Mattei’s Tavern

Let’s say the Coach House ambient scene was fantastic in history, however waited an hour for a disappointing Cabana Steak smothered in green chiles. Horrible!
Sorry to say, folks see western, but the restaurant food does no know what it wants to be. French?
Menu needs to be revised.

The very nice manager contacted me apologizing for my experience and offered a gift certificate. I came back NYE weekend and brought along my husband and 4 of our friends. The hostess was very friendly as was our server. Drinks were good and stiff. I ordered a cauliflower dish. It was ok. My husband got the chicken and didn’t really like it. I really love the ambiance of this place but the taste of the food isn’t for me. I would recommend this place for drinks and dessert or a light appetizer but the entrees aren’t great and especially not with the prices. I do appreciate the comp but I would not recommend this place for dinner.

The bone marrow was de-​frosted very bad. So I tried steak it was giant and was very fatty

I’m here now, I’m already over impressed so had to start my shout out. We were traveling so a little embarrassed we were dressed super casual though, no weird looks or anyone rude. In fact the customer service has been extraordinary. Christa (hope that’s her name) gave us a full tour of the building even got to see our soon to be chef. The bartender knew his stuff and is also amazing. The beer list for those true beer lovers is great. Misjudged to bar, figuring crap beer, so mistaken. Im currently sipping a white now that’s deviously delicious. The history, the people the atmosphere. 5 stars. Stay tuned on the food…
Leaving now :(things just got better and better. Food didn’t disappoint (that’s an understatement). Our waiter was fabulous. Honestly I can go on and on about everything. Worth the drive, a must do.

We recently enjoyed a meal here with my Dad and Stepmom to celebrate Dad’s 70^th birthday. The ambiance was absolutely charming and the bar area was a great place to start out the evening. Had a perfect belvedere martini. When we were seated, we enjoyed several appetizers, our favorite of which was the seaweed butter and toasted bread. The hubby and I had the Cote de Boeuf which is meant to be shared. It was the only not great part of an otherwise wonderful meal — this particular cut was not good, loaded with gristle and arrived to the table cold and dry. When we told our server tho, he made it right, took it off the check and offered to get us something else. The other thing that was off was that we kept complaining about how cold it was in the dining room and the server adjusted the thermostat for us, but when we got up to leave, we saw double doors in the next room were wide open — at nearly 10pm on a cold Fall night. We did mosey to the lobby and warmed up by the awesome fireplace and enjoyed some out of this world desserts. The lemon tart was to die for. We will be back, for sure.

I got my Wild Wild West fix for this dinner.
Felt like a séance waiting for Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless to appear from under the drapes and attack Robert Conrad’s thigh as the Victorian era walls close in on themselves.
A 5pm reservation, a decanter collection center stage, all to ourselves in a corner booth and Adam suggesting suggestions and handling the experience.
Plus, the only dining soundtrack in town that wasn’t Lawrence Welk, or the thousandth pour of 70’s hits, or arguments about politics rather than solutions.
Put us in a cocktail mood… started with a Tequila based Phantasma, and Gin and Quinine Travel Tonic.
Those Masa popovers arrive, followed with the Pile of Arugula… dressing and ingredients nicely low in acid that plays well with wine, a glass follows for each of us for dinner.
We split the Rotisserie Chicken, brined and moist, perfect honey lemon glaze.
I pleaded to the wife-​tastic to add the Steak Fries and thanks for backing me up on that choice Adam. while we couldn’t finish these, they served as a late night dessert and still had some sesame crunch on them.
I actually wanted to go back the next night and pass on another local restaurant.
About $ 110 for the 3 items split, 2 excellent cocktails, 2 glasses of wine.
If I were retired, lived in the area, I’d learn some close up magic and work that room for free, or for some popovers. Wouldn’t turn down a cocktail either.

Food and wine are expensive but are worth it. Steak was perfect. Cooked as ordered and seasoned just right.
Staff was attentive but not in the way.
Atmosphere of restaurant has to be experienced.

Everything that is good is here. The history, the ambiance, the staff, and, of course, the food.
Grilled avocado to start. Mushrooms and oysters were next. An amazing steak. Lastly, the Lemon Pie. Perfection!

My husband and I absolutely love this restaurant!
We come up to Solvang for our anniversary every year, last year was the first time we came to Mattie’s. Then again last night. The ambiance is amazing, the service is exceptional and the food is phenomenal! I have gluten sensitivities and our server was VERY helpful with helping me choose what I could eat. I greatly appreciate that!
But seriously, the food is amazing! It is a little pricey but well worth it! We were even able to take our beverages outside and walk the beautiful grounds!
Thank you again for the experience Mattie’s!

After hearing rave reviews we stopped in for dinner after wine tasting nearby. We were seated outside without a reservation on a Saturday, but it was early. We started with the groundskeeper (rum, cucumber and mint) which didn’t taste much like cucumber. Our server was great, she recommended the grilled avocado to start with which was the highlight of the meal. We weren’t that hungry so we opted to split the meatballs and cheeseburger. Didn’t care for the sauce on the meatballs and the cheeseburger tasted like it was a frozen patty. We finished the meal with a cantaloupe ginger sorbet. It had a kick to it. Had we not been so full, we would’ve opted for a better dessert. Next time we come, we’ll definitely go for their other better known entrees, but would definitely get the grilled avocado again!

Love this place! Atmosphere is inviting and comfortable. Large selection at the bar. Food is amazing and everyone from bartender, wait staff to hostess Kristen is one of a kind and makes you feel like home.

Fabulous food and fun atmosphere. Great service, attentive and efficient staff. I’m a local of the Santa Ynez Valley and this is not only my go to spot for a drink and burger at the bar, but also my favorite place to come for special occasions. The staff always makes you feel at home and welcomes you by name! A wonderful restaurant, in a beautiful setting, with lots of history and character. Highly recommend!

The ambiance is five stars. An old railway station, the uniquely decorated restaurant has a variety of places to eat: a dark lodge-​like central room w fireplace, a bar, an enclosed patio, a house library-​like room, and a richly red dining area. It’s like the board game Clue.
The service was great as well, though we sit at the bar anywhere whenever one’s open because it’s easier to get your server’s attention… they can’t get too far away. John was an excellent host, friendly, attentive, he even handed me a pair of loaner glasses when he saw me throw the menu three feet ahead of me to read it.
The food, though, didn’t match the prices. Not seeing many choices to my liking I got a heavily seasoned cabana steak, big but thin, tender but so fatty you wouldn’t want to eat it in the dark. Covered with a handful of yummy potatoes that look like stones and grilled green onions. The wife’s chicken was pink, and overly smoky, like BBQ. And my drink surprisingly wasn’t strong at all.
Who charged us a lot for a mediocre meal? I say Professor Plum, in the kitchen, with a salt shaker.
************************ UPDATE *****************************
Returned in December 2015 only because our friends wanted to check it out. First, we had a drink in the bar, and John was serving again. Knowing the drinks were weak, I ordered a double Tito’s and cranberry, and I couldn’t taste ANY alcohol in the drink, which was cloudy and tasting like grapefruit juice. Complaining to our perfectly darling server, she returned with a drink that was 99% vodka, so John was either being passive-​aggressive or playful, but what did I care.
We sat in the red dining area and was helped by a super friendly, attentive, and almost flamboyant gentleman. We got popovers to start, and these have got to be thee best thing in Los Olivos to eat (that isn’t Sides Brothers Restoration bacon). They tasted like french toast biscuits, very eggy, fluffy on the inside with crusty outside. I wish they offered those as an entrée.
Again, the menu is super limited, and I knew not to get the cabana steak, which my friend agreed was a bad steak at even half the price. I got the fried chicken w/​a side of steak fries. The steak fries were $ 12 for a metal cup of tasty, crispy, salty skin-​on fries and spicy ketchup. The fried chicken had a tempura-​like batter and had so much grease that John Travolta started singing «Sandy» before trying to kiss the waiter.

Amazing historical venue and great ambience/​antique interior. Service was splendid and classy.
The fried chicken was incredibly good. The pork dish with lettuce cups was extremely sub par and disappointing. The grilled avocado was wonderful but totally over priced. Same for the asparagus. They should have been half the price that they charge to be fair to customers for what they are getting.
The complimentary popovers are totally amazing and a great surprise to start your evening after you’ve ordered. The wines we drank were good but when we asked for port at desert we were told they had none. They offered us a different style of fortified wine which I had never heard of before. When they brought it out it tasted like chilled prune juice and had absolutely no alcohol in it; certainly not fortified. I actually found myself wondering if they thought they were pulling one
The staff are at least friendly and also seem to be knowledgeable about the history of the establishment, which is a good thing because that’s what people go there for… not the port or the pork obviously.

A waste of our time and money!
Recommended to us by friends we wasted one of our evenings in Los Olivos here.
YES — this is a very quaint place, so I’ll give them one star.
NO — the food and service was simply unacceptable, and all of our party agreed.
Firstly — at 7:30 pm on a Saturday nite — they are already out of 2 of the most popular items on the menu — steak and fried chicken! You want bread? Wait a half hour for them to make you some and charge you for it. The server forgot to pour water for one of our party of 4 and didn’t come back for a loooong time, which was the theme for the rest of the evening.
It took a solid hour for our entrees to be served and they were mediocre. My fish was, small, a bit undercooked and not anything special at all with nearly nothing else on the plate. The rotisserie chicken was pink and undercooked and had to be sent back.
I don’t know what is going on here as many seem to like it — the waiter said they have a new menu — so perhaps hs been some major shake up in the kitchen, but not in a good way, it seems.
We’re done with this place. There are other GREAT places in town with better meals for a lot less $$.

This was a disappointment. Two of my friends cocktails that were supposed to have bourbon in them were clear and tasteless (old fashioned, ya like prohibition). My sea bass was over cooked and salty. My friends steak was thin, fatty and over cooked (green onions were good).
Bloody Mary lacked personality as did the waiter. I feel three stars is very generous. Good luck all…

I am not sure why we haven’t been here sooner. The place has a great vibe. We ended up sitting at the bar since we were early for our reservation. The menu was a little more limited but I had already decided I wanted their burger and that was on the bar menu. My wife got the chicken and waffles. Both were worth getting. We both ordered a specialty cocktail as well.
Between the great food, service and the history behind the building. I would recommend trying this place out.

We LOVE this place! Our reservations were around 7:30 but come 5:00 we were ready to eat! Logan was able to make it happen and didn’t make us feel like jerks for asking. He definitely started our experience off on the right foot. He checked back on us throughout the meal and you could tell he really loves what he does. Super accommodating and made us feel like guests in his very own home… How true hospitality should be. Thanks, Logan!
The food was great as always; the grilled avocado and beef Tartar– must haves. That corn side dish though… Lord have mercy– Delish!
5 stars: food was great, service was awesome, Logan put it over the edge for us.
Thanks for an awesome evening! Until next time :)

This place is wonderful. An historical old building that has been remodeled.
Decorated beautifully. Main dinning area has a very relaxing ambience with an open air feel.
Ideal location to stop for dinner, especially after a day of wine tasting!
The food is great and the menu has something for everyone. I recommend the sea bass.
A good mix of locals and tourists.

Pros:
Beautiful ambience
Cons:
Small portion.
Expensive
Lack of flavors
Tiny wine selections-​Hello? You are located in Los Olivos.
Won’t come back here.