God I love this place, good food and the chilled red wine just hits the spot, come here everytime I pass los banos

I ordered take out. 6 good size pieces of lamb chops, pint of beans, potato salad, soup & a salad tray. All for $65. Fed 6 of us perfectly with leftovers!!! Savory food. Well worth the price 👌

First time here tonight. Great quaint homey atmosphere. Food was delicious, staff were friendly and attentive. Glad my friend Art brought me to this little gem, he has loved for so long.

The best lunch in California... One of my top favorite restaurants. A must when in or traveling through Los Banos 🐻

Amazing food, it's like stepping back into history or Gramma's kitchen! You pick your main meat from Lamb crops, New York steak, rib eye or, chicken and then they bring you the sides family style. Salad, vegetable soup, beans, Lamb stew, bread and butter, potato salad, and French fries are ALL INCLUDED. And a bottle of red table wine!!!! All included, oh and ice cream at the end of dinner.

This is a diamond in the ruff. The food was amazing. Basque food, was the first time I tried a place like this. It's a good thing I don't live closer because I would frequent this place often. The lamb stew was off the chart. The lamb chops were delicious, and the ribeye was perfect. The flavor profile of these foods was amazing. It has been a while since I've had such great food

This local restaurant is a great place for something different. It’s all family style meals. You pay one price per person and get served all sorts of sides and then a choice of main meat. The lamb shoulder is very well flavored and the serving size is huge. Don’t forget about the non ending wine they serve you. I definitely would recommend this place for a tasty experience.

It was everything my friend Joe made it out to be hearty delicious food and plenty of it. It's the only time I've wished that I could eat more than a small meal since the drug that fixed so many things for me limited how much I could eat in a sitting without paying a harsh penalty later.

For the person who has never been to The Wool Growers Restaurant this is an old world Basque restaurant serving traditional foods in a family style setting with communal tables. You will order a meat item, I had the pork chops ( delicious) before your meat item is served they bring you bread and butter, vegetable soup and beans. After this they will serve you a green salad and potato salad. You're not done yet, next is lamb stew and it is so tender and flavorful. Then after all of this food you get to the meat course and my pork chops (2) were garlicky and delicious, thin sliced, tender and cooked to perfection. All of this and red wine that is low alcohol and suitable for young and old alike. This is by no means cheap, but factor in all you get with wonderful staff that serve you like family! This was always a favorite of John Madden and it's worth every penny! Thank you to The Wool Growers!

Great place to grab a bite to eat. The Lamb Stew was my favorite and go with friends or family as everything is served family style. Something for everybody.

Very quick service, the food was amazing and the waitress very attentive to our needs. It's not a quiet place by any means, but the noise level was manageable. Obviously, the more people dining, the more noise. People dine at long tables together, so you may be sitting next to someone you don't know but people are really friendly here. They also serve a bottle of house wine that comes in the meal price. You get your salad with delicious Basque dressing, lamb stew or vegetable stew, fries, beans, and potato salad along with bread and butter. And your entree dish. Bartender was friendly, quick service there too. The restrooms were clean. I've had the pork chops twice, the fish once, and every time I've gone in there, I've never been disappointed. Go check it out! Guaranteed to not leave hungry!

My first time here. The food was great. We shared the family-style dishes of chicken rice, bread, salad, soup, and beans. Our party of six ordered lamb loin chops, baked chicken, and tri-tip as our entree selections. The meats were all super tender and flavorful. My husband said the lamb was the best he'd ever had. I liked the tri-tip a lot but wish it hadn't been covered in so much gravy. The gravy was really good, but sort of overwhelmed any tri-tip flavor so it could have just been any roast. We waited a while for our food, which our friends told us was unusual. The whole place is in one big room with a high ceiling, so when people start talking it gets LOUD. Overall a great lunch.

My husband and I stopped here just passing through not totally knowing what to expect. Everything was phenomenal! The family style meal with traditional recipes COULD NOT HAVE BEEN BETTER! The waitstaff was friendly and efficient even though they had an unexpected rush right before closing, which is hard on any restaurant. They really know how to make fantastic lamb- shank, roast, and stew were each different, tender and very flavorful.

Birthday Celebration For My Sister At Wool Growers Was Great Last Night! Staff Was Very Nice & Kept The Amazing Food Coming! SO Much Food! Soup, Salad; Bread, Lamb Stew Was All Delicious 😋. Didn't Really Need To Order An Entrée But We All Did & My Steak Was Huge, Juicy, Tender And Cooked To Perfection. Complementary Bottles Of Wine & Ice Cream Were An Added Treat. We Loved The Family Style Atmosphere At Wool Growers & Can't Wait To Go Back.

One of my favorite meals ever. I had the Lamb shoulder. It was wonderful... but the Lamb stew was the star of the show. It's family style seating and serving. You sit down and they bring bread, wine, salad, stew and potato salad... it wasn't like any potato salad I have ever had. I loved it! Then they brought whatever you ordered. Everyone was having fun and eating great food...Basque style!

Excellent food and excellent customer service. They seat you family style. Side dishes are bottomless. Their vegetable soup is delicious, their pinto beans are very flavorful, their salad, even though it's just lettuce was really good, they make their own dressing. You get a bottle of red table wine, which wasn't bad. This place is a must visit!

Update: You can not pass up trying the double dipped chicken. Crispy skin and moist chicken. Super good! Wool Growers has been a favorite of our family for many years. Always our go to place to celebrate Birthdays, Graduates or just life. Great service and delicious food. Love love love the Lamb Shank here. 😋

Once again the Wool Growers came through with an amazing meal! Jesus was our server and he was just great. We took my dad and sister, who had never been, and they loved it as well. We had lamb, ribeye steaks, and fried chicken. Everything was cooked perfect. I hope to be able to come back everytime we are back in CA.

Wool Growers in Los Banos has a cozy bar atmosphere perfect for a casual afternoon out. My girlfriend and I enjoyed our time, especially with Jesse, the sweet and accommodating fill-in bartender who made us feel right at home. However, a local who claimed to be from England monopolized our conversation, which became overwhelming. Despite that, we had a great experience overall. The warm ambiance and Jesse's service left a lasting impression.

3/10/2024 After visiting my dad at the cementary in Santa Nella, we drove to Wool Growers for lunch. This was our first time having lunch at wool growers. We've had dinner many times but the lunch was actually very good. It starts off when the bottle of wine, salad beans, bread-and-butter, chicken and rice was wonderful. I had the rib eye cooked perfectly medium rare and my wife had the New York strip. I've still not had a bad meal here. The server was a little all over the place, and it wasn't too busy. Definitely worth the drive to enjoy great food.

Place was a little dated. Food on the real pricey side... But.. That was the best lamb I've ever had. Salad was delicious, Beans were scrumptious, French fries ok, but that lamb was epic..Soup was tasty but a little plain, Chicken was good, tri tip a little underwhelming, did I mention the lamb? Oh man.. It was perfect.. Seriously... I wanted to try the wine but didn't get a chance too.. Next time.. But if you go try the Lamb..

I lived in California, and traveled around the state for work for 20 years- so I've dinned at thousands of California restaurants. So, when I say this is literally my favorite restaurant in the entire state of California, I think it means something. And,. FYI it's also the favorite of my wife, and all five of of our children. Y'all have probably already read the reviews about the food, atmosphere, service, and prices- and I agree with all of the amazing things that have been said about this restaurant. But, I want to share a different experience we had that may explain more about the culture of this restaurant. On Halloween, I traveled to Los Banos for work. Our five small children didn't have school that day and they all love Wool Growers, so they asked if they could join me for the journey then we could have dinner at Wool Growers after I finished work. My wife took the kids to a few houses for trick or treating while I finished working, then the kids wanted to wear the Halloween costumes to dinner at Wool Growers. The atmosphere and food were absolutely amazing as always, but at the end of the meal several waitresses brought over large Zip Lock bags of candy and gave them to our kids. Our kids were so happy! Of course, we thanked the waitresses many times and I think I left a very healthy tip. Wool Growers sets such a high standard of service, family dining, and warm-hearted atmosphere that it's impossible for me to imagine someone not loving this place. No, it's not in the 90210 zip code, and you won't find a valet service, mint brazened escargot over a bed of arugula, or any vintage 1912 French wine- but in this humble little farm town located in the center of the agricultural heart of California- you'll certainly find the most unique and warm-hearted dining experience of your life.

So much food and so good! My pork chops were A+ Fun family environment

Great historic Basque restaurant. French Basque food at its finest, served traditional family-style 🐑🇨🇵😘 Excellent service and authentic set-up and hardy fare. Very popular with the local crowd.

Never knew this place was here. A friend introduced me to it. So good!

I don't consider this restaurant cheap, but I DO consider it a great deal. You can order with or without an entree (without an entree is cheaper, for fairly obvious reasons). Either way, you get bread, soup, salad, fries, potato salad, beans, and a fantastic lamb stew. Some nights they have pig's feet. Other nights they have chicken and rice. If you do choose an entree, you get an additional plate of meat of your choosing: they almost always have steak, pork chops, and roast chicken. Sometimes they have roast lamb, lamb chops, or other specials. They finish every meal off with a homemade hard cheese and ice cream, the kind that comes in individual styrofoam containers. They also serve a sharp, but surprisingly drinkable red wine with every meal at no cost. Though the décor isn't anything to write home about, I consider this restaurant a must every time I pass through Los Baños.

Great restaurant. Good meats. No real options for vegan eaters, but the house wine is good.

+4

Fantastic hometown service, food and drinks. When you find a place like this you never want to go to a chain bar/restaurant ever again.

Can't beat the price or the food, been coming here my whole life. It's worth the drive from Patterson, Newman, Merced, and now Chowchilla. Food comes out in courses, and every dish is better than the last. Will always recommend this restaurant!!

Great Bartender, Great Food The Lamb Shank was off the charts plus the rest of the lunch sides.

Excellent family style restaurant 1st plate is soft French bread with butter paired with wine 2nd plate is a hearty bowl of beans that make for a great bread dip 3rd plate is a savorful vegetable soup 4th plate is a salad smothered in dressing 5th plate is one of my favorites, the lamb stew, super tasteful, hints of sweet broth salivate your tongue as you began to chew the fresh cooked lamb, by far the lamb stew I've tried Finally the entrée lamb chops, for the novia, and ny steak for me. I have to say I was impressed with everything I ate, mind you this was my first time here, nonetheless I was most pleased with the creative flavors used to cooked the lamb chop and lamb stew. Wool Growers is now in must try again list as I anticipate to try more of their excellent wine while enjoying a 6 course meal. Thank you Wool Growers

We love this place. Food is plentiful, service is wonderful and always meet new interesting folks

My favorite stop on the way to Fresno. Charming and friendly ambiance. The food is authentic and plentiful. A glass of red wine is included. Basque cheesecake is not too sweet and has the texture of a cloud.

I'm giving 5 stars for the experience of enjoying Basque food at this historically significant restaurant. Although times have changed and it doesn't seem the place is actually frequented regularly by real sheep herders of Basque lineage, the food is still consistently good. Featuring family-style seating and family-style food, you certainly won't leave hungry. You also need to definitely leave low carb expectations at the door, however with all of the food served, someone eating this way can choose what to enjoy and still eat enough and well. We loved the pigs feet and lamb stew. The veggie soup and salad are also classic and a great start to this wonderful meal. (I should have passed up seconds on both to save room for the main course meat.) Definitely a must try.

Never a disappointment. Amazing food, casual, family atmosphere. Make sure you are hungry. Yummy soups, salad, bread, wine, beans, stews and wholesome main courses, like bbq chicken, tri tip, pork chops, oso buco, and more. A must try! Wear loose fitting clothes....lol.... you need the room.

Family style dining. Huge servings. Excellent quality. You won't go away hungry.

Great stop for those travelling I-5 between SF and LA. A little off the freeway, but well worth it. Great tasting and plentiful food. You will leave satisfied. Great local ambience and chance to experience the Central Valley community. Historic and interesting story. Check out the website and video on Youtube. Bar looked fun, too! Highly recommended!

Great place. I have been coming here for over 30 year. Alway great food and service. Tonight we had the rib eye steak and roasted lamb. With the soap, salad, beans, stew, main meal and ice cream it was very filling. Definitely come hungry

So much good food ! It is impossible to leave here not stuffed to the limit and bring home a doggy bag!

Pasta was a bit salty in shrimp scampi but the rest of the dinner was very tasty.

What an amazing place! An unassuming restaurant. Don’t go there for the ambiance, but if you want incredibly good food and attentive staff, this is the place.

This was the best place to eat at for a good meal and decent service. My husband took me here the other night for a little dinner date. We had delicious bread, ok wine, and ice water, along with the beans for the bread, really good btw, and the cabbage vegetable soup was delicious, then we got a really good ceasar salad, along with a good crunchy texture potato salad and then more yummy bread with the butter and finally our lamb ontop of the mash potatoes. Omg so good and so stuffed.

Great Waiter and Great Food

Delicious as always! Ribeye was cooked to medium perfection. Pro tip, add some of the beans in the vegetable soup 🤌

I always get excited when I plan to eat dinner here. Great food and always a lot of fun to eat here. If you go away hungry there's something wrong with you😊

My favorite place to eat when crossing the Valley. This is one of the last great traditional California-Basque canteens. Don't come here expecting a cheap steakhouse, quick meal, or haute cuisine. If you're lucky, you'll be seated at a communal table with checkerboard tablecloth and area farmers. There's no printed menu. If they're serving lamb shank, order it -- when you pick up the bone the meat falls off in aromatic bliss. Every entree comes with a progression of hearty sides and simple house wine. Pace yourself. This is a farmer's meal. Service is efficient, kind and unpretentious. Treat your waitstaff well. Take time between courses. Talk to people at other tables. Be grateful the Wool Growers Restaurant has survived the commoditization of California

CR Navarrete

Service was friendly, dinner was served family style as you would expect. Lamb stew was excellent and our whole group enjoyed the meal from beginning to end

michelle coelho

We had Our Parents Reception there on November 28.. it was Amazing and Beautiful, the Food and Staff were so on Point. It goes without saying that everything that was served tasted Devine and We had a Blast in the Bar 🍸 😉 too .. Thank You 💜

Jose Cabanas

It's place to really fill up your belly. Very inexpensive. Recommended for bigs groups.

Town Traveller

Historic restaurants serve Basque dishes. The staff was nice and they have this family style sitting style. A ready-made menu course depending on the date. The serving is a feast even with two, the fries and pasta was delicious.

+6

System Security

Basque beans and a nice fresh salad. Good way to start the Merced Spring Fair. Try there house red .. special blend you will love. Great music in bar. Be sure to say hi the the bartender Andy... He is spot on taking care of customers. Ron

Ruth Strom

We have come here over the years while when this area. Our visit last night was wonderful as always. Service was excellent, many enter choices but we both had the lamb loin chops. Ask of the accompanying dishes were excellent too.

Alec Scott

Honestly some of the best food I've had at a restaurant in awhile. The lamb stew was maybe the best lamb I've had in the states, and rivals the best I had in Greece

Owen Bird

We had a very nice lunch there. The staff was super friendly and helpful. The food was amazing and there was so much of it too. Had to take a lot of the main food dishes home. They had good music on. Seemed like a lot of locals were coming in too as well.

+4

J Ho

Great dinner with included bottle of house wine, which was excellent! Very reasonable prices and plenty of food. Will definitely be back!

Tonya Kubo

We love this place and have been coming here for special occasions since 1992. Ownership has since changed but everything feels just the same. You still get a bottle of house red wine on the table for free and enough food to possibly feed an army. This is not an in-and-out meal out. It's an experience. We usually spend a couple of hours when we go. I like to bring a handful of friends with me when I go, so we can all pick a different entree and share. Everything is served family style, and the number of sides you get is jaw-dropping for first-timers. My favorite sides are the vegetable soup and the beans. The salad is made with a house dressing you cam buy to take home. As far as entrees go, the shrimp is my top pick when available. I also enjoy the prime rib, the pork chops and the New York steak.

+2

Koko W

Wool growers offers a unique dining experience. When you first enter the dining room, the seat positions are totally unorthodox and super pleasing! There is no menu (at least not in this COVID-19 times). The server comes and tell u what they have for the day. I tried their lamb and OMG what an experience (see photos) it's incredible! They started with Bread and butter then a super tasty veggie soup followed by a delicious salad with potatoe salad that was to die for. And then came the lamb in a delicious sauce and as if all that was not enough, they have another plate of lamb filet (baked I think) all of them so tender you don't need a knife. The generous meat portions that were in the sauce were falling off the bones and the sauce , the carrots in it, the potatoes, so succulent, beyond delicious. It was so good I almost cried. I couldn't help it, I Tipped the cook! Definitely the best place to go when you are hungry!

+10

David S

I heard about this place for years but I never made time to visit. I finally went (and on a Friday which is the only day they serve shrimp scampi and baked fish) and the food is really good. The scampi is a red sauce type, not white sauce. I had never had it before and it was really, really good. For $20 during lunch and $25 during dinner you get a 7 course meal. They start your off work bread then they give you beans and vegetable soup, then they bring you salad then beef stew then fries and last, your main course. At the end they give you ice cream and each meal is served with red wine. Service was good and it was pretty busy, we went during lunch time about noon. They serve all types alcohol, you can check their menu it's blurry but that's the one they have on their site. I'll be going back soon, it's a drive from Modesto but worth it in my opinion.

Was there on Saturday Night 6/15/2019. The food was excellent but the service was lacking. It took the 2 of us approximately an hour and a half to get served. We felt forgotten by the waitress. We waited a long time between courses. There were several people who came in after us and left before us. I ordered the New York steak medium rare, but received it rare. The waitress never came back to see how our food was. We will try it again and hope for better service.

This is a Basque food restaurant. The food is very tasty. Very good food and although some people may say it is expensive, I'd say it is not. The price is around $25, but you for sure will never leave feeling hungry. The menu varies each day, however, if you ask for something they aren't serving that day, they will cook it for you. Employees are very nice and always asking for what you may need. The bar is also very good and you can eat there as well. Every time I have been at this place, I have left very satisfied. The chilled wine is always great too, however you can always oreder drinks from the bar. It is a restaurant to visit at least once in life.

Unusual format for eating. If you order the basic, it includes beans, vegetable soup (I heard putting the beans into the soup is pretty good, but I only tried the beans), a simple, but delicious salad (it's all about the dressing!), potato salad (good, but a little sour taste to it), lamb stew (phenomenal!!), and bread slices (pretty amazing too!). Also provided is a "bottle" of some basic red wine. Not as strong as most red wines which is why I like it. It's a bit pricey, but definitely worth the money. Food is served as if at a family meal in big bowls that each person can serve themselves from. You can order an entree (steak, lamb chops, shrimp scampi, depending on the night of the week), but you would only make it through the entree if you don't eat too much of the other stuff mentioned above. Tried the Picon. A bit strong, but worth a try. Waitress seemed confused on pricing and pay time, but overall pleasant atmosphere and experience.

We went as a group of 40 so we didn't see the menu. Beans and soup and salad we're excellent. Accompanying red wine was not. Dinner was at 6 and they ran out of a main dish. Prime rib was tender but smothered in brown gravy disguising it's flavor. Bar pricing was not consistent. If in town again will certainly try the regular menu.

What's not to like... Long tables full of laughing, happy people - friendly service chatting it up - large dishes with serving spoons to dish it up on plastic plates - and neighbors to meet. Family style all the way! On a road trip we decided to look for a little adventure in our meal and mix up the experiences. It was all we could have hoped for and more. There were many choices in addition to all the automatic side dishes. We had baked chicken (Not sure how they made it taste so good) and New York steak. My steak was juicy, seasoned and prepared beautifully. The punks was much fat, thin and over cooked, but mine was so large, she ate some of mine and there was still plenty. G.T. loved the fact the wine comes in a little bottle with no markings, perfect compliment for the meal. The lamb stew was his favorite part, tender meat falling off the bone and hearty. Perfect for a chilly night, but still good in the summer. The french fries were the perfect crispness. The vegetable soup was a hit. There was nothing pre-packaged about any of this meal. But what we loved most, was seeing groups of families and friends laughing and sharing a meal. The punk ate two bowls of the beans but let me know they were not the most favorite beans she ever had. I think most kids would really like them. Her favorite was the individual little ice cream she received at the end. She tried the lamb stew and "liked it a lot". She thought the salad was spicy? Overall, she ate so much, she couldn't finish her ice cream, a rarity for sure.

I have been twice, like others, first time I went the servers stood around gossiping. Food took forever and wound up having to tell a different waitress that we had been waiting 2 hours with just soup and salad. We were there a total of 4 hrs. 2nd time we were served fairly fast but still had to ask for the lamb stew. It was not busy so waitresses visited with us and we had a fairly good experience. My grandkids could not believe the amount of food and the home style setting. I really like the place and the food. I love flavorful kinda sweet wine and theirs does not disappoint.

Cafeteria atmosphere, long tables. Food was good but not exceptional, although they give you a lot of courses. Bring your appetite because they give you a lot of food. If you expect to take leftovers home bring your own container because they only give you a plastic bag for leftovers.

Our first experience at Wool Growers was for dinner on a Friday night. The place was packed. Long tables of about 20 on one side so about 40 to a table. Food is served family style. Starting wine, soup & bread, then salad & beans, lamb stew (not fond of lamb but it was delicious), french fries, your main entree, which you choose, whereas the rest is automatically brought to your table. We had Prime Rib which was excellent. You better like a rowdy, loud cowboy crowd & not mind rubbing elbows with your neighbor. There were tables for 2 to 4 around the edge of the room. It was a memorable occasion!

Food was good but such a different type. Meaning you get a meat entree and then they serve you ; stew, french fries, salad, bread, baked beans, wine and lastly ice cream. Not a place to go if on a diet , that's for sure. Seems it was made originally to get customers full for their journeys to come. My party I was with made it enjoyable. The atmosphere is very dark. And kind of like tables put together just to fit more people. Very old school. I'd go back and try something else, I had the shrimp scampi. Was not bad but it was bland. My friend's loved the pork chops and tri tip!

Great food and plenty of it. My favorite part of the meal was the lamb stew. It was delicious. I also had the New York steak which was cooked perfectly. All of the sides they brought out were very good. My family really enjoyed it. I wish they had a little more wait staff, they seemed very busy.

Definitely a 1 of a kind restaurant , great food and plenty of it ! If you have kids don’t sit by the bar window as the lady bartender voice carries with allot of F bombs . Other than that I definitely recommend the Wool Growers .

Bartenders are friendly and professional. Excellent drinks. I grab a cocktail and get food to go about once a week, I recommend the lamb stew... delicious. Bar area could be larger. Fun atmosphere with fun locals.

Furiosa J

It was a great experience, amazing food, definitely family friendly. The only issue was the togo box was bags... not very environmentally friendly but I get costs or whatever the reason. Still a good place to dine

Kevin Silva

Wool Growers in Los Banos, California, delivers a delightful dining experience with exceptional service and delicious Basque cuisine. The staff was incredibly attentive, making us feel welcomed from the moment we arrived, and the complimentary bottle of wine was a generous touch that elevated our meal. The food was outstanding—generous portions of flavorful lamb stew and perfectly seasoned chicken left me satisfied. While the atmosphere felt a bit lackluster, lacking the vibrant energy we expected, the top-notch service and mouthwatering dishes more than made up for it. A solid 4-star spot worth visiting!

Mike Kelly

Great food! The family dining experience is something you have to get used to, extended family is sometimes a great thing. Lamb stew was fabulous, ox tail was out of the park, potato salad has a distinct flavor, I would not seek it out but would not turn it down either. Try Wool Growers, you will like it!

Ursula Jaso

It was delicious, now, I am from Bakersfield and raised with Basque restaurants, if you go expecting the same set-up you will be disappointed. It will not be because of the food, every single thing is flavorful, the meats were tender, and the sides and table wine was yummy. The disappointment, if your from Bako, will be your bias to the Bako Basque restaurants and the table set up that includes sides that they do not serve here. I enjoyed it and fell in love with the Lamb stew.

+4

Lewis Wasserman

This is an authentic French restaurant, which means it’s very unusual here in the States. Most of the seating is along long tables which are shared by multiple parties. The meal is a set menu, served family style, and you pick your meat. The set dishes include vegetable soup, salad, bread, potato salad, chicken and rice, French fries (duh), red wine, and ice cream. They bring way too much food, so come with a good appetite. By the time my tri-tip arrived, I couldn’t finish it. Service was efficient, and unaccompanied by pleasantries such as smiles. (Again, authentic French.) The food was generally good, though I found the soup a bit salty for my taste.

The steak I ordered was thin, dry and not at all tasty. I ate 1/3 of the steak and left the rest. For the price I expected a better meal.

I came in to this place for a quick lunch. Having never been hear before, I did not understand why there was no menu to chose from or why they brought out separate large potions of side dishes, I also did not understand why they brought out an unlabeled bottle of wine when I did not order it, I did not even know it was wine until the waitress aske if I was going to drink it. although it was a strange experience my New York stake and French fries were very good.

We have been going to WoolGrowers for over 30 years because their food is excellent. We had a birthday lunch there for a party of 30.WE’RE NOT DOING A LARGE THERE AGAIN ! I put down $ 150 to reserve a private room. I spoke to Valerie by phone a couple of times & once with a male staff to arrange for the party preparations, electrical outlets, WiFi etc. THE DAY BEFORE THE PARTY, I get a call that they overbooked & the private room was no longer available! There went my party plans🤨. Valerie tried to say I changed the time of the party & that’s why it was double booked! They had 4 opportunities when I called 4 times to advise me of their mistake. They gave us 3 appetizers to make up for the inconvenience. Oh, and also, they don’t split the check, so we had to figure out who would pay how much ( a real mess & challenge). Isabel our wait person was very gracious & did the best she could.

diana Perry-ceja

I had the lamb chops. They were overcooked, burned. The lamb stew was amazing but only had 3 pieces of lamb in it. Just not the same good quality. My husband had steak. He said it was tough. Service was amazing.

M J

The location is quaint and nostalgic. My middle of road rating is based on the restaurant promoting gluttony and waste. They probably shouldn't be open for lunch because they don't give you any options and its one size fits all 4-5 course meal. By the time my entree came I was full and had to take it to go. They only offer a cellophane bag for your leftovers. It looks a little like something you use to pick up dog poop, quite unappetizing. The food quality is about a 7.5. I guess for what you get the prices aren't bad but who wants to pay $38 per person for lunch.

Yuan LIU

"Lamb chops, beef chops, or chicken chops?" That's the all-American word of the day. I had been to canteen-style diners. (Heck, you can even say I grew up in canteens.) You just go to a window to order and bring food to a seat that you can grab. So from the moment I was seated - by an actual server, I began to wonder how this canteen worked. Do they even take order? There was no menu on the table (except a faux-leather covered wine menu), nor did the server casually drop one there. There were already two fairly large groups. They did not look like they had self served. So I decided to wait instead of ask. After five or seven minutes, a waitress came to pop the question: Which chops? The choices are so simple, no menu needed! Soon after ordering, we've got a water jar, bread and butter, and, ahem, a bottle of table wine. To be honest, this is the first time I've seen an open bottle of table wine in a restaurant. Even though I don't drink, I am very curious what table wine tastes like. So I took a sip. It certainly wasn't your pinot noire or sauvignon. Although I'm sure that its alcohol content is within common red wine range, it does have this tinge that reminds me of the Chinese 烧酒. (Shaojiu or shochu, literally means burning wine. Often associated with unrefined drinkers, it is known for its 60% alcohol content.) Next quickly came a large bowl of iceberg lettuce drenched in some kind of ranch dressing but much lighter with a heavy accent of vinegar. After bread, butter, and salad - all off-the-shelf stuff, I was expecting the entrées. But then came a large bowl of vegetable soup and a large bowl of baked beans. My daughter began to muse: "So this is going to be courses." The soup was very poorly made, but the beans were delicious. We didn't finish it only because we needed space for meat. Ah meat. My daughter ordered lamb chops and I pork. Lamb came in three big chops, and pork came in two even bigger. To top the entrée off, this was accompanied by a plateful of "chicken rice" as the waitress called it. It was stir-fried with at least 50% chicken meat! As if this is enough, the waitress came back with a plateful of French fries. Unfortunately, neither the rice nor my pork chops tasted any good. I didn't taste my daughter's lamb but she said it was good. Good or bad, the two of us finished only half of the "main course". Just as I was thinking "are they going to serve dessert" now that this proved to be a three-course meal, the waitress brought two small packaged ice-creams. The tally? $15 per person. With this much food thrown into the meal, I can see why this remains a popular place for over a hundred years despite uninspired cooking. Maybe their unique name helped, too. We were in a nearby gas station and called up Siri for lunch. My daughter chose this one because "(Wool Growers) sounds interesting!" even after I reminded her that the cuisine is marked as "American". In other words: no cuisine. This would be my second time eating this country-style multi-course meal. The first time was 30 years ago during my first visit to the U.S. That was a banquet offered by an IEEE society at its annual symposium held in Historic Williamsburg, VA that year. So even though the style was the same, cooking was very refined. In short, off-the shelf bread, butter, table wine, and ice cream; terrible soup and pork chop; very bad stir-fried chicken rice; uninspired iceberg lettuce; excellent baked beans. (And don't forget French fries - it would take some talent to screw up this one.) Loads of meat, little cuisine. Go for the dining experience if you haven't tried. Or go for the meat on the buck. (They do not have the typical styrofoam or paper containers to pack leftovers. When asked, the waitress produced a transparent plastic bag.) I'm not a drinker, so I can't comment on wine selection or taste. My educated guess is that all are off-the-shelf.

I have been going to the Wool Growers for years. It has always been excellent, even after the owners changed. Tonight I was so disappointed! The salad, that I usually love had very little salad dressing on it. The lamb was so tough you could hardly chew it. Part of the lamb in the stew was also tough. I waited for at least 20 minutes for a glass of wine I ordered. The staff try, but there was only one very young person waiting on all the tables while we were there. So disappointed. Will probably not go back.

The food is great, unfortunately the service was not. We have been customers there for many years and it is hit and miss since the new ownership. We had a party of 19 and left a mandatory $76.00 tip..so of course since the waitresses knew this, they didn't even try for good service and it was obvious. We only got 2 bottles of wine, and 3 plates of sides (chicken and rice). Normally a party of 4 gets 1 of each side dish and 1 bottle of wine. Technically if you do the math, we should have gotten more than 3 of the sides, and more than 2 bottles of wine. When we asked for more they said it was $10.00 extra. We paid full price and a mandatory tip for poor service and not enough food. We won't be going back anytime soon. Other reviews say large portions, but it only applies to small parties I guess...

Food your aunt who can’t cook well would make. Charging top prices for cheap cheap low quality food. The atmosphere is also unpleasant - it’s like a warehouse with barely any windows. The tables are tacky. I would’ve let it slide if they weren’t charging almost $40 for an extremely subpar meal. I had the lamb loin chops and they were almost all fat - dead give away of the poor quality. The sides were just bland. Ingredients look like they came from a bargain grocery market. I left feeling really sad for all the people who think this is good food and don’t know what a rip off it is - no wonder they don’t give you menus here :-/

Restaurant has really gone down hill sense the new owners. We have been going there a couple times a year for at least 15 years. My husband had the prime rib and ordered medium and I had the ribeye, his steak was basically raw and he eats prime rib at other restaurants often, this was not hardly cooked. My ribeye was paper thin and cooked to leather death, I couldn’t even chew it. We basically drove an hour to purchase meat for our dogs . The waitresses need training as well, ours didn’t even bother to offer a fix for the steak.

Horrible food, horrible service. This was the worst eating experience I've ever had, the meals were about $40 a piece and the meats we got (Lamb chop, New York steak, Rib eye steak, Pork chop, and 2 others) were extremely fatty and very greasy. The waiters seat you fast, then ignore you as you try to flag them down. We had 15 people in our party and they only gave us 3 menus! They only refilled 5 of our drinks and didn't ask if anyone else needed refills, waitress seemed annoyed when taking order when we kept asking what was on the menu cause they didn't give us all one to look at, and to top off this horrible experience they don't give to go boxes, they literally give you a to go bag that looks like it's from a grocery store.

I visited this restaurant a week ago and accidentally left my Ray-Ban glasses behind. I called the restaurant and spoke with a staff member who confirmed they had found my glasses. I arranged to pick them up a week later, and the staff member agreed to hold them for me. However, when I returned today, no one seemed to know anything about my glasses or the previous conversation. Despite spending an hour trying to resolve the issue, the staff claimed they couldn't find my glasses and apologized for the loss. Unfortunately, it seemed like no one was aware of the previous agreement, and my glasses were nowhere to be found.

Sorry but this restaurant was very disappointing. First time here. Drove all the way from Stockton expecting more. Unfortunately we don't have a Basque restaurant here. We lost Ospital Basque years ago. I was in the mood for some nice Basque food but the closest restaurant that advertises Basque food was the Wool Growers Inn. I had heard some good things about it so we decided to make the drive with our hopes held high. The hostess seated us right away, however, no server came for at least 20 minutes. I asked the hostess at one point when we would be seen by the server? She just blew me off and walked right by. We were actually about to leave but then someone did arrive. This gentleman was apologetic and said something about us not getting checked in. He went to check the computer. In any event there were patrons seated after us that were already being served their food. The servers appeared frentic and disorganized. The other staff who set and cleared the tables were basically throwing plates on the table as they set them and the whole place was so noisy! Evidently there was a birthday party on the other side, so me not having been here before thought well, maybe having those extra people threw them off. The food was not that great. Salad was just lettuce with dressing. Wow, maybe throw something extra in there. The minestrone was watery and poorly seasoned plus lukewarm. Needed something extra for sure. The potato salad was very dry. My friend's prime rib was "okay, but needed to be warmer." My rib eye was nothing to behold. Overcooked and dry. Left most of it. So disappointed. The only redeeming feature of this entire dinner was their lamb stew, beans, and bread. Will not be making this trek again. Very disappointed!!!

I hate having to write bad reviews. I wish I could say that this restaurant is excellent, that their food is of great quality, that their service objective is to ensure customers satisfaction, and so on. Unfortunately is the opposite in all those point and more. And I don't think the owners or management care. But, that is the trance among business these days; they prefer to save a penny at the cost of loosing customers. We have been twice to this restaurant. This second time we reluctantly agree because it was the group's choice. At the end the group agreed: we should've gone somewhere else! Not only they mess up our order, but the ribeye was so tough that we had to point it out to the server. To which the server reply with an unemotional 'sorry,' period. I will make sure to remember Wool Growers to ensure not to return to it.

The food was good up until are ribeye steak came. We ordered our steaks to be cooked medium, they were well done and very dry. Our appetites were gone at this point. Instead of offering a discount on the $32 each steaks, they only offered to cook another one. So I took them home to maybe eat later. I feel that this is poor management. Gina our waitress was excellent, unfortunately this place is going down hill. Been coming here for over 35 years and I can say I won’t be back. Bad ending on my daughters birthday.