26 Best Restaurants in Sacramento and the Gold Country, California

A cheery, sometimes boisterous vibe prevails at this ode to Black cuisine and culture that former NBA star and past Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson and his wife, Michelle, founded in a high-ceilinged, quasi-industrial space 3½ miles southeast of the Capitol. Expect heapin' helpings of soul food's greatest hits—gumbo, shrimp and grits, oxtails, and fried chicken, catfish, and pork chops among them—that you can pair with sides that include hush puppies, black-eyed peas, candied yams, and collard greens (with turkey necks).

From potato pancakes for breakfast to grilled rib eye for dinner, this bustling bistro with a series of wainscoted rooms and an outdoor back patio has something for all palates. Lighter grilled vegetables, chicken, sandwiches, salads, and homemade soups always shine here, as does heartier fare that might include elk medallions and prawns, forager-mushroom risotto, and cioppino with a relatively delicate yet full-flavored broth.

The smell of waffle cones will guide you to this town treasure whose Portuguese-Swiss namesake has been making ice cream since she was a young lass. Handcrafted flavors include Chill'n Cherry Chip (cherries and dark chocolate) and Wake Up Murphys (coffee, cocoa, and fudge).

A casual spot on the eastern edge of town, Alchemy serves sturdy comfort food like meat loaf, pan-seared fish, and mushroom bourguignon over polenta. Fried calamari with roasted jalapeños and a Caesar with smoked-Gouda croutons are among the starters that pair well with the many Calaveras County wines on the list.

Inside the historic American Block building, which dates from 1856, you can see this craft operation's beers being made through glass walls behind the dining room, which serves burgers, fish-and-chips, short rib and fish tacos, salads, sandwiches, and other decent gastropub fare. Gold Country Pilsner, Old Town Brown, and Gold Digger IPA are all Great American Beer Festival award winners.

One of Auburn's favorite old-time breakfast and lunch spots entices patrons with waffles, pancakes, Monte Cristo French toast, and a slew of egg dishes you can wash down with an award-winning Bloody Mary or two. Feast on burgers, sandwiches, and more Bloody Marys for lunch.

On some sunny weekends, it seems like half of Amador City has dropped by this small brewery's front porch or umbrella-shaded back patio to enjoy beers that include one made entirely from Amador County hops. The chef, who has a talent for making the familiar unusual, times seasonal items like cornmeal-breaded asparagus fries to local farmers' harvests, with pickled eggs, hot honey walnuts and dates, risotto croquettes, and a sausage-and-kraut plate counting among the year-round possibilities.

The exposed brick, reclaimed wood, and natural light streaming through large-paned windows of this easygoing comfort-food hangout make a great first impression. Favorites like tater tots (in truffle oil), French onion soup, and chicken and waffles (with pecan butter, maple syrup, and pork gravy) prove simultaneously familiar and intriguing.

Centrally located Charles Street, its rustic decor heavy on the wood and Old West adornments, at once evokes both the gold-rush days and the 1980s, which is when it opened. The extensive straightforward menu includes hand-cut steaks, honey-barbecue baby back ribs, several pasta dishes, chicken, pork loin, lamb, a few well-adorned burgers, and some vegetarian options.

The decor signals more ambitious fare, but massive half-pound burgers and sandwiches like the Ultimate Grilled Cheese with smoked bacon and tomato between three slices of sourdough bread are what this restaurant inside a late-19th-century stone-walled building is about. Locals crowd the tables, especially after 6 pm, for the ground-meat patties, beer-battered onion rings, and veggie burgers.

Breakfast salads, avocado toast, and caffeine several ways are on the menu at this jovial café that’s also a good stop for sandwiches and charcuterie, hummus, and bagel boards. You can eat indoors or watch Main Street’s comings and goings out on the patio.

Inside an exposed-brick 1857 former assay office where miners exchanged gold nuggets for the coin of the realm, the Heyday is a happy haven for salads, panini, and thin-crust pizzas at lunch and dinner entrées like seared salmon, hanger steak, and pasta with mushroom ragout. The mood is casual, but the food is prepared with style.

This Midtown eatery with a vaguely industrial look and a casual vibe takes its food seriously: nearly all the produce is sourced locally, and the chefs prepare only sustainable seafood. BLTs and grass-fed beef burgers (and a plant-based option) are among the staples, as are steak and fries and pan-roasted fish with seasonal vegetables.

Since 1956, the Gillman family has been serving up its famous two-patty "Moo Burger"—so big it presumably still makes cow sounds. The convivial diner is also known for milk shakes and floats.

Many patrons at this restaurant serving seasonal California cuisine are attending performing-arts events at the Mondavi Center a short walk away or visiting their kids at UC Davis. With hardwood floors and soft lighting, the dining room is cozy and romantic, but when the weather's fine, the tree-shaded patio out back is the best place to enjoy dishes like tomato bisque crowned with a puff pastry or herb-crusted rack of lamb.

Perch yourself on this homey bungalow café's wide porch for homemade soups, salads, and sandwiches that include tuna plus three or four tri-tip, turkey, chicken, and BLT offerings. Everything from olives, jalapeños, cornichons, and celery to bacon, cheddar cheese, and shrimp—sometimes all of the above and more—accompanies the peppy "loaded" Bloody Marys (vodka and virgin), nearly a meal in themselves.

The wood-fired pizza oven blazing away on the sidewalk turns out this café's handmade pies, but the lunch and dinner fare extends beyond them to pan-seared fish, a tri-tip sandwich, and fresh salads with ingredients from a local farm. The brick-walled dining room has been a farmers' hangout for breakfast (you name it) for decades.

Comfort food crafted with care makes a trip to this low-slung restaurant on downtown's edge a pleasure whether you dine inside at linen-topped tables or on the dog-friendly, street-facing patio. Several burgers, one vegetarian, another named for a local winemaker, entice the regulars, but don't overlook dinner entrées that might include shrimp curry, lamb and grits, or grilled Indian-spice tofu with pistachios and Sriracha.

Exposed brick walls and a pressed-metal ceiling heighten the air of nostalgia at this restaurant whose theme is the golden age of road trips and automobile service stations. Half-pounder burgers and pulled-pork, tri-tip, and other sandwiches and wraps count among the menu's highlights, along with small plates like nacho fries and fried calamari and entrées that might include chicken, grilled salmon, or steak.

Homemade lunches and breakfasts served with warmth and cheer are the trademarks of this restaurant and coffee shop in Sutter Creek's historic district. Egg scrambles, pancakes, bagel sandwiches, French toast, and biscuits and gravy headline at breakfast, with soups, salads, sandwiches, and wraps on the menu for lunch.

A local success story that expanded into a second storefront after a few years in business, Small Town serves morning coffee and baked goods, by 11 am adding small bites, salads, sandwiches, and flatbreads. For a midday pick-me-up, pair affordable, well-selected wines from the area and beyond with deviled eggs, a three-cheese mac, or an artisanal charcuterie plate.

Locals flock to this always-busy diner on a Victorian's ground floor for lobster Benedict, a spiced-up Mexican chicken scramble, and other dishes that are anything but your ordinary eggs and pancakes (though you can order those, too, as well as vegetarian versions of several items). Imaginative burritos, wraps, burgers, and more lobster in the form of a melt sandwich appear for lunch.

A circa-1865 Victorian that was expanded willy-nilly over the years houses this downtown spot known for made-from-scratch fare. Scrambles, four-egg omelets, pancakes, waffles, and French toast get things going for breakfast (served until 1 pm), with salads and well-built sandwiches the main items for lunch.

Sacramento's rich and famous, including California governors going back to Ronald Reagan, settle into the elegant spaces within the city's restored first brick firehouse to dine on award-winning contemporary cuisine. The creative fare ranges from carpaccio, seasonal oysters, and braised pork belly to delicately spiced fish or scallops and herb-crusted rack of lamb.

Black subway tiles, contemporary bistro furniture, and a gray-marble counter lit by Edison bulbs lend urban panache to this fine spot for a craft coffee or one of more than two dozen local, national, and international brews on tap. In a space once occupied by a drugstore, the Pour Choice serves light fare that might include a grilled gourmet-cheese sandwich on ciabatta with bacon.

Baked goods, wood-fired pizzas, excellent coffee (teas and kombucha, too), and microbrews made on-site draw locals and tourists to this redbrick spot with a high, heavy-beamed open ceiling. The food's ingredients come from nearby organic sources; the beers on tap range from blond and pale ales to triple IPAs and several porters.