Willows

jetskier · 08-25-2007, 07:51 PM

We went over to the Willows for dinner tonight and it was extremely dissappointing. They had some interesting looking specials and when we tried to order them, the waitress kept coming back saying...we are now out of this and that. I asked to talk to the manager as it was only 1 1/2 hours after they opened and the manager started reading me the riot act. The food was nothing special.

I am not going back...thumbs down!

Jetskier

EricP · 08-25-2007, 09:12 PM

I would have walked out the the manager "read you the riot act" as you said. That's not very good customer service.

Irish mist · 08-26-2007, 12:38 PM

I'm not too surprised reading this.....they are trying to sell Willows off, so there is not a lot of positive energy being put into the place.

jetskier · 08-26-2007, 07:03 PM

I spoke with my mother today and found out that she came down ill last night from the meal.

Wonderful place!

Jetskier

Irish mist · 08-27-2007, 05:29 PM

Sorry to hear this jetskier......I hope your mom gets well soon.
________
Dream e

jetskier · 08-28-2007, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irish mist

Sorry to hear this jetskier......I hope your mom gets well soon.

Thank you - she was fine after about a day.

Jetskier

Don · 08-28-2007, 01:17 PM

Since this thread is all negative I just had to add a positive review.

A group of six of us had dinner at Willows a few weeks ago on the Prime Rib buffet night. We arrived about 7:30 and the place was packed. Luckily we had made a reservation and our table was ready for us. The service was excellent and we took our time having wine and cocktails. The salads on the buffet were good and the peel-and-eat shrimp were huge. I usually don't like the idea of peel-and-eat but they were so big it made the extra work worthwhile.

Once we got to the main course we had our only disappointment of the night. A few of us got Prime Rib but then they ran out. It was already after 8:30 and they were unexpectedly busy so we understood. They soon brought out another beef roast that was also very good although a bit rare. The chef scrambled to cook pieces to order and everyone was satisfied.

We mentioned to the waitress our disappointment that the Prime Rib had run out and we soon got visits from both the hostess and the manager to apologize and to make sure everything else was OK. I have to say that that the staff couldn't have been more friendly or accommodating. In case you are wondering, they had no idea I am the webmaster of this site.

Everyone thought that the all-you-can-eat buffet was a real bargain for $16.95. From the size of the crowd it seems like many others agree.

We also have enjoyed dinner in the upstairs lounge while watching the Red Sox. The food and atmosphere have always been good and the games create a lot of fun conversation.

We have enjoyed Willows since it opened and are hoping it survives. I'm sorry to hear that others have not had such good experiences.

sa meredith · 08-28-2007, 05:46 PM

Sort of have to agree with Don on this one. After hearing about the prime rib buffet on Wed/ Thursday nights only, I was waiting for a time when the wife and I were both "up the lake" on one of these night together. It took until late August (last week), but we took a ride over on Thursday night, never having been there before. We went early (6ish) and they were just about full downstairs, but very quickly offered us a table upstair, in the bar area. As we both enjoy a cocktail from time to time (more often than not, hahhahaha)
we were plenty comfortable there. We ordered a bottle of wine, and it was on the table within 2 or 3 minutes. Very pleasant server. And I must say, I found the food to be above average. Not great, but certainly above average. We both had the buffet...great selection of cheese, crackers, shrimp cocktail to start out. Fantastic selection at the salad bar. And the prime rib was fantasitc (3 servings). Also, smoked turkey breast carving station. And lastly, the fish section had haddock and some type of seafood combo. The desert portion of the buffet...insane. Very, very good. Now, being curious, I asked to look at the normal menu...and found it very expensive. So, I was shocked to learn the buffet was just $16.95. If it was not for the wine, I would have got out of there for less than $50!!!!!!! Worth every freakin penny! Give it a try.

SAMIAM · 08-29-2007, 07:51 AM

We hadn't been there for quite some time,so the wife and I decided to give the buffet a try.The food and service were great.....a very good value,we thought.
But I do have one complaint......we ran into so many old friends (mostly from Gilford) that we couldn't get out of there.We didn't go there to make a night of it but ended up staying pretty late.Guess who drove home!

gonetoolong · 08-29-2007, 08:56 AM

About 8 of us went there before the season took off and the food was very good. We pretty much had the range of menu items and every one of us was very pleased. I don't remember the cost so I guess that's a good thing ! I had the prime rib (I LOVE prime rib) and thought it was great.

Weirs guy · 08-29-2007, 11:43 AM

We went several times last winter/spring and found our experiences to be either very positive or very negative. Its kinda a hit or miss thing, but with so many other fine establishments in the area that are always pleasant we choose not to bother anymore.

cursereversed · 01-14-2008, 05:06 PM

I have found over the last several years that Willows has an excellent holiday buffet. Usually you have the normal continental breakfast buffet or maybe an omelete bar if you're lucky, but not at Willow's. It's a little pricey (if memory serves, around 13-15 bucks a person), but well worth it. If you time it right you'll be satisfied till dinner. They have king crab legs, prime rib, salads, soups, and all the breakfast entrees you'd expect from a real buffet. I've only been once for dinner and I'll admit it didn't stand out as a great restaurant, but their Sunday/Holiday buffet is the best i've had.

Resident 2B · 01-14-2008, 05:25 PM

Before anyone burns $3.00 per gallon gas driving over to eat at Willow's, they have closed. There are for lease signs on the outside of the building.

There is another thread on this site that discusses this. Quite a few people got stuck with what appear to be worthless Gift Certificates sold just before they closed up shop.

R2B

08-25-2007, 07:51 PM	#1
jetskier Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Reading, MA and South Down Shores Posts: 850 Thanks: 57 Thanked 183 Times in 114 Posts	Willows We went over to the Willows for dinner tonight and it was extremely dissappointing. They had some interesting looking specials and when we tried to order them, the waitress kept coming back saying...we are now out of this and that. I asked to talk to the manager as it was only 1 1/2 hours after they opened and the manager started reading me the riot act. The food was nothing special. I am not going back...thumbs down! Jetskier

08-25-2007, 09:12 PM	#2
EricP Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 329 Thanks: 28 Thanked 11 Times in 7 Posts	wy did you stay? I would have walked out the the manager "read you the riot act" as you said. That's not very good customer service.

08-26-2007, 12:38 PM	#3
Irish mist Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 682 Thanks: 125 Thanked 85 Times in 49 Posts	I'm not too surprised reading this.....they are trying to sell Willows off, so there is not a lot of positive energy being put into the place. Last edited by Irish mist; 02-27-2011 at 09:56 PM.

08-26-2007, 07:03 PM	#4
jetskier Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Reading, MA and South Down Shores Posts: 850 Thanks: 57 Thanked 183 Times in 114 Posts	Kicker I spoke with my mother today and found out that she came down ill last night from the meal. Wonderful place! Jetskier

08-27-2007, 05:29 PM	#5
Irish mist Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 682 Thanks: 125 Thanked 85 Times in 49 Posts	Sorry to hear this jetskier......I hope your mom gets well soon. ________ Dream e Last edited by Irish mist; 02-27-2011 at 09:57 PM.

08-28-2007, 01:17 PM	#7
Don Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 34 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 6 Thanked 15 Times in 7 Posts	Another Opinion Since this thread is all negative I just had to add a positive review. A group of six of us had dinner at Willows a few weeks ago on the Prime Rib buffet night. We arrived about 7:30 and the place was packed. Luckily we had made a reservation and our table was ready for us. The service was excellent and we took our time having wine and cocktails. The salads on the buffet were good and the peel-and-eat shrimp were huge. I usually don't like the idea of peel-and-eat but they were so big it made the extra work worthwhile. Once we got to the main course we had our only disappointment of the night. A few of us got Prime Rib but then they ran out. It was already after 8:30 and they were unexpectedly busy so we understood. They soon brought out another beef roast that was also very good although a bit rare. The chef scrambled to cook pieces to order and everyone was satisfied. We mentioned to the waitress our disappointment that the Prime Rib had run out and we soon got visits from both the hostess and the manager to apologize and to make sure everything else was OK. I have to say that that the staff couldn't have been more friendly or accommodating. In case you are wondering, they had no idea I am the webmaster of this site. Everyone thought that the all-you-can-eat buffet was a real bargain for $16.95. From the size of the crowd it seems like many others agree. We also have enjoyed dinner in the upstairs lounge while watching the Red Sox. The food and atmosphere have always been good and the games create a lot of fun conversation. We have enjoyed Willows since it opened and are hoping it survives. I'm sorry to hear that others have not had such good experiences.

08-28-2007, 05:46 PM	#8
sa meredith Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 986 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 32 Thanked 352 Times in 137 Posts	Willows Ok Sort of have to agree with Don on this one. After hearing about the prime rib buffet on Wed/ Thursday nights only, I was waiting for a time when the wife and I were both "up the lake" on one of these night together. It took until late August (last week), but we took a ride over on Thursday night, never having been there before. We went early (6ish) and they were just about full downstairs, but very quickly offered us a table upstair, in the bar area. As we both enjoy a cocktail from time to time (more often than not, hahhahaha) we were plenty comfortable there. We ordered a bottle of wine, and it was on the table within 2 or 3 minutes. Very pleasant server. And I must say, I found the food to be above average. Not great, but certainly above average. We both had the buffet...great selection of cheese, crackers, shrimp cocktail to start out. Fantastic selection at the salad bar. And the prime rib was fantasitc (3 servings). Also, smoked turkey breast carving station. And lastly, the fish section had haddock and some type of seafood combo. The desert portion of the buffet...insane. Very, very good. Now, being curious, I asked to look at the normal menu...and found it very expensive. So, I was shocked to learn the buffet was just $16.95. If it was not for the wine, I would have got out of there for less than $50!!!!!!! Worth every freakin penny! Give it a try.

08-29-2007, 07:51 AM	#9
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,890 Thanks: 334 Thanked 1,672 Times in 583 Posts	We hadn't been there for quite some time,so the wife and I decided to give the buffet a try.The food and service were great.....a very good value,we thought. But I do have one complaint......we ran into so many old friends (mostly from Gilford) that we couldn't get out of there.We didn't go there to make a night of it but ended up staying pretty late.Guess who drove home!

08-29-2007, 08:56 AM	#10
gonetoolong Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 40 Thanks: 12 Thanked 24 Times in 8 Posts	About 8 of us went there before the season took off and the food was very good. We pretty much had the range of menu items and every one of us was very pleased. I don't remember the cost so I guess that's a good thing ! I had the prime rib (I LOVE prime rib) and thought it was great.

08-29-2007, 11:43 AM	#11
Weirs guy Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Weirs Beach, NH Posts: 1,067 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	We went several times last winter/spring and found our experiences to be either very positive or very negative. Its kinda a hit or miss thing, but with so many other fine establishments in the area that are always pleasant we choose not to bother anymore. __________________ Is it bikeweek yet? Now?

01-14-2008, 05:06 PM	#12
cursereversed Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 17 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Sunday/Holiday buffet I have found over the last several years that Willows has an excellent holiday buffet. Usually you have the normal continental breakfast buffet or maybe an omelete bar if you're lucky, but not at Willow's. It's a little pricey (if memory serves, around 13-15 bucks a person), but well worth it. If you time it right you'll be satisfied till dinner. They have king crab legs, prime rib, salads, soups, and all the breakfast entrees you'd expect from a real buffet. I've only been once for dinner and I'll admit it didn't stand out as a great restaurant, but their Sunday/Holiday buffet is the best i've had.

01-14-2008, 05:25 PM	#13
Resident 2B Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Shore, MA Posts: 1,357 Thanks: 991 Thanked 313 Times in 163 Posts	Willow's is Closed Before anyone burns $3.00 per gallon gas driving over to eat at Willow's, they have closed. There are for lease signs on the outside of the building. There is another thread on this site that discusses this. Quite a few people got stuck with what appear to be worthless Gift Certificates sold just before they closed up shop. R2B