J&R Natural Meat and Sausage

Came here for a meat box, and walked out very happy! Excellent customer service from everyone at the store. We go to J&R for the quality of the meat, but the service keeps us coming back :)

Great customer service! The best baby back ribs my husband gets for the barbq! Check it out!

This place is all time. Ask for their suggestions and you can’t go wrong. Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin is brilliant, and tonight the butcher suggested using oxtails for my onion soup and it took things to the next level. Excellent quality and cool service, we are lucky to have them in SLO county.

We love this butcher! Great grass fed beef, house made sausages and Mary’s chicken along with good sandwiches. Best in town.

Wow, outstanding tri tip sandwich and pulled pork sandwich. All the cases of grain fed beef and sausage selection is awesome. Finally the Central Coast has a real butcher shop! My husband saw a rib eye in the case that looked really good. Eat here! Great service and food.

I have to say, the customer service here is atrocious. I’m all for supporting mom and pop establishments, but I don’t appreciate being verbally abused while I’m spending my hard earned money. Went in with my boyfriend and purchased $ 70 worth of sausage, ground beef, and steak. My boyfriend attempted to pay (with cash), but since he had just paid for our groceries at trader joe’s, I told him no, I would pay with my discover card. The employee at J&R proceeded to verbally berate me and lecture me on how I was «raping» him and his business by using a credit card. I’m sorry, but I don’t carry around that much cash, and next time me and my credit card will shop elsewhere.

Stumbled upon this little shop because I was contemplating getting lunch in the plaza at Pier 49.
By the recommendation of one of the staff who said the tri tip sandwich was his favorite, that’s what we decided to order.
So glad I went with the recommendation. The sandwich was delicious. Generous tri tip perfectly smoked and charred served with barbecue sauce and grilled onions. Yummy and reasonably priced.
Next time I’m wine tasting in the area, I’ll stop by here again for lunch.

I really think that the big guy that works here has a personality disorder. Not that I don’t believe in supporting the mentally challenged, but the guy sometimes acts like he is doing us a favor by selling meat. Granted, grocery store feed-​lot meat is disgusting and is killing us, but someone needs to pay the rent and if you don’t sell meat, you’re not going to make rent. They were out of ground bison meat and grass fed beef and I asked if they would be getting in more and he fricken attacked me and went off on a tangent about how we were in a drought. Yeah, we are, but it’s not my fucking fault. I didn’t cause it. I just want want to buy some damn meat, and I’m willing to pay your outrageous prices for it, why do you have to act like I’m «doing» something to you? Anyway, I don’t even go in here anymore. I do go to the one in Paso on Riverside. But if they act like dicks, I’m done with the whole business.

Hubby ordered the German sausage sandwich while waiting for me to window shop their other goodies. It was a WOW tasting morsel. She grilled up the sausage and bacon right there and with cheese and Dijon, he said it was a bursting flavorful lunch that made his day! We bought some local Gouda and Calabrese sausage to make a wine tasting plate at home later. This place is awesome for all sorts of meats, all local and grass fed.

My fiancé is a Templeton native. We visit every holiday and several other times a year. We had planned on getting products from this establishment, as her family has done previously. However, the bigotry and insular thinking exhibited by this establishment has prevented us from doing this.
The day prior to thanksgiving in the afternoon (a time of generosity built into the fabric of the holiday) we were shopping at trader joes next door. Coming into the parking lot a family was asking for donations. We took notice of the family and then went into trader joes. As we were leaving, we saw an employee exiting from the store to discuss the family with the shopping center security. The employee stated that the family needed to be removed from the parking lot because this is «bull shit» and «I work for a living.»
Such an attitude prior to thanksgiving demonstrates that such an establishment is focused on reaping only self-​serving rewards. It destroys the ideas of family, togetherness, and generosity that go back to the first thanksgiving. Further, self-​reliance would have only killed the early settlers at Plymouth, however this establishment seems to think self-​reliance is some how a great thing. It’s a sad day when people so abuse others. Please, boycott this establishment as a testimony to humanity.

Quality meat, friendly employees… wish I had a J&R where I live!
I also like that it is so fresh and what they have in the case moves rapidly. The only disappointment was that I wish they had more grass fed meat but I’m sure it depends on the day.

[Update July 2015 vs. initial review in 2014. Upgraded from 3-​star to 5-​star based on continued quality and improved service. Service the past couple times has been solid. Not overly friendly, but helpful and professional and that’s all I can ask for in a butcher shop. (Perhaps the bearded wonder has moved on to Williamsburg, Silverlake, or somewhere in SF or Portland.) Original post follows below:]
Even though we’ve been spending time in Paso Robles for years, we stumbled into J&R earlier this year with some friends we were introducing to the area.
I’m still thinking about that night’s grilling. It’s been six months, so details are not so perfectly remembered. I do not remember the cuts of steak, but one was very good. The other cut I think was a flat iron and it was one of the best pieces of meat I’ve had. Period.
Three stars? I still remember the Williamsburg vibe of the guy with standard issue beard, well-​honed nonplussed gaze, and monotone engagement behind the counter. Someone needs to tell this generation of new butchers that their craft is an honorable one but that it does not bestow upon its practitioners some justification for poor service due to a non-​existent superiority. No fake smiles needed. No soothing voice to make us feel oh so sincere. Just be professional as a butcher, helpful as a retailer, and polite as a human being.

I was going to Trader Joes next door and was hungry for a sandwich. I looked into some pickle sandwich shop but it did not float my boat
I peeked into J and R and ordered the chicken breast grilled with Gruyère cheese carmelized onions with chipotle aioli and pickled cole slaw on a French roll. It was SPOT on and hit the spot
Yum!

From a 4 to a 3 because the customer service is horrid.
The lamb sausage was really way too lamby.
The wine and grape was awesome, gouda chicken was awesome (some said too salty I thought awesome) and we still have a couple of more to try.

Roasted Chicken Sandwich is a perfect lunchtime treat, and the service is amazing Ryan is very knowledgeable and will walk you through recipes and how to cook the meat just right. Sausage is phenomenal and they have over 100 different flavors they make throughout the seasons.

I’m a fan of J&R. Came in to buy some sausages as a gift and was impressed with the quality of the meat and the variety of cuts in the butcher case. Definitely opt for this over grocery store meat! I’m actually not a big carnivore and eat mostly veggies, so when I choose to eat meat I want it to be a special occasion! J&R products definitely fit that bill.
I was disappointed, however, by the lack of sausage variety. The website lists all kinds of interesting flavors, but the sausages available were pretty standard, just meat and cheese combos. Be sure to call ahead if you’re looking for some of the more eccentric flavor combos to make sure they’re in stock!

First timers buying locally sourced meat from this business. Unfortunately, we went to the Templeton location to pick up a phone order. Staff at this location are unfriendly and somewhat arrogant. The person in front of me asked a question about preparation. The bearded guy (look in other comments) never said a word — handed her what I believe to be an instruction sheet on the prep. This guy is losing business. When I asked a question about meats — he didn’t answer my question and made a snide remark. The entire vibe at this location is dysfunctional.
Luckily, we later picked up our order at the Paso Robles location. Night & Day. Staff here were friendly, talkative and interested in promoting their products. Location was kind of out of the way, but worth it.
Would rate higher for product — but experience dealing with the staff at Templeton was not the best. Never to be back — guaranteed.

On one hand, the quality of the product is amazing. This is a great source for grass-​fed beef, house-​made sausage, local meats, and responsibly-​raised specialty items like goat and lamb. We are talking seriously delicious and high quality with a very good value. And two out of the three main people who work there are very friendly. Crystal and the son of the owner have answered questions patiently, marinated specific cuts, and even cut large tri-​tips in half (as long as I bought both pieces). That is, 66% of the service has been exemplary.
On the other hand, the taller tattooed fellow has been so rude and hostile to me that I am reluctant to go in when he’s working there. I have entered with the intention of buying meat for my family for an entire month and left with only $ 30 worth of meat because he was seriously horrible to me. A good friend went in yesterday to buy something to slow-​cook and he angrily told her, «I don’t have anything like that here!» Sadly, I can’t really refer this business to friends on account of this type of service. Better to pay higher prices at New Frontiers than have your IQ questioned by the meat gestapo.

Guy behind the counter is a bit of a jerk. Went in asking about grass fed, (which they have written on their front door). He goes off in a tirade about how grass fed isn’t any different or better than conventionally fed beef.
Much better experience at their Riverside location.

This is a second shop from the one in Paso and is right next door to Pier 46 near Trader Joes. Opened in 2012. We just moved to the area in March and this far exceeds anything we’ve experienced at any traditional butcher market. The variety in this shop is great and the fellow there (forgot his name, sorry) takes great pride in his work.
He has given us great suggestions for grilling and preparing meals with their products. For example, they carry buffalo sausage and he recommended making a chili with it — which ended up being one of our new favorites at home. If they don’t carry something you can ask for it… lot’s of locally sourced stuff too, venison, lamb, and the regular stuff — nice freezer full of custom sausages. We also recently bought a meatloaf and meatballs we used with our own homemade pasta sauce. Delish. Fantastic local resource. Do not pass this place up.