Backwoods Inn — Restaurant in Santa Clarita

I never leave reviews but felt compelled to leave this awful review after going to Backwoods last week. My family has been coming to this restaurant for over 30 years. My parents even got engaged here 45 years ago so this restaurant is very special to us! I have been hyping up this restaurant to my wife for years and finally took her there to celebrate our 15 year anniversary and get some steaks as I hadn't been myself in quite a few years.

We ordered the New York and Filet Mignon and as we both took our first bites, looked at each other and immediately knew these were the worst steaks we have ever had in our lives. Both pieces of meat were dry with no seasoning and no taste at all. Our waitress was a sweetheart and I nicely mentioned that the garlic bread was fine, the twice baked potatoes were amazing as always but that the steaks were absolutely terrible and had no taste at all.

She was very apologetic and nice about it and mentioned the owner decided after the pandemic that she wanted to leave off seasonings because she was worried about peoples allergies... As someone with Celiac Disease, I can say I have never heard that horrible and pathetic excuse from an owner to save money on costs by blaming food allergies... on a piece of meat... We aren't talking pasta or bread or even potatoes that could possibly not be gluten free but meat?! She mentioned there was salt and pepper on the table for people to add taste. I couldn't believe she actually said that! I am paying all this money for steaks and then I have to prepare it myself?! She was really nice and a great waitress but I just couldn't believe the excuses I was hearing. We had to ask for A1 sauce just so we could some sort of taste to eat the rest of it. I heard the table next to me ask for Cesar dressing and the waitress said the owner cut down the dressing choices also but still named off 6 other dressings. Its a steak house and you don't have Caesar dressing?... come on!

I pulled up reviews online and saw several other people complaining about the horrible steaks as well. I was so disappointed to take my wife here after years of great memories with my family and the steaks end up being terrible! We will not be back until the owner cares more about customer satisfaction over...

I have been living in the Santa Clarita Valley since 1977 and actually used to work here bussing tables as a teen, over 30 years ago. I have eaten here hundreds of times in the past and have always had good service along with a great steak/meal. I took my 20 year old daughter there for dinner tonight and was very disappointed ! My daughter ordered a $30 filet and asked for Medium and I ordered a Porterhouse medium rare. My steak came to the table and was medium well and my daughters steak was straight RARE. After taking it back twice to cook it, the steak came out butterflied and tasted like a bar-b-que grill. I ate mine, although I wanted it to be medium rare, it was more like well. The garlic cheese bread sat on the counter, until it was cold, which kinda sucked, as our salads were great, but could've been better with the garlic cheese bread that we watch sit on the counter, as our waitress passed by it several times. It was not crowded, so that was not an issue.... Not to mention, that I had to ask the bartender for a refill, because our waitress was too busy talking to another waitress. That's when I was informed by the RUDE bartender that they charge $1.00 for each refill. Who does that now-a-days ?? I will probably never go back and waste my money here, which is a bummer, given the history of the business and I like to support the mom and pop shops in town. I'll take my business to Black Angus, when I'm wanting a steak, they have great service and their food is very good. The Backwoods inn has a limited time to survive and by the vibe in the place, it won't be long, before they have to close...

We had a lovely time during our first visit to the Backwoods Inn. There's no secret here... this place is all about the ambiance. It is fantastic! It is difficult to even begin to describe it's eclectic feel. Elements of victorian, colonial and the country old west all are blended together to create something special that somehow absolutely works! There is so much to look at including a full-on museum in the bar!

Unfortunately, the food and value don't match the same level of enthusiasm. The food wasn't bad, but it was so-so. Well... the dessert (I ordered a slice chocolate cheesecake) was pretty bad. But everything else was okay. But it is pretty high priced. For the prices, I would expect much better. In particular I was surprised by my son's $13 shrimp kids meal... that included (wait for it) TWO pieces of shrimp. Really? The ribs were alright. The potatoes were really good. The clam chowder was decent.

I'd say the food and value are either a 2.5 or 3, but the ambience is such a 5 that it lifts my score to a 4 just because you simply MUST visit. Maybe try to go for lunch when things are (I would guess) a bit cheaper. It was very relaxing and my family had a...