34°31′24″N 119°50′07″W / 34.523315°N 119.835408°W / 34.523315; -119.835408 Cold Spring Tavern was established as a stagecoach stop in 1865.[1] Originally known as the "Cold Spring Relay Station", it was a horse changeover and meals break station. The tavern is located 20 minutes north of Santa Barbara, California, in Cold Spring Canyon, which is about a mile off Highway 154 along Stagecoach Road (in the San Marcos Pass area).
The tavern serves steak, lamb, venison, duck, and rabbit.[2]
In 1956, Cold Spring Tavern was the first restaurant to serve Steve Henson's original salad dressing. Henson and his wife had recently moved to a nearby guest ranch they renamed “Hidden Valley Ranch”, and decided to try marketing the dressing in the area when it became popular with guests. Audrey Ovington, a friend of the Hensons who owned the tavern at the time, was their first commercial customer, and the condiment has since been known as ranch dressing.[3]
The tavern was chosen as the “BEST place for a Romantic Getaway” and the Santa Barbara Independent called it "pure MAGIC!"[4] They have been noted as one of the few (if not only) restaurants serving bear.[5]
In 2019, it was featured in a Santa Barbara episode of the Cooking Channel's Man v. Food.
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