Clearmans North Woods Inn San Gabriel

I'm not sure if this is the original but this is the best that I've been to. A hearty meat and potatoes place. There are peanut shells all over the floor from people eating them. The chess bread and sald appetizer is amazing! Sometimes I get full just from the salad and bread. more

Back in the day (as recent as a few years ago) Clearman's was the place for good, reliable steaks, huge portions, and a fun atmosphere. We went all the time. But recently, we have seen a drop in quality. At first we thought it was a fluke, but as we kept ""giving it another try"" things never got any better and we stopped going. The salad and bread and potatoes are still good and plentiful as ever. But they seem to have drastically reduced the quality of meat they are buying. To be honest, even back in the day, I would not have said Clearman's had the best steaks - but, at the same time, there was never anything to complain about. You could always count on a steak that was good and tender. Now, the steaks are embarrassing - tough and full of tendons. It's really sad since I liked this place so much. If it is a cost issue, I wish they would raise prices a few dollars if it means getting a steak I can depend on. A crappy steak is no bargain at all. Pros: Fun atmosphere Cons: Food quality has gone down more

Always a fun place to go, food is good. Get the cheese butter on your potato. Salads and cheese bread are fantastic. Go early on Sat nights or wait 45-60 min to be seated. Made the mistake of going to the more

What was I thinking? Pros: Always a special place to take out-of-towners Cons: too many out-of-towners more

My Boyfriend and I go here all the time. The food is awesome!!! you can make a meal out of the bread and salad alone. The prices are reasonable and the service is great!! i highly recommend this place to anyone who wants good food! Pros: great food! Cons: always packed more

So who hasn't grown up in the San Gabriel Valley (around San Gabriel, Pasadena, El Monte, Rosemead,... more

I am glad to see that it was not just us who think that the quality of this once great place is not like it used to be. We were highly dissapointed in both the food and the service last night. The steak was very tough and flavorless, and my fried chicken seemed like it was leftover from the night before and heated in the microwave. It was dry and the skin was limp not crispy. My husbands steak was also very tough and he said it was not very tasty. My son did like his crab legs, and the salad was as usual. It was tough to get drink refills and the waiter had zero personality. Remember when they were bouncy and friendly and eager to work there? The management needs to address several issues at this location ASAP. Pros: Parking ,Ambience Cons: Lots of them more

We've gone to the San Gabriel Northwoods Inn for more than a decade. The Clearman operations used to be known for excellent, highly-trained service and good value for the food dollar. Unfortunately, in the last few years, they have cut back on entree portions by about 1/2. Although the salads and cheese bread are still really good, what used to be six shrimps have become 3, the once-larger steaks have shrunk, and are now hardly better in quality than those found at Sizzler. Tonight my daughter and I both left significant, unchewable, fatty portions behind on the plate. Even the containers of melted butter have shrunk ! 'Still good service though- Pros: Great service, friendly wait staff. Cons: Poor quality steaks, shrinking portions, noisy atmosphere, ascending prices. more

Order 2 of whatever you want so you will be satisfied(the portions are child menu size), and oh yeah make sure to take a credit card with a large credit limit (everything except the water is very pricey for what you get).....be prepared to have a headache when you leave due to the volume inside the place. And whatever you do, do not have any kind of problem or concern where management intervention might be needed as they are non exsistent and when you do find them they are as worthless as a $100 bill in this place...There are too many better quality, better service restaurants to choose from than to deal with this place.....try any other restaurant, where you will be treated as an appreciated customer and not a number or nuisance Pros: There's an Elephant Bar next door to the La Mirada location Cons: Everything except the water more

The menu is very limited. The food is OK but you almost leave hungry....The place is loud...shows the many years of wear....The service is coffee shop style...Dine at your own risk as Clearman's has a zero commitment toward customer satisfaction.... I had a dispute on my last visit to the San Gabriel location. I had been dining at Clearmans for the past 35+ years. I was cheated by the waiter out of $100...After arguing with the waiter, the manager, and anyone else I could get to listen to me, I contacted the owner directly. I explained my situation in a two page detailed letter, with names, times and dates. I got NO response from the owner, a secretary or even a janitor. Not even an insincere letter of apology telling me there was nothing they could do.....so if you like too much blue cheese (only dressing offered) dressing on your salad, a steak that looks like it came from a miniture cow and leaves you wanting more, and cole slaw on everything..than have at it...enjoy Clearmans...Your better off at Outback...or even Sizzler..... Pros: Red Cabbage Salad Cons: Arrogant attitude....lack of effort towards customer's satisfaction more

I've been going to Clearman's Restaurants since I was a kid and after all those years they are still first and foremost in my mind when I think about having steaks anywhere in LA County. As previous reviewers stated, their specialty is the salads and cheesebread. Without these signature items the place might be lost among various other steakhouses, but its these items that make North Woods stand out as one of the best steakhouses in the area. They have some great chicken and seafood, but I always go for the steaks. The porterhouse is a great way to top off a long work week along with their delicious rice pilaf and their oversized baked potato with cheese butter or mushroom gravy..or both! Their cheese bread is addictive and will have you asking for seconds, thirds, and fourths. This is not the place to go if you're planning on sticking to your diet. So be warned. The wait times aren't as bad as they used to be but the place still gets crowded occasionally. They're open 7 days a week at 11:30 am til 10:00 pm. If you've never been here before you owe it to yourself to try it. Its the building with the snow on the roof. Check it out. Pros: Great Salads, Bread, Steaks. Plenty of Parking. Very Casual. Great Decorum. Cons: None. more

The only reason that there are not 3 hours waits like there use to be when I was a kid is because of restaurant row in Arcadia. Walk in a you feel like you walked into the Gold Country. Sit down in the huge bar with piano, strong drinks, good beer and peanuts (throw 'em on the floor). What awaits you when you are seated is green salad with the best blue cheese/roqufort? ever next to a tangy red cabbage salad. The cheese bread is addictive. Dinners come with the salads and bread. When you entree comes out on a huge platter you know that you are home. The potatoes are the biggest filled with musroom gravy, butter, cheese butter and or sour cream. You also get rice which is superb. My favorites are the fried chicken (you may ask for all white) and the Lumberjack Steak. These meals are so huge that even splitting them will more than fill you up. They are very accomdodating about splitting and do it right.\r \r Still special after all these years. Pros: Everything Cons: They don't carry their old dark beer anymore. more

honestly, for the price, the only time I will go here is for dinner is if I have some people in from out of town. The potato drenched in Clearman's own butter (available at the grocery store) is to absolutely deleicious. Honestly, between the salad and the potato, you would be filled and save a lot of $$$, although, I am not sure that is an option. Sadly, I have never been impressed with the steak. I like my steak medium well and it just seems like they can't get it right. Also, expect really long waits Fri-Sat nights. Pros: Potato , Salad , Take Out Towners Cons: Steak is just ok more

Splitting meals allows for one to indulge in North Wood's great salads and cheese bread. A split meal provides plenty of food, allowing one to feel satisfied rather than satiated. A favorite of mine since I was a kid, North Woods offers the utmost in ambiance, food, and service! A great dish to split is their combination chicken, steak, and scallop plate--a little taste of everything! Pros: Great Food, Ambiance, Parking Cons: Can be crowded, Dine during off-peak more

From the outside, it's a log cabin with snow on the top...inside it's as kitschy as you'd think it would be. Sawdust on the floor and ""classy"" boudoir paintings on the wall take you back in time to a logging town in 1850. When the waitstaff tosses peanuts on your table, you KNOW you're in a different world. But that doesn't hinder the excellent service or the good food. You can get steaks and baked potatoes with Clearman's famous cheese butter. The mixed seafood plate is more than enough for dinner. Try mixing the two all-you-want salads together, it's a creamy and tangy melange. Pros: excellent food, excellent value Cons: can get crowded, can be loud more

You have to love a place where you can throw your peanut shells on the floor, kids are welcome, and you can have a steak and a baked potato without breaking the bank. They have large tables and can handle groups. The bar is usually filled with a casual boisterous crowd. This is not the swinging singles club, it is more of a family location. more

Awsome salads & steaks. My favorite place. Peanut shells on the floor. Old western atmosphere. more

Over the years we have found the food well prepared and the atmosphere enjoyable, including the complimentary serving of peanuts, which shells are swept to the floor. The excellent coleslaw and red cabbage salads are serfved chilled and the giant baked potoato topped with cheese-butter is terrific. We always have the filet mignon and the large house steak, both of which are tops. Pros: good ambience, good parking, good food more

The red cabbage slaw is enough to bring me back year after year after year. And I've been doing just that for about 30 years. The is not a place to go when you're not hungry. Unless you opt for a sandwich or salad, your meal will be served with two bottomless salads, limp and wonderful cheese bread, potatozilla and rice pilaf. I have actually ordered meals and had my server ask if I'd like my doggie bag now or later. The steaks are good, as is their house steak sauce. I've had good chicken and fish there as well. Even though the wait is often enough to put off many people, you don't feel rushed, ambience is pleasant and your wait person actually acts as if he or she likes having you there. Go. Pros: Lots of good food, Parking's a cinch, It feels comfortable Cons: , Long waits, You must like cheese more

Much to Dark Atmosphere. Food very pricey portion not large if you do not like cole slaw on everything be careful. Pros: Unique, Must see Once Cons: , Pricey, No Variety more