I had no idea that such a wonderful, authentic Italian restaurant had been hiding in an unassuming…read moreElk Grove strip mall this whole time! Palermo doesn't look like much from the outside, but you can feel the love that went into this place on the inside. From being greeted by the Sicilian owner at the front to the super friendly servers and other staff, you just feel so welcome from the start. There is a full cocktail menu and full service bar to star things off, and a few house specials. I got the West Coast Colada, which is a very pineapple-forward, simple rum cocktail without the coconut side of the class drink. It was lovely, if not a little on the weak side alcohol wise. Every dish we ordered was fantastic (shout out to the minestrone soup), but the star of the show was the lasagna. I was wondering why the lasagna was a $45 dish until i saw it delivered to nearby tables and my mouth dropped. This single slice of lasagna could feed 4 people (or more) and consists of a couple DOZEN layers of noodles. It was the best, and biggest lasagnas I've ever had, and I'm still eating it 4 days later! The desserts were also absolutely delicious, with a very creamy take on tiramisu, and a very well-named "temptation" chocolate cake. The cherry on top of dessert was when the owner came and chatted with us about the origins of the lasagna and the restaurant. Just a lovely Italian man with a passion for food that somehow landed him in Elk Grove of all places! We will absolutely be returning. I mean heck, $45 for a week's worth of delicious lasagna ain't a bad deal!

I've left reviews before and I had to come back to leave another one. You seriously cannot miss…read morewith Palermo. It is a family owned and run business. The family is absolutely the best and most welcoming. In my opinion, this is a restaurant for special occasions and/or for casual gatherings or meet-ups; and one thing that is for sure is you must sit down and ENJOY. No need to rush! One of my favorite parts about visiting Parlermo's is watching their family host and interact with patrons. Seriously, it's like visiting family. As far as recommendations: start with the calamari! Their homemade sauce is AMAZING-particularly if you love garlic! My go to is the farfalle; and my boyfriend enjoys gnocchi with Gorgonzola sauce and meatballs (not on the menu-but as a build your own option-try it and you'll see!) I would highly recommend this restaurant. I hope you enjoy!

Wow, I just happened to see this place. Stopped in and spoke with Mary who suggested the spinach…read morepasta and Calabria chili butter to go with my shrimp. Amazing! I'll be back.

The Chubby Cupboard is a hidden gem in Fair Oaks. Everything is made fresh and there's always a…read moregreat variety of pastas and sauces available as well as products from some other local makers. They have dried pasta options as well as fresh options in the fridge and you can mix and match sauces and pastas to find your favorite combinations. They also pop up at the local farmers market, but for the most options check out their store. If you're really interested in fresh pasta you may even want to consider taking one of their pasta making classes. They have scheduled options throughout the year and offer the ability to schedule private classes. The owner and team working here are also so nice and can answer all of your questions and make sure you have a delicious meal. The parking is also super easy here, with plenty of spots.

This place is the epitome of hole in the wall! It is tucked away in an industrial area. (Keep your…read moreeyes open or you'll miss it). Pastosa by Lucia delivered in all aspects. It is a small establishment, but that didn't factor in with how well they treat their costumers. From the moment we walked in, we felt cozy. Focaccia bread is given when seated. Nice, fluffy, and warm. The staff is attentive and helped narrow down our decisions. Our starter was the calamari. Served with a nice cocktail and tartar sauce. The calamari was so crispy and not chewy. For our entrees, we ended up with chicken parm and and the classic lasagna. The sauces and noodles are all homemade, which made everything much more delightful. Everything was melt in your mouth delicious. The chicken for the chicken parm with so crispy and juicy and the lasagna was so soft and flavorful. ( kitchen staff also asked if we wanted to try their spicy sauce. It wasn't too spicy, which made the sauce very flavorful.) If you are looking for a delicious and homey space for Italian food, this is your place. Would definitely recommend this place.

Looking to go on a foodie adventure, my dad and I drove down to Pastosa by Lucia from Sacramento…read more This is definitely the perfect example of "don't judge a restaurant by its location". There was ample parking in the industrial parking lot and a steady flow of customers but they did a good job turning the tables over quickly. And the food was some of the best Italian I have had. To start, my dad and I split an order of the calamari, which was perfectly tender and breaded to perfection. We also each tried the minestrone soup that accompanied our entrées. The minestrone had great flavor and plenty of fresh vegetables. I ordered the gnocchi with chicken and pink sauce while my dad ordered the chicken Parmesan. He really wanted to try their lasagna but they were sold out by the time we got there. The gnocchi was cooked to perfection (aka not mushy) and the pink sauce had great flavor to it. My dad thoroughly enjoyed the chicken Parmesan and had plenty leftover for a second meal. So if you find yourself passing through the area, looking for some hearty and delicious Italian food, come check out Pastosa by Lucia.

Todo un Poco is a hidden gem!!!It's hands-down the BEST restaurant in Elk Grove. The fresh and…read moreunique flavor combinations are such a welcome relief from the mundane. The restaurant ambiance is as striking and unique as their food. Maria and the crew make it feel like you're coming home for supper. The attentiveness of the servers is a constant, as it's a team effort. Although we love to come in for a meal, the Family Take-Out meal can't be beat for a quick and hearty dinner at home. Amazing, pizza, pasta, salad and bread cannot be beat especially when the portions allow for left overs! It's easy to put Todo Un Poco on a regular rotation for dining out!

Alway love going to this gem while visiting family in Elk Grove…read more The service is exceptional, Maria the owner is always quick to make you feel welcomed. The meals are creative and culinary treat To your tastebuds. Love large format paintings on walls. All four of us enjoyed our meals. When in town I will be back to enjoy the amazing blends of cooking styles.

Went out for my birthday dinner and my daughter had made reservations for outdoors. The wah-It…read moreseems they gave away our table, so we sat inside. It was a little dark inside the restaurant and a little loud. Ordered the clam chowder but was later informed that they were out. The yay- amazing server named Destiny. I ordered their halibut special and it had the most amazing risotto. My daughter's gnocchi was delicious, soft, pillowy, and creamy. My husband enjoyed his chicken parmigian. My son enjoyed his sandwich. They gave me a slice of their delicious tiramisu, strong (in a good way) taste of espresso, my hubby had the spumoni, highly recommend. we also ordered the peach and blueberry gelato pie, it's seasonal, and none of us liked it. Ordered a cup of coffee and it was very weak.Overall, great Italian food.

We had an Amazing time here. Megan and Alyssa treated us like royalty. We had a group of 12 and…read moreeverything was perfect. The food was delicious and the service was perfect. Thank you again.

I have been coming to this wonderful restaurant for years…read more The staff is unbelievable Awesomeness. I have never been disappointed with anything, lord knows I am picky. They all go beyond to do what they can for all as quick as possible. I have been in customer service as a stylist for 45yrs, I know quality when I see and experience it. Thank you Brickhouse in Elk Grove for being the beautiful people you all are. I am very bless to be apart of this family.

We went out for girls night here and had a good time! I felt…read morethat they were pretty handicap accessible, had big portions, with a good wine and beer list. The noise was a bit loud and the decor seemed a little dated. Overall the pros outweigh these, the service was solid, and we had a fun! 1. Parking Parking lot with 2 handicap spots. Also easy walkway from the handicap spots into the restaurant. Easy to pull into from the street if coming from 99. I would suggest not trying to back out to the street when leaving however and instead we went through the parking lot, made a left at the ally and from there make a turn from the stop sign at Main Street. 2. Menu: Every thing we ordered was delicious. They had a large wine and beer menu. The blonde beer was ice cold and light for a summer drink. The house red was pretty mellow and very full bodied. The Sauvignon Blanc wasn't too sweet and had a hint of vanilla. The portion sizes of the meals were huge. None of could finish our plates! The bread is extra at 6 dollars, but worth it mainly due to the garlic/chive butter with it. We also ordered the fried zucchini as an appetizer - it was hot and crispy. The zucchini and breading were not soggy at all, and the breading stuck perfectly (these are common issues I've had at other places with fried zucchini) The ribeye was cooked perfectly and was incredibly tender. My friend pointed out that this was a very large piece a bit on the thinner side- they may have pounded it out to tenderize it is our guess. The farmer special was our favorite. It was a braised short rib and you could order it with pasta however we did it with the polenta. It was so very tender and savory. Came with a lot of polenta and it was very cheesy with Parmesan. The linguine and clams had both shelled and unshelled clams. I felt that there could have been more meat for the clam to pasta ratio. It was full of garlic and the cream sauce was zesty. 3. Atmosphere: It's a decent sized building, with a nice big bar in the front a smaller room to the left and a larger room in the back. There was plenty of seating for if you needed to wait. The walkways were wide and it was easy to move around, so no issues using a walker here and I would guess a wheelchair should be fine. The backroom had big booth seats, and would probably be good for large groups and families. The decor seemed a little dated and there was a jukebox in the smaller room, which although we were seated in the back was very loud and at the beginning of our experience it was hard to hear each other and was distracting. During this time the music kept switching songs every 10 to 30 seconds. I inquired why, and every Tuesday night they do "Music Bingo". So that could be a plus for some people, who want a more laid back atmosphere and enjoy a community game! The people in the front of the restaurant seemed to really enjoy it! However I would say if you are planning a quiet evening out or a first time date, you may want to come any other night but Tuesday. 4. Service: All our food and drinks come out in an appropriate time. Drinks were cold and food was hot! Our server made sure we had everything we needed and the manager even come by to check on us. I do love the brick building and how it's on old Elk Grove. We will be back!

This is likely the best restaurant in the Pocket/Greenhaven neighborhood and is definitely worth…read morethe trip for those who don't live in the neighborhood. A very small quaint restaurant with high quality ingredients and a cozy ambiance. A husband and wife run this place with a few staff and it is packed almost every night. I'd recommend making a reservation. They even recommended an appetizer because "there's only one chef and he's working on 31 plates". There are some patio seating in addition to the indoor tables and the bar. Nevertheless, it didn't seem to be an incredibly long wait for our food. We ordered the orchiette con salsiccia, which seems to be on the menu often. One of my favorite things to order. The sausage is cooked perfectly and has good flavor and I love the broccoli rabe and pasta texture. It's not a very saucy dish but full of flavor. We also tried the fregoli e gamberi. Again, not saucy, but great flavor. The shrimps were cooked really well and had great salinity and spice.

We arrived as a party of 4 on a Friday night at 7pm. Though it wasn't too busy, we ended up waiting…read moreabout 30 minutes for our main course to arrive -- not too long if we were just a party of adults, but with a young kid, this was a bit on the long side (not the fault of the restaurant). Other than the wait, the waiter and waitress were lovely and attentive through the meal. Our appetizer (asparagus & burrata, with prosciutto) did arrive quickly. It was tasty, though two of us found the burrata cheese quite salty, and the asparagus was a bit chewier than I expected. The Torchio e Granchio stole the night; the Dungeness crab meat was excellent and tasted fresh, and matched the cream sauce well (which I normally don't like to eat, but was great with the crab). The beef and pork meatballs were sizeable, which was appreciated; we found them a bit over-flavored however (particularly with oregano), and the sauce-to-meat proportions was a bit much (way too much sauce for the amount of pasta and meatballs for our taste). I found the Orecchiette con Salsiccia to be wwayyy more spicey than the Fregola e Gamberi. Though on the menu they both have one chili sign beside them, I could barely taste any spice in the Fegola e Gamberi, but in the end I picked out a small pile of chili pepper bits from the Orecchiette, which even after doing so my mouth still burned through the meal. They definitely need to add an extra chili next to this dish in the menu.

The food here is really delicious. My wife and I had Bruschetta, Carbonara, Ravioli, and the house…read moresalad. The bruschetta was perfectly crisp and the four different flavors made it a really dynamic appetizer. I was partial to the onion jam beautifully roasted and sweet with the right amount of salt. My wife loved how fresh the herbs were on the pesto topping. Everything was properly seasoned. The carbonara was good, but I'd probably try something else next time. They didn't skimp on the pecorino Romano! It made it a little thicker than I'd usually like, but that's only personal preference. The Ravioli was delicious, spicy with slight crunch of the pine nuts and the cheese combination was a delight. The service was friendly and fast! The place is cute, and lively. It was quickly packed with happy customers. I'd recommend a reservation. Now the cons... they were out of the octopus appetizer I really wanted. No big deal. They didn't have gnocchi on the menu. That made me sad. Either of those I can get over. What I can't get over is that it was SO HOT INSIDE!!! Like sooooooo hot!!!! It ruined my meal and I couldn't even eat desert because I needed to escape the suffocating heat inside. Also, my bad for wanting pasta in 100 degree weather so I won't let it make me take a star away when they deserve it. Maybe I won't go back until fall though.

The theme of today's meal was unfortunately S A L T…read more The Octopus appetizer was the best part of the meal. The yukon gold potatoes were amazingly crispy with a nice bite to the skin. The inside was pillow-y soft, and when mixed with the salsa verde was full of flavor with a fabulous punch of garlic. The salsa verde could be put over a nice flank steak and it would absolutely kill. That said, the octopus was a bit *too* crispy. I felt I had to really chew to get it down, and I just wanted a nice snappy skin for some textural juxtaposition. For my entree, I got the Bolognese which was definitely full of salt. The pasta was wonderfully thin and bouncy, but I feel the chef may have had an off-day. My friend and I had to down like multiple cups of water with our meal which made it hard to enjoy. Plus, the garlic bread felt like biting into a brick. The inside was quite fluffy and soft, but the crust was simply too crispy. I almost felt like my teeth were going to give way. Honestly, I can't in good faith recommend this place to my friends, so neither would I recommend it to you. (aside from the pasta classes)