Stopped in after driving all day from NV, ordered the chicken strip dinner. Don't know if I was that hungry, but it was really good. Didn't need to put any pepper in my clam chowder, mashed potatoes had country gravy which was ok, and chicken strips were pretty good. Staff was nice as well. read more

Yelp reviews did not disappoint! You know good BBQ when you don't even need the sauce. This was a nice surprise so we didn't have to have fast food on our road trip home. The brisket and ribs were amazing. Tri tip sandwich was great, and the pulled pork was amazing! We will be back to this gem again. read more

Great pit stop for bbq! Brisket was tender, pork ribs were soft and bbq sauce was great. Cold beer on tap! :)

Super yummy spot to eat some american/ mexican food when on a road trip. Great comfortable dining enviornment. They have a bar seating. Not like a drinking bar but a bar like seating really nice. Customer service very friendly and attentive. Food is great 2 thumbs up :) read more

In the middle of nowhere is a fabulous bbq restaurant. My family is picky and they loved it. If you are on the 5 you want to stop here. Sauces are great and very reasonably price with great service. read more

So happy we stopped during our road trip. Thanks Yelp! Brunch Service was quick and friendly. Chili verde omelette was wonderful! Right next to several Gas stations so a perfect pit stop on our road trip. read more

This is a family owned restaurant and it's amazing! Lovely staff! The food was great! I had fried pickles under the appetizers and they were great! The potato salad is really good! They also have really good sweet ice tea. It's a comfy dinner! read more

Great food with fantastic service. A must stop if your near I-5 and SR-58. Just make sure you come hungry.

Well, of course it's not great, but in middle of nowhere that's all you have. So It does the job.

Great fried pickles, amazing garlic fries, all around a great time but huge thanks to our waitress Johanna for being the best!

Small deep pit beef salad on point as always, Rocio was a great server as well.

I have had a lot of barbecue, and this is probably the best barbecue restaurant in California. Everytime I pass by I have to get the ribs, the baby back ribs are absolutely incredible. And even if I don't get anything I always buy a lot of bottles of barbecue sauce, they sell their home barbecue sauce and it is hands down the best barbecue sauce you can get in the state. Hands down 5 stars no questions about it. read more

I honestly have no idea how this place has such great reviews, it's mind blowing. our waitress was amazing until she went home and a waiter took over, or so I think? He was never around. my wife sat with an empty cup for every bit of 30 mins, and we ended up just sharing what was left of mine. She order a New York strip which she thought was pretty good. I ordered a slab of ribs which were terrible. You had to fight to tear them apart and I could barely get any meat off of them because the meat was so tough. Left a half slab on the plate and said we didn't need a box. We even tried using a knife on the half slab to take the meat home and it was too difficult to even bother with. Our waiter didn't care and didn't offer a discount on the ribs or another plate of food. over a $80 bill and left hungry. certainly won't be back and definitely will not recommend this place to any of my friends driving through. read more

Love this place great BBQ!! I love the tri tip and pulled pork. The y have a wide selection to choose from and the bbq sauce is fabulous. The peach cobbler is my favorite. read more

outstanding food is great and service is good as well, a far cry from harvest steak house wish willow ranch had reopened the harvest instead of the current leases read more

We stopped in at Willow Ranch last night to grab a quick meal and then get back on the road, however it turned out to be a great experience. The food was GREAT, the atmosphere was GREAT, and the service was PHENOMENAL! We had a waitress named Janet, she was pleasant, QUICK and attended to our every need (and there were 5 of us). Being a family who frequents restaurants, this is an experience we will remember. Thanks Willow Ranch for great food and Thanks Janet for the awesome service and experience! read more

Great place to stop when traveling on the 5 freeway. Friendly service, large portions of good BBQ and they have fresh salads.

Food here is great and is one of the places to get real good food in Buttonwillow, CA. Place is located near Travel Center and may be easy to miss . I ordered Fiesta Burger which was good . Burger was thick and juicy and very flavorful. Service is also very fast. My order was complete in 10 minutes for pickup . I will be trying other menu items here . read more

After reading the reviews on yelp we just had to stop by. The place looked really classic with souvenir T-shirts. Smelled delicious. My fiancee and I were so hungry and excited. We ordered the famous ribs only to be disappointed with some rubbery meat that did not fall off the bone but stuck to the bone. The BBQ sauce tasted like something you would get at the 99 cent store. The sides are what suppressed my hunger. What a disappointment. I couldn't wait to get back home and eat something edible. I was surprised to see such a diverse crowd out in the middle of nowhere... I would not recommend this place to any of my friends. Just keep driving don't stop for some mediocre ribs... read more

Recently I ordered 10lbs each of the deep pit chicken and beef. When I picked the food up I realized that I ordered way too much food! I now have deep pit meat in my freezer for months to come! It was so delicious. I picked it up at noon and served it at about 6 in the evening. The gentleman that took it out to my car for me instructed that I keep it in the oven on low and it would be fine. It was more than fine. It was juicy and so, so flavorful! The bonus was the delicious salsa that came with it. I will definitely order again for family gatherings. Thank you Willow Ranch! read more

Just had great BBQ at this diner. Nothing fancy...tired decor. But who cares when you are eating some of the best BBQ ever. I had TriTip, hubby had a Tri Tip with grilled Ortega chili's and Pepperjack cheese. We will most certainly stop here again on our trips on "the 5". Service was warm, friendly. Bought 2 bottles of their excellent BBQ sauce too! read more

If you're driving on I-5 between the Bay Area or Sacramento and Southern California, at some point you're going to get hungry. As far as good places to stop and eat on that stretch, if you don't want fast food then your choices are pretty limited. There's Harris Ranch (pricey and very heavy for sitting in the car), Anderson's Pea Soup (not that good), or a place like the Apricot Tree (mediocre at best). That's it, right? Wrong! Even though when talking about I-5 dining choices, the bar is set quite low, there is actually a GOOD place to eat... Willow Ranch. Hidden behind the Shell station on the east side of the freeway at the Highway 58 Buttonwillow exit, Willow Ranch serves up an excellent BBQ. Perhaps not the best you've ever eaten, but certainly high up on the list. The fries and potato salad are great as well. Other reviews have described slow service, but I can't say that I've ever had that experience. This is our standard meal stop on our trips to Los Angeles and the elapsed time from getting off the freeway to getting back on has never been more than 35 or 40 minutes. And that includes the requisite visit to the rest room and a stop at the gas station to fill up. Good food, quick and very friendly service, and placed well as the final stop before getting into LA. That's what you get from Willow Ranch. By the way, be sure to grab a bottle or two of the BBQ sauce! read more

Just plain good. Décor is old, like the 50's. Restaurant is clean and the food is very good. Our waitress was friendly and kept our coffee cups filled. This is one of the restaurants that have been around forever. I can see why it's still here. The people that work there seem to take pride in the food and service. When we were there, about 7 AM on a Monday, it was quiet, and a few of the locals were having breakfast. This is a great place for breakfast. read more

At first this looks like a really older nasty diner, BUT the food was okay. I had the baby back ribs , comes with a lot of food, enough for 2 people... Half rack. Don't try the peach cobbler because it looks like someone chewed it and spat it on my plate. Gross . Service is good and friendly Also the only restaurant in the area, besides one or two fast food places read more

Stopped off here on my way to Pasadena, and was greeted so warmly by our server Steven. Food was excellent and felt very well cared for. Had to come back on my way home. Thank you so much, keep up the wonderful food and service. read more

Excellent stop for lunch on I5! We'll make it a regular when traveling to So Cal. Tri-tip salad was delicious and very generous with the meat. Others really enjoyed French Dips and many "ooos and awws" about the homemade potato salad. YUMMMM! Very friendly service too. read more

AMAZING FOOD! I meet my husband there for lunch every once in a while. Go home with a full belly! So good!!! Have only been on the week days. Brisket and tri tip are a must! read more

An unexpected surprise with great sandwiches. Fiesta sandwich with Angus beef, Anaheim pepper and jack cheese was amply sized, very tasty and just the right spiciness. Fries had a crispy outer layer and creamy center. Combo 'Plowboy' is super, too. The wait staff was friendly and efficient. The location is right off I5. We will stop here again next time through the area. read more

I hope they don't change a thing here from the early 1970s Brady Bunch decor to the friendly accommodating staff and of course the great diner food(I had the French dip) this is my new go to rest stop from the bay area to Southern California. read more

Great service! My husband and son ordered burgers, my daughter ordered a blt, and my other daughter and I had a veggie sandwich and veggie burger--all very good. The fries were amazing. They also offer bbq if that's your thing. read more

We stop in Buttonwillow a couple of times a year and this was our first time to stop in at Willow Ranch. I was glad I yelped it because it was well worth it. We had the tri tip and egg breakfast and everything was delicious. It is the best place for food in this small town on the way to Southern Cali. Service was good and the place was clean. I like this place and we will make it our "go to place" on our future trips. Stopped there 10/8/17. read more

The food and our waitress Alissa was great. If your in town it's a must. I also checked out the other food being taken to other tables and they all looked great. read more

My best friends mom used to work here and tbh the service is pretty good. The waiters and super friendly and kind. I've never had a problem here. I really like the food here, and the coffee is amazing read more

got destiny tonight service was geat and food good like usual awesome place will keep returning !

Came for dinner last night and everything was perfect. Steve (Brody) was our server and he did an excellent job. awesome service with a smile is exactly what you want when eating out and he did not disappoint. We will definitely keep coming back. read more

Steven is a great server. Food is not bad either, beer is always cold, and the pulled pork hits the spot

On our trip to Buttonwillow recently for a track day, we made a stop for dinner at Willow Ranch. We were starving and tired and needed something quick to eat. We decided on Willow Ranch based on there menu which had a good amount of things to choose from. We hadn't eaten all day so we wanted something hearty. I went with a baked potato, bowl of chili and a side of veggies, quick,easy and definitely hit the spot. My BF has the fiesta burger with fries, the avocado was amazing and the burger satisfied his aching belly. The service was very attentive, we were seated promptly and always made sure we had what we needed. After we finished we left, tired and ready for bed. Unfortunately, in my post food coma I had left my wallet at the table. I had no idea until we arrived back at our hotel and I received a message from Destiny who was not our waitress but she was working that night and she informed me they had my wallet and they would keep it safe until I could pick it up or they even offered to mail it to me if I was not able to return. I went back and got my wallet and was so thankful for how kind and considerate they were for finding it for me. With that said I just want to say how much I appreciate the staff at Willow Ranch and that they extended their kindness to a weary traveler in need. read more

First time at this restaurant. What a pleasant surprise to find the best food and service along interstate 5. My wife have a tri tip salad and I had a pastrami sandwich. Both were excellent, but to make it even better was the wonderful and friendly service we received from Alissa, our waitress. We received 5 star service from her even when we arrived near closing time. Congratulations Willow Ranch Restaurant, you have achieved what most restaurants of this class has failed to achieve. Thank you again Alissa for the OUTSTANDINGLY service. read more

Terrible service. Rude wait staff. Hot. Muggy. Food got 3 stars for the ribs, French dip a 2, pulled pork a 3-4. My rubbery veggies were disgusting. Fries were greasy and overcooked. Inedible. It'd be a solid 3 stars if we hadn't had to wait an hour to get our food even though the people who came in after us finished eating and left before we even saw any food. The bathroom was clean but all surfaces were sticky. Bonus, there was no toilet paper. read more

Excellent place to eat in Buttonwillow. Great barbeque and good choices in salads, etc. Friendly staff.