47 Best Restaurants in Sacramento and the Gold Country, California

The tale of how the couple running this spot for to-go or dine-in French food became husband and wife says all you need to know about their passion for beautifully crafted cuisine—he won her heart with his escargot sauce. In a casual space with ocher walls, six utilitarian stools at the wine bar, and a few tables inside and out, the two serve baguette sandwiches; salads; crepes; stews; and entrées like coq au vin, cassoulet, and pork tenderloin.

The husband chef at this East Sacramento restaurant recognized for its singular concept and chic, deep-green aesthetic creates nimbly plated Italian-tinged cuisine his sommelier wife and co-owner pairs with international wines from mostly Italian grapes (the California Nebbiolo selection alone is epic). Seafood is a specialty on the three- to five-course prix-fixe tasting menu, which always includes exceedingly fresh and tender oysters, alluring pasta dishes, and often voluptuous entrées.

Farmhouse meets semi-industrial open-kitchen chic at this light-filled restaurant whose executive chef found success in the Midwest and the Napa Valley before returning to Sacramento, where his culinary career began. Carefully chosen produce and proteins go into shareable small plates and larger platters that might include crispy octopus, vegetables à la plancha (seared on a metal plate), or smoked roasted lamb.

The menu describes this restaurant inside an ivy-covered redbrick building as "a comfort kitchen," but the term doesn't do justice to the sophistication displayed in the cuisine and presentation. Dinner items on the seasonally evolving menu have included mushroom dumplings in a shiitake ginger broth, diver scallops with pureed cauliflower and bacon jam, hanger steak with smashed fingerling potatoes, and a corn polenta bowl with asparagus and mushroom gravy.

This swank restaurant and bar near the Capitol is artfully designed and thoroughly modern. The California–French, farm-to-table cuisine changes seasonally, but typical dishes include oysters on the half shell, steak tartare, and wood-fired bone marrow and entrées like wood-fired beef tenderloin and poached or pan-roasted fish.

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.

A 2023 refresh of the Imperial Hotel's ground-floor dining space made the most of its existing charms—tall ceilings, original woodwork, exposed brick walls—enhancing these elements with Gold Country memorabilia, sturdy tables, leather chairs, and metal chandeliers. More important, the owners brought in a chef capable of achieving their aspiration to create offhandedly intricate dishes based on ingredients grown as near as the culinary garden out back.

Exquisite plating and compelling, at times piquant, flavor combinations are the trademarks of this restaurant whose chef-sommelier owner, Chris Barnum-Dann, won the debut (2021) season of the culinary-competition TV show The Globe. The open-kitchen choreography of Barnum-Dann and his team deftly preparing one intricate dish after another (12 courses, prix-fixe) lends the proceedings a balletic air.

Riffing off the calculated flamboyance of its namesake, the gold-rush-era celebrity Lola Montez, the National Exchange Hotel's restaurant flirts with excess—long turquoise banquette benches, wall-mounted Persian rugs, swooping brushed-bronze lighting fixtures—yet retains its composure. The chefs show a similar knack for incorporating unexpected elements that enliven but don't undermine dishes like pan-seared salmon, fried chicken, and a double-cut pork chop.

Something special transpires nightly at this ground-floor restaurant inside Auburn's 1894 redbrick Odd Fellows Hall that transcends the romantic, softly lit space and French bistro–inspired fare. Caviar, fresh oysters, steak tartare, and duck-liver mousse are typical starters, perhaps leading into moules frites (steamed mussels and fries), grilled Duroc pork chop, or pan-roasted fish with foraged mushrooms, all prepared from the heart by chef-owners Eric Alexander and town native Courtney MacDonald.

Carefully sourced ingredients from local purveyors, meticulous execution, and the setting at a former mine site 3 miles east of downtown have made this restaurant a hit among locals, Gold Country tourists, and Tahoe travelers. Wild-mushroom Bordelaise appetizer, jambalaya risotto, and the Black and White entrée of filet mignon and perfectly grilled prawns are among the staples on the seasonally changing menu.

A serendipitous find in downtown Plymouth, Taste serves eclectic modern dishes made from fresh local fare. The signature mushroom "cigars"—sautéed shiitake, crimini, and oyster mushrooms rolled with goat cheese in phyllo dough and served with porcini sauce and white truffle oil—are a small-plate staple, and seared day boat scallops, filet mignon, duck leg confit, and a grilled pork chop with foraged mushrooms are examples of the sustainably sourced, creative entrées.

Rural French cooking with locally sourced, seasonal, high-quality, often organic ingredients is the hallmark of this upscale, white-tablecloth, corner storefront restaurant that's as appealing for a casual meal with friends as it is for a drawn-out romantic dinner for two. Among the mains, try the steak, duck breast, or seasonal seafood, and save room for one of the palate-cleansing desserts.

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.

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.

Upscale London haberdasheries reportedly inspired the aesthetic of this impeccably designed, pressed-metal-ceilinged paean to spit-roasted, Brit-influenced meat dishes. Near Golden 1 Center and Downtown Commons, it's a place to share small offerings like sausage rolls, steak tartare, and local caviar and crumpets (Sacramento is a center of caviar production) before proceeding to salmon, spit-roasted chicken, or English meat pie.

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.

With exposed brick walls, a tall ceiling, and a well-worn bar and floor, Cirino's serves up a vast menu of hefty Italian American favorites like Corsican rosemary chicken, steak à la Gorgonzola, and pork chop Milanese. The bar crew, which slings the signature Bloody Mary and other specialty cocktails, is as friendly as the rest of the team.

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.

If you're in Winters on a day this self-proclaimed "delightfully random place to eat" is open, try to score a seat (no reservations) to enjoy internationally inspired small plates that might include chicken tostadas, marinated lamb, empanadas, or baked eggplant. With a few tables indoors, plus counter seating on stools and more tables outside on a wooden deck, Ficelle, run on the whim of its European owners, lives up to its motto.

Zesty pies like the Miner Moe's BBQ Chicken with red onions, pineapple, bacon, and cheese make this casual spot a few steps off Main Street a fitting choice, particularly for lunch or a midafternoon snack. You can also build your own pizza or order a sandwich; there's some indoor seating, but when the weather's good most folks eat outside on the front patio or the creek-side one in back.

Eat like a 19th-century Cornish miner at this modest takeout shop serving home-baked pasties, flaky on the outside with moist and flavorful meat, vegetable, and other fillings. Jammed with skirt steak, potatoes, and turnips, the Cousin Jack hews closest to tradition, with vegetarian and barbecued pulled pork typical of the equally satisfying updates.

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.

Youthful and compelling, with found-art decorative elements and exposed vents, this historic former fire station is a favorite stop for cocktails, craft beers, and farm-to-fork fare. The area's year-round farmers' markets supply ingredients for the delectable salads and soups, and the pizzas, beef, poultry, and seafood entrées are always good.

The owner-chef of this mod-Japanese restaurant fashions fresh, wildly creative sushi for patrons seated at blond-wood tables, a counter, or an open-air patio. Order a sunshine roll—spicy tuna, escolar, and shrimp tempura enlivened by the tart contribution of green apples and lemon—perhaps pairing it with cooked fare like smoked duck kushiyaki with plum-wine katsu sauce or hot or cold ramen.

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.