The Eatery

Pretty good, my companion was much more impressed than I was which is why this is getting 4 instead of 3 stars. She really enjoyed her salmon, I thought the cod special I chose was far too peppery and the risotto was still crunchy. Also, not a place to go if you are looking to go low or even mid calorie on your entrée. I won’t be back, but my dining companion said she’d like to go with her husband.
I do have to say, service was pretty good. And they check you out right at the table so that was convenient.

45 minutes for soup & salad with only three other parties in the restaurant at noon on a Monday?
NO BUENO. =(

Lately we have been experiencing situations where on Unilocal a restaurant is rated 4 stars but when we go to the restaurant we discover that the four star rating if not quite accurate. This was definitely one of those times.
To start we were brought bread olive oil balsamic vinegar garlic and some other unidentified ingredients the bread was stale and the dipping sauce was bitter.
For our entrees we ordered the fettucini and the salmon. The fettuccini noodles had an odd texture, they were al dente but soft. The salmon and shrimp were clearly not fresh. The sauce was watery and lacked flavor.
Then we moved on to the desert we asked the server what was the most popular must order dessert and the response was the beignets. These had an overpowering yeast flavor, but no real flavor. I guess the food overall really lacked flavor.
Also it was odd that in a restaurant that was very clean minimalist and contemporary… that from the kitchen… from time to time a yell or hollar out «order up!»
This was odd. It didn’t fit with restaurant. White napkins, servers in white shirts dark pants.
The feel of restaurant was nice but the food was very dissappointing.
One thing that was good was the zinfandel by the glass.
Would we go back… no unless to the bar for some zin.

It’s true, I’m still alive. I’ve taken a bit of a Unilocal hiatus since moving to West Sacramento. The thing is, I feel like I’ve been overpaying and sincerely underwhelmed. You’re right, I haven’t been to even a quarter of the wonderful places in Sacramento. But since becoming a home owner, going out to eat has become a bit more of a luxury whereas before, it was a convenience.
We rarely go out to eat during the week because we spend 20 minutes complaining about the West Sacramento lack of good restaurants. We used to love Broderick’s, we brought all of our friends there, and tried to fit in and really tried to love it. Thing is, the service really isn’t that good and the menu never quite changes. When we leave, after paying a large bill and always tipping 20% (or more), we always grumble about how we’re never going back. The farm to fork thing is awesome, it’s really awesome, I’ll pay for it, I promise! But when the service is kind of shitty and the menu never changes, come on, how many times can you eat Bahn Mi fries without being as impressed as you were the first time you had them? That leaves the Pheasant Club, which given the raving reviews of our elderly neighbors and the awful Unilocal reviews, I’d rather eat my dog’s kibble. Streets of London? Their food is awful, really, really awful. Careless, even. The sushi place? Is this a sports bar? Or is this a sushi restaurant? How old is that? Why is it so bright in here? What’s left? A myriad of fast food restaurants and, well, nothing else really.
On a whim, I told my hubby I wanted to try The Eatery. «It is so expensive!» Unilocal says. «You only get a small portion, for a big price!» Unilocal says. «I don’t care how much I pay, as long as it’s good», I say.
The Eatery isn’t just good, it’s great. And that $ 13 Cobb Salad you got? You can have a THREE DOLLAR craft beer on tap to wash it down. Their specials are creative, and delicious, the risotto special was divine. Their biggest secret? The lavender crème brûlée. Light, sweet, a little salty and smells just like the lavender bushes in my front yard.
The service was right on point. Servers know their stuff, they check up on you right away and bring extra bread and water and keep the table clear. It’s clean, quiet but not awkwardly so, and there’s only one TV in the joint, right by the bar. My kind of place.
If you haven’t read the Eater piece on Jess and The Eatery, do it, right now.
Next time I’m in there I’m going to ask that girl for a spicy pasta dish, bring it, sister!

Once again the Eatery comes through with an outstanding brunch special. Today they had peanut butter pancakes with white chocolate and chocolate chips. We’ve been coming to Sunday brunch pretty much every week for awhile now, and this special may have been the best so far. The pancake specials are always very creative and this was no exception. They tasted almost like a peanut butter cookie right out of the oven captured in a delicious pancake with the added touch of chocolate chips. Awesome.
By the way, I’ve some recent reviews commenting how the quality of the Eatery has dropped off. Everyone has their own opinion, but I would say that the opposite is true. I think that they have improved the variety and quality of the food and the atmosphere. Just my two cents.

I am surprised that I have not written a review yet for The Eatery. I have come here for lunch several times and I really like it! I work in West Sac and anyone who is familiar with the area will likely agree that there are not a lot of good restaurant options here — ya gotta go into Sacramento for that. But, then again, you have The Eatery! It’s a smallish restaurant in a strip mall with Target, Nugget, etc. The food options include really nice salads — the steak salad is a fav of mine but you also have fried chicken, steak or huge burgers! The service is always good. It’s a little on the pricey side, but for a treat once in a while, I can totally justify it. They USED to have great desserts but they have apparently changed their pastry chef which was really disappointing because with the new pastry chef came a new selection of desserts… they USED to have this incredibly decedent, to-​die-​for s’more dessert complete with homemade caramel sauce, homemade marshmallow and a homemade graham cracker crust. OMG. But alas, it is gone. I posted a pic of it a while back that you can totally check out if you want to tease yourself. I like that while the menu does change, it doesn’t change drastically. For example, one time, my steak salad was topped with grilled zucchini and onion rings and then the next time, it wasn’t. Overall, I do have to agree that recently, the food and service seem to have taken a little bit of a hit but I am hoping that it is a temporary issue and it will be resolved.

I came to Unilocal just to see if I was the only one that has noticed the decline here, guess not! West Sacramento doesn’t offer many good restaurants and I considered The Eatery to be one of them. I’m really disappointed! I’ve been here many times since it first opened and it’s always been good. However each time I visit there is a decline and I’m not sure why. I’m pretty sure others are noticing because on a Friday at lunch the restaurant was dead.
I’ve ordered a couple things but the steak sandwich was my favorite. The last time I got it, it was wrong. So wrong! The steak is chewy and not edible. Low quality and absolutely no garnish. It was strange. Then the fries looked like the previous days potato scraps fried. They were tiny and greasy. Weird to call those fries. My date got the salmon, flavor was good but the portion was tiny for $ 15.
We both left the restaurant confused on what’s happened and questioning the future of The Eatery. The equation is wrong here-​the quality nor the quantity equal the cost. Not sure I’ll be back.

This place never let me down. My boyfriend and I love coming to this place for the reasons it’s close to our home and the food is delicious.

When it comes to ambiance, this restaurant has none. They have zero décor and it’s impossible to figure out the theme of this restaurant. I went to their website to try and figure out what they going for and it said they were looking to open a casual upscale dining restaurant in West Sacramento with fresh ingredients and high quality meats.
That’s exactly what West Sac needs but these guys need to go back to the drawing board.
Take away the lack luster ambiance, the food was bland and tasteless. When we left I asked everyone in my group what they thought and we all came to the same consensus that the taste wasn’t terrible, just super boring, nothing special, and not good. We went for breakfast and the menu was very limited. I will say the prices were very reasonable for the type of restaurant but at the same time not worth it since the food wasn’t good.
I applaud the idea since I live in West Sac and feel we severely lack quality restaurants. But I’m sorry, I just was not feeling this place even a little bit and don’t see myself ever going back.

When The Eatery first opened, it showed promise. Now, the quality control has gone to hell in a french fry basket. Gordon Ramsey would shut this place down!
Tonight I ordered a blue cheese burger to go, which I’ve had before. The bartender, who took my order, asks if I want the 4 ounce or 8 ounce (they started offering a smaller burger). I order the normal size– 8 ounce. I pickup the order, get home and unpackaged it. There’s this kid’s meal sized bun and corresponding burger– AND the bun is burnt. Not charred. Totally burnt. I had asked for extra crispy fries. They were soggy and half the usual volume and all tiny pieces of what must have, at one time, been actual fries. I ordered the burger medium and it was medium rare. They charged me for the full sized burger, $ 2.50 for blue cheese (I didn’t see any on the burger) and 50 cents for a side of runny buttermilk dressing. Such a disappointment!
When I had breakfast here, not long ago, we both ordered eggs benedict. The eggs were fully cooked. They’re supposed to drizzle out when you break them open, not be hard boiled! They charge a small fortune ($ 4 I think) for a few tablespoons of gravy on the side.
The Eatery boasts healthy ingredients, but if you don’t know how to cook them, what good is it? I call this place The Artery now, because you’ll have a cardiac arrest when you see what they give you versus what they charge. If you want a great burger in West sac, hit up The Broderick. Better burger, better price.

My first challenge was to find the place. I drove around and around the parking lot, finally stopping and running into The Nugget grocery store to ask. I had driven right past the restaurant without noticing. It is next to Round Table Pizza.
The next challenge was to find something on the small menu that sounded appealing. I don’t eat pork products so that eliminated about half of the lunch menu. I decided on the spinach salad because the pineapple & jalapeño vinaigrette sounded interesting. The dressing was pretty tasteless. My salad was not satisfying at all. My friends had the chicken sandwich which looked pretty good but not $ 9 (plus $ 1extra for avocado) worth of good. There wasn’t anything special about the chicken sandwich, no special sauce, no interesting vegetables, just mayo, lettuce, tomato and onion.
I was disappointed and I imagine my friends won’t be clammering to return when we meet again for lunch.

I had heard good things about this place and was very happy when our friends Darren Y. and wife invited us to go to dinner there together.
What we ordered:
–Mac and cheese
–Pork belly
–Mussels
–Disco fries
Sadly the mac and cheese was really disappointing. Pictures of it on Unilocal was so enticing but the dish came out bland, gritty, with no distinct cheese taste and it wasn’t even macaroni! The pork belly was also NOT crispy which was another big letdown.
So why still three stars? The Disco fries was pretty darn amazing like everyone else said. The mussels were divine and there was lots of it for a very reasonable price ($ 12). You also do not need to have the optional pasta with the mussels… the bread they give you is quite delish and filling. The service was good and the fact they have a menu with interesting items deserves another try. I think I will come back again but I shall avoid the mac & cheese and the pork belly.

Came here for my early birthday dinner with some close friends of mine because I’ve heard some good things about this place… unfortunate this place didn’t live up to it.
Had a reservation at 6:30pm and got seated right when we got there. The place is located in a shopping center so parking is fairly easy.
Food ordered — since I had a big party with me, I got to try a few different entrees.
Soup of the day — Mushroom Soup… it was pretty good… if they add a few drops of truffle oil, it would been even better!
Small Plates
Pork Belly — I didn’t get to try this but everyone who had it, enjoyed it and said that it was pretty tasty.
Eatery Steak — The steak was cook to my liking and taste was nice.
Large Plates
Pork Chop — A few people at the table ordered this dish. This dish is okay only. The pork was chewier and more tough than many places. The smoked purée yam didn’t go too well with this dish.
Sauteed Mussels — I can taste that they didn’t use fresh mussels for this dish. Most of the mussels have the fishes/​not fresh taste to it and some were worst than other that I had to spit it out.
Roasted Chicken — I would say this is probably the best dish out of all the dishes we ordered. The chicken was very tender and juicy. The flavor were perfect.
Disco Fries Ryan — Something different and everyone enjoyed it.
Rock Cod Fish over risotto — I would say this is the second best dish the table. The fish was nicely cook… not too dry. The risotto was cook to perfection and flavorful.
Dessert
S’more — If you LOVE chocolate… you will like this… this dessert is very very rich. I was only able to take about 3 bites before I had to stop.
Service was good overall… but the food was just okay. I will give this place another try when I am in the area, but I will not go out of my way to come back here.

The first time I visited The Eatery was shortly after they opened. I remember being hugely impressed with the artful presentation of a pork belly appetizer, but disappointed in a steak that was tough served with a bland potato croquette.
Things have definitely improved. We recently sampled a couple of impressive happy hour noshes. The tender mussels were addictive. I liked the two giant slices of grilled bread served with it to sop up the delicious broth. The disco fries, served with gravy and two poached eggs, were also more than enough to share. I could have used more gravy, but maybe that’s just my inner sauce ‘ho coming out. This would have easily been enough to fill us up, but we also opted to try a baked potato soup special. Lacking bacon and seasoning, it was unremarkable. Still, less than $ 20 for our happy hour dinner was quite the steal.
We found the star of the show when we returned the following week for Sunday brunch. Things got off to a bad start when we were told they were already sold out of their much talked about cinnamon rolls at 10:00. Ah well, French toast it is. And what a French toast! Vanilla custard and plenty of maple syrup made this a decadent, perfectly sweet treat.
It was a feast as we also ordered Eggs Benedict, a breakfast scramble special, and a side order of their amazing sausage patties. The «build your own» Eggs Benedict is a concept where you start with the English muffin, two poached eggs, and hollandaise; then you choose two other ingredients from a list of 16 that includes unusual items like tofu. I chose ham and mushrooms leading to results that were unbelievably delicious. One of the best Benies I’ve ever had.
The breakfast scramble was one of those «kitchen sink» dishes that had eggs, cheese, sausage, ham, onions, and red bell thrown together for a tasty combination. Loved their house potatoes that came with both entrees. Nicely seasoned thin sliced rounds with slightly crisp edges, they’re a perfect accompaniment.
The side order of sausage deserves a mention of it’s own. I balked at the $ 5 price tag, but when a large plate of juicy, delectable house made patties was delivered, it was worth every penny.
Service was a little puzzling. The bartender who waited on us was fantastic, but she had a waitress co-​worker who kept loudly complaining about tips or lack thereof. I felt bad for the bartender as she seemed to be a little uncomfortable with the situation.
I have high hopes that they’ll start doing brunch on Saturdays. For now, we’ll be returning on a Sunday soon and we’ll be there when they open at 9 to hopefully get our hands on one of those cinnamon rolls :)

You have no idea how blessed I feel to have The Eatery located within walking distance from my house. Even if I didn’t live close, I’d still go out of my way to drive out here to dine!
So far, I’ve only been here during happy hour. Their happy hour menu consists of a few items from their appetizer list for half off. They’ve also got a happy hour drink list, but for this review, I am focusing on the food. Their most popular HH item is probably the mussels… Mmmm…Mussels. They are freaking delicious! Even for HH, the portion they give you is HUGE! Normally, you can share one entrée with someone, but I never do. so yeah. The sauce that the clams sit in is very flavorful, and the bread that comes with the mussel is so soft and just all kinds of awesomeness. Another item that is a «MUST ORDER» is the disco fries. Now, I normally get the disco fries sans the gravy, which in my opinion taste much better. What it is, is it’s basically fries with bacon and cheese with two sunny side eggs on top. The pork belly is a must try too!
The previous time I went prior to my most recent visit, they had the Chicago Dog on their menu, but when I went last week, they didn’t have it anymore. So if the owners are reading this review, please bring that back!
On my previous visit, I finally strayed from the HH menu and ordered The Eatery burger, and it was A-​MAZING. I made the mistake of not ordering any cheese on it, but it still tasted great. I ordered it medium well done and it was cooked to perfection. Definitely need to try that with cheese the next time I come up in here.
Lastly, the staff working here are all very friendly and they take great care of you. Walking in to The Eatery is like walking into someone’s dining room with the way the décor is set up… or it’s just me?

I’ve only been here for happy hour and fell in love from the very first time. The must get items:
— mussels
— chicago dog
— disco fries, hold the gravy
— sangria
The service is always excellent and they now have a regular customer that will come in every chance she gets which is often considering my bf lives down the street.

Went here on a sat around 530pm and to my delight they have happy hour 7 days a week 4−6pm.
So appetizers were all half off. We ordered the pork belly with cranberry sauce and panckes… 2 pieces of pork belly and 3 small panckes. These were very good. The pancakes weren’t that great but this spread that was provided with the pork bellies were amazming.
Also ordered the sauteed mussels which come in a huge serving and were delicious. I could drink the sauce that the mussels were in.
Also ordered the tuna ahi poke with fried rice cake. This was also delicious and flavored wonderfully.
Ordered the disco fries which were HUGE!!! You could basically have that for dinner. I wish the gravy was a bit thicker that way it would not have sank to the bottom of the plate and made the fries at the bottom soggy. Still pretty good not the most amazing but definitely worth trying.
Last thing was the chicken jambalaya. It was not as flavorful as some I have had but still good. The spice was not too spicy compared to other jambalaya I’ve had. My friend really liked the jambalay herself.
But I would definitely recommend trying this place out we sat at the bar and the bartender knew his specials and gave recommendations of what to try.

Sucks

Before I came, I read some Unilocal reviews and saw the comments the chef left on some Unilocalers negative reviews. I was thinking to myself that I hope I have a good dining experience because I didn’t want to face his wrath. Thankfully, I did.
For starters, we had a great waitress. She was attentive and took care of our needs quickly. She was also really friendly.
Olive Oil Focaccia Bread– It’s made in-​house and came with balsamic vinegar and olive oil dipping sauce. The bread was so soft and fresh. I wish I did less talking and more eating.
Spicy Habanero Peanut Sauce Wings ($ 5 for a dozen) — It was one of the specials that day. Our waitress informed us that we got the last order of wings they had left. Lucky us! The wings were a tad spicy and sweet as well as crispy. They were pretty great wings but a little oily.
Risotto ($ 16) — spinach and mushroom risotto with grilled chicken
I never had risotto before. I mean, I eat enough rice as it is already, but I’m glad I tried it. It was creamy and cheesy. Spinach and mushroom are two vegetables I like and there were generous amounts of it. The menu actually said asparagus, not spinach. Either is fine by me, so I’m not complaining, but I don’t remember if the waitress told me this.
Bread Pudding ($ 6) — Buttermilk bread pudding, strawberry ice cream
I love the warm/​cold combination. I really thought I could finish it, but my eyes are bigger than my stomach. All desserts were reasonablly priced.
The restaurant is located within a shopping center. It’s family friendly and simple yet classy environment. I definitely want to come back, especially for their happy hour!

Came here for brunch, and we were very impressed! The prices and portions and service were all fantastic. I loves me some breakfast, but Hubby’s not a big breakfast fan. However, after indulging in an ample stack of strawberry-​banana streusel pancakes (so much he couldn’t finish), plus seeing the other awesome plates of breakfast delights being shuffled to tables around us (French toast looks divine!), he insisted that we’ll be coming back soon.
Add to that, the white chocolate chip cinnamon roll suggested to us by our server/​bartender (we sat at the bar) Quentin, and nirvana was reached. I couldn’t finish half of my delectable breakfast burrito, and my $ 8 bottomless, refreshing mimosa topped it off.
Love this gem in West Sac… if you haven’t been, give it a try. For breakfast, or Happy Hour, you cannot go wrong! :)