Strings Urban Kitchen

I was contacted by the owner and he was very sweet. He asked that I return for another salad. I appreciate the gesture and will return this week to try again. The additional star is for the great customer service. I appreciate when a business is cognizant of their customers experience and takes steps to remedy the issue. I will update my review after I return for my new salad later on this week :)

Place is beautiful inside! Ate lunch here once and loved the place. The Coke machine was really something else! My cold pasta salad was also very delicious and flavorful. I can see how it gets real busy at lunch so choose your times wisely!

The food was great, they would have received 4 stars, however I did not like being asked to put in a tip at the time of payment. You order and pay at the same time. As it was we were served very late, and a table that came in behind us with 6 was served before our table of two. They do not handle crowds well. I would have either not tipped or tipped less. Not a good setup.

I went here for brunch today and definitely enjoyed it. I got the burger while my friend got the Eggs in Purgatory and we both enjoyed the meal. I especially liked the $ 1.50 mimosa with the purchase of an entrée. I hope to come back some time to try the regular menu!

We went to this spot for lunch with a semi large group of us from work. We sat outside, ordered and the food came out extremely quickly. The server was on it, attentive and eager to help. Everyone’s food was on point. We had the garlic bread and garlic fries for appetizers, both were heavenly. I ordered the Lasagna Pastry, which literally was a delicious pastry packed with lasagna goodness. The only thing keeping me from giving this experience 5 stars was when asked to turn on the patio heaters they have outside they stated they were out of propane.

Location:
On 7^th street between O Street and P Street. 7^th street is one way street, so it will be on your right hand side located in the back of Capitol Towers apartment building.
Ambiance:
Cool, chic, minimilistic bustling little restaurant. Great for Capitol Towers residents and state workers in the area.
Service:
I ordered something to go and they were quick, fast, no non sense — which I appreciate.
Lunch offerings:
Sandwiches and personalized pizzas for about $ 10. Very reasonable. They do have an extensive menu of other offerings for a higher, but totally reasonable price point (for being a small business and located in the downtown area). I think the highest priced item was $ 17 for salmon.
Menu Suggestions aka Pregnancy cravings that I’d like to see on special or added to the menu:
Salmon BLT Sandwich… PLEASE!

Four stars for a really pleasant, relaxing happy hour. I stopped by with two of my coworkers after work and found that their happy hour specials are very well-​priced. $ 3 local beer on tap. $ 4 for house sangria (White or red wine-​based — with infused fresh fruit). $ 3.50 garlic cheesy bread (baked acme bakery sliced Italian loaf, garlic butter and shredded mozzarella cheese). Probably because of the holiday season (in between Christmas and New Year’s), we were able to sit in the wine cellar. That’s the small room that can accommodate maybe eight or so people comfortably. The restroom was clean and a good size but it was a unisex restroom.
The waiter/​bartender was very nice and volunteered to split our check three-​ways since we were scratching our heads on splitting it up. Doing so is top-​notch in my book.
I haven’t stopped by for lunch, since I’ve balked at paying $ 7.50 for a sandwich but realize now I would be paying for quality. (I’m also realizing I’m just cheap.) I look forward to going back to their happy hour, even if it’s just for a quick break after work. I’ll also try their lunch and will likely up my review to five stars. All in all, a fantastic experience. Thanks!

Great Lunch Redux With Delicious Seasonal Dishes!
SITREP
My work-​team had an opportunity to revisit Strings Urban Kitchen (SUK) and we enjoyed some great festive, seasonal dishes in an environment full of charm.
SUK is just a couple blocks away from our office campus, so it is well worth the effort to break away from the work-​grind for some nice downtime with great food.
THE SETUP
Every now and then, a place may experience some hiccups in service and food selection, but it’s always nice to be able to come back when things are great again.
What is significantly cost-​effective about this set-​up is that you order at the register first, pay your bill, and get your number and then grab an empty table. The prices are no doubt lower because of this business metric, but this is a very classy place in any event.
LE MENU
This time around we tried some favorites, but also explored some new culinary territory:
A. Eggplant Parmesan Panino ($ 8) — as always, this sandwich has recently become a favorite go-​to for me, and it comes with a delicious side pasta salad. I’ve also had the Eggplant Parmesan as an entrée itself which is just as yummy. Suffice it to say, you can’t go wrong with the Eggplant dishes here and they are excellent deals.
B. Meatball Panino ($ 8) — a great meaty sandwich if you are looking for something just as yummy — but different — from the Eggplant Panino.
C. Caprese Salad ($ 7.50) — with Heirloom grape tomatoes, mozzarella balls, micro basil, EVOO & balsamic glaze. My boss and another colleague decided to try this tasty, festive offering, and my boss in particular was a huge fan of this salad over the Butter Lettuce experience she had last time we here. [She ate the entire salad.]
BEVERAGES!
I always love the automated soda fountain here since you can pretty much create the «perfect soda to order» with this amazing machine. First you choose the foundational soda you want — I choose Coke Zero. Then next you can to choose a *flavoring* if you so choose — I love the Raspberry, so that’s what I add! Mmmm. Mmmm! Makes for a truly awesome soda!
THE ART
SUK has some great tasteful art throughout it’s establishment provides a very warm, elegant vibe to the dining room environment.
THE PATIO
Not so much during these colder months, but the revamped patio is a great place to congregate and makes for some pretty spectacular wine tastings that SUK conducts on many occasions (be sure to check out their calendar of events for these get-​togethers!)
THE LOWDOWN
It is always nice to have a great local restaurant establishment to enjoy that is very close to work during the lunch hour, as well as a great place to escape to for brunch on the weekends when downtown.

Not a big venue but huge on taste. Top notch Italian food. The soups, salads, pastas, pizzas, Italian sodas & plates are all to die for. If you like wine, this is the place for you.
Kinda off the radar but be sure & look this place up. Happy eating.

Great use of local ingredients on Italian fare. The hardest part was finding it!
Great wine and local beer selection with an outdoor patio rustic feel. The chef was accommodating to a sauce request. The menu had some different combinations on it but they all sounded good. I tried the salmon over linguine with cranberries brusell sprouts with a side cesear salad. So good with great flavor and cooked to perfection.
So glad I found this gem from my local Unilocaling community. Thanks for the referral to this Midwestern visitor!

This place used to be awesome, but has gone downhill.
Very sad.

Thought this spot would be a real hit with out of town visitors after the recent CA Brewers Festival… but it was a big miss. Mostly service, but food quality was questionable. I had muscles… most were cold… refrigerator cold. I asked about this and the server said they «should» be fresh? The server was MIA most of the 90 minutes we were there. There were 5 ladies in the front of the house and there were only 3 other tables. 2 were done eating when we sat ourselves. It was painful trying to get the servers attention for every step of our time there.
Customer Service MUST be as important to our local restaurateurs as their Farm to Fork menu.
S U K says it all.

We were visiting Sacramento for a music concert and wanted to get brunch before we headed back to San Francisco. We checked out a couple popular brunch places around our hotel but the wait was over 45 minutes and we were all getting hangry so decided to go to Strings Urban Kitchen.
When we were walking over we didn’t expect it to be in the middle of a condo complex. We came here for weekend brunch on Sunday and they had a simple menu with less than 10 items. I ordered the fish tacos and thought they were pretty good. My boyfriend got the protein omelet and I had a couple bites of country red potatoes which were nice and crunchy almost like french fries (yum).
I’m giving it 3 stars because the food took a really long time to come out; we waited almost 45 minutes. On the plus side, they have giant glasses of mimosas for only $ 1.50. The waitress was very sweet and topped us off without charging us extra! Overall good meal and I walked away pretty buzzed, but the service was too slow and there weren’t even that many people.

Has a good selection for soups and pasta for lunches. Its right in the middle of capital towers next to their pool. There’s not much on this side of town other than PERS building so its convenient for me. We had the chicken sandwich and it came with some pasta salad on the side for $ 7.5. Added a minestrone for an additional $ 2. Also, had the fruita di mar pasta for $ 14, he commented it was good, but spicy. I like how you can order and pay online and just go pick it up if your in a hurry. I will be back to try out more.

After reading the reviews, I decided to find this restaurant as it was walking distance from my hotel. Yes, it’s in the middle of a condo complex. It’s rather simple as far as restaurants go, but it’s the food, right?
I ordered the Bisteca Alla Florentina and a nice glass of wine (only $ 10 for a decent pour). This plate is something I could cook at home. Not an insult as I am a good cook. (Yes, I eat AND cook!). The steak was spot on medium rare with just enough pepper and garlic to make a statement. The fettuccini was paired with Brussel sprouts, mushrooms and red onions in an olive oil base. My critique would be this — the Brussel sprouts should have been caramelized some more and the plate should have had a generous sprinkling of Parmesan.
I also ordered an espresso. This was good, but again should be offered with a raw sugar and maybe zest.
Overall a good meal. Good enough to add to my house menu.

Ok, let’s jump on the clarification bandwagon — THIS PLACE IS INSIDE CAPITOL TOWERS. Meter and timed parking in the area is free/​timeless? after 6pm, so go for HH or dinner and it’s a breeze.
Have had this place bookmarked forever and was finally able to drop in with a friend. Strings is definitely more wine than food focused, so if you are looking for a variety of wine options or to share a bottle, this is your place! That being said, while there are 50+ options for bottles, there are only a handful of options for single glasses. I tried the Rail Bridge Cellars Napa-​based Cab, and while the pour was generous (thanks!), was sadly not too impressed with the wine. However, my friend had their cocktail special with some kind of spiced apple flavor and thoroughly enjoyed it. C’est la vie!
In spite of their being a significantly smaller food-​to-​wine ratio, I was pleasantly surprised with my Pasta al Forno. Great flavor, piping hot, and surprisingly cheap! It was a smaller dish (I mean, than you might be used to at the standard American Food Trough), but I found myself contentedly full afterwards. My pal enjoyed the Bianco di Pollo pizza and had only a tiny morsel left at the end, but enjoyed it so much she still insisted on getting a box.

What a weird place! I had a training class a few blocks away and checked my Unilocal app to see what was around for lunch. When I saw the address for the place, I was baffled and very sure there was no restaurant on N and 7^th. I was kind of right. The place is well hidden in the very center of the Capitol Towers courtyard. You can’t even see it from the street. I came in from 7^th Street and got totally confused. I almost just went somewhere else until I caught the aroma of Italian food. Yes, I literally followed my nose to SUK like a freakin’ Looney Tunes character.
The restaurant itself is surprisingly hip and classy looking, and definitely looks and feels more expensive than it actually is. There is plenty of comfortable seating inside, and a patio that looks perfect for happy hour or lunch on a nice day. They have a lot of wine displayed and offer some more «upscale» seafood dishes. Neat!
One star off for the ordering experience. It was confusing at first because it looks like a place that would have full service, but instead you stand in line to order at the counter, take your number, and then they bring it to you. I’m okay with this concept, but the line was cramped, chaotic, and loud. I wasn’t able to look at a menu until I got really close to the counter, and then I felt rushed to order.
I ended up getting a plate of classic spaghetti and meatballs with a side house salad. With tip, it came out to like $ 12, which I am perfectly fine with. The salad came out very quickly and was good quality. The dressing was tasty and the salad had been tossed so everything was evenly coated. There were a few little halved heirloom tomatoes, red onion, some gold raisins, and some pumpkin seeds. Very nice. The spaghetti was also totally satisfying. Noodles were done correctly, the marinara was robust and tangy, and the meatballs were great. I have no complaint whatsoever about the food, and completely cleaned my plate. It was the perfect amount of food and I went back to my training full, but not feeling heavy like some pasta meals can cause.
I will absolutely be back here for dinner sometime, and would love to try their happy hour or wine tasting. What a cool place!

Could not have been more disappointed.
Went here for a beverage with a coworker. Ordered a Track 7 Daylight Amber. The beer looked like someone had been cleaning their paint brushes in it. I took it back to the person behind the bar and inquired about the beer and the response given was «it is a newly tapped keg» and they did not replace the beer. I am sorry but I do not particularly want to drink what was cleared from the line when the new keg was tapped. No, I did not drink the beer and with options such as Elixir, Fox & Goose, Old Ironsides, and Foundation all a similar walk, I am not not likely to go back.
I truly cannot speak to the quality of the food. It is solely the customer service, or lack thereof, that prompts this review.
Please note: I spent the better part of 10 years on the other side of the counter … This review is not born out of malice but from a point of view as to how I would treat the customer … I certainly would have handled the situation differently.

I think I just found my new favorite lunch spot!
My co-​worker and I decided to try this new restaurant that is located around the corner from where we work. We came early around 11:30 and there was already a line tailing out the door. (Next time I’ll have to show up at 11 when they open to beat the lunch crowd!) This is a nice little cozy spot with a relaxed atmosphere. Noticed they offer a wine tasting event as well! Definitely need to come back for the tasting!
I ordered the Pasta Sienna which came with ample amount of shrimp (cooked just right) along with a few red peppers! The sauce was phenomenal. The garlic flavor really stood out. I would recommend this for others to try.
Service is great. Walked up to the counter and ordered our food and it was ready a lot faster than I expected. The venue is very clean with outdoor seating available. There is street parking but you would have to walk through the apartment complexes to reach this hidden gem.

I went wine tasting earlier tonight here for $ 10 and had a great time! Wine tasting is offered here on the 1^st and 3^rd Thursday of every month from 5 — 7 p.m. This month’s theme is «Endless Summer» and featured the following five wines:
*2013 Beronia Viura, Rioja, Spain;
*2012 Peza do Rei Godello/​Treixadura/​Albariño, Ribeira Sacra, Spain;
*2013 Triennes, Dry Rose of Cinsault/​Grenache/​Syrah/​Merlot, Provence, France;
*2013 Petit Clos, Pinot Noir, Marlborough New Zealand; and
*2013 St Hallett, Shiraz, Barossa Australia.
All of the wines were fantastic and I was surprised that I actually really liked every single one of them.
The atmosphere on a Thursday night seems to mainly attract the after-​work crowd who probably works in the nearby office buildings. I happen to also work within walking distance from here, so was pleased that I could just walk over to meet my friends after work.
Hint: It seems to be located in the middle of the apartment complex Capitol Towers, so you pretty much walk past a bunch of apartments to get here (at least coming from 5^th St).
I would definitely come back to go wine tasting here and think it’s super cool that the wine tasting offered changes every month.