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American, Italian, and Mexican are common Gold Country fare, but chefs also prepare ambitious European, French, and contemporary regional cuisine that mixes California ingredients with international preparations. Grass Valley's meat- and vegetable-stuffed pasties, introduced by 19th-century gold miners from Cornwall, are one of the region's more unusual treats.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The chefs and front-of-house staff at this perennial favorite with a prix-fixe menu pull out all the stops to deliver a multisensory gustatory experience. The flamboyant presentation of courses as a series of "Acts"—not to mention the dramatically lit, flower-bestrewn dining room's intentionally buoyant atmosphere—might distract from the modern American cuisine were it not so well conceived and prepared with such panache and precision.
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.
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.
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