The parking lot was packed. Definitely a good sign. Make a reservation!!! The service staff is friendly and super fast. Probably the fastest I've ever had my order taken after sitting. You have the option of cooking your own steak.... I'd rather let the professionals do it. The ribeye was well seasoned and a perfect medium rare. Possibly the best steak I've ever had. Ambiance is dive bar-ish but I say that with absolute love and admiration. It's a place for everyone. You don't come here for linen napkins, fine china and table clothes. You come here for a great steak in a friendly welcoming atmosphere. A must place to reserve a dinner spot if you're up in the Grass Valley area. read more

The Willo - Ribeye, baked beans, salad and a baked potato - Steakhouses Near Me - Nevada City, California

Nice, quaint atmosphere hidden out among the hills and trees. We stopped by for steaks while out on a motorcycle ride and everything was very good. A couple of the sides were a little bland: the side salad was lettuce and dressing and the beans were so-so. But the steak and baked potato were on point, so that made up for the rest. They also include a little scoop of ice cream for dessert. The service was great! The owner and staff were all very friendly and we enjoyed talking to some of the other guests during our visit. Adorable little spot. You should check it out if you get the opportunity. read more

The Willo is a great, old time roadhouse. Their steaks, which you can watch being grilled, are great. I always enjoy the Willo.

The good news is that nothing has changed under the new owners. The same Road House ambience, food and service that I have described in previous reviews. This time we had Catfish and the Pork Chop. Excellent. We always eat in the bar and have always received timely professional service. It the only restaurant I know of that includes dessert (ice cream) with the meal. read more

The quality of food has gone down hill since change of ownership. Steaks are charred and taste like cheaper meat. The upgraded salad is just a bunch of romaine with a couple sprigs of spinach. The service is great, but when you have three times as many people wandering around a dining room that is only 20 percent full, it would be hard not to provide good service. If the food quality is not there, people will stop coming. It might not happen overnight, but as people who have been coming here for years get disappointed, they will just stop coming. read more

#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 read more

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Well, here is our review of our latest visit to our favorite roadhouse The Willo, (and favorite server, Nicole!). We have visited Nevada City multiple times over the last few years and were fortunate enough to be able to move here in March of this year. The Willo is a treasure (great steak dinners with all the fixins) and the true gem in the treasure chest is Nicole!. She treats all her guests like the best of old friends and has the sweetest presence of any one you will ever meet. We have had the good fortune to dine in some exceptional restaurants, but we have never left feeling as good as we do after a visit to The Willo. We love you, Willo and Nicole! read more

Best and most nostalgic place to get a steak in town. No frills but all the flavor! Drinks on one side, restaurant on the other and very fair prices! read more

I wanted to love this place but I wish we had skipped it. The waiters are the ones grilling the meat in between serving which is a terrible set up because it slows everything down and decreases the food quality. The steak we got was burned on the outside. If I am going to splurge on steak I expect it to be cooked well. The person serving drinks was sweet as could be and the ice cream was good. The other customers give the place a fun vibe. I definitely wouldn't go back due to the food. A serious disappointment. read more

Food was excellent!! Steak very tender. I asked for medium but it was closer to medium rare and excellent flavor. Corsage is super reasonable at $15 a bottle. read more

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. read more

The Willo - My father in law's meal. Ribeye, salad, baked beans and potato. - Steakhouses Near Me - Nevada City, California

The steaks are stellar. Good cuts of beef. Done to perfection on an open grill. Crisp salads, and dressings. Staff is very kind, and attentive. The place is most always busy! It's that good! read more

Highly disappointed we showed up a half an hour early before our reservations and was quite jazz to see that they had shuffleboard supposed and played shuffleboard and started out to be a great evening. Then we ordered $50 steaks and got a plate full of lettuce and salt the beans were mediocre and the steaks were so salty. My wife could only eat two bites and a whole lips were puckered from the salt tried to let them know nicely that the food was way too salty to know avail. We will not be back. We were really hoping for this to be our new stake spot. Unfortunately, we are sadly disappointed. read more

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. read more

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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 read more

The Willo - a plate of meat and beans - Steakhouses Near Me - Nevada City, California

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 . read more

The Willo - They can cook it or you can cook your steak for .50 cents less. - Steakhouses Near Me - Nevada City, California

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Had dinner last night with family. The place was maybe half full when normally they are packed. Right away we were seated and water was served. Then thirty minutes later they took our order. Then thirty minutes plus's we received our food. Setting with water for over an hour was not a good experience for us. The food was good but something was very wrong with the service last night. read more

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

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. read more

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Down and dirty steak spot. Coal warmed garlic bread and meat is what you come for. The sides are merely for looks and underwhelming. That said, we don't care. It's about the garlic bread and protein. Don't over complicate it. read more

Best steakhouse anywhere in the area. Cozy ambiance, very nice staff and owners. Such a nice find for travelers trying to find a decent, quality restaurant. read more

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

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! read more

The Willo - a restaurant kitchen with people preparing food - Steakhouses Near Me - Nevada City, California

Had dinner here to honor a job offer. The setup is nice and the food was very good. I loved the baby back ribs and garlic bread, and the wine we had. read more

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

I am as liberal as they come, so when a friend from The Briar Patxh wanted us to take him to the Willo I remembered going there years ago and them not playing football because of Black Lives Matter. We didn't stay that time and I was ready for some nasty energy. Instead, I found only sweetness. I have brain damage and I hate to order beer without letting somebody know of it because sometimes I am perceived as being drunk I informed the waitress, and she very sweetly shared her story of also having seizures. The food was wonderful and the ambience lovely. I waited outside for another friend to arrive and saw this car I guess if you stick around long enough, everything changes. We have a new old place to take visitors. read more

This place is delicious..No Bones about it. A huge grill in the dinning room, everything cooked to perfection, great service, great night! The food is always perfect. We've been coming for years, but never wrote a review. We came here tonight after at least 10 years from our last visit, and the food was as it always has been, perfect. The hosting and service, perfect. The whole experience, perfect. We did the ribeye and catfish the with just garlic and salt. The catfish is out of this world. Savory, fatty, sweet, tender, and every other adjective you wanna throw in. The steaks were perfection like always. The service was killer, drinks were great. You guys gave us a perfect night, thank you so much! Can't wait to come back! read more

The Willo - Ribeye Fridays! - Steakhouses Near Me - Nevada City, California

Deeply, Deeply disappointed. Moved to So Cal in the early 70's. Every time we come up (about once a year, even during Covid) we come to the Willo twice during our visits. This time we only went once because the new owners have changed the things that we used to love. The quality of the steaks seemed a bit less, the beans are completely different, and NOT in a good way. When I mentioned it to the lady in the front she could have cared less. I think it was the absolute best when the two older guys owned it. I don't think we'll be going back, which breaks my heart since it's been a family tradition for over 40+ years. The spumoni was good! I have a hard time imagining them winning best steakhouse again if things remain the same. Sorry, did not even take pics this year...OH, and now closed TWO days a week! read more

If you're into off the beaten path old style roadhouse atmosphere and cooking then definitely come here. The place has that eclectic look of country style ambiance- barn like, rafters, lots of wood finishes and hardly any windows or natural light. There's a bar and this enormous grille smack in the center of the place where they prepare the meat, and you can do it yourself if you prefer. The place was hopping and busy for an early Thursday dinner. I got the spare ribs and first off the portion of the dinner is off the charts HUGE! If you're super hungry, or a limber jack just off work, this is the place to go for a super heaping plate of food. My ribs, well cooked, yet not fall off the bone, were OK. There's plenty of meat and although not drenched in sauce you do get some on the side in a cup. The dinner also had salad, just chopped iceberg lettuce, with some typical dressings to choose from three pronged metal serving dishes. There was a small bowl of beans (really bland and disappointing, tasting canned and low quality) and a large baked potato wrapped in foil that could have been cooked slightly more. That came with butter and sour cream. Overall, the food was average and nothing special. Service was top notch and they worked hard to get everything where it needed to be. I washed it all down with a bottle of beer which seemed appropriate. And, it is messy, very messy, so get lots of paper napkins! I'd come back to try something else, but not go out of my way for it either. read more

What a Dump! we made reservations for mondays burger night special. Starts 5 pm . They took our order 20 mins later for 5 of us and said "sorry we are out of hamburger meat" How insane is that? It's first come first serve for burger night" 5 of us who went out of our way to have a nice dinner and where's the beef? A steakhouse and they are out of burger beef? It was filthy and loud and we were crammed into the tiniest table. What a joke. Thats called bait and switch people . The other meals were 27 to 37 dollars. We left and went to Lumberjack and it was fantastic, clean, great food and the burger was 2/3 less expensive. We were given a nice big comfortable table also. read more

The Willow reminds me of times when my late husband and I went there. I can't go there without great happy memories. I took my oldest son when he visited from N Carolina. I found it just th Ed same as when I went there years ago. It is a cowboy hat and boot place. It has customers who will go back again and again!, like me . I don't have my dear husband to go with me ,so I wait until a son comes tp visit and my husband is with me in my memories because The Willow was his favorite steak house. Last time I ordered the fish. And my son ordered steak. read more

Old comfortable ambiance. Fast efficient service. Big beautiful steaks. Went looking for a big steak. Found it at The Willo. Reasonable prices for a great meal. read more

Great casual steakhouse that brings you back to another time of Old Westerns. The staff was extremely kind, helpful and knowledgable. Jonah, one of the younger staff went out of his way to help us secure our mountain bikes while we dined here. The steaks were perfectly cooked, charred on the outside and succulent inside. I'd definitely go here again and would recommend it to others read more

In a county full of organic food and meat. This place is the lowest grade of everything you're looking for the simplest meal in the world with iceberg lettuce and a steak. You got it. The drink was strong but made with some kind of fake lime additive for the Margarita. I would not go here again read more

The perfect roadhouse experience! Beside the great steaks and fun ambience, our shoutout goes to Nicole! She has served us for our 3 visits and she is SO special! She makes you feel like long, lost friends whom she has not seen for years. She is a true treasure - to the customers, her coworkers, the owners, and, of course her family and the friends lucky enough to know her. Ask for Nicole when you go! Thank you Nicole!! read more

I'll take a marvelous steak and fixings with this slice of Americana! Felt very welcomed at this busy, not hectic restaurant. So reasonably priced all around for the food plates AND drinks! It includes a scoop of ice cream! Enjoyed the surrounding local wine, beer and vodka they had. About 4 friendly persons checked up on us wonderfully. On top of all this, one can spice up and cook up their food item on the grill if you please. Happy to have the pretty blonde chef give suggestion/direction. Didn't know toasting simple non-oily looking garlic bread could taste so garlicky good. I enjoyed the whole experience! read more

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We went camping to celebrate our wedding anniversary. A heavy rain put a damper on our camping in Nevada City, CA so we opted to go out to dinner. We had a wonderful dinner at Willo. Though a limited menu we found the meals to be very tasty. I ordered the fish and it was moist and yummy. The salad dressing tasted home made and the mint ice ream was the perfect desert (And it was included with the meal!). It was a Friday night so it was a little crowded, yet staff and visitors were all friendly. We plan on going to Willo again when we visit Nevada City area. read more

Really great steak house! We made reservations for myself wife and 2 kids and had no problems getting seated. The place filled up quick so it might have been another story if we didn't have the reservation. The restaurant is not fancy, but the steaks are done to perfection with just the right amount of seasoning. While a bit on the pricey side, the steak alone is worth it. The standard sides of beans, and iceberg salad were not anything special though. I upgraded to the garden salad which was good, but the iceberg salad is just that...iceberg with dressing and the ranch style beans didn't have very much flavor. The grilled garlic bread is really good that comes out after ordering which is a nice change of pace rather than the usual warm dinner rolls at other restaurants. The dinning area of the restaurant itself is more like a dark wood living room with a giant grill in the middle. The atmosphere is fun but a bit noisy at times. The service was quick and friendly. We had multiple people checking in us throughout the dinner so we were never waiting long for anything while also not making us feel rushed. If you're looking for a really good steak served up in a warm welcoming atmosphere without any frills and just want a simple plate of food and drinks, this is the place to come! read more

Was visiting my old friend and former boss, Gary who took me to The Willow. The scenery in the surrounding area was breathtaking. Thoroughly enjoyed dining at The Willow. The atmosphere was inviting, and the staff was friendly and upbeat. Sat at the bar and met the owner. Being from St. Louis, I HAD to order the St. Louis ribs. Gotta tell ya, that was the best plate of ribs I've ever had - thick, tender juicy! Highly recommended! Bartender suggested I try a steak next time, but I'll probably go with the ribs again whenever I'm back. My new favorite cap is the camo cap I bought at The Willow. Wear it all the time. Bill read more

OMG!! I can't believe I haven't written a review on the Willo. If you are passing through or just looking for a GREAT STEAK, The Willo is a must. We found this hidden gem traveling to the lake and drive 45 minutes at least once a month to eat here. It's not just a great steak house but has an awesome dive bar attached. It might not look like much driving up, but the service and food are great. Maggie in the bar or a Pete in the restaurant, don't mater you'll get great service. Simple menu cooked to perfection. My go to is the 12 oz New York, but if Ribeyes are your thing, they have that too. Meals come with salad, beans and bread, of course you can add a potato if you choose. Worth the drive!! read more