rare before and it tasted nothing like this. I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of the evening and ate around it. The rice pilaf was bland, but it was a good side dish. I enjoyed my texas toast. I mean, how could you not like it?
All in all, I think my ground sirloin experience was a total fluke. My company was enjoying their food so much that I knew that there was no way this was their standard. I would definitely come back and luckily my birthday is coming up so now I have a reason too!

Portion sizes are insane, and not in a good way. I have a hearty appetite, and before my main course came, I was stuffed. The meat was quality, flavorful and tender, but the ~30 $/​person price was not worth it. Each entrée comes with soup, beans, salad, potatoes, garlic bread, rice pilaf, and root beer float/​liqueur. Great value per pound, not so great overall experience.

Wrong locarion

Well. Let’s see. Where to start. I ordered what they call «twin peak». Normally very good. It’s supposed to come with two 6 ounce filets. One topped with lobster and asparagus and the other topped with broccoli and shrimp. The first filet was awesome. Very tender. The second wasn’t a filet. It was a center cut top sirloin. I notified the waiter (good kid) and he talked to the manager. They said «oh, there’s no way it’s a top. We mark all of our filets» LOL. This is what I order every time I go to AJ’s to I kind of know the difference. No knife needed for the filet and a firm grip on the knife with the sirloin. Second. We had two gift cards given to us a month ago. Their machine wouldn’t take them. Luckily we had $ 160 on us. Just wish this place was like the old days. Much better when the old owners had it.

Possibly the worst dinner experience I have had, dollar for dollar. The western version of basque soup was served luke warm and the entrees were all mediocre at best. My son ordered the Cowboy blue, which was awful. Three very large and woody spears of asparagus were served, with a blob of melted cheese on top of the chicken, and the hollandaise sauce seemed to be more of a gravy than a sauce. My daughter-​in-​law had sweetbreads with linguisa, which again was served in an unappealing manner and was covered with a thick barbeque sauce. My husband and I both had salads, his steak and mine chicken. The steak was of poor quality and was both chewy and full of gristle. The chicken was cut into large pieces, was not seasoned and was served cold, as if it had been cooked previously and placed in the refrigerator. The best part of the meal: the fried potatoes. But I don’t know if they were really that good or were just good in comparison to the rest of the food. As harsh as this review is, it is very atypical of me. I don’t know if the employees in charge of plating are too busy or possibly just very new, but there did not to appear to be any type of quality control. It was simply a very disappointing, unappetizing and expensive meal.

I’ve been going here for years and I’ve never been disappointed, though admittedly I live in Templeton so I’m probably biased. I usually get the filet, and its always cooked perfectly. You always get a soup and salad before your main dish, so expect leftovers. Be sure to make reservations if you go on a Friday or Saturday night as they can get pretty busy. If you decide to eat here, be sure to bring your appetite because you’ll have plenty to eat!

What I great place!!! We had a 30 minute wait but we didn’t mind at all, the people watching was fantastic! Everyone seemed to be in a great mood! There were several people arriving for an ugly sweater Christmas party… and boy, were there ugly sweaters, Lol! There was a guy in the bar that had started to play music, he was pretty good… the guy that was seating everyone, what a great personality! So charming and entertaining yet, doing the job, getting people seated, and letting you know «you were next!» Well, let’s get to the important stuff… dinner! AMAZING! They start you off with that hearty vegetable soup, with the black beans and salsa on the side… sooooo good! There was also a mixed greens salad. Then the main course… we both ordered the filet mignon, medium, and it was cooked to perfection. It was served with rice pilaf, skillet potatoes and garlic toast. Oh yes, there’s dessert too… rootbeer floats, but we opted for a scoop of vanilla ice cream
instead. Well worth the price. Oh my gosh, so much food but so delicious! Every time we are up here, we try to make a stop at AJ Spurs… There is no one better! Our server was great, and the restaurant was packed so we give kudos to every server the night but our guy was really hoofing it. To the corporate guys it AJ Spurs, when are you guys going to open up a franchise in Orange County??? We desperately need you!!! Five stars all the way, every time!!!

Although there are not a lot of dinner options in Templeton, this one is not at the top of the list. Good spot to meet up for a drink and app, but food has gone down hill. Expensive for not great quality.

Soup cold. Potato wafers too tough to chew. Steak had strange taste. Waitress very nice. Root beer float was great. First and last time there.

Great food, not so great service. Servers seem like hey need to have a better system in regards to team work.

Came in for my first time on the recommendation of my good friend who lives in the area. Sat down and initially felt at home in the good old’ style of a real deal BBQ joint. Service was fast & friendly, I was happy they had some good local drafts. We ended up ordering their 35 oz sirloin «the gambler» and a pair of filet mignon to share between three people. Every course and side they brought was exceptional and tasted freshly homemade. Coming from a dude with some backyard BBQ experience, I can only imagine how difficult it might be to cook this ginormous 35oz sirloin! We ordered mid-​rare and this behemoth came out perfect, with a warm red center transitioning to more medium towards the outside.
I did not think this grill could get any better until I tasted the filets. Texture as soft as butter and cooked exactly to our specifications. Really high quality beef at this spot. Hands down one of the greatest meals I’ve had in a while and we left with a full gut. Will be back any time I’m in town. Thanks AJ spurs!

5 stars, hands down! I’ve always loved AJ’s main restaurant. It’s a bit pricey but the food is every bit worth the evening out. However, as of recently they have redone the cocktail menu to accompany the bar menu. Amazing improvement! Nice selection of realistic drinks, appetizers galore and even a small dish dinner menu. Live music is always appropriate and at a nice social volume. AJ’s will likely forever be our Saturday afternoon go to and I highly recommend you check it out if you haven’t yet. Oh and if you prefer family dining over the bar side, head over a bit early and check out their early bird menu. It has just ever so slightly smaller portions at much more reasonable prices while you still get to enjoy the full dining room experience!

Always happy when we leave. The food and service is great. Nice and quiet. The portions are perfect to share with a extra salad.
You can make a meal out of the stew and beans they bring to your table.

On our way to San Francisco we stopped along the way and ate here. Outstanding! Great small town feel! We ate outside with a large party and everyone loved it. All steaks were cooked perfectly! I personally had the pork chops which were tender and moist and we’ll seasoned
Draft beer was from a local brewery about 4 miles away (the server let us know that lol). We were looking for a good local place to get a good meal and they exceeded our expectations. We’ve made a note of it and will be sure to stop in again next time we vacation in San Francisco. Good stuff.

I love this place! It’s like a buffet where I never have to stand up! Good thing too, because there is seriously so much food I don’t think I can.
This place is fun, pure and simple. Families would love this. Our waiter was fantastic (Marco…Marcus…I am sorry but too much food makes me forget)
The food kept coming. I was full by that awesome, fresh Salad. The kids meals were exactly the same size as adults for a fraction of the price. The staff was beyond friendly, the décor was kitschy fun, the music was a country-​western time machine that we enjoyed and overall it was a good time.
Best part? Dessert. Root beer floats or a liqueur… how to choose?
The cost includes everything but your drinks so I think it’s a pretty good deal and like I mentioned kids are really cheap.
If you are passing through town on a road trip with a van full of kids like we were then this is your happy place! Enjoy!

Great service, atmosphere and food! I had the top sirloin and it was very good. Between the cowboy soup and salad I couldn’t even finish the steak. Our will make a great breakfast. I highly recommend AJ Spurs of you ate passing through Buellton, Grover Beach or Templeton.