Localis

The food here is a must try. Everything was made with care and good attention to detail. We had the bone marrow, octopus, wagu flank steak, and carbonara. Service was so amazing and the chef was great at addressing dietary concerns. Perfect dishes for sharing in order to try as many as possible.

The entire staff took great care of us from start to finish. All the dishes were amazing. And the presentation was awesome. The counter is the best seat in the house and whoever put that wine list together!!! Wow! Great choices.

I came here with my boyfriend to try out a new restaurant. We had reservations and were seated right away. We sat in the patio area… it was very hot outside. I was sweating and felt uncomfortable. Apparently their AC unit was not working outside.
The food was delicious, especially the octopus!!! My fave dish by far! So tender yet crunchy. Yummmmm! We also had the farm plate, duck breast, and steak. All very delicious and well seasoned.
Once we were finished with our meal. it took 20 minutes for our server to acknowledge us and bring us our bill. We sat there in the heat with empty plates. waiting for our bill.
Overall, the food was delicious but we will only return if the AC is working. Next time we will ask for our bill right away (even before we are done eating) so we don’t have to sit there waiting forever.

Just have to say. Lunch was my second time here and it is truly an amazing meal. Chef Chris is a master at making a delicious meal and has the personality that makes you feel like you are at his house. Can’t wait to go back. Tomorrow by the way!

Amazing food … Amazing service… My new favorite … Trick pony put a bad taste in our mouths … Put localis is outstanding and I recommend it… thank you for a great evening !!!

The chef prepares delightful food. Every time I eat the chefs tasting menu I set upon an amazing journey filled with great memories. The wine pairings compliment the food well. If you have any issue with the wine or the food the chef is more than happy to change something up to your liking. I am so impressed with the focus this restaurant has on the customers dinning experience. I recommend sitting at the chefs counter and chatting with the staff. They are all very nice and have some great stories. All the food is amazing. Be adventurous, try something new! Chef will not disappoint.

A lot of Sacramento residents mourned when Tuli closed down. Localis is at the old tuli location at the corner of S and 21^st and what a fabulous find it is! From the moment you walk in the chef makes you feel so welcome. The bar looks over into the open kitchen which makes it quite interesting. I prefer the patio for comfort and privacy particularly when you’re having a multi course meal. You can’t go wrong with the tasting menu and wine pairings. But you must also order the grilled octopus. This one is of urban legend proportions. Thanks for a great meal and anniversary dinner.

Upon arriving to the actual restaurant, there is no actual parking lot. There is only street parking.
When the bf and I stepped foot inside the restaurant, we were immediately greeted by a man behind the kitchen counter. He asked if we had reservations and when we responded, «Yes,» he immediately found someone to help us. At this time, I had no idea who this gentleman was until we were seated. I soon found out that this young man was actually Chris Barnum, the executive chef of Localis.
The inside of the restaurant is really small. It was dimly lit with candles all over the place as well as on the tables and had a romantic atmosphere to it. There is an open kitchen, kitchen counter, and a separate room with dining tables.
For our first time being here, we were seated in a pretty cool spot and that was the kitchen counter. The kitchen counter not only allowed us to watch the chefs cook in the open kitchen, but it also allowed us to personally be served immediately when the dishes were done and by the chef himself. It was like having your own personal chef. It is also nice seeing how your food is prepared and how fresh everything is. Lined along the top of the kitchen counter are fresh herb plants still in their pots/​jars that the chefs use to garnish the dishes. Yep, you can’t get any fresher than that!
Localis does offer a 3 course or a 5 course Chef’s Tasting Menu with wine pairing for an additional cost. They also have items on the menu that you can order separately in case you don’t want to do the whole Chef’s Tasting Menu. The dishes range from $ 10-​$ 32. As for the Chef’s Tasting Menu, the 3 course meal is $ 47 and the 5 course is $ 77. The wine pairing is $ 40.
We ordered the 5 course Chef’s Tasting Menu as well as the Fire Roasted Octopus. Localis is known for the Fire Roasted Octopus and that is not a part of either tasting menus so we had to order it on the side.
The 1^st item that was served came on a piece of wooden block and we were told by Chef Chris that it was deep fried squash on the bottom with a quail egg on the top, covered compound butter & miso, and topped off with duck egg shavings. Who would’ve known that squash could taste so good?!?
The 2^nd dish was all about carrots prepared in different ways. I don’t know what was in that carrot purée, but that was delicious!
The 3^rd dish was seared fish, with seasoned caviar, green purée of some sort, and what appears to be scallions, and a flower blossom. All I could think of while eating it was whether or not the flower blossom was edible.
Chef Chris decided to serve us the Fire Roasted Octopus that came with Nantes carrot, oranges, and piquillo pepper pearls next. The octopus had so much flavor and it was cooked to perfection. None of that rubbery shit. You didn’t need a knife to cut it because it was so tender that it melted like butter. The dish was so good that I was looking for the rest of the octopus.
The next course consisted of a mash, with house made chorizo, a blackened prawn on the top, as well as yellow purée. Chef Chris explained that since he is part Spanish, he decided to make chorizo to go along with this dish. Boy, am I glad that he did! It was probably one of the best chorizos I’ve had. The prawn had a kick to it as well with the spices. Overall, the chorizo was hands down the winner of that dish.
The next course consisted of slices of beef tongue, hollandaise sauce, veggies, and a piece of rye cracker. This is supposed to be Chef Chris’ version of a hot pastrami sandwich. All I have to say was that the beef tongue was so tender and flavorful that I felt as though the portion was too small and I wanted more to make a sandwich out of it. The hollandaise sauce was just as amazing. I had no shame, I took my butter knife and scraped the plate clean.
Next, we were served a sorbet that acted as a palate cleanser before we moved onto the dessert portion of the course. The sorbet tasted like it had a mixture of citrus and lemon grass. It had a unique, but pleasant taste.
Chef Chris came by and asked if we wanted to try two different desserts instead of each one of us receiving the same dessert. Um… hell yeah! He then brought out a carrot dessert that contained a carrot sorbet in the middle, and two creamy sides (one was cream cheese), and what tasted like carrot crumb cake as the base. That was probably the best carrot dessert I’ve had ever. The other dessert was made out of fritters, chocolate, caramel ice cream, shavings of nuts, and coffee. This was just as amazing!
The last treat that we were served was a cube of strawberry and thin chocolate bark. I didn’t like this dessert because it was too sweet. It was like strawberry jam.
Overall, the customer service is great, and the price is really affordable for a special occasion.

This PLACE. THIS place. This place… is unforgettable! First impressions? The exterior is adorable and the restaurant is very well designed. Throughout the evening, the staff were superbe-​funny, attentive, personable, and welcoming. Shout out to Crystal and Cassie for making us feel so welcome. But it’s the food that sings here. The meal we had will stand out in our minds for years: the ceviche, the octopus and the halibut. Oh, but then, the carrot cake! In every dish, the chefs executed all of the flavors fantastically! We don’t regret a dime we spent here! Five stars for sure.

One of the best meals we’ve had in a while. Very pleasant atmosphere, smart staff, and food completely exceeded expectations. Plus, the cost is very reasonable. Will definitely be coming back

I have to say this review is coming wayyy too long then I planned. We came here for a dinner, without any plans since we are not from Sacramento, my fiancé’ at the time (my husband now) suggested Localis after he did some researches. Sure. Why not?
First Impression: Cute, small, special little local place. Staffs are friendly, we missed out the live guitar performance.
Wine: Great selection.
Foods: very important part. We fell in love with each dish we tried.
We looked over the menu, and mind you, everything looks fresh and good. We ordered a few things off the menu, which included the salad, grilled octopus (AMAZING), pork belly, steak and potatoes, and few more, and a full table of desserts that was offered by Chef Chris. We each ordered a glass of Red wine — and loved it!
We got there pretty late, so wrapped up the dinner within an hour, i wish we could stay longer, but no worries, because we will definitely come back again for a real date night.
Chef Chris is genuine, talented, and artistic !! He made our quick meal became a special dinner. We appreciated the desserts, we cannot come back to try the Tasting Menu. Yummm…

Mom and I tried Localis for lunch yesterday. We split the beet salad and the Spanish burger with the crispy jamon. The beets were excellent and the salad was perfectly balanced. I’m glad we split the burger because it was HUGE. It was one of the best burgers I’ve had in a while! Perfectly cooked, great bread, just delicious!
Also, try the iced tea. They put together their own blend and it’s so tasty!

My boyfriend and I were passing through Sacramento on our way to Lake Tahoe and we were looking for a place to grab dinner. Found Localis and luckily they managed to squeeze us onto the counter, which was a great seat to see the chef at work. We had the chance to speak to the wonderful head chef who was very talented and charming (He used to play in a heavy metal band). We tried the carpaccio and octopus to start, both excellent. Then I had a delicious fish filet and my boyfriend a tender lamb shank. We also split a very nice dessert. The service and food was wonderful and I’m very glad we found this spot. As NYC natives familiar with top restaurants, Localis was up to par.

I’ve heard many great reviews of this place, so I was excited to check it out. When I first came in, someone checked me in but I decided to wait for my friend before being seated. Shortly after my friend arrived, the hostess came and asked if we had reservations. I told her the other person checked us in already as she couldn’t seem to find our reservations. We were just standing there waiting for her to figure it out…
I tried the ceviche and bone marrow. Neither was substantial. The potato chips were thin, so it was hard to scoop up the ceviche. The bone marrow barely had any marrow. For an entrée I had the steak and potatoes. The steak was good but chewy. The potatoes part of it was thin pommes frites. Overall, my experience was just ok.

I have been wanting to check this place out for awhile now and I finally made it! I was on a traveling food hop so they were our stop for appetizers only, but now I have a much better picture of the place and what they have to offer. They have a very nice wine selection and the menu is seasonal and changes, but this place is way more upscale then I realized. We had the ceviche with fresh made potato chips and it was super fresh. Very tasty and not exactly what you would normally think of as traditional ceviche. I would love to go back for a full meal however be prepared to spend about $ 100 or more, depending on what you order.

********************* 1510 **********************
I’ve followed Chef on Instagram for a while, and I wanted to visit Localis so much. I just never get to go to Sacramento. Luckily, I was on a road trip to South Shore Lake Tahoe for snowboarding. I came by and get lucky with two seats at the kitchen countertop. I got to see the chef in action, so much fun.
Did I know that I was in for a treat. «It’s our mantra. It’s what we do because, just like you, we love artfully prepared, beautifully presented food full of flavor and the freshest ingredients.» Said on their website, and that exactly what I was about to experience. Chef Christopher Barnum surely delivered everything I would want in a meal. It’s the whole experience that I received. And I’m in the business of making clients happy. This time, I was a customer.
CHEF’S TASTING MENU — THREE COURSES 47 | FIVE COURSES 77 | WINE PAIRING 40 — It’s so unheard of in Silicon Valley or San Francisco, you got so much more food for so little money you spent.
FARM PLATE — this rainbow plate made me so happy
PORK & RABBIT TERRINE
FIRE ROASTED OCTOPUS
THAI DUCK CONFIT
STEAK & POTATOES
BRAISED LAMB SHANK
MUSSEL and PRAWN
Every single dish was delicious, full of flavor, got so much personality, and full of life. I can’t believe that my last minute decision would turn out to be so delicious.
Their wine list was equally nice and you can find some rare wine here. Service was impeccable from the start with a gentleman on the phone to the end of my meal. It was a very well-​orchestrated show. I left fat and happy, and I know that the next morning I would go snowboarding that slope in Heavenly Ski Resort, and I would hate to eat anything else that day after… How can Lake Tahoe food lives up to what I just ate… It was a sad next day for me at Heavenly.
I’ll be back chef, keep it up because Sacramento is doing some amazing things now… And you are one of those chefs that makes foodie like me drove 2 hours to eat at Localis.

Came here for my birthday. It’s a solid three point five stars. It’s probably just a personal taste thing.
Wine and beer was good.
Service was fantastic. Our server always made it seem like the foods we ordered were awesome amazing choices and good for us for ordering them. I probably could have ordered red wine with a side of ice and Sprite so I could mix it all up and he would have been like «what a great idea! We’ll add it to the menu!»
Polenta bacon and eggs. Love the gooey-​ness of the eggs and the pancetta was yum. But the polenta was under seasoned and tasted like the oil it was fried or pan fried in.
Bone marrow was pretty damn good. Enough crunch to take compensate for the buttery texture and that green garlic sauce on the bottom cut out the fat and was so good.
The grilled octopus was delicious. Thick, almost flakey, and perfectly charred on the tip. BD said this was his favorite dish and he’s not a seafood guy. Wished the pepper «eggs» had more spice to them.
BD liked his main meal but the steak was undercooked for him. Parts were medium which he asked for but it was like the grill was uneven because there were some definite parts of the steak that was raw. He thought the potato had an uncooked/​raw flavor to it but he liked the romesco bits on top minus the blue cheese.
I enjoyed my lamb, the buttery tasting beets, and the olive spoon push (smear sounds disgusting) but I didn’t care for the grain that came with my meal.
For dessert we had the bread pudding which was not very sweet (thank god) and the vanilla bean brown sugar custard (what an awesome word) complimented everything very well along with the salted peanut caramel drizzle.
The live guitarist was a nice touch, ambiance is a little bland.
Meal came out to be around $ 170 minus tip.

I’ve been wanting to try this place for awhile. Smaller venue than I though. A few tables inside, with bar seating, and another fewer than a dozen tables outside.
Hubs had the homemade pastrami sandwich ($ 13). Thick slices of rye bread, with marbled pastrami. The top of the bread crust was charred :(. But the taste was definitely homemade and delicious. Chose the root veggie chips. While some were thin and crispy, others were soft and soggy :(.
I had the buttermilk endive salad w/​mustard dressing ($ 14). I love endives and their bitter taste. However, these endives were actually sweet. I was hoping for a bit of the bitterness that I crave, to off set the sweetness of the dish. However, it was pleasant and crisp.
Definitely a meat/​seafood place. Didn’t see much in terms of entrees for vegetarians. Would like to see a bit more of a varied menu, but guess it’s a pretty small kitchen. I would rate it closer to a 3.75. Always a fan of ‘farm to fork,’ and applaud these chefs for their intentions.

This place is small and quaint — but very cozy and cute.
Meals cost around upwards $ 20. So it’s definitely a pretty penny. I wanted to come for a tasting meal but for $ 70 I wanted to say pass and see how their regular food is like first.
Food came, ordered beef carpaccio as an appetizer which was good but the portion sizes are way too small. Literally all the main dishes were as small as the palm of my tiny hands.
Yea food was good 4/​5, however it’s not as fancy as you’d expect to pay for an expensive meal, and you will leave the place hungry after spending a bill.
Cute ambiance but not a high caliber dining experience worth splurging

There are some restaurants that have the appearance and pomp of fine dining but with mediocre food. Then there are restaurants that really deliver higher-​level, balanced, well-​thought-​out dishes. Localis is the latter. Farm-​to-​fork (I know, an annoying term, but it’s true) excellence, with seasonal vegetables taking center stage.
Sacramento needs more restaurants like this. It’s great alternative to the traditional standbys like Ella, the Grange, and the Waterboy.
Check out my photos to see the beautiful presentation, but the bottom line is that every dish is well done. There’s obviously a great chef behind these creations.
It’s not super cheap, but is fairly priced for the level of food that you get. And it’s a nice outdoor, enclosed patio atmosphere, so modern and clean, but no stuffiness!
Check this place out soon for your next nice restaurant meal!