Driving up the 5 freeway can be extremely boring, except for when I stop at Willow Ranch! I always make a stop here whenever I drive to Nor Cal. This is a great spot for BBQ and the BBQ sauce they serve there is the best (they sell it by the bottle too). It's not too tangy and slightly sweet - it's perfect for my palate.
There are so many things I love about this place. Could it be the divey diner-like setting and the smell of BBQ as soon as you walk in? Or maybe it's the attentive service you get (our server was Steven and he was super friendly). The crowd is definitely mixed, but it's a large restaurant and there's a lot of seating.
I'd recommend the BBQ mix plate. I personally love their brisket and hot links. Sure...I feel like I have to run 5 miles to burn off the calories from eating here, but it's totally worth it!
The rib-eye steak is overcooked and mushrooms are excessively salty (I can stand more salty food than most people but even I cannot stand salty mushrooms like this). The deep pit salad has the same problem: beef is toooooo salty and I cannot finish it  (although I never waste food like this)
Review Source:It was 8:50pm at night and we were starving. We wanted a decent meal that wasn't fast food. We decided to stop by here because of the yelp reviews. They were closing soon, but welcomed us anyways.
Per the suggestion of our pregnant waitress, I ordered the three item combo of trip tip, brisket, and bbq chicken. Â The food was moist and not too fatty. My gf ordered a full rack of pork baby back ribs. These ribs are definitely meatier than ribs I'v had elsewhere. The bbq sauce they slathered all over the meat was heavenly. You can see the garlic and onion pieces in it. Â Each meal came with a salad, bread, corn, and potatoes. The sides were standard in taste. Â
The service that night was great. They gave us such large cups, refills weren't necessary. Â The waitress even packed extra sauce for our to go order but we ended up buying a whole bottle of the sauce.
When I had the misfortune of living in California's SF Bay Area, I used to swing by the Willow Ranch several times a year on trips to and from Vegas, LA or San Diego. Since moving to Northern Nevada 9 years ago, I am lucky if I can make it here twice a year when going to and from LA.
I still look forward to it! I even made it in after a particularly hard knife fighting close-combat course after taking 2 cup shots and an almost dislocated jaw. Even though I was passing blood, nothing could keep me from Willow Ranch that night!
The salads are made from some of the freshest produce I have ever tasted. The Barbecue is solid and over the past 16 years I have tried almost everything on the menu. I don't know where they get their meat but its better than Harris Ranch and the chicken is particularly good!
It is a refreshing change of fare for those long drives when the only options seem to be prepackaged bags of grease.
This is a nice alternative to the otherwise unbroken string of chain restaurants lining the I-5. Â The bbq isn't super special, but not bad.
The vegetable soup is quite good. Â It's chock full of vegetables that have been cooked down to make the broth flavorful.
We shared a combination plate of beef ribs, pork ribs, and hot links. Â The pork ribs were dry. Â The beef ribs were fine, but not special. Â The hot links were also fine - about what you expect for hot links. Â The platter came with corn, baked beans, bread, fries and soup. Â It is more than enough for two people to share.
Service was very friendly.
Boyfriend started with the vegetable soup, it came loaded and it was delicious. Not too mention fast.
My burger was decent, nothing special. The fries were yummy with a good crisp.
The chicken fried steak was good with a good gravy, but the potatoes were only ok.
Oh yeah and when i went to the bathroom i saw some good come up, figured it was ours, but she kept it warm till I came back. Kudos for her.
Over all we'd return, but we'd also try other places.
Oh yeah and for the price the place is worth it.
Good food, clean spot, little bar in back, hot waitresses and did I mention clean? Â Also the waitresses are hot. Â I'm not a big meat eater but there are tons of things to eat here, i go about once a year while I stay across the street. Â Mash potatoes and gravy are the bomb, corn on the cob, huge salads and beer in pitchers.
Review Source: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.
Review Source:This is one of the few restaurants in the Buttonwillow here. I came here twice, actually two nights in a row. The food is pretty good here. Well the side salad is okay, steamed veggies. but hey it's a steak/bbq place anyways, you come here for the meat. I've had the pork ribs, the half rack is a pretty good portion. I also had the chicken, it's nothing too special, not to many special seasonings. I think I've found my spot!
Review Source:I think if reviews are based on the relative expectations of the surrounding area, I would bump this up to 4 stars, because there is just not much to rely upon on this stretch of I-5. Â At least as far as I know. Â This place is a staple for racers at nearby Buttonwillow Raceway.
The good: Â BBQ. Â The tritip sandwich was good, as was the onion rings. Â It was cool inside, clean. Â Booths are fine. Â Service was quite good. Â
The average: Dinner salad had some wilted lettuce in it and the dressing was drowning the leaves.
The poor: Â The vegetable soup was not good. Â Only had a few bites. Â
So a good place for BBQ, other items seemed more risky.
This place is an I5 gem. The BBQ looked amazing and the portions were huge, I had the tuna melt with fries, and slaw and a giant draft beer (I was staying local). Great crowd and super service. This was the best place I have ever eaten on I5. I know that's not saying much since it's not really known as a culinary interstate (heh) and when people start comparing Taco Bell's as that's the good one and that's the bad one, it is good to find a place where you can actually sit down and get great food. I5 WIN!
Review Source:Food poisoning. The waitress took a gamble by serving us the chocolate silk pie with whipped cream, and by midnight I threw up everything I ate for dinner. Its kind of unfortunate because everyone else seems to enjoy the food. Their ribs looked good. I got the Cali chicken Burger which I don't recommend because it tasted like the frozen chicken I microwave for myself at home. I say you can come here for safely-cooked, large portioned meals, but be careful with potentially spoiled food.
Review Source:Excellent service- traveling with kids is always a challange.  We had been in the car 3 hours when we stopped in here.  We walked in & they got us seated promptly- menus & drinks arrived quickly...HUGE sodas!!  The adults did not know what they wanted- they took the kids orders & got them cooking while the "grown ups" mulled over the menu.  Extra napkins arrived without request  & the adults placed their order as the kids food arrived- they are QUICK!!  The kids all wanted French fries & grilled cheese- all were pleased.  The adults' orders came out quickly too; 1 BBQ'd chcicken sandwich with fries- the perfect sized meal- tasty BBQ sauce & big French fries.  The bread was a little lacking but I'd say a solid 4 stars for the meal.  The other adults split a BBQ'd tri-tip sandwich with fries & gave it two thumbs up each.  Prices were very reasonable & the food at the other tables all looked wonderful too.  Thy seemed to have something for everyone.
Decor- is quaint & just above divey...but clean, clean, clean  The bathrooms were spotless, the service pefect & the food was darn good- extra star for feeding the kids first & knowing extra napkins are a must when traveling with kiddos.  We will stop in again on our next long HWY 5 OC to SF run. Â
Thank you Willow Ranch for knowing just what a weary traveler needs!
4 stars for food & service- + 1 star for feeding the kiddos first!!!! Â 5 stars
Cute old fashion place. Ordered the fluffy and plump chicken breast strips (3) came with soup, corn on the cob, baked potato w sour cream n chives, n a side of BBQ sauce or ranch dressing. Waitresses very nice and accommodating. Gave us a big size gulp container of soda to go. Price for all $9.99
Review Source:Willow Ranch is not closed. Â We were just there last weekend. Â And I have to say we were impressed! Â They had decent barbecue and sides (I recall the baked potato was good and the beans were just OK) but the chicken and the barbecue sauce ensured that this would be a spot we'll be stopping on our way up and down I-5 in the future.
There are comfy booths, reasonable prices, friendly service and free soda refills. Â I sensed a touch of sexism with the whole calendar of their waitresses. Â So, I'm like officially offended, but not offended enough to eat at Denny's when I'm in Buttonwillow at dinner time.
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