Chops Steak Seafood & Bar

The service here is extremely poor. We were the only ones in the restaurant and had to ask twice for my drink. It took a very long time for the server to come and take our order. Our drink cups sat on the table empty for a very long time without the server coming to refill them. He walked by several times and didn’t bother to refill our drinks. We waited for almost an hour for our food. The waiter was very uninterested in his job and it showed. I would not recommend this place.

It’s a mediocre place with mediocre food that isn’t worth the money you have to dish out to pay for it. We ordered the blackened salmon and got one tiny piece of salmon with broccoli and mostly greens. We also got the fettuccine which was mushy and warm. The bacon was overcooked. The waitress was friendly and helpful but it’s an expensive restaurant with poor quality food.

We dined here Sat. evening even though it was pouring down rain. Our reservation was for 6:30. There is no available street parking, so we used the garage across from Chops. It was only $ 5.00 as no events seemed to be going on. We walked in & approached the hostess at her podium. Since she didn’t greet us (not with «hello, welcome or do you have a reservation»)
we spoke first. The restaurant was barely ¹⁄₃ rd occupied, yet she walked us to a booth directly across from the kitchen door! We are an older couple, dressed very nicely & mellow, so we knew it wasn’t our appearance that caused her decision. Since our server showed up immediately, we told her about our «hostess» & the lack of greeting & our seating. She apologized for her, was so cheery & friendly we decided to remain where we were. Our server was the highlight of our evening. One star for her.
We began with drinks/​wine. Bread arrived. It was sliced with a hint of rosemary & garlic on the crust with a butter mixed with sun-​dried tomato. Very nice. Next, we had clam chowder. It was so thick our spoon could stand up alone! The clams definitely were not fresh. The flavor was fair. My husband had the 20 ou. ribeye which was cooked as ordered & very tasty, but not worth the $ 50.00 price. He said it was comparable to steaks he has had at the Black Angus. The carrots & baked potato were good. I ordered the Scallops with fettuccini $ 24.00.
First, it wasn’t fettuccini noodles, rather thin spaghetti. When I asked our server about the noodles, she said the kitchen cut them too thin. Now a fettuccini noodle is flat, these were roundish. There was bacon, which was very hard & spinach so chewy I couldn’t eat it. The scallops were cooked fine & I did enjoy them. I took the dish home just to dissect it & find out why it was so horrible. The spinach hadn’t been cooked properly, the bacon over cooked & the noodles were mushy. We had a side of tempura battered onion rings which were very good, probably the best part of our meal & pricewise $ 5.00. We had the apple crisp with vanilla bean ice cream, very good & flavorful. When we left, no one was at the podium to say good evening or thanks for coming on this rainy night, which means the next people on their way in were not greeted either! There is NO excuse for a restaurant of this supposed caliber to treat their customers in this manner. We left scurrying across the way in the pouring down rain, never to go back. Sacramento has so many restaurants that treat their customers with more respect, truly valuing them. P. S. The chef should not be allowed to cook pasta ever.

Happy hour food was over priced and bland. Got the veggie platter that consisted of under cooked Brussel sprouts with green goddess dressing. Chicken wings were flavor less and not crispy. Service was good. Not enough to go back though.

Happy hour review only: well drinks & calamari were great, bartender and service was prompt and cheerful.

The best thing we all enjoyed was the stuffed mushroom app. Very good. Otherwise, it was downhill from there. The bacon wrapped prawns were over cooked. The prime rib had little flavor. The rib eyes had a great cilantro butter sauce on top but had way too much gristle for the cut and price. The salt crusted baked potatoes were not actually salted. It looks like a place that should deliver much better with the location, interior style, wine list, the viewing window of aging cuts of meat, and price, so it’s a disappointing that it wasn’t. The service was good so that’s why I’m giving 3 stars.

Most convenient restaurant across from State Capitol. Has a nice clubby steakhouse feel. It should be jammed with business but the food during lunch has not been up to par. Today we ate in the bar area and service was ok. Ordered two burgers and stressed we wanted burgers to be cooked medium with slight pink. Instead the burgers were almost raw in the center. The onion rings were too oily to eat. Turkey avocado sandwich was dry. Expected better quality food for prices charged. Probably will not return until they improve kitchen.

The BEST PRIME RIB I’ve had! Intimate, romantic booths. Professional, attentive service. Delightful.

Had dinner here Saturday night. I had received a couple gift cards from clients and wanted to take a friend out. The service was slow, but the server was oddly attentive – very reiterative telling us the water, wine and appetizer would be out soon. I ordered prime rib and my date ordered NY strip. All steaks came with carmelized carrots and choice of potato. It would have been nice to choose the veggie too. When they broight the steaks… forgot the side of mushrooms we ordered. Prices were on par with Ruth’s Chris, but we both left there very unimpressed. The food just was not of caliber for the price.

I was a bit … Since recommended by the hotel! But food was crazy good and waiter very nice!

Our server James was very nice and personable. The wedge ceaser was nicee and crisp and not over dressed. I had the beef medallions and my gf had the salmon. The beef was cooked perfectly very tender. The salmon had excellent crispy skin and a refreshing mango salad. Thanks for the great dining experience CHOPS!

Came here with my fiancée for Dine Downtown. We had an amazing experience with great food.
He had the steak medallions and I had the salmon both were perfectly prepared. We would definitely come back!

Let’s start with the atmosphere, it was enticing. The entry was a great start with the meat locker full of aging beef. Sat at the bar and the bartender was full of energy! It wasn’t that busy, but the bartender seemed so busy we had to wait 15 minutes to get served. We ordered the chicken wings and a makers Manhattan. The Coca Cola bbq sauce was great but the wings were over cooked and the Manhattan was missing bitters and a black cherry the biggest miss was the prime rib. No pink just gray, I was super sad

Came in for Dine Downtown, and right off the bat had a great experience. Joe was our server for my husband and I for the evening and couldn’t be happier! Very knowledgable of all the menus, articulate and friendly. Definitely request him for your visit!

The drinks weren’t that strong. The spinach mushrooms were good. The calamari was a little chewy and looked a bit underdone. The first order of potatoe skins came out obviously burnt. Why would the chef and the waitress think it was okay to serve burnt food to paying customers? When brought to the waitress’s attention, she brought out a better order of skins. I would return to Chops just to eat the spinach mushrooms again.

Review for DINNER on New Year’s Eve.
My GF called and made a early reservation. When making the reservation she specifically asked the hostess if our discount coupon was valid. She put her on hold, asked and said yes it would be valid on new years eve. My GF also called the discount coupon who also said b/​c there are no restrictions it would be valid on new year’s eve.
Guess WHAT?!
We got there had a few drinks at the bar… the hostess didn’t even know if they were honoring Happy Hour that day (per their website 4−8pm on weekdays). She asked the bartender who said NO happy hour but they had a champagne special ($ 5). So we ordered a beer and a champagne and that bartender was going to charge $ 10 for the glass and wasn’t aware of the special (until she asked her other bartender).
Got to our nice booth… ordered our entrees and sides, etc… and politely informed the waiter of our coupon. He said he would have to check with the manager. The male manger came over to our table, didn’t introduce himself, and w/​out even looking at our coupon essentially said it was not good on new years eve b/​c of a pre fixed menu. we explained to him that we asked the hostess when making our reservation, etc. He really didn’t listen or care and was curt about it… or wasn’t cool about it. Place wasn’t even that crowded …
Turns out that the prime rib I ordered was the same price as any other night. SOme of their dishes were even marked UP from their regular menu for new years eve.
FOOD was OK… nothing special, tasty or spectacular about it. Menu says side of asparagus was supposed to come with a hollanidse sauce. They served me 6 asparaguses on the plate with no sauce, which i had to ask for… and it had little to no flavor… so it didn’t really matter. Her Salmon was ok too. Waiter was cool and apologetic.
Not going back even on a buy 1 get next entrée half off. PLENTY of other places in the area and around town that have much better tasting food, service and easier parking for the same price or cheaper!!! Almost $ 150 with only 2 drinks, 2 entrees and 1 side dish. Place is really going «DOWN HILL» and now I can see/​understand why.

Went to Chops because Morton’s was booked solid for our date night festivities. Was in the mood for a great steak and sides… Both my girlfriend and I ordered the filet mignon, she medium well, medium for me. While my dirty martini was outstanding that’s were it stops. After a ridiculous amount of time we were presented two hockey pucks for steaks. I sent mine back, my gf attempted to cut hers… Wow, it was tuff!!! My baked potato wasn’t fully cooked so it was crunchy on the inside. After waiting over twenty minutes with still no correct steak, we asked for the check. The waitress for some reason stayed hidden from us, even though this was clearly a kitchen problem. And the Manager acted like he could care less about the situation. I will never return to chops… Take my advice and go to Mortons or Ruth’s Chris.

I didn’t even have a chance to review. I walked by this place last night thinking about steaks and there was a sign on windows indicating they had been closed by the Health Dept? huh oh?

My chicken sandwich was very tasty but why give people an 8 oz glass for water and then make us BEG for refills. I was SO close to walking into the kitchen to get my own water. It was ridiculous.
If my sandwich wasn’t so good I would give them a 1.
Next time I will bring my own drink:)

First course was Caesar salad. Lettuce was soggy, as if it had been sitting around all day — didn’t taste made to order. Soaked in dressing — almost like it was a cold dressing soup with salad mixed in.
The steak — I have worked as a butcher, and I have worked at several steakhouses as a meat cutter and cook. Though it has been a few years since then, I am still good at identifying the grade/​quality of meat.
I had ordered a NY Strip. First, it had not been properly trimmed, had unchewable «silver back» fat. No, I’m not talking about the buttery «strip» of fat that this cut should have. There was silver back — so tough it could not be cut with a knife, much less teeth. Next, I really question whether the meat is actually USDA Prime, as advertised. My steak had poor marbling — long tough strands and clumps of hard fat throughout. Granted, it is possible that this was an off steak, but it shouldn’t have been served. Given the marbling and mild taste, I get the sense that this is not Prime grade meat but is possibly Choice. But, I would need to sample more to confirm… just a hunch.
I had to discretely spit most of the bites into a napkin as my teeth could not make it through the fat. Finally gave up on it.
Sides were small and low on flavor.
Expensive too.

Came here yesterday for dinner to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday =]
It had rained earlier so there wasn’t anyone sitting on the patios (typically there’s always people sitting in the patio area).
We had looked at pictures on Unilocal and were really excited to try this place (we’ve been to Morton’s and my boyfriend has been to Esquire Grill but wanted to try a new steakhouse).
We were greeted immediately and were given the option to take advantage of the happy hour or to dine in the back for dinner. We opted to dine in the back as we prefer a quieter atmosphere.
In the happy hour area, everyone seemed so happy. It was weird because I’m used to seeing at least one or two faces with no expression, but everyone was talking, laughing and smiling.
Our server was Meredith and she was awesome! She didn’t make us feel rushed, she explained the menu when we had questions and was very patient.
I ordered the Raspberry Lemon drop cocktail and my boyfriend had ordered the Manhattan (martini style). Our cocktails were chilled perfectly and tasted amazing (and I hardly drink).
We were then given bread which seemed to be foccacia bread with a very unique butter. I’m not sure what kind of butter it was but it had a hint of garlic and was the color of orange and a cream color.
I ordered their special last night which was the filet mignon with three seared scallops, mashed potatoes with guacamole and cilantro and lastly a cabbage slaw. Everything was amazing! My steak came out perfect, the mashed potatoes were full of flavor (and i’m not a fan of cilantro) and the slaw was refreshing.
My boyfriend had the prime rib with mashed potatoes (added bacon and cheese) and he said the prime rib melted like butter when he dipped in the delicious au jus sauce.
I did get full fast so I took some home (as my boyfriend did too). We ordered a NY cheesecake to go (and were happy to see they added the garnishes on the side to help keep the cake fresh). The NY cheesecake was delicious and big enough for two people!
Our bill came out to be $ 119 (not including tip) and I will be back to try their happy hour! To help make my meal a little cheaper, I did purchase 2 $ 50 gift card at costco (for the price of $ 80) and that helped me save a wee bit! =]

Can only comment on their HH but so far, not bad.
My fiancé and I each ordered one cocktail, I had a gin martini and him, a rusty nail. We also shared the HH burger with garlic fries and the ½ grilled artichoke. The burger was pretty tasty, but the meat wasn’t as flavorful one would expect from a steakhouse. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare at least. Garlic fries were delicious, and even more wonderful dipped in the aioli that comes with the artichoke. The artichoke was good, but it’s not impressive. There’s another dish on the HH that comes with that along with grilled asparagus for a dollar more, which seems like a better deal in retrospect.
Service was decent, not overtly attentive but we didn’t feel ignored. Food arrived in a timely manner. Will have to go back and check it out again.

Sadly I have to lower my review back down to the original 2 Stars. After my last visit to Chops for HH I think I have pretty much decided I will not be returning.
A few weeks ago, a group of us met for HH prior to an outdoor concert. We arrived staggered, not all at the same time. The 1^st who had arrived warned me about the waitress; she is slow and speaks too low to be heard. So when she finally walked over I was prepared.. .LOL she spoke very low and she was VERY slow in getting the drinks. More of our party arrived, and the slowness continued. Actually it became unbearable. she was not paying attention to our group, she didn’t come over to get new orders, she took forever to make the drinks.. .how long does it take to pour wine? We are not stomping grapes here! Two ladies with us just sat at the bar; their drinks were made in a timely manner and food came out before others!
This bad service continued until the last set of folks arrived. Our waitress had already given us our checks but I advised her to please add my Husband’s drinks then re-​close me out. My $ 16 check was returned and had jumped to $ 42??? How much was his drink? After a closer look she had now added my girlfriend’s food and drinks (which she had ALREADY paid for) to my tab! No apologies, just a soft spoken, «Let me fix that.» We paid we left!
To top it off the food sucked! My girlfriends $ 8 chopped salad was a side salad.. . and my favorite Stuffed Mushrooms were gritty and not tasty at all.. .. Peace Out Chops!

Was meeting some friends for HH, and since I was the first one there, snagged the booths along the back wall in the bar area. I failed to mention in my previous review of Chops that they seriously need to reupholster those bench seats! Not only are they worn out, but the material is flaking and the whole thing stuck to my dress when I stood up. Not a good look for a fine dining establishment.
Similar to my last visit for HH, it took awhile to be acknowledged by the server. She was very soft-​spoken, so it was difficult to hear anything she said with loud conversations around us. Unfortunately, she was the only server working the entire bar area at the time. Service was slow. This time I ordered the Chops salad, which is surprisingly, the most expensive HH menu item at $ 8. I thought it would be a nice-​sized portion, with plenty of bacon, egg, mushrooms, and avocado. It was a small bowl, served on a large plate, with plenty of chopped romaine lettuce drenched in dressing. All the other ingredients were finely chopped and covered with ranch. It was a tasty salad, but not worth $ 8. I’ll stick with the $ 6 calamari and the $ 5 spinach stuffed shrooms.
I take back the last comment in my previous review. It’s seriously NOT one of the best HH in Sacramento!

OK for happy hour with 2.5 food and spotty service, Chops can feel a little empty after work.
I came in on a Thursday after work with a friend to try their happy hour. We were greeted by a very tired hostess, but friendly nonetheless. We grabbed a seat along the wall behind the bar (there is a limit to the happy hour area). It was comfortable with clean, modern décor. There were a couple people at the bar and another few tables, but this place was seriously empty (yet couldn’t get our waitress when we were done).
I had a half a grilled artichoke that was way over peppered. I kinda gagged on the spice, but it was well grilled otherwise. My fries were pretty standard but very hot and fresh. My friend had the calamari and potato skins. She wasn’t a big fan of either. She also had a nice glass of house red wine. Service was spotty, great up front with attentive, polite service that dropped off after check-​in. While we only had a $ 25 bill with tip for all that food and the drink, it seemed overpriced for the quality.
Head over to Chops for a happy hour on the patio for a nice, slowed-​down view of the capitol, but food and service don’t match up.

It had been forever since the last time I was here. When I used to work downtown about 5 years ago, going here was a real treat — a fancy thing to do! Now I feel like it is a bit outdated. The place needs a bit of sprucing up and to modernize.
The restaurant smelled like cigars. I don’t know if that was because of smoking meat or what, but it was pretty bad. Could have possibly been from legislators smoking cigars — except it was lunch time… a little early to be smoking cigars!
The service was fine and the sandwhich I ordered was tasty — but I think the prices are a bit high considering the competition in the area… you see, even 5 years ago (but especially 10 years ago), there was VERY little competition downtown around the Capitol. Now there are a bunch of places… which could be why Chops was surprisingly «dead» during the lunch hour. In the past, this place was cracking every day.
All in all, this place is enjoyable and I’d go again. I’d like to see it «reinvented» — that, I believe, would bring back the enjoyment I recall having here.

I don’t think I will be returning unless its for happy hour. Dined here on a Friday night for happy hour and then dinner.
Food: happy hour is until 8pm which is great! Their white wine for $ 5 was good. The red was okay. The fries were crispy, but the one we ordered was on the appetizer menu, not HH, but the spices on it made it taste delicious. Oysters were expensive, size was okay.
So main purpose of the visit was for the Dine in Downtown deal. I ordered the steak with mashed potatoes. For a MEDIUM steak, the meat was really not cooked in the middle at all. Both tables beside me ordered the steak deal and they too questioned why it was so red! No red juice leaking but I couldn’t eat the middle. The seasoning was okay. Mashed potato was good. The half chicken my friend ordered only had flavor outside, inside was just regular flavor chicken meat. The mashed potatoes with her plate was really strong. It was like a mustard mashed potato or something.
Price: we went for the $ 31 deal… With a salad and a small dessert, I say it was safe to try. Unfortunately due to the let down of the food, the price doesn’t match the quality.
Service: waiter came around to check reasonably but there was a moment when we needed her but couldn’t find her.
Overall, I would come back for HH only since they have a late HH.

I have very mixed feelings about my experience here, some things were really good and others were really bad.
I started off my meal with a cesar salad which was really good, however I thought it took way to long for them to actually bring the salad. Another thing that was interesting was they put the salad in a cold bowl and then the cold bowl in a warm plate… interesting.
I ordered a steak and it took forever for them to bring it out, I started to get sleepy. The waiter did come out and say they were backed up in the kitchen and that it would take a little longer but I thought the wait was unacceptable. I had the sirloin and it was just ok. I don’t think they seasoned it at all. They severed the steak with mashed potatoes with mustard seeds which was not very appetizing. When I think of mashed potatoes, I think of light and fluffy. These potatoes were so over powered by the mustard seed, that was all I could taste.
I ordered the Apple crisp with ice cream for desert. It was the second best thing I had. The Apple crisp was warm, sweet and tart. I thought they were a little skimpy with the ice cream though.
The wait staff was very fast and efficient which was nice. The manager even came around and introduced himself which was a nice touch. I had a waiter that was responsible for taking my food and drink order and there were other waiters who where like floaters who would come by and clear plates and refill drinks.
I thought it was decorated very well, however the lighting was way too low. When I first sat down to eat I thought the lighting was pretty low, but then they turned out down even more to the point where it was almost dark.
This place was pretty pricey, especially considering the portions and the quality wasn’t the best either.

1/​6/​15-​awesome happy hour! 3−8pm at the bar (duh). Always great food, drinks & usually lots of suits :)
Stop in & relax for an hour… or two!