New restaurants and food open now around Sacramento, CA

The Sacramento area is in a full-on restaurant boom, and hungry mouths everywhere get to reap the benefits.

At least 33 restaurants opened around the region in September, following 35 in August. A normal month in 2022’s first half might have seen 20 open.

Eight new restaurants opened around downtown and midtown Sacramento, a flood of growth for areas hit hard by the pandemic (particularly downtown). Davis, Roseville and Rancho Cordova each added three new spots as well, while Elk Grove and El Dorado Hills got two apiece.

Camellia Coffee Roasters (1200 R St., Suite 130, Sacramento): Ryan Harden and Robert Watson’s Camellia 2.0, a block away from the coffee house’s original smaller digs, serves one of Sacramento’s best breakfast sandwiches along with Faria Bakery pastries in a former Starbucks.

Casa East Sac (5401 H St., Sacramento): Brothers Steve and Theodore Gibanov (owners of American River Provisions catering company) cure pastrami in-house and also serve burgers, pasta and pizza at their first brick-and-mortar restaurant, which replaced Joon Market in East Sacramento on Sept. 15.

Chicken-N-Waffles (8235 Laguna Blvd., Suite 100, Elk Grove): This chicken shop with another location in Natomas prepares oxtails, jambalaya and other Southern-inspired dishes in addition to its namesake meal.

Crazy Fruit & Ice Cream Trujillo (710 K St., Sacramento): This Mexican restaurant and dessert shop expanded from Mack Road to replace Devil May Care near Golden 1 Center, with Gunther’s Ice Cream, tamales, bionico (crema-topped fruit salad bowls) and much more.

Dat Ky (6825 Stockton Blvd., Suite 280, Sacramento): Little Saigon’s newest restaurant specializes in hủ tiếu nam vang, a Cambodian-influenced pork and seafood noodle soup that’s popular in Vietnamese southern street stalls.

Delilah’s Hawaiian Poke & Sushi Burrito (1801 L St., Suite 70, Sacramento): Previously found in downtown Davis, Delilah’s brought its nori-wrapped sushi burritos and poke-topped nachos to midtown Sacramento’s Handle District.

Sun Sun Food (7585 Rush River Drive, Suite 680, Sacramento): Dim sum has come to Greenhaven thanks to Dim Dim Food, which makes treats such as chicken feet, pumpkin buns and wife cakes (flat pastries stuffed with winter melon and almond paste).

El Cantaro (9123 Kiefer Blvd., Sacramento): This all-vegan taqueria with a sister restaurant in Monterey prepares plant-based takes on steak fajitas, quesabirria tacos, mole negro and more.

Fro’s Midtown (1010 18th St., Sacramento): Jeff “Fro” Davis’ dimly-lit midtown restaurant and cocktail bar lets chef EB Shin (also the kitchen boss at Fro’s Tree House Cafe in West Sacramento) come up with Korean-inspired small plates, such as 24-hour pork belly ssam or silken tofu salad.

Hot Bunz (3084 Sunrise Blvd., Suite 12, Rancho Cordova): Samvel Ayvazyan’s new smashburger spot opened Sept. 9, with loaded mac-and-cheese and “cheeseburger bowls” as alternative options.

Hunan Style (630 G St., Davis): Johnson Liu and Ying-Jun Wong’s new restaurant introduced Chinese (mostly Hunan and Sichuan) dishes rarely seen in the Sacramento area’s restaurants, such as pig kidneys sautéed in a rattan pepper sauce or a red-braised pork entrée associated with Mao Zedong.

iCANDi Coffee Boba Bar & Eats (8259 Laguna Blvd., Elk Grove): Anh and My Nguyen’s new concept is part boba shop, part Instagrammable coffee lounge and part restaurant slinging curries, teriyaki and sushi rolls.

Lazi Cow (1850 Douglas Blvd., Suite 504, Roseville): Lazi Cow brought its rolled ice cream and Asian-inspired milk teas to Roseville on Sept. 4 after previously launching in Davis, Arden Arcade and Folsom.

Mochinut (11009 Olson Drive, Suite 701, Rancho Cordova): The Los Angeles-based mochi donut and Korean hot dog chain continued its regional expansion, adding a Rancho Cordova location to sister stores in downtown and south Sacramento, Roseville, North Highlands and Davis.

Moksa Barrel House (10007 Foothills Blvd., Roseville): Moksa Brewing Co. supplies the beer and Hawks oversees the food at this new burger bar, which opens at 7 am seven days a week to serve San Diego-based Mostra Coffee drinks.

Nick The Greek (711 Pleasant Grove Blvd., Suite 160, Roseville): The San Jose-based souvlaki and gyro house opened in Roseville’s shopping center on Sept. 20, expanding its reach after launching locally in Elk Grove and Davis earlier this year.

Onit Coffee (1689 Arden Way, Suite 1110, Sacramento): Shadi Khattab’s Elk Grove-based coffee cart with boba drinks found its first brick-and-mortar home in Arden Fair Mall.

Oyster Bar (4261 Truxel Road, Suite A7, Sacramento): Seafood towers, market-price shellfish and loaded stews such as gumbo or cioppino make up much of the menu at Kenny Phan and Duy Pan’s North Natomas restaurant.

Ramen 101 (10824 Olson Drive, Suite A, Rancho Cordova): Ramen and Hawaiian barbecue are mainstays at Benny Lin’s restaurant, which also has locations in midtown Sacramento and throughout the Bay Area.

Salt & Straw (1710 R St., Suite 100, Sacramento): The Portland-based ice cream chain known for its zany flavors opened to long lines on Sept. 7 in midtown’s Ice Blocks development.

Seoul St. Midtown (1521 L St., Sacramento): Korean barbecue, happy hour bites and cocktails stand out at the new restaurant and bar from Minnie Nguyen and Trinh Le (owners of Station 16, Station 38 Coffee, Daikon Korean BBQ and Firehouse Crawfish) that replaced de Vere’s Irish Pub.

Sno White Burgers (5110 Auburn Blvd., Sacramento): Take a step back in time at this Modesto-based classic fast food joint, which now serves up burgers, sandwiches and fried appetizers near North Highlands.

South Fork Grille (4364 Town Center Blvd., El Dorado Hills): Drunken brandy flank steaks? Popcorn shrimp with homemade gochujang? St. Louis-style ribs with waffle fries? It’s all on the menu at this New American restaurant from Mark and Karoline Platt, who also own Land Ocean in Folsom and Roseville and Sienna Restaurant in Roseville and El Dorado Hills.

Sun & Soil Juice Co. (3650 Industrial Blvd., Suite 140, West Sacramento): This midtown-based juice shop merged businesses with Insight Coffee, and took over the roastery’s West Sacramento cafe with açaí bowls, smoothies and grab-and-go items.

T% Coffee & Tea (516 2nd St., Davis): T% hopes college students will bite on Korean-style hot dogs, mochi doughnuts and boba drinks the way customers have in midtown, Elk Grove and Stockton.

Taco Express (4601 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento): Order breakfast burritos, tortas and pozole at Taco Express’ food truck stationed outside the Hollywood Park restaurant, then step inside to enjoy your meal. The local chain also has locations in Rocklin, southeastern Sacramento and Fairfield.

Tapaltos Auténtica Taqueria (3435 El Camino Ave., Sacramento): Elizabeth Martinez’s Arden Arcade restaurant serves tacos, mariscos, Mexican breakfast dishes and more with handmade tortillas.

The Vine (3907 Park Drive, Suite 110, El Dorado Hills): A spin-off of Citizen Vine in Folsom, Jose and Lisa Gomez’s new tapas bar pairs salmon BLT sliders or margherita flatbreads with wines from around the world.

Umai Savory Hot Dogs (1630 K St., Suite 101, Sacramento): Umai customers can now find loaded hot dogs, sandwiches and ramen where midtown’s Squeeze Burger once was, in addition to an existing Arden Arcade location and one opening this fall in Auburn.

Upper Crust Bakery (606 Railroad Ave., Winters): Davis’ beloved Jewish- and French-inspired bakery took over another Yolo County institution on Sept. 16, replacing Lester Farms Bakery after the owners retired.

Vextor Boba Tea Lounge (4370 Golden Center Drive, Suite C, Placerville): This Jackson-based boba shop opened its first El Dorado County location on Sept. 6, with bites such as basil popcorn chicken and crispy garlic tofu.

Willow (1006 4th St., Sacramento): At a swanky southern Italian restaurant in the new Exchange Hotel near Downtown Commons, Willow chef Russell Middleton and his staff make their own focaccia and pasta in-house along with shareable meat and seafood entrees.

Yang Kee Dumpling (2151 Cowell Blvd., Suite C, Davis): South Davis’ new dim sum spot and Chinese restaurant specializes in handmade dumplings such as shrimp xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) or Shanghai-style siu mai.