The Empress Tavern was built under the Crest Theater. Formerly, there were smaller theaters for showing the secondary films at the Crest. Although I had many good memories of watching movies in those theaters, I must admit that I admire what has been created from that space. The Empress Tavern is a spacious, grand space with interesting vaulted brickwork that makes me feel like I've entered the Hogwarts of taverns! (Nothing is flying overhead carrying tomes of knowledge, but it's easy to envision such, anyway!) We tested the skills of the bartender and ordered a couple of classic cocktails: A Manhattan and an Old-Fashioned. While we waited, we perused the menu and picked out a couple of plates that looked interesting: the potato chips with salmon mousse and the ham hocks with collard greens. The cocktails were served. Cloth napkins and silverware were brought. The cocktails were quite nice. (Well, my Old-Fashioned was, and from the way my companion was enjoying his Manhattan, he agreed.) The plates arrived, and the food was very agreeable. Perfect for an evening when the promise of Fall was definitely in the cool, breezy air. This would be a lovely place to meet friends for a drink and a bite. It feels so much like a secret lair hideaway that is airy and expansive. read more

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Holy. Cow. First: THE BREAD! Hot, fresh ... not sure if the honey was in the whipped butter or in the bread rolls, but the hint of honey was there ... AND IT WAS DELICIOUS! Seriously, beats out Texas Roadhouse bread - and I LOVE Texas Roadhouse bread! The Man: Prime Rib Amazing! Cooked to perfection, and it wasn't a small piece either! No sauce or garnishments needed. Me: Raviolis Delicious! Three huge raviolis came on a plate, topped with spinach, squash (I think?), and maybe some artichoke heart pieces (?) -- I don't know, but it was delicious and extremely filling. I only got thru two raviolis. Our waitress: I don't know her name, but she was the cutest, sweetest redhead ever! The Man asked for a cold glass for his canned Modelo (not on tap; no bottles). She had the bartender ice a glass for him and even put a fresh glass in the freezer, in case he wanted a second! THAT is excellent customer service, considering they don't offer chilled glasses! We got there around 9pm and were done eating at 9:30pm. No lie. For a restaurant like that, with what we ordered, I was shocked that everything was so fast and excellent. This place is definitely getting bookmarked! read more

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Fun underground tavern with amazing customer service and accommodating atmosphere. Adjacent to Crest Theater and available for hosting special events. Historic location with modern features. Clean and well-stocked bar. read more

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Great spot to stop before a show at the Crest. The fact that you can bring your drinks into a show and not have to stand in line at the concession stand is a great bonus. It's like drinking in a cave and I'm a fan of such activities. read more

This place has such a cool atmosphere and great staff! They have a small menu, but everything sounded great! We ordered a few different small dishes to try out including the fried risotto balls, shrimp skewers, and Mac n cheese. I really enjoyed all the appetizers we ordered. read more

Always a great time at this underground speakeasy type place. Great mood, good vibes, great ambiance, and super friendly service. Food and drinks were both amazing, with an ever changing food and drink menu. Definitely a place worth trying in downtown Sacramento. Food - my friend and I had the fried chicken, beef stroganoff, and Brussel sprouts. The fried chicken is a staple here make sure to try. They add a homemade hot honey and fresh pickle. The Brussel sprouts were great, maple bacon delicious! The stroganoff looked great but may have needed more cream. Drink - we didn't stray far from my favorite old fashion with Rittenhouse rye. Classic standby, however, no cherry but still delicious. We sat at the bar and had amazing service, the place was packed I mean it was Friday. A bit loud but not overbearing. Definitely check it out! Highly recommend! read more

Empress Tavern - Fried chicken - American Near Me - Sacramento, California

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Blake and Will thank you. We will be back. The Wolf. The Rose something or other. Wife got an LA. And something else. Cocktails are great. Bone marrow awesome. The Fried Tomato Burger. The food was great. We will be back again. Well third time here. Still great. Tried a few more things. Staff is still friendly. Drinks and food good good good. read more

Empress Tavern - American Near Me - Sacramento, California

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I like Empress a lot. It's elegant yet approachable at the same time with the hospitality and quality you'd expect at the price point. If Empress is not in your special occasion rotation, it should be. Aaand the "Happy Meals" on their happy hr menu are fire. The CD Special (burger and old fashioned), which seem to persist while other things change, is a proper adult happy meal. It's probably the best burger you've had in awhile. read more

In town for the CAEA in Sacramento (Sacrament for all of you that are religious) and in need of some Foodie Food!! I was already 0-4 on my food experience so I was a bit nervous about this place! The entrance to this place feels like I'm ready to either be tortured or we're going to a medieval Speak Easy! Most definitely Impressed! It was rather easy to get a 5:15 pm reservation on a Friday and that was both encouraging and scary. The hostess sat us near the kitchen which was an ear shot from our table. We watched all the action and the genius Homie chefs working their Magic! I asked about the beers on tap and I was impressed with the sophisticated beer list and settled on a beautiful Amber Ale. Our waiter dropped the secret menu on us but in the end we nervously ordered the Mole (a recipe on loan from one of the chef's Abuelita from Oaxaca)! But first, we would have to check out the home made bread that arrived at our table like a warm new born baby, it even smelled new! Next we ordered the Pork Rinds (Chicharrones that came with an Amazing dipping sauce)! Our Mole arrived looking like an Aztec Goddess and tasting like a sacrificial experience on our tastebuds! Homie made his grandma very very very proud! The chicken was moist and the mole was mildly sweet and spectacularly spicy! We ate, we happy, and we were FULLY impressed. We never hesitated about the dessert! We told him to bring it! That sweet lemon delight came and both my wife and I were lost in Good Will Hunting! We gave in willingly! We Fat tonight! In the end I was definitely Impressed with Empress! Would definitely come back to try out the other offerings on the menu! Eat On! People, but please bring your best appetite! read more

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My friend and I came for happy hour after work. I ordered a sour beer which was the strawberry island and it was really delicious. It wasn't too sour which I loved. My friend had the Moscow mule and a Sierra Nevada. He liked his drinks as well. The bartender was super friendly and very attentive. Overall great happy hour experience. read more

Empress Tavern - Sour - American Near Me - Sacramento, California

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Very cool looking place. Food was just okay. The arugula on my burger was wilted and slimey. Kinda gross. Probably wouldn't go there again.

A month ago, I made reservation at Empress Tavern for a colleagues birthday luncheon. I made reservation through open table and I received confirmation, several reminders about my upcoming reservation. Unfortunately on the day of the reservation, we saw a closed sign posted outside the doors. The sign in bold said "the restaurant is closed for maintenance. We were doomed neither the restaurant nor open table made any attempts to notify about the closure. Despite the first incident, we decided to give the restaurant a second chance through opentable. I guess our stars were aligned and it was our lucky day; the restaurant was open for regular business. The restaurant is tucked along the K Street next to Crest Café. Upon our arrival to the restaurant, we noticed another couple waiting for the doors to open. Unfortunately, they don't have a sign outside their main door indicating its "OPEN". After we opened the door, we realized it was dark inside. Here's the inside tip, search for the arrow signs. The entrance leads to staircase that goes downstairs into a cellar-like room. Honestly, I felt it had the wine cellar vibe. By the way, the staircase is dark like a scary movie. I wish they had lighting for kids or adults so they don't take a wrong step. We had reservation for 6 people; the hostess sat us in a dent lounge area. In the middle of the restaurant they have the bar area in case you are there for drinks. Overall, the ambiance is beautiful but lightening is an issue. If you need to read the menu, use the phone flash light. LOL Menu: Lunch menu have limited option. Few people on our table were disappointed they didn't have the award winning burger on the lunch menu. Most of us ordered the Trout sandwich. The server said trout was a popular choice on our table. It's usually not the case on the rest of the tables. The trout was deep fried, served with pickles and French fries. I personally felt the trout had the fish smell, little greasy and it was a thin slice. A little bigger piece would have been appreciated. I would rate the sandwich as an average. Next time if we go back to empress, I'll share the lunch with another person. The portions are big. One of my co-worker loved he's chicken sandwich. He said, it was juicy, flavorful, had a little spicy kick and the bun was soft. He thinks they used chicken thighs and presuming that could be the reason it was delicious. Service - Service was great for the following reasons: - Waiter stopped several times to check on us. - refilled the water bottle - packed our leftovers togo Few of my co-workers want to go back to try out other items on the menu. I would absolutely recommend this restaurant for a lunch on a hot day because it's cold and nice inside the restaurant. Also, it would be a perfect date night, gathering with friends/family because you can share the $90 chicken bucket, happy hour or special occasion. Overall my rating is 3 stars. read more

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What could be better than Griddled Bacon? Griddled bacon with banana mustard. That is how we started out our evening with some great cocktails. We got there a little early and they do not start dinner service until 5 pm. So the staff invited us to have a drink at the bar and then we could get a table after 5pm. The bartender was very friendly and made some great suggestions for appetizers and drinks for happy hour. Best suggestion was the bacon to start. We had questions about how the bartender made one of the drinks and you can tell he is very knowledgeable and loves to make good cocktails. Then the host asked if we still wanted dinner and if so he had a booth for us. We then ordered the stuffed peppers with a cream cheese and crab filling with spices and popcorn on top. A nice light starter. For entrees we had the Short rib stroganoff. Yum! We ended with their homemade donut with blackberry glaze and fresh blackberries. Staff was very attentive and helpful with suggestions. We will definitely be back soon to try other options. read more

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I always feel bad giving a bad review, but the Empress Management needs to know and hopefully make the necessary changes for improvement. My gf and I went last night (Mon, not even a weekend night!) before the concert at the Crest Theatre. The location and vibe of the restaurant were what drew us there. Our experience was horrible. The employees and bartender were nice, in fact, we felt so bad for them. The place was not busy when we arrived, yet they told us food would take over an hour (for a sandwich and chicken skewers). The skewers were burnt & we never received our rissoto balls. No table service...food & drinks need to be ordered at the bar, and bartenders are very busy and backed up. Too bad, because it's a great location to the theatre & and a nice & large place. read more

Tried to get back to this amazing bar tonight suited and booted but was met with homeless stank urine and emaciated bodies scattered around while the front entrance was littered with trash. Apocalyptic is an understatement. There was an air of end of world type vibes going on. It would be nice if Empress would update their website and voicemail message. This space is to beautiful not to reopen. Please open soon and communicate with your customers and clients. read more

Love this place! Bartenders are the best! Even when busy they are killing it busting out great cocktails for everyone. Food is excellent too! we had the shrimp & chicken skewers as well as the hamburger. Love the aioli sauce and grilled bun. Swanky interior with with red brick walls and beautiful lighting. Great vibe, great drinks and great food! read more

After a crappy morning of my break up with my boyfriend, my friends asked me to join them for dinner. Why not? I needed to get out and this was the perfect place to go to. It's quite hidden on the K street mall with just a chalkboard sign pointing the direction. It's quite mysterious and fun. As you walk in, it's dim and alluring, leading you downstairs into this underground brick vault or subway feeling. The interior design was pretty good and could use some work in certain areas. Service was great, our waiter stopped by almost every 10-15 mins to refill our water. Gave us great recommendations. We started off with a living butter lettuce salad, which tasted amazing! Loved the confit Strawberry balsamic dressing. Not a big fan of the sunflower seeds, I think hazelnut would've been better. I couldn't decide between the Rotisserie chicken or the turkey dish, waiter said turkey. The turkey breast, leg, and thigh over whipped potato and some blueberry compote. The flavor was delicious. The breast was moist and the skin was crispy, just like the asian roasted pork! I wasn't too please that at the end, I ended up eating everything all together because of the whipped potato. It was like porridge and turkey meat. Everything was just stuck together and it softened my crispy breast skin. My friends had the stroganoff and the pork chop. They both enjoyed it very much. We also ordered the Honey Yogurt Panna Cotta and Peach Cheesecake. The PC was way dense and I didn't know what I was eating. I had to actually chew or mush it really hard with my tongue. It'll take a while to get the flavor settled on your taste buds. The fruits were yummy. The peach cheesecake was better and hit the spot. Creamy and smooth, not grainy at all and the peach puree was a great complement. I would definitely come back here and try other dishes and just for the atmosphere. However, because it is polished concrete flooring and brick, it tends to get really loud when it starts to get busy. read more

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I was torn between 3 and 4 stars for Empress Tavern. Some of the items we ate were stellar and others left little to be desired. My dad and I came to Empress Tavern for a bite to eat before heading to the Crest Theater to watch the Oscar Nominated Short Films. Located below the Crest Theater, Empress Tavern earns top marks for its ambiance and decor. We came during Happy Hour so we opted to try several of their dishes from that menu. We ordered the chicken slider, the soft shell crab slider, the artichoke dip, and the coin fries. We also each got a Moscow Mule. The chicken slider had good flavor and a nice kick to it. The soft shell crab slider was tasty as well. I really enjoyed the artichoke dip and crispy crostini's that came with it. But the coin fries were bland and basically a potato that had been sliced into disks and cooked. The chimichurri sauce was non-existent. The Moscow Mule was a little too sweet for my liking and not even served in a copper mug. I don't know if I'd come to Empress Tavern unless I was coming for Happy Hour - the prices and the portions don't seem worth it otherwise. read more

We came to a show at the Crest in February, and the cocktail menu had only 3 drinks on it, one of which was a "Mistletoe Margarita". We waited at the bar for 25 minutes while the bartender ignored us and chatted with the people next to us. We eventually had to leave 15 minutes after the show had started upstairs without a drink or even having been acknowledged. read more

We stopped in while killing time before a show upstairs at the Crest. I will say, it's highly convenient placing. It does have that going for it. The decor and atmosphere (and killer wallpaper) are what will bring us back. We ordered a few drinks, an order of fries, and some chicken skewers. The fries were great. The skewers..... not so much. Super dry, no sauce. The skewers came with a slaw that was undressed... and no utensils or napkins! For a food and drink establishment to be unmasked is gross in my opinion. I have every intention of avoiding this place, even if their wallpaper is awesome. Oh, and be sure you check your card charges! They charged us for a tab that wasnt ours. read more

This was hands down one of the best meals I have had in a long time. Everything from the ambiance to the service, to the food was amazing. ORDER: Smoked salmon dip: I've never done crack, but I assume it would be similar to this dip. So good, so addicting. Bread rolls: Incredible. Soft, warm, slightly sweet. Everything I could ask for from a dinner roll and more. I almost stuffed some in my purse to go. Prime rib: Perfectly cooked and a HUGE portion. I couldn't finish everything (I also maybe ate my weight in bread rolls). Cocktail tea service: Fun premise, but way too sweet for me (The only part of our meal that wasn't exceptional). Don't walk, run here. I wish I lived in Sacramento just so I could come back more often. read more

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Ambience is beautiful there. It looks like your eating down in a wine cellar. Service was great. Food was decent. Menu selection was sparse. Wish that they would have more affordable options. I order the fried chicken sandwich. It was juicy and lightly breaded. The chicken piece was thigh instead of breast which I appreciated it since thigh meat is generally more soft. The bun was very soft and the spicy sauce made it more flavorful. The sauce wasn't spicy at all. The rest of the table ordered the trout sandwich which was yummy too. It had the fishy smell though so be prepared if you plan on ordering that sandwich. read more

Empress Tavern - Half of trout and half chicken. Split with a co-worker. - American Near Me - Sacramento, California

Hidden Gem! Loved the dim lit cave, it reminded me of being in a castle with all the bricks and curved arches that perfectly surround the bar. Oh and their wallpaper was on point! If you are keto this place hooked it up during their Happy Hour. My burger was wrapped in butter lettuce, it was amazing, juicy plus the ham and sauce was mouthwatering. My husband and I enjoyed happy hour drinks at the bar. Bartender was quick with taking our drinks. We ordered vodka soda and dirty martini both were delicious! We will be returning for a date night. read more

Empress Tavern - Keto burger and chicken sliders yes please - American Near Me - Sacramento, California

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Date night review: I have no clue why I've never eaten here. I've had drinks and happy hour, but Friday night was the first time I actually sat down and ate a meal. I was not disappointed!! I love how low key this place is. The vibe is chill - but the food knocks this place out the water. Things we tried: 1. The pork skins - bc why not? So crispy and delicious. 2. The caprese salad - It was a special on the menu that I'm glad we shared. 3. The hubs had the chicken, that he said was better than south. I was surprised at his declaration that I had to have a bite. He was right! he gave me my least favorite part of the chicken (white meat) and it was moist and delicious. Not over cooked or dry at all! 4. The lamb shank - fall off the bone goodness. Totally melt in your mouth in a good way. Parents: The reception here sucks. Either log on to the wifi or tell your babysitter to call the restaurant if there is an emergency. Luckily there was no emergency, but as a paranoid parent FYI just in case. LOL. read more

Speakeasy vibe underground. Literally...underground. Look for the Crest, then peek around the corner from the ticket booth and you'll find it. Down a couple flights of stairs - it's a must try kind of place. Ladies watch your heels here... besides the stairs, the floor is super slick!! Empress had been on my bookmark list since they opened and when they popped up on the list for Dine Downtown 2016 I knew it was fate. Friends assembled and we all agreed it was a great experience. Ambience was energetic. This place has a great look with all the brick and the visible kitchen. Only downside was the insane noise level. This is NOT a quiet, intimate date night restaurant - the sound echoes and you're going to have to speak with a raised voice. It is, however, a fun night out with a group. Cocktails were...interesting. If you are a gin lover (or hipster) you'll appreciate what they are muddling behind the bar. As I am neither, I opted for "Tea Service" and I recommend you try it. Translation: lethal cocktail served in a tea pot with cute tea cups and flower petals. No, there isn't really tea. Ours was actually tequila based/margaritaish and not shy with the liquor. For $21 and around six cups, you can look awfully classy getting your buzz on. Makes me wonder what Kate Middleton is really sipping on in her tea cup...but I digress. Food was flavorful and unpretentious. We all ordered the Dine Downtown prix fixe menu and enjoyed it... two of us pasta and two of us cornish game hen for the entree. The salad was crisp and filling. Not drowned in dressing either. The smoked pappardelle pasta with mushrooms was hearty and rich - they should put that on the main menu for sure. Dessert was served tableside - a nice touch. The Seasonal Fruit Pie was really a chocolate cream/ devil's food masterpiece topped with cherries and housemade whipped cream. My picture doesn't do it justice. Service here was notably above par. Rarely do I remember a server's name, but Ernesto did this place proud from start to finish. I remember any man who keeps my tea cup filled ;) read more

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I'm a big fan! This restaurant is classy, has great atmosphere, excellent cocktails, and a very interesting menu. I enjoyed both of my visits to Empress Tavern. I was very impressed when I first walked in. The restaurant was expertly designed and tucked into the basement of the Crest Building off K Street. The interior is highlighted by a wonderful vaulted ceiling support by arching brick columns. It has the kind of European old world charm you don't normally see in Sacramento. The dining room is typically filled with well dressed customers enjoying dinner or a drink before a show. The lighting is dusky and adds to the cozy atmosphere. The bar has a number of interesting decorative highlights behind and around it. There is a great deal to see and discover inside Empress Tavern. The bartenders are professional and craft their cocktails with high quality ingredients. I had an old fashioned which was one of the better versions I've tasted. I also ordered a smoked salmon dip appetizer while I was there. It had a wonderful creamy texture and delicate smokey flavor. Everything about this restaurant is visually, and gastronomically appealing. The owners did a bang-up job! read more

Empress Tavern - The magical sparkle bar. - American Near Me - Sacramento, California

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Wow, this was a really nice experience from start to finish. The entrance is on the right side of the Crest Theater, and a red carpet stairwell leads you down into the cavern like area, where you are surrounded in elegantly formed surroundings. We couldn't decide on a drink to start , so the server suggested the "Tea" service. Its served in a glazed teapot, but unlike any tea you are used to. In fact, there is no tea in it at all. It's a mixture of Brandy, Becharovka, Persimmon-compound Butter, Ancho Chile, and is served hot. The price is $21 for the pot and we were able to get about 6 tea cup drinks out of one pot. We were blown away. The warmth of the drink, along with the creative mixology was a very special treat. And the process of getting to share and pour for the others was very fun. In fact, when we were ready for the second round, we ordered the same thing! We then had some small "snacks". The Honey hot wings ($5) were not spicy hot at all, and had a bread and butter pickle accompaniment. The smoked Salmon dip ($5) was rich in flavor with nice russet potato chips. The puffed pork skin ($5) was salty and BBQ spiced and fun to eat. it also had a sprinkle of lemon for a little extra zipp. The Orecceiette "n" Mac ($6) was just ok, small shells served in a typical metal square plate. Lots of sharp cheddar, but just a little too runny for my taste. I like a sharper, and firmer mac N cheese, but just my preference though. Out of all of the sides, that was the only one left unfinished. We split the Anson Mills Grits ($24), and the French Dip ($19). The French dip was open faced, and served from rotisserie on house baked roll. Really nice flavor, however it was a little hard to cut the prime rib. The grits were nicely done, with sunchoke, delicato squash, and chanterelles. Service was excellent, prompt, and friendly. The one factor one might notice is the noise level. Because the restaurant is in a cavernous space, on all hard surfaces, the noise level was very loud. In fact at times it was very hard to hear each other, as the sound reverberated off of the surfaces and back towards us. It would be really hard to change without changing the ambiance of the restaurant though. All in all, a really nice experience, and worlds away from the cookie cutter experience. We had a really nice time. read more

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second time here but first time reviewing. this time we Yelp researched this joint and got the recommended Cote de Boeuf. this $150 dinner for 4 includes rolls, family salad, rib-eye, bone marrow, horseradish, wedge potatoes and 2 sides. we had the steak medium but we thought it would be tastier if we had it medium rare like our server suggested. for the two sides the group chose the roasted delicata squash and the collared greens. for drinks i got the Pimm's No. Now, the wife got a bottled Coke (boring) and or friends got the house Belgian beer and Barbera wine. also we shared the complimentary birthday ice cream sandwich peanut butter cookie which was so delectable now all this choices have been excellent selections down to the Parker's dinner rolls. our server was attentive and informative. the lovely ambience has been mentioned in many reviews. definitely coming back to try the recommended Fried Chicken dinner which made our mouths water everytime a group's order passed by our table read more

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Oh my gosh! I was so excited when my friend treated me here for my birthday. I let my friend order everything we ate, because everything on the menu looked amazing. We shared the crab cake, short rib stroganoff, and the seared scallops. All of the food was good, but my favorite was the crab cake. It a huge amount of crab that just tasted awesome. I have had multiple crab cakes, but Empress' version is my favorite by far. Our server was very nice too. He had the bartender make a drink for me. I have no idea what was in it besides vodka, but I loved the taste of the drink and the creativity of the bartender. After dinner, I was presented with a carrot cake with Happy Birthday written on my plate in the prettiest writing I have seen. The cake definitely made my night extra special. read more

Empress Tavern - My birthday cake! - American Near Me - Sacramento, California

I was at the Crest for a movie and came in to have dinner and a beer. They had a delicious red ale which I had with e cheeseburger and fries. Burger tasted very fresh and it was very tasty. The fries were awesome, they had the righty amount of crunchiness to them.!! read more

The ambience creates a great vibe, nice place for a date-night. A bit pricy but the food is amazing. read more

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Empress, you impressed me tonight. I made dinner reservations early in the a.m. through open table (easy). I received an email for confirmation immediately but no follow up phone call (some places do that). The restaurant is underground right around the corner of crest theatre through what appears to be brown wooden arched doors (I seriously thought of vampires lol). As you enter, you approach a counter for check in. They were nice and prompt (no wait). Then you proceed to walk down into a beautiful establishment. I loved the layout, the floral walls, arched ceilings, glittered specks flooring, open kitchen with the tattooed guys, and the bar setup. The place was pretty packed and poppin'. Music was a bit loud, so you'd have to speak loudly when conversing. No cell reception. Our server was this black woman and she was the sweetest person. She checked on our water refills and tended to us attentively. I mean the pitcher of water was on our table and we could easily pour it ourselves, but nope! She was busy running around, but always stopped to check on us. The food-- we ordered some cocktails. I had the empress Long Island. They added their twist to it--very bubbly, but it went down smooth. It crept up later on me but the food made me sober. I had the herb crusted organic half rotisserie chicken which came with potatoes and I added the Mac and cheese (called something orechiette? and cheese, same concept). It was very creamy. I liked it! The chicken was moist and yummy. My friend got the prime rib served with strips of fried potatoes. Delicious too! I would come definitely come back for a special occasion or just because I want to fine dine a bit. If I worked at this part of town, I would definitely come for happy hour. They serve family style dinners too! read more

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Empress Tavern is somewhat hidden and is located in the basement of Crest Theatre. We walked through a wooden door and down a set of red carpeted stairs. I loved the décor- brick ceilings and the wallpapered wall with gold irises. It was noisy and a bit hard carrying conversation. We had the tea service (#1) cocktail. It was not my cup of tea. I drank less than a cup, but that's not saying much as I'm not much of a drinker. A server came around and offered us rolls. I prefer not to fill up on bread, to not ruin my appetite. The roll was soft and fluffy though. My friends and I ordered a variety of dishes to share. The most winning dish was the roast pork belly. The meat was so tender. It was accompanied with hash browns, pureed apple, and dill crème fraiche. I didn't care how fatty it was because it was just that good! The most disappointing dish was the bone marrow. It was accompanied by escargot, parsley salad, and garlic breadcrumbs. This was my first time having escargot and I didn't like it. My friend kept commenting how meaty they were. That made it even less appetizing to me. They were bland and chewy. The parsley salad and garlic breadcrumbs did nothing to cut the richness of the bone marrow. Both were oily. It also comes with a complimentary whiskey luge in which we didn't partake as we didn't finish off the bone marrow. As for the rest of the food, we all enjoyed the steak tartare (with Texas toast). I also enjoyed the grilled chicken hearts with chimichurri sauce. I did notice that it previously came with 3 skewers, but now it's 2. I expected the smoked sturgeon dip to be served warm, but it was cold. Some of the russet potato chips that came with it tasted burnt to me. The orecchiette 'n' cheese was basic. For dessert, we shared the pumpkin pie and caramel apple soufflé. I much preferred the sea salt brown sugar cookies that came with the check- simple yet good. It was a meat-centic meal. At the end, I felt like I needed to eat some vegetables. There's always Mother (vegetarian) next door, which is also by Chef Michael Thiemann. The restaurant is definitely worth checking out though, even if it's to just stop in and grab a drink. read more

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This place is very UNIQUE. The ambiance is very relaxing. Staff are very friendly and the food was GREAT. read more

Empress Tavern - American Near Me - Sacramento, California

This place is for sure 5 Star! My son and wife said this place was super cool. Well, let's load up in the car and rock n roll! The entrance was not very recognizable and very dim but, they knew that this was the place. Started off with the salad and bread rolls. We also ordered the bone marrow appetizer...don't pass this one up. A couple of IPA's and we were on our way to the main course. We decided on the family style chicken plate that served 4-6 people. The seasoning was amazing and the honey habanero was super delicious. Sides of squash and mashed potatoes were very, very good. The interior was...well, come in and see for yourself! Wife and I loved this place and enjoyed our time with the fam! read more

The food was great but if I am going to be fair then I have to factor in service - which was not so great. Maybe he had a long day? Maybe he hates his job? But suck it up because as a consumer I shouldn't be able to tell you're not happy to be there. We ordered the brisket to share & steak tartare. The food was good. Brisket cooked well. The portions are big and even though the dinner said it could feed up to 4 which it easily can. I would return because of the food & cross my fingers that service is more pleasant. read more

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I've always wondered what this place was about and I was fortunate enough to be invited to a private party for my first visit. I was able to meet the lovely people that make it all happen and really get an appreciation of the atmosphere and venue. Beautiful open bar, light fixtures are gorgeous, dim lights give it a nice romantic yet casual feel and the brick walls give off a castle/underground vibe. 2nd time I swung by for a quick visit. Sadly I missed their HH so I ordered mac and cheese and brussel sprouts off their appetizer menu along with a glass of Barbera. Mac was super cheesy and delicious, I was just missing some crushed redpepper. Brussel sprouts were excellent and the wine was good. Prices are a little more than I like to spend but I guess you pay for the ambiance. I definitely want to come back during happy hour and try the burger. read more

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We honestly adore this restaurant. We have been multiple times and love the food. The service is wonderful and they work really hard to please. But sadly the menu changes, which is frustrating because there of been items that we love that get removed. Items Removed: Cabbage with mustard sauce Roasted Mushroom French Onion Bone Marrow Bone Marrow with Escargot Nashville Hot Wings With that being said we still love the dark fun no cellular service place. I'm ok with our phones not working because it's date night! This last visit the prime rib was amazing, chicken hearts were on point, steak tartare tasty; only complaint was the Bone Marrow had a sweet jam on top which we thought didn't work and the toast points were too soft (crostini would be better). Service was great of course, and we walked out full and buzzed. I guess I'm kinda complaining but only because we love the place. Cheers! read more

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The bartender was VERY rude. She was instantly insulted at the fact my party thought her Kamakazie shots tasted like "lemonade" and REFUSED to continue to service us and wouldn't have allow us to order another round after the first order. Will NEVER return to this spot and will encourage others to never stop here. read more

Classic San Francisco Chinatown dining experience. Especially on a Lunar Mew Year's night during the La Niña storms of 2023! Braving the street pyrotechnics and the monsoonal rains to get from the Uber drop off through the last 200 yards to Empress. The chef's tasting menu with wine pairing was well worth it. We will be back! read more