Bakersfield Restaurant Guide

I am a real estate broker in the Fresno area. I have been to the Sherwood several times with my family and with business associates. I have experienced nothing but royalty treatment by Bill, Millie, and their staff. The Sherwood is and will always be my first choice in Fresno County for any special occasions or business entertainment..The food has always been 5 star, and the service even better.

Open! Open! Open!

We miss the tasty dinners!

Gordonna & Michael

We were very disappointed to find this restaurant closed for the summer. We travel to this area twice a year from Southern California, and our highlight is the Sherwood Inn. The slow atmosphere and wonderful attention to details they surprise us with is a wonderful start and finish to our vacation. We look forward to the new opening. Food always FABULOUS!

Kevin & Marta

I am excited to try this Restaurant again, after its vacation. Food was great and service was fantastic.
It is a bit unorthodox, but that is what makes it! I saw one of the owners fall in the fish pond after one to many glasses of wine!! Never laughed so hard!! Comedy and food always mix!

Ah Yes...... Can't wait for them to reopen this summer. Fabulous place!!

Steak & Lobster long overdue.

Lawrence & Janey

Definately the best restaurant in California!! We are also anxiously awaiting their return from their long deserved vacation. We have been patrons for 3 years. Cannot find anything even close.

Bob & Jen

It just amazes me that people have such ill will. This restaurant has been one of my favorite in the last 5 years. However, they have been closed since November. So... why are you folks being so mean? When they open again this summer I will be one of many happy customers that will return.

I have read the reviews and I am looking forward to an experience I wont forget (though I may want to) some people like to watch a train wreck, I want to experience it first hand! Can't wait...will send an update. I am already laughing!

Unforgettable dining experience in September of 2003!!!!!!!!! Yes, The Sherwood Inn WAS a GREAT restaurant in the early 1980's. But, not any more. Long waits to be seated (even when you have a reservation and there are no patrons in the restaurant) You see, they do not pay their help so they cannot keep quality employees. Would you believe they barter with employees for their wages. I'm sure the IRS would find that interesting.

The owners/management/cook/servers (two people) are very rude, and he is not only psycho; he is also violent - he slammed the front door on my husband's arm as were leaving while he was YELLING at us to get out. We were happy to do so. We wouldn't have been there; but the gentleman buying dinner wished to celebrate there. Fortunately, we ended up at the Gourmet Garden. For your information, one Star is the lowest rating that a restaurant can receive.

I don't think that they could pay me to return. The way Bill treated us when we walked into the restaurant was humiliating. We simply asked if there were any tables availiable and he asked us if we had a reservation. We said no, and to our surprise...he told us to wait. We wated for about 25 minutes and were then seated in a completly empty dining room. Excuse me, there was one couple eating. We were then blown away by the prices and when we told them we would be sharing a plate, we were treated as if we had just tracked a mud all over the floor. At the end of our experience, as we were walking out Bill told us that their were cameras "EVERYWHERE" and that we shouldn't do anything drastic....just because we couldn't afford to fully experience more than one meal. I have never been so humiliated and shocked in all my life. It was like being in a nut house.

Simply the best restaurant we have been to. Food and service - superb!

We just love this place!!!!!!!!!!!! A must try!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have been to all the new places in Fresno, and keep returning to Sherwood Inn. This place gives you that memory we look forward to in the future. Great experiences!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!

This was the worst dining nightmare of my entire life. Steven King couldn't have come up with this. My party arrives to a deserted parking lot. We think the place is closed. We get out to see a sign on the door, "Alcoholic Beverage Lisence Suspended." We are all ready to leave when the owner bursts out of the door to shuffle us inside while explaining the sign on the door. (It was unfairly revoked just because he didn't pay sales tax)We enter the restaurant to see only 2 people dining. They leave after 5 minutes. Then it starts. The power goes out. We are sitting all alone in the place in absolute total darkness. You can here a pin drop. The owner starts telling ghost stories. He brings out candles for only our table but the rest of the entire place is pitch black. We are very uncomfortable. We were discussing the ordeal among ourselves when the owner, who was listening in on us from somewhere in the abyss, commented in the darkness. One of us took a candle, walked to the front door to see if the power was on across the street. Out of nowhere the owner appeared and questioned him as to what he was doing. Harmless enough, but remember, it was completely dark. OK, now for the food. It was just plain terrible. The steaks were thin and fatty. The lobster was poor. We couldn't see what we were eating.The service was explained by the owner as " European" meaning lousy. You get the general idea? Now to summarize this once in a lifetime adventure: 5 meals, no appetizers, no drinks, no coffee, no sodas, no dessert,,,, $300.00
PS: Gee, I wonder who could have written these bogus glorious reviews?

Pleasantly surprised. Great Place. Thank you.
The Venti's from Florida

I Enjoyed Reading All The Funny Stories About This Place. I Ate There About A Year Ago And It Is A Two Man Circus. The Owner Served Us And Smelled Strongly Of A Hard Drink And When We Complained About The Food Because It Was Greasy And Cold, Bill Told Us To Get Out Before He Called The Police. He Then Chased Our Car Out Of The Parking Lot Yelling And Then Fell In The Bushes. I Am Afraid To Go Back. My Husband And I Laughed The Whole Way Home.

You walk into this place and you cannot believe what it is. Out in the country - nothing around. And like a museum inside. Very romantic and quiet. Lots of antiques and history because it used to be a school house. The operators are very warm and feed you very well. The food is probably the best I've had in many years. You can tell they really love what they are doing. If you want a good evening filled with warmth and good food - you've hit the jackpot!!

Josiah & Elizabeth

A hidden gem for sure!!!! We were so overwhelmed just by her organic fruit salad dressing. We met them at the farmer's market in Riverpark, and tasted several different flavors she makes, last Tuesday. When she explained how she comes out to the table and takes your order then goes back to cook it, we thought that was a bit peculiar. She really does this. What a change from the same ole hustle and bustle. Her food has so much flavor! She takes the order herself so she can try to match flavors to your personality, too. Quite the experience. We ended our dinner with that killer chocolate cake she serves. Oh boy!! If you want a great meal, a great evening, and a great experience this is where you want to go. Thanks Sherwood Inn !!!!!!!!!!!

Angela Murrieta

Wonderful experience. Beautiful environment, very romantic, secluded, private, quiet. Food was superb! High quality all the way. Excellent service, needs were met before we ever had to ask for anything. Will return here as often as we can. I'm very picky and I had NO Complaints. My compliments and thanks for a fine dining experience.

We were pleasantly surprized with this restaurant. Had no idea there was such a place in the valley. We were concerned when we were told the food comes out slow, however, it was worth the wait. The ambience is very romantic. Not at all what we expected. Lots of care and attention to small details. We highly recommend this to all our family, friends, and now you. The food reminds us of going to your friends house and eating their special dinner they make their guests. The taste is definitely superb. They made believers out of us.

We had our family meet us from Madera and Kingsburg. They opened the restaurant special for us on their night off. We were treated like royalty, from the time we made the reservation to the end. This is the way to have service in a restaurant. And the food has flavor that is unfounded. We were having such a good time with our dinner group, we hardly noticed the staff when they refilled our drinks, bread and water. We commented on how every need was tended to and we don't remember the staff being at our table much. They made us feel that we were very important and didn't want to take away any attention from why our group got together in the first place. Highly recommended. We will go back over and over.

My boyfriend took me here for my birthday. This was the best ever!! He had Red Roses delivered to me after we ordered our dinner. What a nice surprise. We were engaged in each other all night. The food was great!! Highly recommended!! Joely Hanity

What a fabulous dinner we had. It reminded us of being back home in Germany. We stopped here coming from Kings Canyon and Sequoia, on our trip to California. We were very surprised and thankful for their help. It was the 4th of July Celebration weekend, and no hotels had rooms. The owner took his time to find us a room. (And the hotel even discounted our room.) We tell many people of this place. Cris & Helen

Met a business associate here because we heard it was good food and private enough for a meeting. We were overwhelmed by the burst of individual flavors in each dish. I have since recommended this to many people, and now continue to do so. The tomatoe soup was remarkable. I took some home to my wife, and she savoured each spoonful. This weekend we will be going in for dinner again. Looking forward to the meal. (By the way, there was a couple next to us that had the Steak and Lobster dinner. Their commentary during dinner convinced me that this is something to try. When they delivered the dinner they walked by our table. What a big Lobster! The owner told us the tail was a pound. I had the pork dinner. Very tasty and filling.
Jim Jensen

PEOPLE! PEOPLE!! This was the BEST dinner I've had in a restaurant! How could you beat it? They grow their own herbs and vegies. What taste! Nothing was below excellent! My wife and I had a chance to talk to each other - like on a real date. Didn't compete with the noise of loud music, etc. From start to finish we were overjoyed!! Wow on the chocolate cake!! Then my wife was handed a long stem rose at the end of our dinner. What thoughfulness! These people deserve to be recognized in a very positive way. You'll be glad you took my word for it. Mike and Leslie Armstrong

This was a most memorable dinner we've had in years. A hidden gem! These people are very kind and attentive. Very romantic, quiet, slow, and the food is outstanding!!!!!!!!!!!! We have found our new favorite spot.

Someone needs to report this restaurant to the health department.The owner should be taken away in a straight jacket. Be afraid, be really afraid.

I can't believe the experience I had here. HOW HORRIBLE IT WAS. After waiting over 30 minutes to be seated when there was only 2 couples eating, I actually saw our waiter who I guess is also the owner, take the bread basket from a table that was being cleaned, turn around and give it to the cook who then brought it to our table. I watched the whole thing and when I voiced my disapproval of this I was called a lier and told to leave, but not before I was presented with a bill for $20.00 or seating charge as it was put to me. I told this guy (I think his name was Bill) to go buy some fresh bread. I was then informed that the cameras were rolling. I said great, see you on the next "Cops" episode and walked out with my wife. A friend of mine that use to work for a local beverage distributor said that this guy who owns this place is known through out the business as being psycho. If your looking for a fine dinner experience, go somewhere else. If you looking just to satify your curiosity and see if all these stories are really true, have few laughs and head to this place.

Made a big mistake and stopped here on our way back to Fresno from Pine Flat. I was starving and the big sign out front that said BBQ Sandwiches caught my eye. My wife, daughter and I had the lunch menu which consisted of a lousy sandwich, bag of chips that had maybe 3 chips in it, canned soda, and a desert sampler the size of a dime. All this took 2 1/2 hours to get served and eat. Had to listen to the owners stories about how the place is haunted, which I guess allows him to charge incrediably high prices. Never saw the prices or a menu, but after we got the bill which was 65 dollars, I wished I had just had patients enough to wait a few more miles down the road to McDonalds. DON'T STOP HERE!! Since we were new to the area, I did not know this place was the big joke of the area. My co-workers laughed their heads off when they heard we stopped at this place.

My husband and I spent a horrible Valentines Day at the Sherwood Inn. We arrived prior to our reservation time, but still had to wait apx. 45 minutes to be seated. It was apx. 30 minutes between courses, which arrived cold. The lobster was below room temp, and was rubbery. I called them several times to complain, but I was told someone would call me back. (no one ever did) Don't waste your time or money. There are MUCH better places to eat.

We arrived at 5:15 on a Tuesday evening. There was one other car in the parking lot. The hostess needed to "jot down our name and phone number", although she didn't explain until some 3 minutes later that they take diners by reservation. We do not give our phone number out to anyone and really could see no reason why we needed to, as we were not making a future reservation. When we asked for the second time "Are you not serving dinner yet?", the hostess responded "You know, I wouldn't cook for you anyway. You are very rude". Needless to say, we didn't stay and nor will we ever return.

What a pompous #!#~! He must have said fine dining over and over again like a roosters annoying crow more than 15 times in less than ten minutes. His lack of manners and knowledge of what service means, was nonexistent. We had a reservation and after nonsense chit-chat,he told us to have a seat and wait until he got our table ready.(After entering the red curtain we saw that all the tables were set up). The resturant sells gift certificates and purposely does not honor them. It is a fraud. The owners mental health is definitely questionable. After reading these many reviews and hearing many, many other firsthand horror stories you can be assured it felt good knowing that we were not the only ones treated so badly. We did have some good laughs about the experience and wonder how in the world these people are still in business. Cameras and calling the sheriff seems to be a common theme. Do not go there unless you want rude treatment and poor food quality at an outrageous price. Save your money and time and go to Monterey Bay where good service, choice and quality all coexist by the beautiful Pacific Ocean. I think someone pays them to stay away so they can pretend to run a "fine dining" and "European" style eatery. What an insult! NOT ONE PLACE in Europe that I ate at made us needlessly wait and even the best resturants were not so ridiculously OVER PRICED!!!!!

Read all the reviews here, but discount anyone that said it was more than one star. No stars is the highest.
Our party of 4 went on a Friday night, we had reservations for 6:30. We arrived exactly on time, the place was deserted. We were questioned as a detective would about our name, where we live, why we were there, etc. My wife commented "I guess we didn't need a reservation" to which Bill became agitated and asked what she meant by that. I thought it was a joke but it turned out not to be. We advised us that he has a DO NOT SERVE LIST and there are 140 people on it.
We were directed down the dusty hall of antiques as another patron was, and while standing we were discussing the "you absolutely must have reservations" line that Mr. Bill gave us when we came in.

Bill appeared about 20 feet behind me and asked what I said. He was eavesdropping. I asked him what does he do about the tourists that they invite in with the sign outside.

He stated that they accomodate them if they can.
During all of this Bill was very snotty and we were ready to leave already but decided to go ahead and try it.

Bill then reappeared, stated that we are pretty pricey and did I want to see a menu first.
I replied OK to pricey and no to the menu.

I had had enough at this point. We decided to leave. Here is where his insanity showed up.

We move towards the main door and I looked at hime and stated that we were just going to go.

He shouted, "GET OUT" and stay off the property, there are 24 surveillence cameras so don't pee in the parking lot. I was speechless. He ran back inside behind the curtain (the great OZ?) for about 20 seconds. When he returned, I just wanted to know if he was the owner of the resturant.
He screamed for me to get off the property or I'll have you arrested. I had a smug smile as I left, knowing this person is insane. Others on here left or were thrown out during there meals and still paid some of the bill. This moron wouldn't have received one cent from me.

Great food. Excellent flavor. Enjoyed our time very much.

My experience at the Sherwood Inn was terrible. The food was okay, but not at all worth the money.
It is not worth the cost, to go somewhere and be treated as if you are a dummy and then be served food that is poor in quality. It is a beautiful, dusty old place. If the owners were smart, they would read these complaints and learn from them.

The atmosphere is nice, the food is all right and the service is intentionally slow (they call it European style, I call it "buy-more-drinks-while-you-wait" style). But for the price of the meals the atmosphere should be better, the food should be outstanding and the service should be the way YOU like it.

I attempted to give them another try for Valentine's Day. Making reservations well in advance was no problem, and I was informed that they would NOT be serving their regular menu that night but a special Valentine's Day Steak and Lobster entree, (for a special romantic meal, that sounded just fine to me). However, I was then told it would be $138 . . . EACH! Their food wasn't all that great at their regularly high prices, but for $276, (and that's before you add any appetizers, drinks or dessert), I would just as soon buy my wife something she really wants. An overnight trip to the coast, a spa treatment or jewelry would be better than a mediocre, over priced, slowly served meal.

The best meat I ever been served and I have been travelling in the whole Europe!

I will be back everytime when Im in US.

Kind regards!
P Caran, Sweden

This place was the worst I would never go there again. Please don't waste your time. I hated being treated like they treated me and my husband. I cried as he drove me home this was the worst birthday present I have ever given him... SAD!!!

I use to work for The Sherwood Inn, and let me just say that after customers leave, they take the un-eaten bread off the tables and re-use it. Cheap would be a compliment. The positive reviews smelled strongly of Milly and Bill. I don't think a homeless man off the street, offered a free meal would return. They are rude and I was humiliated by the way they treated the people who came to have a good experience...and were over charged for cheaply prepared meals and out-dated food.
Eat here, ONLY if you want a horror story to tell friends.

What a horrible dining experience!! When we (party of 8) arrived to celebrate a friends birthday, we were not greeted. We should have read some of these reviews!! This was a frightening experience to say the least. We were admonished at the door for being "loud" and then received a dissertation on proper dining etiquette. PLEASE!!I've had dinner with The President of The Untied States! I'm certain I know how to behave in a restaurant. When we were finally allowed past the cheap red curtain that we were told separated us from a phenom gastronomique, we were faced with a total of 3 couples eating in small booths, interestingly looking at us as we were seated. Looking back... They seemed to be saying "run for your lives while you can!" Our party never made it to the entrees. What were served was over $100. The taste test of wines which we endured along with the history of each, was abissmal! They were no better than ripple! When one of our party asked for a bottle of wine to be served to us while we waited for the staff to do whatever they were doing, Bill served a red instead of the white requested. He didn't even notice, and just kept pouring telling us this was the best Chardonnay! Our appetizers which we were TOLD we would be ordering were frozen and when brought to the owner (Bill) and Maitre' D attention (Bill) he picked a fight with the group and asked us to leave. That was an hour out of my life I will never get back (felt like 3). He made certain to let us know there were survellance cameras in the lobby (for what purpose we still can't figure out). Take a hint Bill... You have a lot to learn about FINE DINING! Post Script... You always serve from the left and remove from the right. Perhaps a revisit to your Ms. Manners book is in order. You have much to learn on etiquette yourself. At least we all had a great laugh and a terrific story to pass on to others!We all see by the other reviews this was not an isolated incident. STEAR CLEAR OF THE SHERWOOD INN

Unfortunitly I wasted not only $300.00 for a less than steller dinning experience, but 3.5 hours of my life... The service was poor, I felt like the matride' should have been a used car salesmen. He kept ranting on about the how well prepared our dinners were going to be. How he only accomidates 12 patrons and hour, because of his Europian style dinning and how the resturant didn't need the money.... He told us that there is a long wait between courses and that we should use that time talking and getting to know one another. Bottom Line We waited 45 minuets between courses, with each course being not worth the wait. appitisers were strongly suggested as it was going to be a while before the main course was served.....$13.00 for 3 shrimp.. 3 shrimp!!! My God, The waitress, who also announced she was the cook took our orders
and then proceeded to talk to the other guest for what was a good 35 min. My party and I had to take one restroom break and another just to stretch our legs. The menu prices were outrages, $27.00 for half a chicken brest $ steamed broccali!!! I did read the bad review prior to the mothers day fiasco. But I foolishly went ahead believing it was still the restraunt of old. I was wrong and discurage all from spending your time and money in this vacancy. Never Ever Dine at this establishment.... How can these people sleep at night.... It was a total rip off....

We had a very frightening experience at this restaurant. We walked in laughing at a joke one of the members of our party had made. The owner came out and asked us to leave saying that our laughter had insulted his hostess since we were laughing at her. (We Weren't). We told the owner that we had dined at the restauarant twice before and had loved it and had had great conversation with all the help during those times. He refused us service and told us we were under video surveillance. He also mentioned that George Bush had eaten at the restauarant several times. We were very disappointed as we had eaten there last Easter and loved it and had really looked forward to dining there this Easter. This owner's delusional behavior left my family and I with nowhere to go for Easter dinner. Be very careful about choosing this restaurant for a special occasion- you might be left with nowhere to go !!

This establishment is for those looking for a dining experience rather than a fast dinner. The food is cooked to order rather than precooked & reheated. We found the atmosphere, food & service to be superb. You can expect to spend about 2 hours enjoying the ambience, food & wine. For those of you looking for something special, try this place. Their honey whisky steak is wonderful, & I look forward to trying the pistachio crusted calamari on our next visit. Ask your host about the wines as they too are very special! A place to savor & enjoy!

Service was extremely slow!!! When asked about the wait, bus server, waitress, cook, and manager all said it was because they serve their food according to european culture. Forcing customers to talk to their company, give me a break, they are too cheap to hire more help. Horrible prices, pretty good food, but not worth the wait or excuses. Will never go again. Manager even offered wine for the inconvienience but charged us 10 dollars per glass, we didn't even want to take the time to argue, completely backwards place, never go!!!

I went there on a Saturday evening and was met by the owner who sent us down a hallway of dusty antiques and felt we were abandoned. After 30 minutes we were seated in an almost empty restaurant and offered a glass of wine. Menu was pricey and service was nonexistent. Wine was $ 7.50 per glass, food was overcooked but tasty.
Extremely overpriced for the quality of the food.
I will not return. Overhead others objecting to prices and one couple ejected for voicing their disapproval.

Extremely small portions--overpriced.
Veggies overcooked.
Waitress forgot part of our order.

Salty tasting food, cold veggies, red potatoes merely fried potatoes... Fare not consistent with higher than ususal prices, even for a complete meal. Greetings were GREAT!! Great Spot for dining, just needs some different understanding of clientel for that price.....

The Sherwood Inn has been under new ownership for some time now. The new owners have worked hard with service and quisine to upgrade The Sherwood Inn to a fine dining experience. The offered selections are excellently prepared and presented. Service is very well-done. The ambiance is cozy and appropriate. This is a fine restaurant not to miss.
Cara & Dave, long-time patrons