1150 Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa CA 95404
(707) 542-0861
Parking: in parking lot
http://williebirdsrestaurant.com/
Last Visited: January 22, 2005
Food: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Price: $$ to $$$
Willie Bird’s has been around for a long time. The business card says it’s Benedetti’s Willie Bird’s restaurant. It’s well known for turkey, and big turkey drumsticks. You’ll see Willie Bird’s at local events, and you may also hear they have a Willie Bird’s farm. It’s family dining at it’s best.
The restaurant isn’t sparkling on the outside, but the locals know what draws you in. They have turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and the fixins’ available for take out as well as dine in. The walls are oak with lots of plates on display featuring, of course, turkeys. It reminds me of old style cruise ship dining rooms with all of the wood around. There are wooden poles with a simple décor. Near the ceiling is a shelf displaying many German beer mugs of various shapes and styles. Enter the restaurant and you’ll see the open kitchen which looks like a buffet of salad items, bread, and soup. You can watch the cooks happily doing their work. To your right is a dining room with booths. The middle room contains the oak bar which takes up a large portion of the room and has full view of the television. In the rear is another dining room, slightly more formal with green table cloths covering the tables. The lighting in the rear room is dimmer compared to the one out front. The carpeting is green, and an old metal carved chandelier hangs from the ceiling, although it isn’t lit. Lamps with green, red, and white colored glass light the room. On the oak walls are shields, armored men, and an unusual picture of kids in their hunting gear holding guns. There is a glass shelf holding more turkey memorabilia, and of course, the shelf near the ceiling contains more beer mugs.
Another feature of Willie Bird’s is the old family style food and service. With dinner, you get a choice of soup (this evening the soups were clam chowder and turkey and rice), a salad, bread, and an antipasti dish. The soup comes family style in a huge bowl so that it can be shared. The plate of antipasti includes salami, pepperocinis, olives, carrot sticks, and celery sticks.
On the table is the soup bowls stacked on top of salad plates. A folded white cloth napkin is placed in the soup bowl.
The menu contains a variety of sandwiches all ranging just under $9. There are also full dinners with many turkey options drumsticks and a seafood section too. Prime rib dinners are also available on weekends.
All sandwiches are served on whole wheat bread. An addition of avocado is available for $1 more.
- Turkey Club Sandwich – Four stacks of triangles are filled with fresh turkey, bacon, ham, lettuce, and tomato. The bread is toasted and lightly spread with mayonnaise, and the ingredients are all quite fresh. The club sandwich is accompanied with a small stack of pickles. Choice of fries, potato salad, and macaroni salad are available. We selected fries, and they were mini wedges – fresh and crispy. There were a few fries that may have been from the bottom of the pile being slightly soft, but for the most part, all of the fries were hot and crisp.
- Hot open faced turkey sandwich – Turkey breast is sliced and placed on a piece of whole wheat bread. On the side is stuffing and mashed potatoes (probably from a mix and not homemade). Brown gravy is poured over the sandwich and the sides. The stuffing is flavorful and made from wheat bread. The turkey comes in thick slices. It’s a quite filling and is a great way to sample their turkey.
During my first visit, I was impressed by the style of service at Willie Bird’s. Although we waited a while after finishing our meal to receive the check, the style of service is family friendly. The waitresses are dressed in white shirts and black pants. They treat their customers well, and it feels like the good ol’ days. They’re kind and have a caring nature about them. They handled the children at the next table well, and were familiar with the workings of Willie Bird’s.
During my second visit, it was my mission to try the soup. It looked too good during my last visit to pass up again. Tonight’s soup specials were lentil or turkey and rice.
- Turkey and Rice – The turkey and rice soup is flavorful with bits of turkey, rice, celery, and carrots. The broth is light. Good and hearty.
- Lentil soup – The lentil soup contained a variety of lentils and was thick, but not overly so. It’s warmth and nice texture make it an ideal choice for a cold evening. A touch of salt made it fit my tastes even more.
- Salad – Chopped romaine lettuce is served with chopped tomatoes, seasoned garbanzo and kidney beans, a slice of beet, a curled carrot, and a choice of blue cheese, Italian, thousand island, or ranch dressing. The dressings taste homemade. Some of my lettuce was wilted or blemished, but for the most part, the greens were good, and the portion ample.
- Roasted Turkey Drumstick – A large drumstick is roasted until tender and served with stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes and brown gravy. If you don’t mind removing the meat from the bone and tendons, this is a great treat to enjoy some dark meat. See stuffing and mashed potatoes comments in open faced sandwich section. Good. $13.95
- Pan Fried Chicken – The menu warns that 30 minutes should be allowed when ordering this dish. A piece of breast, thigh, wing, and drumstick are pan fried until golden brown and served with a choice of baked or mashed potatoes or French fries. A vegetable of the day, broccoli in this case, is also served with the chicken. The chicken is excellent. Juicy and succulent. I would recommend trying it out. The French fries are cut thick and crispy. The broccoli is overcooked, or at least overcooked compared to the way I like it. Great chicken. $12.95
- Turkey Stroganoff – Noodles are cooked with ground turkey chunks, mushrooms, and sauce. The stroganoff is served with a mixture of sautéed carrots and onions. The noodles are thick and the sauce evenly coats them. A hearty variation of beef stroganoff. $13.95
- Turkey Fried Steak – A large steak of ground turkey is breaded, fried, and topped with country style gravy. The steak is thick and tender. The size of the portion is great. It’s served with a side of cranberry sauce and the vegetable of the day. The breading results in a crisp and flavorful coating that is fried until golden brown. Good. $13.95
Service this evening was okay. The staff was still polite, but considering that it was a slow night this evening, and one of the water glasses at our table remained empty from the middle to the end of the meal, the service was inexcusable. We also spent some time waiting for the arrival of our check.
Overall, I enjoyed my dining experiences and would visit again. The sizes of the portions are large and you won’t leave hungry. Check out Willie Bird’s for some fine turkey dishes.
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