Buckhorn Steak & Roadhouse

Winters, CA

One of our favorite local restaurants is Buckhorn Steak & Roadhouse located in Winters. Over the past couple years, the Buckhorn Grill name has been permeating throughout Northern, CA with establishments in San Francisco, Napa and Sacramento, however, the original Buckhorn establishment is the only place with a full steakhouse menu. With a bevy of excellent grilled items and an extremely friendly staff, we've never had a bad meal there. With both of us taking a much needed Friday off, we treated ourselves with a rare Thursday night out. The place was packed at 7:30 and we waited 10 minutes before being seated. The place is great, but its pretty pricey. The good news is, they have daily specials and Thursday's have two perfect ones, a burger and beer (Coors or Bud) for $10 and steak and lobster for $30. Since I grabbed a beer while we waited, I opted for a root beer instead, but a huge burger and drink for ten bucks anywhere is steal, let alone a great place like Buckhorn's. 

Fresh sourdough bread

Once our order was taken, we were served a pipping hot loaf of toasted sourdough bread. Last time we came here with BroCo, he ate probably two loaves of this bread on his own and all the butter. It's really simple and really good. It went especially well with the soup that came with the lobster and steak entrée.

Beef Stew

The soup of the day, beef stew, was heavy and hearty. With large chunks of sirloin, potatoes and carrots, it was an extremely filling starter that was large enough for the two of us. 

Bacon and Cheese Sirloin Burger

Did I mention that this massive burger was only ten bucks. It was topped by bacon, cheese, and crispy roadhouse onions. The large patty had to be at least an inch thick of quality, juicy, flavor-full sirloin. It was an awesome, huge burger. The fries were also really good, crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. I was stuffed by the end of the meal but couldn't stop munching on these addictive potatoes. 

Steak and Lobster

Chu-Toro had the steak and lobster, although probably didn't even dent half of it. The huge sirloin was perfectly cooked medium rare, thick, juicy with a perfect smoky flavor. It's not the most tender or fattiest cut, but Buckhorn's cooks it perfectly and it makes every bite enjoyable. The lobster tail was sweet and delicious, but it was only about a half an inch thick. I'm not sure where the rest of it was. There was so much food anyways, it was a moot point. Not that, I needed something else on the plate to be tasty, but the mashed potatoes were rich, creamy and yummy too. 

When they asked us if we had room for dessert, I laughed. We were both destroyed. Chu-Toro even said she was full after the bread and stew. We were really stuffed and happy. Throughout the meal, the staff was attentive, kind and really down to earth. It's the type of neighborhood feel you'd expect after eating at the same place for years and makes you feel comfortable and welcomed. One of our local faves, and will be back soon.


Rating 8/10
January 20, 2011