The Willows

Had an amazing experience having dinner here. The food was very tasty the service was great. They had a great wine selection. The server was very attentive. The food presentation was amazing. I love the new look. And I highly recommend for you guys to try out the desserts. We ordered 4 different things & everything that we had was amazing my favorite was the chocolate mousse chocolate. Will definitely be planning to come back.

Always top notch service with incredible food casinos don’t usually have good food Like this so I was shocked but definitely one of my favorites. Everything is so classy and the food it wow! Delish! Highly recommend! When visiting the casino. Yummy.

After waiting 40 minutes passed our reservation time with no initiative for communication from the manager/​staff we were finally seated at our table… The dining experience from there:
Drinks — mixed terribly and unappealing
Food — over cooked, rubbery, bland, and unappetizing
Pricing — waaaaay over priced!
Quality — poor!
Wait staff — pleasant
The manager was unwilling to appease us on our $ 200+ bill after our terrible dining experience.

Food is delicious & Steven our server was awesome, money well worth spending for a nice early birthday dinner. Stakes are tender, tasty and perfect temperature.

Great ambiance, good place for nice quiet dinner. This is an upscale type steakhouse, so it is a bit expensive, but they also have a lounge with appetizers, etc. Went to the casino around 9pm looking for dinner since most Solvang restaurants were already closed. Hostess and all servers were very friendly. I felt very comfortable here and that created a relaxing atmosphere. Warm rolls were brought out with 4 different spreads (butter, chive, garlic, artichoke) all very tasty. We started with a cheese and charcuterie plate, 3 cheese and 3 meats, good. Entrees we had the pork chop and ny steak, both were good, but not great. The parmesean risotto was wonderful! They brought out two chocolates with the check, nice touch. I recommend this place for anyone who wants a nice relaxing dinner, couple or a group. I appreciated the friendly staff.

Willows at Chumash Casino absolutely outstanding on every level. Wait staff and assistant staff very friendly and helpful. Drinks are great. Soup, salad and main course are nicely presented and delicious. Staff checks in with guests to be sure everything is 100%. Again, a truly outstanding dining experience. Ask for Dom as your server.

The service and food were amazing! Love the remodel. Will definitely continue to eat at The Willows!

Long and Detailed… We had dinner for 7 and we were sat in a private dining room. The setting and ambiance was very nice. Right away we were offered a choice of water or sparkling water. The servers were all very attentive. Our main server was Janson and she was fantastic. She was quick to pick up on my father-​in-​laws sense of humor and had fun with it. We started with salads and appetizers. Around the table we had pea soup, Caesar salad and a beet salad. Everyone was happy. Next we had appetizers; the cheese and meat tray, the candied bacon (omg so good!) and the table bread and awesome spreads. Entrees around the table were lamb chops, cioppino, the seafood tower, porterhouse steak, pork chop, New York steak. The Pork chop was mine and let me say that was cooked perfectly. It had a banana polenta and port glaze which was a perfect combination of flavors with the pork. We also ordered sides but they weren’t really necessary. We had lots of food to take home since we over did it. We were recommended to order sides since the main entrees tend to be just a hunk of meat but I will say I would have been happy to have my entrée as it came and just had the salad before hand, no apps or aides needed. And I LOVE apps and sides.
2 negatives — 1. the music kind of funky and too loud for the room we were in but we were told it was all connected through the restaurant and the buffet but that they were working on getting it fixed.
2. Having to walk through the Smoke filled casino to get the restaurant is awful for non-​smokers. For the price and the high end feel of every other aspect of it I think there should be a separate entrance.

You would expect a better seevice from an overpriced place like that! They were not rude but absolutely not professional!

Currently CLOSED during construction The Casino staff said to try the cafeteria… no way! Not for dinner.

I’ve been here a few times now, every time I’ve come the service is always amazing. They really pay attention to you your needs here, sometimes too much attention. It’s a really fine dining place, but some of the food needs a little more TLC. I came here on Tuesday night to celebrate my mom’s birthday, there were five of us total.
We ordered the Parmesan mushroom risotto and charcuterie appetizers to start. Two of us ordered the clam linguini, one lamb entrée, one porterhouse steak and one bone-​in ribeye. If I’m going to pay $ 62 for a steak, I’d hope that it would be the steak of my dreams. I had the bone-​in ribeye. Though the steak is HUGGEE and cooked to medium rare perfection, it was a bit under seasoned and came out warm as if it had been sitting a while. My biggest disappointment was that the steak wasn’t juicy at all… I’m not sure what happened, but I’ve had better steaks for half that price. They could have topped it with a pat of garlic butter to add that extra touch of salt and it would have sent it over the top. We also ordered the charcuterie platter with duck prosciutto which I didn’t really care for. Pickled veggies, salami, two types of duck prosciutto, roasted garlic and other not so goodies. The mushroom risotto had the perfect bite to it and was cooked perfectly only that it was severely over seasoned with salt.
Nonetheless, we all enjoyed our dinner and our server Jesse was amazing. (Our other friend Jesse couldn’t make it to dinner so he filled in for the night.) They brought out this amazing complimentary dessert for my mom which made her feel incredibly special and happy so I’m super grateful for that.

So I’ve eaten at good places all over and The Willows was up there with the best of the best! Don’t let the location (inside a middle-​of-​nowhere casino hours away from LA) dissuade you from making the trip or from thinking this couldn’t be one of the best places you’ll eat. No, not kidding. They have about a dozen awards littering the walls in the waiting area to prove it.
Quiet place with a not so large dining area, but not small either. During nicer months there looked to be a patio that was available for use.
I love a good antipasto appetizer and if I see one, I’ll order it. They presented theirs on a «platter» made of a thick slab of tree-​trunk. Totally amazing to look at. This platter had a variety of salted, cured meats but the one that was clearly amazing was the duck prosciutto… you need a strong Cabernet to tame this bully. I had the filet which was perfect and my business partner had a roast chicken he said was «shocking». Their wine list was more complete than you’d want unless you’re a Hollywood actor or just won it big in their casino.
I skipped dessert as I always do because I’m not a sweets fan so I can’t comment on that. On the way out, waiting for my car at the valet stand, I got to shake hands and make small talk with an old school Hollywood actor (who’ll remain unnamed but think West Wing)… told him we just ate up at The Willows and recommend it, he said he was just planning to go up there himself!

This review is for the Lounge at the Willows.
The Willows itself was very forgettable except for the top shelf service we recvd from our server Jesse (that guy needs a promotion). Overall, a 3 star experience.
Luckily, we were advised by Jesse to try the burger at the Willows Lounge. This turned out to be one the top 5 burgers I’ve had in a restaurant (my Dad cooks the best and I’m a hot second). The bartender suggested very strongly that we should have the burger «as is» and make no substitutions or adjustments. Good advice. This burger had it all. Juicy, perfectly cooked patty, crisp bacon and the egg just brought it all together (and I’m not even an «egg on burger» fan). Just a perfect burger.
WHEN YOU GO– consider yourself lucky to get this burger that is on par with Burger Bar, Gordon Ramsey’s etc, etc. Go there hungry… and thirsty. Good drinks and friendly bartenders!

While in Solvang for the weekend we took the free shuttle out to the casino. When we arrived we went on the hunt for drinks. We found this bar/​restaurant. We only had drinks and fries but some of the food we saw looked really good. The drinks were decently priced for the type of restaurant we were in. There was cool seating including couches and comfy chairs not just normal tables and chairs. We enjoyed hanging out in here while others in our group did a little gambling.

YES YES YES!!!
very yummy soup, place was a little COLD… Seating outside is better!
the soup trio was BOMB!!!
the Fish was Also Yummy!
Wine & Dine. dont go for the gambling its better to just ENJOY your time. and most importantly LEAVE HAPPY!!!

I guess if you’re at the casino and literally dying for something to eat that is overpriced and doesn’t come from a cafeteria, then okay, go to The Willows.
Recommendations– any other steak restaurant in the vicinity of Santa Ynez or Solvang.

The food was OKAY, my duck was just okay and the steak was okay too. Best part of the meal is their bread ! Hands down that was the only unique and delicious part of the meal.
Now the service — we had a party of 15, about 5 credit cards and the rest cash. We hand them the check with all of our payments and simple directions at 8:00… At 8:50, after all of our food was cleared off before 8, we finally get the receipts back. I also get a phone call and fraud alert notification that my card was swiped twice and had suspicious activity. Not cool! Waisting my quality casino time and I had to deal with Amex.

Portions are HUGE! Just to let you know. To be fair, my parents and I are all asian, so maybe we’re not used to the american sized portions, but we were too full to finish our meals — even my dad couldn’t finish his french onion soup!
Wine — I was once told that 2009 was a good year — stick with it. so I picked the Ken Brown 2009 Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara county — naturally, since we were so close. However, the menu hadn’t been updated and the waiter didn’t even mention that they were now serving 2011’s. Makes sense since Pinots generally shouldn’t be aged for that long, however, he should’ve mentioned it. Even when he brought out the wine, I had to point it out to him.
Beet Salad — definitely better than the one I had at Umamicatessen, but then again, this is an upscale restaurant. Mum said her lamb shank was alright. nothing to rave about — but we call couldn’t stop talking about the salad.
The bread — comped but they didn’t bring it out without being asked for it. It comes with fresh roasted garlic, artichoke dip, butter and I believe, if i remember correctly, a cream and chive dip — Yum, Yum and YUM!
My scallops were a little too burnt for my taste. They were alright. I’d venture to say I make them better.
Food is alright but you’re coming here for the ambience because I couldn’t find very many nice restaurants close to Dutch Town (Solvang). I did just Unilocal it and I hear more are popping up in the area, so who knows, this place might get some good competition.

Look people, you’re in Santa Ynez. What are you expecting, really? Yes it’s expensive; the prices are right there on the menus outside. This is the sort of place you go because you don’t care about the bill; our group certainly didn’t. We wanted steak, lobster, prawns the size of small children and bloody marys with bacon in them, and by god, this is the place for it. So sit down, shut up, pay the bill and eat good food. Otherwise, there’s probably a Denny’s around there somewhere for you.
As for our experience; our waiter was super super nice and the food outstanding. Our drinks were strong and mighty tasty. My lobster was friggin’ huge and every one of the 14 ounces they said it was (and they take the shell off – brilliant!). Would I eat here every night? Of course not. But I’ll tell you one thing; if I’m ever EVER meant by the powers that be to come through that godforsaken casino again, I know where I’m getting my bloody mary.
As for the specifics: I asked for their best, hotter-‘n-hell Bloody Mary, and received a bacon-​laden chalice of awesomeness, complete with spicy pickled peppers and olives, 3 strips of bacon, and a rim of smoked sea salt wetted with agave nectar and muddled jalapeños. It was perfection in a glass; it made me emotional. My wife immediately ordered one as well, as did several others in the bar (which prompted the beverage director to come out and find out what was going on).
Next was the prawn cocktail. These aren’t your sissy American prawns; these bad boys are Thai jumbo prawns that require a fork and knife to deal with. Plated with style instead of hanging out of a glass (because they can’t), they made quite an impression.
My lobster was a thing of beauty. I didn’t take a photo because I was too busy eating it and enjoying every bite. It was absolutely massive at 14oz and my wife and I split it along with their corn risotto which was fantastic.
Unfortunately we were so exhausted from our dinner that we had to pass on dessert, something that we regret and will have to come back to try. This place deserves to be counted amongst the pantheons of Vegas, and is unworthy of the ruffians outside.

We really enjoyed dinner at the Willows last night. This place is really good. Started with a vodka martini. Ice cold, perfect!
Fried Calamari with Asparagus and Poblano Peppers served with what was described as a Chipotle Aioli.
I swear it was 1000 Island dressing, but my GF the Queen of Reseda said I was crazy. Maybe it was because I was working on martini #2 at the time.
I went with the Diver Scallops with Risotto. The dish did not disappoint. Best thing we had that night.
The Q of R ordered the Filet Mignon with Bearnaise. Cooked perfectly. I tried to keep it low with the flash photography so the steak shot was too dark to post. It was good, trust me.
Since I was feeling no pain
I recklessly ordered the Lobster with Mac and Cheese. $ 20.00. It was a hot mess. I did not find much lobster in there. Any that was in there was over powered by the cheese. Should not have ordered that.
Our waitress was Jessica. She was great. I’d go back to the Willows anytime. Best thing about Chumash by far.