First, I must say this place is underrated. My family and I held a celebration of life in the Four Seasons room for my father last weekend. We couldn't have chosen a better place! The food was great, the room was beautiful and absolutely perfect. Best of all was the staff...the staff was impeccable. They went above and beyond just doing their job. Their dedication to ensuring everyone in the room was taken care of and enjoying themselves was amazing. They were very attentive, patient and compassionate. Whether it was mixing a special drink, offering to take a photo of our family so we could all be in it or sharing a sweet gesture when they saw tears. They were perfect. I would highly recommend Rockwoods for special occasions like ours. On behalf of the McNamee family, THANK YOU! read more

Wow! Just, wow! This place is truly special. Everything on the menu has so much soul and character. First, the hallmark of expertly smoked meat is the smoke ring. I ordered smoked brisket. Not only was it tender, like room temperature butter kind of tender, the smoke ring around the brisket was obnoxiously vivid. You couldn't even coat the thing in pink lip stick to bring out more color. So, Rockwoods definitely has their smoke game on point. Really on point. I was in last week for my first time. Ordered a burger because, well, I just felt like a burger. You can taste the pursuit of perfection in every bite of food on the menu. One of the best burgers I've ever had. Seriously, burger perfection. I even *tried* to complain, lol. I wanted arugula on my burger but our waitress said they didn't have any. I was surprised because the food was so good I decided to do a big take out order and settled on a smoked salmon sandwich......with arugula on it. So, I mentioned something to the manager when I came to pick up my order. I mean, I really should have known better because this place is just TOO good......"I'm very sorry about your experience, Bryan. That amazing smoked salmon sandwich you're about to enjoy is a new addition to our menu. Today. When you came for your visit last week, we didn't have any arugula on the menu and as we make everything from scratch with seasonal produce, we didn't have any arugula on site." Also, thank you for the caramel bread pudding, lol! read more

What a great spot! I sat at the bar and had a great time with the two bartenders! They have great recommendations on apps to have and what to eat for our meals. We got the smoked Salmon Dip and added jalapeños and chips per bartender rec! It was so good! I also loved the addition of a Little Rock. The mahi mahi tacos were my meal and they were really good as well. Decent beer list as well! read more

Rockwoods - Smoked Salmon Dip add jalapeños - American Near Me - Otsego, Minnesota

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I really like this place. I have been here several times and have never been disappointed. The only reason for the missing star is the price. I think it is a couple bucks too high. The food is very good and I am willing to pay the piper but it is a shock when the check arrives. The new fish item, cod strips are outstanding! I'm glad I tried them. I have had everything from a steak to a burger here. I was surprised I had NOT rated the place. The service was reasonable and we were seated immediately. It has a very nice bar. As for the Men's room, it is strange to have a window above the urinal that looks out in the waiting room. I felt like I was spying on the waiting patrons. I would certainly go back 9to the restaurant). Wait staff was very friendly. read more

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I don't enjoy writing bad reviews but I do believe that hard working people deserve to know where to spend their money and where not to. For myself, I believe that my money spent should be worth it, I don't like wasting or throwing my money away on cheap or useless things and for the most part I have been frustrated by the money that we have wasted here. I understand that brunches are difficult to run. There are many things that need to happen to have a well-run brunch and that can be tricky. So I am writing this review with some biased grace. We went here for a Sunday brunch a while back to celebrate a special occasion and had heard that the brunch was good. I question those who think the brunch is good, what other brunches have they been to to give Rockwoods such a high rating? I was thinking something like Granite City or Green Mill but man was I wrong. The first red flag that should have alarmed us was right when we walked into the buffet area. We went to grab a place only to be surprised by a 3X3 inch piece of something that had been nuked to my wife's plate. I mean, life happens and such no big deal but then my wife grabbed another plate and found yet another grimy yuck plate. And it wasn't only a few. We found a total of four stacks of dirty plates. Multiple customers noticed it. That should have alarmed me, because if "clean" plates are like that, what in the world is their kitchen like???!!!. Our waitress told us what would be found on the buffet. When we got there about 50% of what she said was gone. In fact, it seemed like buffet Sundays are more or less clean out the fridge day. The spareribs that our waitress said were amazing had been replaced by lo mein noodles that were basically sugared noodles and most of the dinner options were bland, mushy, and tasted like they had been sitting for quite some time. That is, if you could find something to eat. Most of the dished were half full and not quickly restocked. I walked around quite a bit trying to find something fresh and appetizing. My wife and I had to struggle to find things to eat that we liked because we wanted to get our money's worth. That is another bad sign that you shouldn't get when at a brunch. The only saving grace was the omelet bar and their caramel rolls, but that was not worth the price tag that came with the brunch. My advice, go to Granite City. The brunch is about the same price but worth so much more in quality and service. I am highly disappointed because this restaurant could be AMAZING. The ambiance and decor is a 5 and they have such a great potential to be a community hub but I cannot rate this place any higher with such terrible food. read more

We had high hopes for this restaurant, unfortunately we were let down. We were greeted by a hostess the quickly told us the special of the day as we walked past the kitchen, which to me looked like someone emptied the contents of a baby diaper on to a plate and tossed some garnish on top. Please see pic of "wild mushroom steak." Our food came out barely warm and was so bland I am pretty sure that the cooks have no idea what seasoning is. The best part of our visit was when we left. read more

Rockwoods - Wild Mushroom Steak - American Near Me - Otsego, Minnesota

Good food, good atmosphere, friendly staff. Somewhat pricey for the amount of food. Would we go again? Yes

Disappointed in the quality of food. Total letdown. New management needs to rethink the menu options. The service was great though.

Client lunch here today Waitress was attentive and pleasant Large space not busy so able to have a conversation without raising your voice or having to pretend you heard what someone said I had their salmon sandwich and switched out fries for a side salad not sure they charge for this swap ( senior team member paid for lunch) Nice variety in the side salad Salmon was grilled to perfection Came with a delicious ciabatta bread only had one slice actually wasn't suppose to have any bread but one bite let to another and before you know the whole slice had disappeared Yum thumbs! read more

THIS PLACE IS AMAZING! I have been coming here ever since it opened up under the name Blackwoods Grill & Bar. It has been a family favorite for many many years. It doesn't matter what time of day you come, you will always get a quality meal! You can't find a better happy hour in the area. Happy hour deals are awesome! Appetizers are cheaper than regular menu price and you can get any of the beers/wines for cheaper as well. Every day they have different specials that are all worth coming for. The chicken wing appetizers and complimentary bread and oil are a must! So deliciously crispy and perfectly seasoned. You can't go wrong with anything off of the regular menu items as well including the filet mignon, steak mixed salad, famous Minnesota burger- all of which were outstanding! Portions are plentiful. I love their north woods ambiance all throughout the restaurant. It's classic and comfortable. You have a choice of sitting inside or outside on their patio next to the bar. Definitely, a good place to come to for date night or a family get together. read more

A great place to meet friends out! Great food and service! Always fun! Street tacos are the best! read more

We've driven by here for years and decided to try for first time tonight. Yelp reviews were mixed, so we were unsure. But it was FAB! Greeter was full of smiles and communicated well. Our server, Jen, was so nice, courteous and took great care of us. They had fun tap beer selection, so we started off with a nice cold beer. I was thrilled to see they had Steel Toe #7. Hubby had Lienie's. Food was excellent I had fish & chips. Huge portion. Fries were hand cut and SO fresh. Fish was perfect. Hubby had 1/2 chicken. Perfect dry rub on it, he didn't even try their bbq sauce options they brought out. He loved his potato salad & bbq beans sides as well. Room we were seated in was beautiful. Everything was clean. Restrooms were very well kept!! We say GO here! TRY it! Don't wait, like we did! A busy Friday night, and the staff of Rockwoods nailed it!! read more

Rockwoods - Fish & Chips. Excellent!! - American Near Me - Otsego, Minnesota

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Sad that we went too listen some live music. Sat on the patio and never got served? Tons of staff walked by three of us. Never stopped never looked at us. Sad that this is how they treat guests. I had too go to the bar and get my own drinks. If this is how they train people I will not go here. Had to be 6-7 staff members walk by,felt invisible over a half hour period. read more

Everytime I come here for dinner we have fun, the food is always great, and our server is always great. The brunch isn't the best I've ever had but it's pretty good too. I suggest going on Monday evening if you have kids, they have a magician and she is also awesome. read more

You have to try the pot roast, it's simply incredible. Wait staff was fast and friendly. Our food came out perfectly as ordered. And the atmosphere is both elegant and warm. We'll definitely return here. read more

Rockwoods - Dining Area - American Near Me - Otsego, Minnesota

This place is huge!! A hopping bar area that opens up into the outdoors. We sat inside. Most of us ordered burgers since that's what the special was. They were huge and cooked to order. Food took a while, but I know there was a large private party going on which may have been the reason. Staff was nice. They have a super-cool sparkler candle if you happen to come here on your birthday. My 3 year old thought that was the coolest thing ever, but so did the 50-ish year old who got one near our table. This is right off the freeway and happened to be close to our hotel so we walked there. Probably would not have stopped otherwise, but you should, it's worth it. Nice selection on the menu as well. read more

I'd like to give this place a positive review but....... the steak salad was missing veggies and the asparagus it promised, the smoked pork chop was small and covered with a spicy hot BBQ sauce( not smoked as described), the pulled pork sandwich was eh and had such a spicy bbq my mom could not eat it. The pot pie was average. The Carolina Gold sauce did not exist as described on the menu. Soooooo I would probably not go back. read more

We were at your restaurant for the Easter Buffet with 11 family members for the 9:00 o'clock seating. When we went through the line and returned to our table the food wasn't even warm, the eggs benedict was not put out, there was no one working the omelet station or the prime rib station. When they final had the prime rib available, it was uneatable with over-powering liquid smoke. The salmon and shrimp were extremely fishy tasting plus the shrimp was soft & mushy. I must say the desserts were very good and our waitress was exceptionally pleasant and attentive to our family. This might have been just a bad day for your restaurant but it was totally disappointing for our family. We had eaten there before and were very pleased with the food and that was why we used your restaurant for our Easter dinner. read more

Get the Brisket with Gouda Cheese sandwich is excellent could use some meat on the sandwich but this sandwich doesn't disappoint. The bunch is really good an inexpensive! read more

Rockwoods *used* to be good. Before they were bought out by the Lord Fletchers' owners and fired the whole kitchen crew and chef. Now... the menu is uninspired and I don't think it knows what it wants to be when it grows up. The choices are between tacos (tacos? really?), salads, pasta salads, wraps... or fish and overpriced steak. Call me strange but I don't care much for fish and if I want an actual plated dinner, I have no options but steak or sandwiches (uninspired burgers or other lazy menu offerings) or carb-loaded cold pasta. They used to have some really tasty and unique PLATED DINNERS with excellent presentations. Their sweet potato fries went so well with a pork dish that I used to order, though I forget the name at the moment. Lord Fletchers owners have ruined what was a nice diamond in the rough. Now they offer nothing different than any other place along the 101 corridor. So why should I spend more money for the same thing I can get for half the cost at Denny's and tastes just as good, if not better? At least Denny's gets creative with their dinner offerings and combines unique flavors. It's pretty bad when I can't say the same for Rockwoods anymore. Cowboy Jack's even offers better stuff. I like to keep my dollars local rather than driving to other neighboring towns just to get something different. Sadly the restaurants along the 101 corridor and the Rogers/Elk River/Dayton/Osseo area have really started to disappoint with their cheap & lazy menu options. read more

What a fantastic place to host a meeting! We meet here every thursaday without a hitch! Thanks Rockwoods! read more

Rockwoods - American Near Me - Otsego, Minnesota

Under new management and much much better. I never used to be a fan of this place. It had a big menu, but somehow I never wanted any of the things on it. The new menus - food and cocktails - are more interesting and switched up from time to time. We were very glad we took the time to stop back and try it again. Have been back a few times and enjoyed it each time! read more

Sunday night ordered walleye and a New York strip steak the walleye Service was good.

They always have delicious food and the atmosphere is amazing. The only down side is their prices for dinner entrees are fairly high.

Well, the other negative reviews seem accurate. This place LOOKS really nice but the food is crap. Yes it's a step above Applebee's, but the prices are too high for overcooked bland food. Yuck. I ordered a steak with some pink, got a dry piece of leather. When they "remade it" it came back barely cooked. I will not be coming back here for a long time. I'm super disappointed. The last straw was the fact that the waitress tried to school me about the pinkness of steak. I guess she didn't want a tip. Rude. read more

I recently moved to the area and have been looking for some local restaurants. This is really close by so my boyfriend and I decided to go there for dinner last week. The menu was very complete and had a variety of options. The dinner dishes did look a bit expensive, but not too over priced given the portion sizes we recieved. The service was prompt. It looked like they had a great patio with a bonfire which would be great during the summer and fall months. I want to go back and check out the bar during a Sunday football game. Their website states that they give out mini brats during half time and have happy specials. read more

Rockwoods is a really cool place but also very over priced. All the food is OK, not bad but also nothing special. The ribs are probably the best thing I've had here. The bathrooms, well at least the Men's room is the best part of the restaurant! You ask why? Because as you stand at the urinal (not to be gross) and cut a whizz into the ice cube filled piece of porcelain, you can look through the one way mirror and spy on the rest of the people who are eating their dinners. That in itself is reason to go, maybe I'm immature but it's pretty cool. The Restaurant tries to be somewhat fancy but for the price, there's better places to go. You won't have a bad meal here as they're pretty consistent but also nothing too special. read more

Rockwoods - American Near Me - Otsego, Minnesota

Fish tacos are good. We also enjoy the pot pie. I love the atmosphere when they have live music. It's not too loud. You can hear the music AND have a conversation at the same time! read more

Just to clarify, this is definitely NOT a "mom and pop" place! Go to main street Elk River to find those. My dad doesn't eat here as often anymore. It's still a three in my book, but if you do go let me recommend the pizza - I'm not a pizza fan, but I will eat and enjoy this one occasionally - the steak - especially if Joel is in the kitchen - and the salmon. The roasted chicken is a good standby as well. I usually have NO idea what they are thinking with their weekly "specials" or their soups (perhaps made with ocean water?), but if you get the wild rice soup on the first day they make it, it is decent enough. read more

Rockwoods - American Near Me - Otsego, Minnesota

Took grandparents in for brunch. Food was pretty good! Great selection of breakfast foods, and meats. They serve Brie cheese and fruit- which to me translates to: they are gods. Service was alright. Had a bloody, it was perfect. Would return. read more

Great dinner last night. I don't know why there are so many negative Yelp reviews. When a friend wanted to meet me here, I was very apprehensive after looking at Yelp. But the food was good and the service was good. I also noticed that the restaurant/bar parking lot was PACKED. In fact, I had a hard time finding a parking spot. So apparently, there are a lot of people that like this place. Between the two of us we had potato soup with artichoke, chicken & wild rice soup, a pork chops dinner, and a top sirloin dinner. It was all very good. And the server was good. We also spent some time at the bar. Again, a very good experience. -Daddy Maxx Retro read more

We have eaten at Blackwoods for Holiday Buffets. They put on a very impressive spread on those days. Sunday night we went as a family for the first time. Wine list was excellent, we had a cab. Wife had sirloin steak. It was tender, salad was good and the really enjoyed the baked sweet potato. I had the Reuben. I am both German and Irish. The Reuben needs help. Either the cheese was too tame, or the sauce was underwhelming, or the meat just not very tasty. Please jazz it up. Our server was Brenda. Wow, can't say enough. She took care of us and the kids. Plenty of wait staff look right past your kids. Not Brenda. She got a good tip. Management was on top of their game also. Dessert- We asked Brenda if they could heat up the chocolaty cake thing. She said, no one had ever done that before. But she would ask, they said yes, spread the whip cream on it after the microwave time, bring to table with 4 forks. It was Delicious. The music was awesome! 1930's- through the Jazz Era. Vino and music made the scene. We will be back. Just checked their website. It's impressive. read more

I have not eaten here directly off the menu, just a caveat upfront. I attended a rehearsal dinner and wedding reception here. That being said, I spent more time at this restaurant in two days than I have spent in most other restaurants. The staff was very attentive and friendly. The food was served promptly and did not interrupt the festivities. As price was not a factor in my case, I can only evaluate based on the taste of the food and and quality of the service. In both cases, I was extremely satisfied. The first night, I had a chicken pasta dish that was very rich and quite decadent. The second night I had cedar plank grilled salmon. It was EXTREMELY well prepared and I wanted to lick up that sauce. I didn't because I was at a wedding, but I wanted to. :-) read more

I will admit, being a city boy now, I was excited to have lunch at a mom-and-pop type restaurant in the 'burbs. I wasn't disappointed, but definitely not satisfied. The patio is wonderful. It is nice and cozy on a porch away from the parking lot. Since we were there for lunch, I am not sure how it is at night, but it looked like they had table-center fire places for some of the tables! Our nacho appetizer tasted great! However, being originally from Wisconsin, I could have used more cheese! My son had the macaroni and cheese. It looked and tasted just like the boxed stuff with some shredded cheese melted on top. Not impressive at all, but I am not sure my son really cared. I had the mahi berry salad. The fish was cooked really well, but it seemed like the salad had been sitting out for a while. The lettuce was not crisp and the cucumbers and strawberries looked questionable. The service was good. Nothing bad, nor overly impressive. It was efficient and accurate. The atmosphere is a highlight of this place. It feels like a north-woods restaurant. There is a little train that runs around the lobby (a highlight for my son). The bathrooms have a soft red glow, but are pretty dark. As Eric said, you can see out in the lobby as you stand doing your business. It is a cool idea! All and all, it gets three stars because I had a good time. It was Father's day, so I wasn't going to have a bad day. They food was underwhelming, but I liked the atmosphere. I also spend a good amount of time in Otsego, so I understand options are limited. It would be worth a try one more time. (I have heard the brunch is amazing!) read more

We do brunch here quite regularly! My husband loves the eggs Benedict and my kids devour the French toast. As for me it's nothing special. I do like the homemade salad dressings and the wide variety of things..but nothing is above average! It is kinda pricey especially for kids! A lot of places charge by age and I feel Rockwoods should do the same! It's so close to our house and my kids love the train so we keep going back. I just keep hoping the next visit will be above average! read more

My husband & I went to this place one night after a long day of work. When we first was sat down the place looked really nice. It was kinda dead though, but we didn't mid cause we have a 2.5 year old . The server was really nice and good at coming to check on us...not the really annoying way either.... When the food was out...(i had steak.) it was cooked just right, flavoring was decent... but for what kind place and price range, i kinda expected a lil better. Either way we enjoyed our time, might go back read more

We have stopped here many times before on our way home from Duluth. It has always been great! Delicious food and friendly service. But always in the dining room. This time however, on a Sunday afternoon during a Vikings game, only the bar was open and they had a limited menu. The chicken wings were all fatty and gross. The meat on the poutine was also all fatty and gross. The server barely came to refill our beverages. This stop was not as good as in the past. read more

I prefer a restaurant that doesn't give me a glass with someone else's lipstick on it. That'd be great. Thanks.

The walleye fish and Chips was the best I have had in years. The service was great, and my iced tea never was empty. The price for what I received was quite a bargin. The decor was very nice for the location and for those who like to dabble in the craft beer they have a good selection. read more

Rockwoods - The walleye was great. - American Near Me - Otsego, Minnesota

We had our company Christmas party here. The whole experience was great! From the initial phone conversation to signing the bill. We had the grand buffet with ice cream sundaes for desert. All the sides and proteins were spot on. I was hesitant to have pan fried walleye and steaks served buffet style, but it worked! And all the guest were very pleased. The wait staff was right on top of everything, they had our room looking very classy and festive. And I can't forget about Tony behind all those tasty cocktails! Thanks for making our night special Rockwoods staff! read more