I've been to Willowbrook several times, each as underwhelming as the last. My usual Reuben sandwich with sweet potato fries is acceptable, but the slow service and oversized and empty rooms leave you feeling awkward as you try not to listen in on the echoing conversations from across the room. Whenever a family member is brought to dine there, they never have any positive reviews-- the ONLY positive aspects to the place are the brilliant ice cream window, superb selection of sundaes, and the one-time spotted magician who performed cool tricks table side (though the lack of customers forced him to chat with us a little longer than comfortable.) Not disgraceful, but absolutely a let down to Mendon, yet again. Additionally, the young woman who works at the ice cream window is always sociable, smiling, and friendly towards us. An upside to the service! read more

I'm sorry, I don't understand why there are low reviews for this place. The only thing that could stand any improvement is the décor, but it's in Mendon, MA people! The food here is really good. I had a seafood dish with linguini that was amazing. Our waitress was hilarious and the service was great. She was fast getting our drinks and the food came out quickly. The best part, though, was the dessert. I split a sundae with my date and it was huge! It was a peanut butter sundae that was out of this world. I would honestly come all the way out to Mendon just for that. The check was very reasonable. This is the perfect place to go with a family before the drive in. On the night we were there, they even had live music, which I did not expect. Definitely worth a stop if you're looking for a family friendly place with great food in the area. read more

I sent them a private message and got no response so I am posting my experience here. I orders a seafood meal that I had eaten there before. The fish came out and the haddock looked awful and did not taste much better. I told the server and she told me it was because it was gluten free and had no bread crumbs and that it had no oil on it. My plate was drenched in oil and since I had eaten the same meal before I knew it had nothing to do with the lack of breadcrumbs. The fish was just bad. Needless to say I did not eat it. She then asked if I wanted to take the fish home. Why would I want to take bad fish home? She offered a bowl of strawberries to " make up for it." I declined . I was charged $18.95 for this meal! In my opinion I received terrible service and food. I also find it unacceptable that no one bothered to respond to my communication about the issues. read more

Very good food. Very very slow service. Nice server just slow... Slow to come to table slow to take order. Food took 1/2 for the food to come. Had to flag down the waitress to get check and had to wait to pay. So if in a hurry go somewhere else! read more

We went here on a Thursday night around 6:00 PM and the parking lot had lots of cars but we were seated immediately. Unfortunately, we sat in our booth for what seemed like an eternity before a waitress showed up. Apparently, Thursday is Bluegrass night. There's a Bluegrass band playing in the other room so the wait-staff are super busy. The food eventually came out of the kitchen after a long wait. The food was average to good. The restaurant is very clean and the building is only a few years old so everything looks new. I can only give this restaurant three stars due to the super slow service both from the wait-staff and the kitchen. read more

I've been by dozens of times, so we figured we would give it a try. I was pretty pleased with the service, food and atmosphere. We started with chowder and clam cakes. For white chowder, it wasn't bad at all. A good amount of clams. Actually more clams than potatoes, which in my book, that should be the ratio. It was thick but not pasty and I could tell it was made there not from a can. Cam cakes were not the best I've had, but definitely not the worst (See review of Lowell's). They were smaller than a Rhode Island cake but had clams and had a sweet tasting dough that was fried golden but not overdone and not raw in the center. We ordered a baked haddock from the regular menu and a bourbon tips from the specials. The fish looked like the traditional baked haddock with the crumbs on top. I was told it was very good; flaky cooked right and it was bright white, not an off color like some frozen fish. My tips were really good. Flavorful, cooked to a perfect medium-rare and super tender. When the server first brought them, she asked if we needed anything else. I said no and as she left the table I thought "Crap, I should have asked for a steak knife". I didn't need any thing more than my butter knife. The tips were possibly the most tender I have ever had. Seriously, NO fat had to be trimmed, NO stringy, chewy parts, No gristle running through the middle. I half expected tips from a special menu to be the trimmings from the ends of the sirloin, like most restaurants use, but these tips were cut specifically for this dish. They truly kicked ass. The service was just about perfect as well. Our server was pleasant, friendly and fast. no waiting for drink refills or dishes to be cleared. She was very efficient and made no mistakes with our order...and probably most important to us; she wasn't a pest. She didn't keep buzzing our table asking redundant questions at the worst times. She let us eat and talk by ourselves. If there is one thing I can't stand, it's a server who thinks they were invited to dinner with us-- Step Back! If I need something, or something is messed up, I will let ya know. The atmosphere was nice too. Quiet and comfortable. No blaring music. No TV on in every corner. No keno screen spitting out bouncing numbers. I could take it easy and enjoy my meal. Isn't that what dining out is supposed to be? read more

My husband and I went to dinner on a Saturday night, we got a seat right away. We had been there a few times over a few years, not great food but it wasn't bad either. This time was terrible, we will never go back! I orders a sirloin steak Rare. We had a whole conversation with the server about how I don't like well done steak. I know when you cook meat there is always always after cooking. She said the chef is very good at cooking steaks correctly. So I was sold. The owner/hostess brought out our food. She asked if it was ok. When I cut into it we saw it was well done. She said it was not because it was a little bit of pink in it. (Very little and a lot gray) she asked if I wanted another steak. Not to be a wise guy, but I said yes, unless you can make this one rare. She said this will take a while. (For rare?) Then she came back and showed us the ticket the server put in, it said med. And asked if we were sure we said rare. She totally threw her under the bus! And questioned the way we ordered it! The server came back and apologized and said it won't take long cuz it was rare. We kind of felt bad, anyone could make a mistake, but the way the owner talked to us, we couldn't imagine what she said to the server. We will never go back. And the steak was a little hard to chew. read more

By comparison I think of Friendly's, with a much warmer feel (and faster service too). We went for dinner earlier today and all was OK. My expectations are generally low when trying a restaurant with an ice cream window, so I can honestly say that they were exceeded. The service was OK - very friendly! The food was pretty good and certainly worth the price paid. Willowbrook advertises as a family restaurant, and on Wednesday evenings they have a table-side magic show and balloon sculpting. So, if you want decent food, fairly quick and relatively inexpensive you will be satisfied. read more

I am leaving this review solely on my Thanksgiving dinner pickup experience today. First time at this restaurant and first time ordering take out Thanksgiving dinner. Placed my order 30 days in advance. Had two options in this area. Chose this one based on more positive reviews. Drive past the other one on the way here. Omg . At least 50 cars lined up outside for take out. Police detail. Chaos. Got to this place and one car in front of me. My order was ready on the counter. Steaming hot in a sturdy box to carry. Friendly staff. Got the food to our destination and it was excellent. Turkey soup, turkey dinner with all the sides. Mashed potatoes & gravy, cranberry sauce, squash, green beans, stuffing & cornbread. We couldn't finish it. I was so happy I made the right call and came here. Those other knuckle heads can sit in line. Can't imagine it was any better than the delicious, generous meal we had. Unless it was free "gobble" read more

My husband and I had dinner there on a Tuesday night. Service is definatly an issue. We sat for quite a while before anyone can over or even acknowledged us even though many people walked pass us. I got salmon with double veggie. The veggies were soggy and the broccoli was brown. Inedible. The salmon was good but a nobrainer. My husband had chicken broc Alfredo. The chicken seemed to be boiled. Gross! It's pretty hard to screw that up but they did. $39 for dinner (without drinks we had soda) just didn't seem worth it. read more

Best mimosas I've found in the area! The Sunday brunch was pretty good & the bacon was cooked perfectly. Lunch is also good, we love the turkey club. The only downfall is that the service can be a little slow at times. We will definitely be back. read more

Ive eaten here a few times. Its just A-ok....too much salt in the tomato sauce with pasta and the seafood dishes. They do make a salad that is delish and they have a special dressing on it that is out of this world, in fact they wont share the ingredients for the dressing. read more

I took my 3-1/2 year old grandson to Willowbrook Restaurant tonight. What a horrible experience!!! They almost sat us in the "fine dining" area then sat us in the "boat room" which was great. Fish tank, kid friendly room. The food came - mac and cheese was from a box and looked awful, but my grandson didn't seem to mind. My "special" turkey roll up with stuffing and cranberry sauce was near inedible. It was chewy and hard like it was microwaved, had a small - tiny - portion of turkey, I hardly saw or tasted the cranberry, and the stuffing was stove-top caliber. I only ate a small portion because I was starving. Now the horrible part. I told the waitress who offered to get me something else but I didn't want to try anything else because I was grossed out. I paid, left a 15% tip which I shouldn't have because it took the waitress a half hour to get back to us with a to go cup so my grandson could eat his ice cream outside on their patio table. I told the Manager that I was not happy. She was indignant and told me that my roll up was a popular item and everyone loves it. She indicated I might have a problem because I didn't like the food. She argued with me like I was a 2nd class citizen and had no right to suggest the food sucked. I was nice the entire conversation and just wanted to let them know. I was not looking for a free meal or anything - already paid. I was insulted and told her she was rude, still in a calm tone. She yelled at me across the lobby that I was rude. Never in my life was I yelled at because I was trying to help the management know that the meal I had was terrible. I worked as a waitress for many years and know how customers should be handled - this Manager had no business yelling at me or telling me I was rude. I was appalled and left without a scene (on my part.) I want everyone to know that this restaurant is not worth the trip. read more

The food here has consistently been served hot and is delicious. Staff is friendly, courteous and efficient.

We decided to stop in for ice cream and we were NOT disappointed. Their sundaes are unique and interesting. My wife had the Chocolate Covered Strawberry Banana sundae and I had the Caramel Apple Pie sundae. Both were amazing! The apples were fresh and the caramel was warm. Delicious! We will definitely be back while the summer lasts. read more

I am honestly surprised by the negative reviews on here for this place. My husband and I really like it here. It is kid friendly and inexpensive. My husband loves the roasted chicken. I think the comparison to a better version of Friendly's is fair. We have only gone for lunch and the service has been fine. read more

Horrible service. We sat in the bar. Bartender was our server which is fine. We ordered our food came and that.was the last we heard from her. I had their recommended oven baked scallops. Absolutely horrible. Tasted like bad fish. She never came back to ask how our food was until we pushed our plates away. She noticed I didn't them then asked if I wanted anything else. They removed our soda and a glass of wine saying that was half the bill. L read more

My family has ordered take out from Willowbrook many, many times over the last two years but we will never place another order there again. Tonight we placed an order for 3 meals that we have ordered many, many times in the past:1 chicken piccata, no mushrooms,1 chicken parm with sauce on the side and 1 chicken & broccoli with piccata sauce. In the past (for the most part) we were satisfied with the meals we received. A few times they mixed up the orders or didn't prepare them as we requested, we received mushrooms on the piccata after specifically stating no mushrooms, or there were only 2 chicken tenders in the piccata instead of the usual 3 or 4, or they put sauce on the parm. The usual mix ups that happen to a busy restaurant, it was not what we ordered but the food was still edible so we let it go. Tonight was something totally different...we were SO disappointed in all 3 meals. For $48.65 plus a $5 tip we were served totally inedible food. The chicken piccata had no capers, the 3 chicken tenders were so tough they couldn't be chewed and the pasta was way over cooked to the point it was mushy. The "piccata sauce" was greasy and whitish in color, typically it is a very pleasant wine, lemon butter sauce with plenty of capers. The chicken & broccoli over rigatoni was foul. Typically they dredge chicken pieces in flour and sauté them until golden brown, add crisp tender broccoli over rigatoni with the wine, lemon, caper butter sauce. We've placed this order many times and it was always to die for, tonight they cut up old GRILLED (not sautéed as they're described on the menu and always served in the past) chicken tenders (maybe 2 pieces, I'm being generous here) put some totally over cooked, mushy, smelly broccoli over mushy rigatoni and added that disgusting whitish colored "piccata" sauce over it. The chicken parm had 2 dried up chicken breasts that had been cut in half (??? we have no idea why) we think they must have been sent back by another customer and sat there until someone else ordered chicken parm, they were so dried up that the cheese was crunchy and the chicken breasts were stuck together, we couldn't pry them apart, they were so dried out it was like eating dust...we couldn't eat them. I called to let the hostess know how disappointed we were with our meals and her only comment was "I'll tell the kitchen" I said that's it? We paid over $48 for food that is not edible, we've ordered there many, many times and have had outstanding meals in the past but these meals are very disappointing. She said you can bring them back and we'll give you a gift certificate. I said we're not driving all the way back there tonight (it's over 7 miles one way) she said ok. I said that's it? and she said "YES". She didn't apologize, she didn't ask for my name, she didn't state that she would return our $$$, nothing just said "YES". I said ok then, well I'm posting photos and a yelp review about how bad it was tonight and we will not be ordering again. She said "ok" and hung up. This place has gone WAY down hill, don't waste your good money on this establishment...they must be on their way out and are scrimping on the quality of the food and ripping people off by serving prepackaged, cafeteria quality food, not restaurant quality meals prepared by chefs. It's too bad, because they used to be a great place. I noticed many others have written poor reviews and also commented on the poor quality of food they were served, so it is not just one customer (me) complaining or looking for a free meal...trust me it was very bad. read more

Willowbrook Restaurant - Ordered "sautéed" chicken & broccoli, received a few pieces of cut up grilled chicken tenders & mushy broccoli for $13.99!!!! - American Near Me - Mendon, Massachusetts

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Me and my family went there for the bluegrass and country jam night. So we went in the resturaunt and waited for about two minuets to get served and we sat down at the table next to the band and we wait for 5 minuets before any one of the servers come over and take our order. When we get our order my cheese pitzza is raw on the bottom and my mothers soup was made with a caned soup broth, even though they said it was home made. And my fathers turkey dinner was sliced thick deli ham with stove top stuffing. This is not a bad place to go for drinks and watch the band as long as you DONT buy any food. read more

Stopped in for lunch in a rush and had a great meal. We always try the calamari, and their's was right on par. Plenty of red peppers, sundried tomatoes, and black olives tossed in. The addition of the small salad along with the buffalo tenders was a nice touch. Tenders themselves were pretty standard: slathered in Frank's red hot, and were pretty meaty. Tortellini with grilled chicken in a creamy tomato sauce was excellent: the best dish by far that we ordered. Prices were also very fair: 7.99 for each the pasta & wings. Oh, and service was great! The only drawbacks: the bleu cheese dressing we got with the tenders (had to ask, it did not come with any; salad had balsamic) was the cheap, bottled stuff. read more

We had my daughter's Wedding shower in the Boat Room. It was beautiful! Our friends and family still talk about that day. Their attention to detail was amazing and much appreciated. I have eaten here many times in the past, and look forward to many more meals in the future. I hope you do too!! Enjoy!!! read more

Willowbrook Restaurant - Some beverages to go with our breakfast buffet! Yum! - American Near Me - Mendon, Massachusetts

Willowbrook and it's manager Sharon bent over backwards to make our small wedding more than we expected. They were incredibly accommodating and kind! We chose the Italian buffet and some appetizers. The food was great and the atmosphere was wonderful. We can't say enough about the room - it's really beautiful. Our wedding designer added some woodland accents and they blended perfectly. I'm not sure what some of the negative reviews are all about - perhaps locals are harder to please than out of towners? Not sure. We had a fantastic experience. At the time of this review there was no room charge. I've never heard of a place not charging a fee. Truly a great experience from start to finish! Thank-you, Willowbrook! read more

Came here on Mother's Day this year for the Sunday Breakfast Buffet and couldn't have been happier. All the food was fresh, delicious and made in house. Mom loved the food and I have never had better corned beef hash. Other options in the buffet included scrambled eggs, broccoli cheese quiche, sausage, bacon, French toast, strawberry shortcake and bread pudding. I will definitely be coming back! read more

Went to their Easter Buffet today.. to sum it up in one word.. lousy! Amazing that this restaurant has a full kitchen yet everything was boiled, sitting in water.. ham was slices sitting in water, pot roast was sitting in water, turkey was pressed and sitting in water. Everything was cold, I've hosted dinners with chaffing dishes and my food was hot so not sure what the problem was.. even the salad was wilted and watery! Desserts looked like they came from BJ's frozen section, tiny bite size pieces, can tell not one dessert was made by them...(the one that looked good was a blueberry cobbler that possibly they made but of course it ran out and I never got any by the time I finished my meal, no more was ever put out). Even BJ's frozen desserts are pretty good.. these were not... where it was a "brunch" they also had eggs, sausage (raw), bacon (way undercooked). Really.. you couldn't even bake some real chicken, real ham, a real turkey perhaps? serve some real mashed potatoes and a decent vegetable? The only thing that came close to being halfway decent was the one pasta dish. We have gone to Wrights.. at least you get a consistent, hot, freshly cooked dinner for half the price.. why not pick three things you can make well and make them!! Cost of $110 for the three of us with tax and tip included, I could have eaten prime rib somewhere! This food was high school cafeteria quality at best. Not sure who is running this restaurant but this must be their first shot at the restaurant business because they sure don't know what they are doing! Service, we had to ask for our waitress to come over for additional drinks and had to search for a waitress to ask to find ours. Plates took a long time to be cleared. They added 18 percent to the bill, pretty good considering they didn't even serve the dinner and we had to find her if we needed anything. Needless to say, we won't be back!!! 18 percent for a serve yourself buffet and not even drink service? spare me. read more

good food for a quick dinner. Staff was fast and courteous. Place was very clean. Would recommend

My daughter and I went here for dinner. Both dinners were sub par....I ordered steak tips, mashed taters and the only other veg was squash, so two carbs great! The steak tips were awful. Felt like I was chewing cotton balls. No taste whatever. When the waitress saw my plate she asked if I wanted to take them home, I said absolutely not. My daughter ordered lasagna, again sub par. She picked at it. It was full of green peppers and sliced sausage. Very bland sauce. The waitress asked if I liked our dinner and it was quite obvious a big NO. She said she would ask if something could be done. I receive my bill without any changes or deletions. She said sorry. I said you'll be sorry now, cuz I'm not going back. read more

I've been to Willowbrook about 5 times. The food has always been Great!!!! The service is always good.!!!!! I'll be back. Thank you

I have eaten there often. The only time I was disappointed was when they first opened years ago. I don't know if it is now under different management but I took my FL visitors, one of them my brother, who is the fussiest person in the world and he raved about the clams. Everyone was happy with their meal. And to go along with that, we had the sweetest waitress. She helped make our evening out fun. Very efficient. Another thing my brother looks for. Chances are we will be stopping there again, as I have more f plusamily coming up for the holidays. I give it 4 stars read more

I like this restaurant for good solid American food. I get it for takeout now and again. The steak n cheese, tuna melt, and fish and chips are always good. We go all the time to the ice cream window. They use Richardson's ice cream which is the best I've ever had. It's a nice casual family restaurant. My bridesmaids threw my bridal shower in one of their event rooms and it was very nice. The menu they offer was perfect and the space was just right for a nice small party. I love going here and I just wish they were open on Mondays too! read more

We ate here last night. Service was very slow. We waited a long time for our appetizers to come out only to be told they ran out of one of the things we ordered. What restaurant runs out of a popular appetizer? Not wanting to wait any longer we requested they just bring out my child's meal. I didn't want to wait another 15 minutes to be told they didn't have what she wanted. From the time we sat down and left we were there for over an hour. I understand food takes a bit to cook but don't make customer's wait a long time to find out the appetizer isn't available. When we were finally done our meal we waited an additional 5 minutes for the server to bring our bill. When all was done and getting ready to pay, the server charged me for the appetizer we didn't get. I almost paid for it but since I had some extra time before she came back for my card I checked it over. She didn't give me a new receipt to sign so not sure what my final charge will be yet. Sadly I don't see going back unless I have over an hour to eat. The restaurant wasn't very busy when we went so it shouldn't have taken so long. The server was nice just not very attentive to her tables. Overall our meal was good. read more

Good small town restaurant. Great early bird special. Home cooked food. Older crowd. Been many times with my wife and we're always the youngest. But we enjoy it. Very well priced. Great place to bring the parents. read more

At the insistence of friends, I tried the Willowbrook again! They were rewarded with the same frozen fish which had been improperly microwaved as it was before. Frozen in the middle and/or just so dry that it was ruined. It was inedible before and again this time! Stay clear of this place! read more

Didn't realize the Yelp reviews were not so great.. 4.3 stars on Google, not sure how. First, the decor is sooooo dated. It's awful. I guess our server didn't know we were there? Waited ten minutes and someone came over to ask if we'd seen her. Said no, then she came right over. I ordered the stuffed haddock. Whatever they stuff it with is terrible, but the crunch on top was great. So, I tried to eat around the stuffing. Mashed potato and yam was runny.. reminded me of cafeteria or hospital food. Fried clams were ok, some pieces were way over done and too hard and crunchy. Other pieces were perfectly done. Inconsistent and nothing to write home about. Won't be back. read more

I have never in my life been treated so poorly! We have had dine in service before, and the service is SLOW..the waitress picked up a fork off the floor and gave it BACK TO US, we watched a waitress cough into her hands and then deliver a tray of food!! Anyways, wanted to take out but couldn't find an online menu, so I called and the girl told me to go to www.willowtree.com that it just got rebooted and should be fine. Not there! So I drive over, asked the lady at the counter what the website is " we don't have one" she says. To which I reply, you should tell your employees..."they all know". Obviously not since I was just told you have one."what do you want to order"? I asked for a menu..I knew to leave but had hungry kids...I order pay.. and start to walk away and i hear "bitch" mumbled!! I let it go. My food comes out, she tosses it on the counter and walks away. I ask the girl at the counter if she answers the phone..yes..the OWNER cones and and says you can talk to me...I told her that this girl admits to telling me she told me to check the website! "Well she forgot that its down"...then you lied to me! "I gave never met someone as rude as you" she says...to which I walked over and threw my bag of food on the floor! I can't believe the owner of a restaurant would EVER speak to a customer like that! Clearly her employee was in the wrong, I don't blame her, she most likely wasn't told by this woman! read more

Held my niece's baby shower in the "Boat Room" last weekend. We decided on the brunch buffet and the food was terrific!! Everybody we dealt with, especially Sharon, were so accommodating. Every one at the shower were very impressed and we all had a wonderful time. Lindsey got some great gifts for baby Nolan -- now we just have to have a safe delivery! Thank you also to the cooks and waitress who came in extra early for us! A great time and breakfast was had by all!!! read more

We went there for lunch and I thought it had good food and great ambiance. The prices were fair I thought as well. It's a place I would go back to read more

We took our kids to play mini golf then wanted a nice family dinner. New England steak and seafood wasn't an option as the past few times I've been there the food was terrible. We decided to try this and we were pleasantly surprised at the atmostphere and especially the food. The steak tips and sirloin we had were delicious as were the sides. The prices were reasonable and the service was good. I will definitly go back. They do have theme nights a few times a month. If you're not interested call before going. read more

I have been to Willowbrook many times and haven't been dissapointed yet. I have tried many of the items on the menu. I keep going back to the steak tips which are delicious and the fried shrimp is equally as good. The wait staff is friendly and accommodating. They are willing to substitute and make up any combination of food I ask for! Wouldn't hesitate to recommend this restaurant to anyone. And their desserts are outstanding! read more

We've been going to Willobrook for a while. Yes it has ups and downs but the food has always been good at a reasonable price and varied, the huge booths are terrific and the service friendly read more

I found this place in mid March of this year. I really liked the place. After the 3rd vidit on a Friday night I mistakenly left my debit/credit card there. I did not realize till the Sunday after. I waited until 12:30 pm after their brunch crowd. I called there inquiring about my card and was treated very rudely and told. "Nope, not here" and then they hung up. I then had to cancel my card and bill payments. The following weds nite I was there again and mentioned what had happened. She immediately went out front and came back with my card!!! That sucks!!! Because of someones rudeness I will not return there!! read more