Buckeye Roadhouse

Old Charm and Big Taste in Mill Valley, Marin County

Review by Gretchen Wendel and Adam Schomer

“Stop in, enjoy the clubby decor and be welcomed by a lovely staff and first-class charm.”

Try the Slow-Cooked Baby Back Ribs

Step into the Buckeye Roadhouse’s dining room to enjoy its grand high ceilings, big windows and elegance. Or tuck yourself into the bar for cozy dining with old-world, clubby charm. Either way, you’ll feel well taken care of, be well-fed and entertained by good taste and history in this Mill Valley destination that’s renowned for its ambiance and cuisine, throughout California.

Lets’ start with the food, then get to the history that dates back to 1937. We started with what was one of the most enjoyable salads we’ve enjoyed in months — a melange of fresh kale and mint in a goat-cheese vinaigrette. The perfectly crispy kale was softened by the evenly distributed goat cheese. Texture is key in a dish like this, and the salad delivered this in spades. As for taste, it was unusually robust for a salad. Plus it was a pleasure to find such an exquisite salad at a roadhouse where the menu’s specialty is a wide range of meats. Likewise, we felt the pan-roasted artichoke starter was perfectly cooked, moist, bursting with flavor thanks to the garlic aioli that came with it. It too was a wonderful vegetarian choice if you lean in this direction.

Our main dish of chili-lime brick chicken was sensational. A half-chicken is flattened and marinated in lime, chili, cilantro and garlic for 24 hours. It’s then pan-roasted, skin-side down with a weight on top: hence the ‘brick’ nomenclature. This style of cooking chicken leaves the skin extra crispy and the meat tender, succulent and barely needing a knife. Our taste buds exploded in delight. Truly, this was one of the most flavorful chicken dishes ever. Accompanying the bird were crunchy deep-fried polenta sticks (like cornmeal French fries), avocado and a cilantro creme fraiche. Every bite was a treat.

For contrast, we tried an entree of butternut squash ravioli. This was a generous portion, amplified with assorted sautéed mushrooms including chanterelles and black truffles. A final gloss of pecans and Pecorino cheese made this dish as richly complex as it was delicious.

As if the meal wasn’t as sumptuous as it was, we savored the history of this place as well. The Buckeye was built in 1937, the same year that the Golden Gate Bridge was being built just a few miles down the road. As a consequence, the owners obtained some of the extra bridge cables and worked them into the roadhouse’s decor. In addition, the bar stools are still the original stools (reupholstered, of course). And in these times of fast-paced tech-driven Silicon Valley whiz kids, it’s a treat to come to a place like this and kick back in its clubby, sturdy atmosphere that celebrates the first half of the 20th Century. You feel like you’ve got all the time in the world, that you’re in at the beginning of the happening scene in California — a pre-technological time when charm was king and relaxation was the norm. Stop into Buckeye Roadhouse, enjoy the great tastes of both the decor and dishes, and be welcomed by a lovely staff and first-class charm.

Location: 15 Shoreline Hwy, Mill Valley, CA 94941   map
Phone: 415.331.2600 
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