The service was excellent, but everything was a yikes moment. The ambiance of this place is nice but the food simply wasn't good. The pasta was significantly undercooked and the chicken dish was extremely dry. Unfortunately they missed the mark on the food. read more

Great new restaurant in the DOCO area. Went with friends during Dine Sacramento and it was amazing. Service was flawless and food delicious. It is located in the lobby of the Exchange hotel on J St. They offer valet or you can park at DOCO. I will definitely be back read more

Willow - Italian Near Me - Sacramento, California

Finally getting around to writing this! My boyfriend, best friend, sister and I all came here for my sisters birthday dinner a few months ago and we all left quite unimpressed and still hungry. To start on a positive note, the taller busser and who also poured water was a freakin' gem. He was so kind and very on top of things. Our waitress was not friendly at all. Not even in the slightest. She was just very cold and made us feel very unwelcomed. We ordered some bread and ate that for an appetizer, then ordered another when our food came so we could eat it with our pasta - that came when everyone was far from done with their food. Our drinks were refilled once after being ignored for 30+ minutes for another refill. The food was okay and the portions are small. I got the pasta that had the pesto and it was just meh. My friend had the mussels which were good and my sister and boyfriend both ordered the pasta with the duck which was good as well. The winning star was definitely the foccia bread. The guests next to us had a birthday as well and they received a nice little birthday dessert with a candle, my sister did not received anything. Not even a happy birthday! When I made the reservations I told them it was for a birthday, and even mentioned it to the waitress. For spending almost $300, I would not recommend. Being treated as an inconvenience and having mediocre food - HUGE let down. read more

Willow - Italian Near Me - Sacramento, California

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I feel violated. However, I'm the one that walked through the door. I tried to order 3 things I wanted. They were out or it takes a half an hour to cook. My wife failed to get what she wanted also. I settled on a hamburger. The worst ever. Over cooked. Dry bun. Absolutely no care from the kitchen. Then I get a $75.00 bill. The poor server carried all the blame. Not his fault. He got tipped. read more

Been to willow twice the first time experience was 4/5 stars. The service is great but my two visits were a year apart. During the second visit the food was very lackluster and lukewarm when it was served. But most importantly it lacked depth in flavor for the price is charged. Had high expectations for it being a fine dining establishment but felt like more focus was on explaining where the ingredients were sourced from than incorporating them in the food for a better dining experience. read more

This place is definitely over priced and I will definitely not be visiting this restaurant again. Ordered a pasta dish. All bad! The serving was lukewarm and definitely not worth $30. Came with no bread or salad. If you did want sides they started at $14 for focaccia and salads were over $20. Service was mediocre and the gentleman employee who greeted us stared at us like we were aliens. You can get better at Olive Garden. read more

The service was good and this place has a wonderful aesthetic. However, the food was very bland.

A completely incompetent and ridiculous experience. Never be back. Waited over an hour for food which was horrible. You wait this long and there's no salad offer or even bread? You sit there and just wonder WTF is going on. Ordered NY steak plate and swordfish plate. Swordfish, when finally arrived, was RAW in middle. I've had better NY steaks at Sizzler. Absolutely horrible. DO NOT RECOMMEND AT ALL. While they credited back the swordfish, the gross steak and disgusting spinach upset my stomach all night. Regret paying a dime to this terrible establishment. read more

Good service and good food. The staff was very attentive and offered suggestions for food and drink. Excellent!!

What a great vibe! Warm perfect lighting the feel is cool date night! Plates and cutlery were very nice, staff super friendly! We did the dine downtown 3 course prix fixe menu and added a split meatball appetizer - sauce was perfect not to medicinally herby or sugary sweet! The Burrata toast was amazing- large appetizer would be perfect to share imho. Short rib tagliatelle was very good as well for main course- crispy chicory salad was ok for me less salt is my preference but hubbys salad was not as salted. We shared the added spumoni and bundino perfect finish- Its al little off the main hectic grid area at DOCO but a great change of energy esp if theres alot if peeps milling about for an event or game- Tyler was our awesome server friendly and knowledgeable! Go you wont be dissappointed read more

Great service, nice people and our food was served quickly. Price was good and setting was nice.

my husband and I enjoyed our evening at the Willow. the bartenders were engaging and mixed great drinks. Dinner was tasty and the service was excellent. The breakfast menu and the food was very good, as well. read more

Willow - Light the BeM at the Willow - Italian Near Me - Sacramento, California

At first we thought Hilton had overdone things making a hotel cafe so beautiful - no customers when we walked by. But happy hour blew that away! Trendy cocktails on the menu, and amazingly delicious appetizers, along with attentive service, kept us there - and brought us back later. I highly recommend The Willow to anyone eating in Sacramento! (PS. We didn't order a main entree. But I'll splurge for the scallops next visit when I have time to savor it.) read more

Food was good but poor value. Entries range $30-$65 dollars for protein. Need to order sides separately. Sea bass tasty, swordfish good. I tried pasta with duck. Pasta very good. Small portion and very little or non existent duck. read more

Went with my son for his birthday. Food was great. Service excellent. Waiters timing was great. He was very attentive to the table. Definitly a good place to go for dinner. read more

Willow is a great addition to the higher-end restaurant scene in Sacramento. We had a great time here for dinner. Beautiful dining room and bar area, quiet, reminds me a little of an old-tymey fancy restaurant, large windows allowing for natural light and an ability to feel a part of the city while dining. The food... oh man. It was delicious. Dubbed as a rustic take on Mediterranean southern Italian. We ordered focaccia, gnocchi, a mixed green salad, and a side of roasted carrots. Everything was amazing: the focaccia was so pillowy and airy with a light crispy crust, presented similar to a small cake. I was told the gnocchi was the best one's ever had in flavor and melt in-the-mouth texture. The salad - hard to eff it up, but it was also great with a very light herby dressing allowing the flavors of the fresh greens through. The thick full length carrots were cooked perfectly, slightly firm with roasted ends, seasoned with a light chimichurri drizzle and fennel. Service was spot on. The bartender is great (we were here the week prior for a drink and to check out the space, and decided to make reservations for the following week because the food smelled and looked so good!). Our server was attentive and friendly. We'll definitely be back. read more

Dined here recently to celebrate with brother and his fiance. Service and ambiance were overall great but the food was incredibly underwhelming. We had ordered a round of cocktails that really had no flavor profile and just tasted like said alcohol plus watered down juice. For dinner we had ordered the short rib ravioli and the New York strip steak. The short rib ravioli was delicious but only came with 3 pieces. My girlfriend was still hungry even with a shareable appetizer and a side of potatoes. I'm a huge steak guy and love the little nuances of how it's prepared. This was not the place to enjoy it. Should have maybe went to Echo and Rig to spend 60 dollars on a way better one. My steak was ordered medium rare and came out medium well. We've always wanted to give this place a try being that we've seen this place in the way to Kings games. Glad we at least tried to support a local business but it was disappointing to say the least. read more

Willow - Ravioli - Italian Near Me - Sacramento, California

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We were here for dine downtown to try a new restaurant. The ambiance is very nice and welcoming. The food is very good. But the bartender needs to learn how to make drinks. A whiskey sour is a simple drink, but is NOT whiskey and sour mix. UGH. Please send your bartender to Frank Fat's to learn how to make a proper whiskey sour. read more

It was OK. Food was just OK; underspiced, and nothing accompanied the entries -- no starch or vegetable; just meat on a plate. My fish (Mediterranean sea bass) was loaded with bones, and was quite small. Not worth the money. My husband's pork loin was cooked, but cold. Service was haphazard. Wine list was quite expensive. On a positive note, the poached Asian pear dessert was marvelous. read more

Absolutely amazing food, service! Vero and Gabbie were exceptional. Very educated and friendly! What a great experience read more

Willow - Italian Near Me - Sacramento, California

Excellent service & lovely restaurant. My pasta was excellent. So is their butterscotch custard.

First the service was slow and the food is average. My husbands meal (the pesto dish) Had no flavor nut my papparelle was better since there was more flavor in that dish. Two apps - the Brussels and arancini were the highlights of the meal. And at the end of the day $150 meal that is average is just not worth the cost. read more

My girl and I went to Willow the first time and had such an awesome experience. The food and service was amazing. Shout out to Paul, the best waiter. He was so fun and welcoming. And the bartender Sean made my friend a custom spicy drink that she absolutely loved. The focaccia bread was so delicious, nice flavor and perfect amount of crunch and softness. I recommend the duck pasta (paccheri). Very rich and delicious. read more

Wow. I am very impressed with this establishment that has an upscale vibe, yet a simple menu that is executed extraordinarily well. The Arancini and Focaccia were standouts for me. The service was great and the only area I would point out that I feel was lacking would be the dessert menu. A simple selection of elevated Italian staples would be a great addition in my opinion. read more

Food was absolutely delicious and staff was attentive and amazing! Totally recommend if you're visiting or want a date night! Or a girls night read more

We went to Willow for Dine Downtown and we will not be going back. Our reservation was at 8 PM but we didn't get seated until 8:30 PM (that said, we were fine that they were running late. They had a seat for us at the bar so we could order drinks while we waited and the staff was very kind). BUT.... Service: Once we sat down, things got worse. The service was terrible. Our waitress was sweet, but she hardly checked on us and we were trying to order other things off their traditional menu. I saw a lot of other customers get upset as they too were not getting any attention. For example, we also asked for Salt and Pepper for the table (bc the food desperately needed it) and we never got it. At one point, I had to ask the hostess passing by for something for our table. Food: Extremely disappointing. Usually, the Dine Downtown event is to give people the chance to try expensive restaurants at a reasonable price, but to be honest, even with dine downtown menu and prices, the food was way overpriced and at best, mediocre. The focaccia bread was good, but the menu also offered burrata cheese for the table. The burrata was the size of a marble (for 2 people?!) and it was hard with not a lot of flavor. The whole appetizer was all bread. The next course was a beet salad and snow pea insalata. The beet salad had a lot of different flavors in it, but it was still bland and just didn't work well. The snow pea insalata was awful. The only flavor in that dish was the cheese; otherwise, I felt like I was just eating freshly cut grass. The final dish was the Rigatoni w beef cheek and at this point, we were just eating to get out of there. I had no beef in my entire dish, the food was lukewarm, and the dish honestly felt like it was from Spaghetti Factory or Chef Boyardee. I was honestly surprised the kitchen runners let that dish come out as it was just noodles in a sauce. Again no flavor (and no I do not have COVID....I have a very sensitive palate). Literally, all of these dishes were missing acid and salt. Ambiance/Environment: Gorgeous restaurant and loved the decor, but we had a table by the window and the seating angles were a little awkward. But this didn't bother us as much. Overall, it was a fantastic waste of money. :( read more

The food was good, service was sparse as there was only one person working both the dining area and bar. Server was kind and friendly but this definitely affected the experience. Our cocktails were also good but not amazing. I would definitely give this one another try on a day with better staffing. read more

Apps were so good! Dinner was just ok. Dessert wasn't good. Service top notch. I might give it another try.

Great service, food very good the olive appetizer and sea smoked potatoes very good.

I love the decor. We were seated in the semi private dining area which is so lovely and felt special but it kind of stops there in terms of experience. The staff is so friendly but I could tell they were a bit overwhelmed driving them to give less than great service. Not sure if they're struggling to find staff or we just went on a night where they were off their game but the food took extremely long time to come and plates did not come at the same time causing one person to get their food when the others at the table had already finished eating. We had to pour our own water and no one ever asked us if we wanted additional cocktails after our first order. The food was decent but could be better. The focaccia is very oily, the branzino was mediocre but the steak was cooked to perfection and I loved the gnocchi. I hope they can get it together. I love seeing new places open in Sacramento and succeed but our experience was less than great. That being said, it's 3 stars for now and I'll try anything twice so hoping my next try will be better. read more

The service here is excellent, and the restaurant is elegant and beautiful. However, the food doesn't match up to the ambiance. I went to dinner with a friend and we ordered the roasted rack of lamb ($68) and the cioppino ($70) to share. Neither one was close to worth the price point, in my opinion. The lamb was a fairly small portion of meat and came with carrots, broccolini, and a sauce which were all not bad but nothing special. The cioppino was a bigger portion and the seafood was cooked very well, but the tomato broth was one-dimensional in flavor. If I'm spending so much on entrees, I expect them to be flavorful and at a higher caliber than a $30-$40 plate, which is what they tasted like. However, their drinks are excellent. We ordered the garden spritz and the princess peach, both of which were perfectly balanced and refreshing. I wish the food was better, since everything else about the restaurant is incredible. read more

Willow - Cioppino on the left and lamb on the right. - Italian Near Me - Sacramento, California

Highly recommend a visit to this restaurant for an evening out for dinner or a special celebration. We just celebrated my son's graduation from Sac State and had a perfect evening with 20 guests. Great pre - planning support, friendly and attentive service during the dinner, gorgeous restaurant but most especially delicious food!! The common favorite was the roasted chicken and the beet salad. Thank you to Evan and the team for helping to make for a very special evening! read more

I have never been so delighted with a hotel bar experience. Came down after checking in for a nightcap. Beautiful and whimsical decor with a vintage atmosphere, I really liked their distinct crystal glasses. Ordered a Willow martini which was perfectly smooth and surprisingly light, which weirdly paired perfectly with the scoop of strawberry gelato I ordered. The bartender Dakota was efficient and skilled, the bar was spotless and organized. He was very friendly as well, was very pleasant to chat with when he wasn't busy filling drink orders. read more

Perfect place if you like rude service, tacky interior, bad food, and small portions.

So many things to improve! Awful service. Overpriced food. Was a very disappointing experience. Too many other options in Sacto.

Always get the focaccia!!! I would buy to bring home. Loved the fig prosciutto salad as well.

Service, ambiance, are excellent, and only outdone by fabulous food and wine. The short rib is amazing. Don't get carried away with the equally amazing pasta and focaccia. I almost forgot the Willow martini; a nice starter. read more

My husband I went here tonight and if I'm being honest it was very mid and quite disappointing. Drinks weren't that great especially since I asked if the espresso martini comes with baileys or is creamy as that is how I prefer my espresso martini and he proceeded to not answer my question and said they had a great espresso martini that he recommends. So I trusted his judgement which ended up tasting like straight espresso and not creamy what so ever. And my husband had asked to get his whiskey sour with egg whites which they previously had a photo of online and the server said they no longer offered. For appetizers we got the buffalo mozzarella balls which were pretty good however the salad we had had no flavor. For entrees we asked him about the pappardelle and the server explained it had a spicy sausage that had some kick but literally ended up tasting like plain tomato sauce. We then said we were interested in dessert and he told us about the specials which he highly recommended. I had previously seen someone post the butterscotch boudin so my heart was set on that. My husband had asked to see a dessert menu so we could confirm what they had but he proceeded to say they had no printed menus. So we had just ordered the boudin since I've never seen anything other than a butterscotch boudin. Come to find out it was chocolate which was extremely disappointing. And to have no dessert menus when they often change the menu is crazy to me. This whole experience just wasn't it and we unfortunately will not be coming back. read more

My husband and I made a reservations to eat at Willow on 12/7/23; just about two weeks ago. I received a call from staff at the restaurant this morning stating that we must of scheduled earlier than the roll out of the NYE menu, telling us that it is a 6 course meal at $150/person. Also stating that this was the only menu they would have that night. So basically they let us know one week prior to New Years Eve. I think it's terrible to let a customer know on a busy occasion that you have a NYE menu that will cost $300 for two, not including drinks or gratuity one week prior, and now we have no reservations. So you are telling me a top rated restaurant did not have a NYE menu posted/available just two weeks ago? Very disappointed at the lack of time management for the most popular night of the year, poorly organized and inconsiderate. read more

I originally sent this as an email directly to Willow restaurant but hadn't heard back from them so I thought I would post to yelp. My wife and I along with another couple we dine with a couple of times a month visited Willows last evening (1/31). The restaurant was nicely appointed, Tyler our server was very attentive, and we were all expecting a nice meal. To sum our collective experience, we were sadly disappointed. After taking our drink orders, Tyler recommended the Focaccia appetizer. The Focaccia was beautiful when served, however, looks were deceiving. The dish tasted like nothing. No herb flavor, no olive oil flavor, ... nothing. Both couples had ordered a ceaser salad to split. When served, the salad had an appealing presentation, but disappointing. It wasn't an issue of being under-dressed, the salad lacked any dressing beyond some shaved Parmesan cheese, a few anchovy filets, and a couple of Parmesan twills. We were hopeful that our dinner selections were going to break this streak. My wife ordered the special - butternut squash gnocchi, two ordered the carbonara, and one person ordered the pork loin. With the exception of the pork loin, which the diner said was good, the pasta dishes were disappointing. The pasta in the carbonara dish was perfectly cooked and the dish nicely presented. However, the carbonara lacked any form of seasoning, including salt and pepper - disappointing. My wife's gnocchi also lacked seasoning, including any butternut squash flavor, but had the added distinction of having very dense gnocchi - not a light and fluffy but hard and chewy. I am not looking for anything as last night's meal was but a single meal. However, I hope that restaurant management assesses staff performance and consider changes to avoid future diners having a similar experience. read more