Gone are the days when hotel restaurants were regarded as second-class. Too corporate. Out of touch. Blah. No wonder delegates left their hotels in search of a city’s word-of-mouth culinary attractions or with Zagat guide in hand.
In Sacramento, you don’t have to leave your accommodations to eat and drink well. Hotel chefs engage daily in competitive sleuthing for the best local ingredients from nearly 80 boutique farms that ring the region. Convenient during inclement weather or winding down after meetings, it’s nice to know you can stay put and have a memorable meal without leaving your temporary home.
Revival at the Sawyer
Kimpton Sawyer Hotel
Not a club, not a bar, but a polished setting of urban sizzles outfitted with couches instead of tables. On the third level, food flirts with whimsy but is as serious as the dress code – no sag, tank tops or flip-flops. Substantial nibbles of lobster corn dogs, short ribs, caviar and duck-wing confit can fill the belly. 500 J St., (916) 545-7111
Dawson’s Steakhouse
Hyatt Regency Sacramento
This Wine Spectator-awarded restaurant is a destination for locals as much as for hotel guests craving meaty American food served in clubby décor. Showstoppers are Dungeness crab cakes, bone-in ribeye, and a porterhouse dry-aged 28 days that’s so big it drapes over the plate. Wine is sourced from the most prestigious appellations, leaving no doubt you’re in California. 209 L Str. (916) 321-3600
Morgan's Restaurant
Sheraton Grand Sacramento
Inside a 1923 public market built for 24 original vendors, this lobby dinner restaurant is intended as the 25th. Morgan dishes up pork chops, duck-fat potatoes and local apples, duck breast with spiced pears and new desserts nightly. Morgan’s named for famed building designer Julie Morgan, occupies the mezzanine and serves breakfast featuring local meats, eggs and fruit bathed in morning light. 1230 J St., (916) 447-1700
Grange
Citizen Hotel
Grange doesn’t feel like it’s in a hotel. Packed with locals from morning to late night, it’s got a New York state of mind, with cocktails reliant on carefully sourced ingredients from the region’s growers. The menu changes often but never wavers from globally inspired dishes showcasing cheese, charcuterie, fish and Sacramento’s year-round cornucopia of fruit and vegetables. 926 J St., (916) 492-4450
The Pilothouse
Delta King Hotel
A 90-year-old, 285-foot riverboat’s dining room, with its wood and brass, is romantic yet casual enough for patrons to dress comfortably. Best tables overlook the Sacramento River and the boats buzzing by. An Americana menu adds global tastes—stone-crab cakes with rémoulade, flatbread with chutney, California cheese board, and wild salmon with changing treatments. Cioppino overflows with an ocean’s worth of crab, clams, prawns, mussels and scallops. 1000 Front St., (916) 441-4440
If you would like more information about Sacramento or if you’re interested in booking a meeting, please contact us at ConventionSales@visitsacramento.com or (800) 292-2334.
