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    The Willo

    4.2 (234 reviews)
    Closed 5:00 pm - 9:00 PM

    The Willo Photos

    THE WILLO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - The Willo

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    Reviews With Photos

    Terry K.

    #workinprogress #nevadacity #greatsteak #familyrestaurant #westernbar Where do all the locals go? Well, they go to The Willo for their steak dinner! While overnighting in Grass Valley, I searched for a steakhouse and was lead to The Willo (I read Yelper Joyce T's review and immediately knew it would be The Willo for my dinner). Mind you, The Willo is in Nevada City, the city next to Grass Valley. Oh what a find! I tried calling for a table and was initially informed there is no space because of the Mother's Day rush. Continued my search for other eateries to no avail so I called The Willo again. Some guy answers the phone and told me "come on over... We will find something for you..." And the rest of my story is history. Rib Eye 14 oz medium rare (5 stars) which comes with a side of baked beans and and a green tossed salad) You can upgrade your salad which will come with beets, tomato, etc for an additional $2) Baked potato (4 stars, although you can't really mess up a baked potato right? Ambiance? It is your local cowboy steak house. All they needed was hitching posts outside so you can park your horse (ok, car). Their house pour wine was Conundrum which is a decent dinner table wine. I didn't get a breakdown of my total bill but just estimating what the meal cost could be, I'd guess and say the steak AS GOOD AS IT WAS (and I am a steak snob) could not cost more than $30 compared to a comparable value at a named steakhouse of $60+ Go figure.... So if you are in the area, do stop here. And make the time to read about the history of this place. You will be pleasantly surprised

    My father in law's meal. Ribeye, salad, baked beans and potato.
    Trisha R.

    This restaurant was packed and the ambiance was fun. The service was excellent and the food is just ok. We had the Ribeye, which was pretty good, the baked beans were not very good, and the salad was drenched in dressing..soaked! Lol. My in laws said that their baked potato was good. It was a nice place to try, but the menu is limited and I would not go back. It food was mediocre.

    The grill
    Kent C.

    I was dying for a steak while working up in Grass Valley. I asked Siri to find me the closest steakhouse, and The Willow was definitely the closest. I read a few of the reviews and I would agree with many of them. First of all, Tyler appears to run a tight ship and customer service is A plus! On Friday and Saturday night they serve ribeye but the cuts were 14 ounces and I was looking for 6 to 8 ounces, so I went with the New York. I asked for medium rare on the medium side. The waitress commented I fully understand that and delivered a perfectly cooked and seasoned New York strip. Salad, barbecued beans and garlic bread come standard with the steak and that's how I placed my order. They make several of their salad dressings in the house and I chose the blue cheese. It was very good but with the amount of iceberg lettuce that was "the salad", I would've liked a little more. The barbecue beans were OK, nothing special. One of the remarkable things I experienced, was when asking about a couple of their Zinfandel's that were on the menu compared to the Rodney Strong Cabernet, Tyler brought me three tastings of all three wines to make a choice. I find this to be exceptional service typically not found at some of the highest end steakhouses. Bottom line is if you're in the Grass Valley, Nevada City area and would like a reasonably priced steak at one of the local restaurants with a wonderful history, I certainly would direct you to The Willo! Enjoy.

    a plate of meat and beans
    Bella M.

    This was my first time going here. I didn't know what to really expect except that it's a steak house and that my in-laws like going here. It's in a remote area in Nevada City. Very country.... I loved it. They have been voted best steak several times. You can even watch your meal being cooked or you can cook your own. The grills are in the dining area. I have to say, their garlic bread is freaking delicious. They cook them on the grill so they have that extra oomph..... The service was really good. The food is really good. The ambiance is on point. This place gets really busy as well. We will definitely come back for more....more of the garlic bread! Lol

    Rib eye
    Zeena C.

    Ordered ribeye $48 med rare. Came burnt in the outside and raw (looked purple) on the inside, chewy. There was no flavoring, no salt no butter. All I could taste was the burnt part with every bite, I'm going to feed it to my dog. I took pictures the next day from my to go box. For the high price it was unsatisfying.the potato (costs extra) was good and the salad was just iceberg with nothing else, the blue cheese dressing was good.

    They can cook it or you can cook your steak for .50 cents less.
    Kevin S.

    The steaks and the smoked pork chop were very good. But there was a couple items that were disappointing. Beans were kinda bland and the garlic bread had very light coating of garlic flavor. Salad was so so with running dressing. Service was excellent they always check on us. You will need make reservations to eat there it does get busy .

    a restaurant kitchen with people preparing food
    Ken G.

    Food was fantastic and I loved the country vibe! Came up from SoCal to visit my peeps and I've driven past this place for years. Decided to give it a shot and I was not disappointed. Steak was cooked to perfection! Left there very happy!

    Ribeye Fridays!

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    1 month ago

    Great service at an old fashioned steakhouse where steaks are always cooked to perfection

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    10 months ago

    Great service! Friendly and food was great! We were able to split the ribs and salad. Enough food for 2 people for sure.

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    11 months ago

    I've always loved the food here the food is so good in fact that it does not matter that there are relatively only a few things on the menu

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    Ask the Community - The Willo

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    Coming to three forks was such a treat being able to get something yummy that's also locally…read moresourced. We ordered a house sausage pizza and to add the salami to the pizza which was a great choice loved the pizza we watched it get made right in front of us and their bacon and cheddar melt. I personally though the bacon and cheddar melt was fine I probably wouldn't order it again looking back on it just simply on the fact it was $21 and the pizza was $23 it just felt very boring and overpriced in comparison to the pizza. I do love the sustainability of this place but find it odd the water cups are plastic after all the effort put into reusable, sustainable, organic, and farm fresh It definitely eat here again especially with the fact the menu is always changing the pastries here were a hit every other table had something from the bakery or a pizza. This is a great spot to come on a date or with a bunch of friends. I haven't tried the brews here yet but I'm looking forward to it. The staff here are very sweet and food comes out quickly. Parking is right outside of Three forks and plentiful even on a Sunday afternoon.

    This is a cafe with some high quality goods…read more Broccoli and garlic pizza: A Tastes great. I love broccoli as a pizza topping. The crust has a good flavor to it as well and I like the texture. Very thin and crisp. Blackberry mint kombucha: B Light and refreshing. Not too sweet. almond chocolate cookie sandwich: A- Great tasting treat, almost tastes like a macaroni with the almond flavor and the chocolate cream is decadent.

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    Dakan - The burger was absolutely delicious. Best one in town

    Dakan

    4.4(57 reviews)
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    We were able to slip in without a reservation (which seems like a rare thing to pull off.) The…read morefood was very well executed (especially the poutine!) If we lived closer we'd end up as regulars here, but we'll definitely return on random weekends (and making reservations next time.) The feel of the place has a grotto and barn type of vibe. We'll check out the outdoor seating next time. There was nothing on the menu that disappoints so far. We look forward to exploring more (the duck wings will make a repeat appears for us.) This is a fun balance of higher end dining and multi regional creativity that we really enjoyed. The mix of high and low is something we explore a lot in our own kitchen, so we welcome that energy when dining out.

    Service: Everyone from the host to our server Skye was super kind and welcoming. Skye had great…read morerecommendations and good pacing of the meal even though it was a busy Saturday. Food: The food was delectable. We did two raw bar items, a starter and our mains. We were very hungry, so it was the perfect amount. They have a super curated wine list, and we got a Pinot Noir from Santa Maria Valley that was excellent. The short rib poutine was SO amazing and I loved my duck. Ambiance: Great, cozy vibe with lot of brick. Bustling but not too loud. We were kind of tucked at a table without a ton of room around it, so that was a little awkward to wiggle into. But overall, if you're in Nevada City, this is definitely where you want to go for a special dinner!

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    The Willo - steak - Updated May 2026

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