Clearman’s North Woods Inn

I’ve been to almost everyone of the Clearman’s but Magic Lamp. This one has my fav layout. Love!

If you’re from the Covina or San Gabriel area you’re probably familiar with it. A very popular place for events, birthdays, etc. (you’re likely to hear a few happy birthdays, even on a weekday.). I am told the steaks are of excellent quality (I’m a vegetarian), everything I eat is of high quality, plentiful, and flavorful (though not a wide selection for vegetarians, after all it is a steakhouse). I go as I have my whole life and enjoy it very much!

OMG… Why have I waited soo long to eat there?! I’ve lived in West Covina all my 28 years of existence and yesterday was my first visit. The service was great. Everyone had a smile on. The food came in great timing after placing or order. The salads are amazing. The cheese bread too! And our entrees… steak was cooked just right. Yummy!!! I will definitely be back!!!

Pretty romantic place for dates. Awesome look and feel to the restaurant. Steak and lobster are really good.

Date night with the hubby You can never go wrong with the salad and the cheese bread. My hubby loves his fish and chips.

First I just have to say how loooong and uncomfortable the wait time was. They told us it would be 45 mins but after an hour and a half we still weren’t seated. The waiting area was so HOT and crowded! With So many people in such a tiny space, some ventilation would have been nice.
Very pricey for so/​so food. My plate was almost sixty dollars for a mediocre steak. Even the most simple meal of steak chunks on a stick was almost $ 40 dollars. I didn’t like how the meals came with two starches: a huge baked potato and huge pile of rice. No veggies.
Service was awesome. We had a large party of fifteen and David was really nice and efficient.
Overall it was just okay. Not somewhere we will chose in the future for dinner. Not really worth the prices and the long wait time.

I used to really love this place… I remember when the waitresses wore little skirts. The food was better and less expensive… this time my medium filet was way under cooked, never like the rice pilaf but the veggies were good… wait staff were awesome as always!!! I just feel like I pay way too much everytime I go there… I always tell myself that this time will be my last… this time it’s for sure though… cheese bread and salad are the best but I will eat my steak elsewhere from this day forward

Steak is just ok, Salmon taste fishy. but they do have other items that are good. The salad, rice, cheese bread and the chill cheese Hot Dog are really good. Service is good. They do have a big bar area where you can order only drinks and have free peanuts while you wait for your table. Expect a long wait. Shortest wait time that we had was 45mins on a Monday night. 1−½ hours on a Saturday night.

Not really worth it
Steak has no flavor
Still like atmosphere salads and cheese bread
But steaks,
Try the steak sandwich, 15.00 before you you spend 40.00 for ribeye
Will try La Mirada and San Gabriel
Azusa thumbs down

Warning: I am giving this restaurant 5 stars due to (1) nostalgia; and (2) it’s rated in the context of similar restaurants. I love Northwoods Inn! From the glistening snow on the roof to the hunting lodge experience inside to the roasted peanuts while you’re waiting (shells on the floor, please), it’s a fantastic experience. The menu is beef, chicken, and fish, but for me, the reason to go it’s the two salads that you mix and their crazy-​good cheese bread.
Go to Northwoods to remember those special times or create some new special memories with your kids.

This place use to be my all time favorite, USE to be is the key word. This place has gone done HILL, from torn seats to burnt food, no thanks, I will go somewhere else, super sad

Some reviews compliment how great the salads are. I don’t know but I must be missing something… It was the simplest and plainest salad ever! Was nothing but shredded lettuce and cabbage soaked and drenched in ranch and vinaigrette dressing. What’s the fuss over that? And Omg, the soggy garlic toast was so saturated with butter. Not crunchy or crispy. Just soggy and greasy. This is what people are raving over? I honestly don’t get it.
The filet mignon I ordered was tender and pretty good but others in my party who ordered ribeyes and New York steaks came out overcooked. One thing we all wished the restaurant had was their own house steak sauce instead of using typical A1 sauce. Considering the price is pretty expensive for such lackluster food, and since it’s supposed to be a steakhouse, you would think they would at least make their own steak sauce to give its own flavor.
I went this past Christmas and I would only go back to this restaurant during this time of year. The ambience is festive, fun, and has this Christmas snow-​lodge feel. It’s also good for large family gatherings. Otherwise, this place is really mediocre and I would not go back any other time. I would have given it 1 star instead of 2 but the warm Christmas vibe helps.

The first great impression came when I ordered water with lemon to start with and they brought a cup full of lemon. It’s a small thing but it made a huge impression.
The cheese bread– sooo good! I want to eat the whole basket!
The two salads also great especially mixed together!
The large lumberjack steak is perfect to share with an 8.00 split charge. I had been craving steak and it hit the spot. The cheese butter that comes on the potato is perfect. Next time I would probably ask to change the rice pilaf for veggies.
Clam chowder was the only thing that I would not order again.
We had great service tonight and there was hardly any wait to be seated.
Don’t miss the candy/​mint bar on the way out!

Been coming in for years and this place is amazing! For the last visit Amanda was our waitress and she was A+ even though the place was packed and busy for the holidays. Appetizers came out delicious and drinks on time. When food came out the steaks were under cooked and lobster over cooked. I spoke to the manager that was working that day who was Cheryl explaining my issues with the food, she was amazing taking care of us and making our lunch satisfying and now I know why the waitresses and waiters have great attitude and service it all comes from great management.
Will back for more years to come. Love this place.
We had the Porterhouse, rib-​eye, lobster. Shrimp
Thanks again

Northwoods Inn, you will only find a few of these restaurants, and ONLY in SoCal. A cozy family style place that serves the best salads, cheese bread, huge baked potatoes with cheese butter or mushroom gravy, steaks, shimp, lobster, DID I MENTION THE CHEESEBREAD!!! The atsmophere is quite inviting. Love how its decorated during the holidays. Came here for lunch. Decided to eat light and just have salads bread and baked potato. Never a disappointment. Lunch start at 11.95, Dinners are more, be prepared to spend your money on good quality food. Service is outstanding!

The bestest place ever!!!
Always at this restaurant for family get 2gethers or anniversary parties.
The food is xpensive but sooo good.
Their endless bread, salad, n cabbage is the awesum!!!
I can’t xpress enough how this place is such a good place 2 come 2.
The way it looks outside n in is nice n cozy.
Will always b returning here, as a matter of fact later 2day I will!!!

Who are these people who eat here, enjoy it and WHYYYYYYYY??? Please read in full before you make an almost $ 100.00 mistake like my family did!!! It’s long but nothing but the truth! I have a problem with paying for crap, cheap food and feel that others should be warned. They try to fool you with the large portions…
We have read some good reviews, seen lines on weekends and always wanted to drop in to check it out. Really cool looking place from the outside. Sooooo we go, really big and welcoming inside. Nice staff and service. Large portions on plates can be seen on your way to be seated, peanut shells thrown on the floor from patrons (cool) Now that I got the good out the way lets talk about the food!
I ordered the steak bits, chicken and scallop platter with potato (wanted to check out a little bit of everything) (29.99)
My 12 yr old had the hamburger steak with baked potato (21.99)
My husband had the pastrami dip (came with side of rice pilaf) (11.95)
My 4yr old had the kids cheese burger and fries (6.95)
Let start with the unlimited salad– Iceberg soaking in a mixture of blue cheese and ranch dressing (throw up in my mouth) Waaaay to much dressing. BTW, Cheap lettuce pounded with dressing is not SALAD! and why would I want an unlimited amount of it! Also served was chopped up red cabbage that taste pickled. No one ate this. Just too much of a vinegar taste. and I love red cabbage
Unlimited cheesy bread– Regular slice bread, toasted with cheap cheese and butter (Greeeeeezy) Heart attack just waiting to happen, My kids took one bite and gave me the side eye then threw it back to the tin foil it came in. (Side note) Cheep cheese is ALWAYS GREESY AND TASTE BAD!
Bake Potatoes– Large, cooked well with a big GLOB (4 tablespoons at the least) of butter, sprinkled with season salt! (Me and my daughter removed most of it) The butter was over whelming and I LOVE butter on my bake potatoes but NOT THE WHOLE STICK!
My Chicken (fried) was bland and looked as if it had vacationed under a heat lamp and my steak bits were OK, Ordered medium, a bit tough (three large pieces on a skewer) The scallops came three, large on a skewer, breaded (bland, nothing fancy) Only ate one.
My daughter had a large size hamburger steak, with caramelized onions on top. she said it was OK. Nothing to order again
My son enjoyed his cheese burger but it was nothing special, He really like the steak fries
My husbands Pastrami first threw him off because who eats pastrami WITH RICE! The bottom of his bread was soggy and falling apart when he received it. And he loves to go to THE HAT for pastrami and this place cant compete! My husband called it mediocre and plan. Didn’t finish it
Now for the price and the way some people rave over this place I was expecting sooo much more. Instead my family got a meal that was less savoring than hometown buffet. NO I wont return, No I wont recommend. The one star was for the nice waitress we had.
I Wish Flappy Jacks was open nights!

Look guys. This is just a straight up honest review. I’ve been eating here since I was a toddler so I’ve got deep love for this place. It just has to be said. Xoxo.
This is where we come and have our Christmas dinners each year. I decided to stop by Friday and have our date night here. The wait is too long, but that’s nothing new. The cheese bread and salad have started decreasing in quality. The bread taste a little stale or old the past few visits. The cabbage salad needs more vinegar, in other words it was lacking the tang! This specific stuff made your restaurant famous. Don’t slack on those! I’ve always thought this specific location was slightly over rated. However, it’s the nearest to me, so it’s where we come. It doesn’t compare to the San Gabriel location and the Clearmans Galley also in San Gabriel. Not sure what they do different here but they need to get it together. Our waiter Tim is usually full of life and has tons to say and great suggestions. This time he looked extremely tired and just looked like his mind was elsewhere which meant we got «whatever» service. My husband ordered the porter house I think and I had the chilli burger which comes on one slice of roll or something that just doesn’t compliment the chilli. My husband would give this place a 5 star review because it was his first time, and his steak was awesome. However, having been a customer for over 15 years of the Clearmans brand alone, I feel this place needs a small face lift. It’s not horrible but it’s not the same. Not worth the $ 100 bill. Rather spend it at the Clearmans Village. Overall, my food was bleh and hubby’s steak was spectacular. Service could have been better.

This place is the best! And I mean the best when it comes to steaks, cheese bread, and salad. Their ambiance is super interesting. The whole restaurant is a log cabin and inside is dark with minimal lighting. Oh and it has snow on the roof top. Feels like your getting away from the world for a bit. I have been going here since I was little. Never gets old. But for the first time I realized how expensive it is. But the real price is in the quality of food and how they cook it. Since I can’t eat much meat these days I decided to try the grilled Mahi Mahi. Which was reallllllllllllly good. Also had a half order of scallops. Tasty as well but mega expensive. They were 10 bucks for 3!!! But they were worth every penny. Can’t wait to go back!!! Soooooo good.

My husband requested I take him to clearman’s for his birthday last month and of course what the birthday boy wants, the birthday boy gets. It was our first time there and all I have to say is the birthday boy left happy.
While waiting for a table we loved that there were complimentary peanuts for guests to snack on. Although we didn’t make reservations, we only waited about 15 mins on a Saturday night around 6:30. Can’t complain about that!
Once seated we ordered drinks and our entrées. Entrées were standard surf and turf and our steaks came out the way we liked it. Huge plus is the amount of food our entrée came with. Almost every review raved about the cheese butter on the baking potato so we had to try it. Out of everything, I would say this was the most disappointing. My husband’s potato was literally drowing in cheese butter that there just wasn’t enough potato to stand up to it. Maybe we should’ve asked for the cheese butter on the side.