Simon’s Bar & Cafe

What can I say, it’s the best Chinese food I’ve ever had. Also, go in and enjoy an on purpose dive bar with an eclectic vibe.

Good drinks and great service. Also really good affordable food until 12:30. A really good spot for some late night food and drinks. Their bartender Kiwi is great.

Bring your game to Simon’s! He knows how to cook it right. An intimate vibe with the classic chinatown appeal from the Bruce Lee era. Drinks are priced right. Always good times here. Excellent service!

Chinese restaurant meets grunge biker bar. I don’t know how better to explain it. Food not toooo bad it’s ok I guess! Not anything I would consider a diamond in the rock. There are better options locally within walking distance, but sometimes you just want to eat Chinese food and get a drink in a dark restaurant then this is the spot for that.

How come no one is talking about the bar scene at this place?! I mean come on – fried rice and wontons aren’t the only things that they serve here.
I came here to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a whole mess of friends. We crowded the bar with at least a dozen people, but the unassuming little store front hides a huge interior – perfect for us and a few other parties that night.
We had to park a few blocks away since the night was exploding with people bar-​crawling. This area has quite a few other bars (which I later went to as well). But Simon’s was my favorite that night. It exudes a cozy air with bartenders that indiscriminately aim to please. The lighting is low, the TV is on, and the people are chill.
I had the opportunity to remember two of their drinks:
THE GLADIATOR: an orangy (soda?) shooter that soothes the tongue as it goes down. The crackle from the soda gives it a nice kick. You’ll be squeezing yourself for more.
THE VEGAS BOMB: Explosive tastes flying through you on the wings of the red bull they put in this one. They need to put a danger sign on this one because it will blow you away. Okay, I’ll stop.
I didn’t get to try the food, although I was really craving some that night. But if you are looking for a chill bar to spend the night with some friends, I had a great time going into the new year at this one.

Great food. Very fast service, Pleasant and fun atmosphere. Very pleasant servers. Great prices. Happy hour 3pm– 6pm many wonderful deals and drinks.

I should’ve listened to the reviews. Came here for lunch & ordered the brandy chicken, but since it wasn’t the special for the day the waitress said it would be about a 20 min wait. So I ordered the garlic chicken with fried rice & chow mein. The garlic chicken was pretty good but the fried rice & chow mein had no flavor. Weird.

I have been here many times within the past several years and this review has been long overdue! This is a dive bar with cheap drinks and a good atmosphere. I would normally meet my friends here for drinks because of the cheap prices.
There aren’t too many places in the downtown area that has Jameson shots for $ 5! The bar would be crowded at times but the bartenders are attentive in making sure your thirst is quenched! I haven’t tried the food here so I can not comment on that.
If you are looking for a cheap place for drinks and a bar with friendly people, Simon’s is the place to go. It’s also a great place to start off the night! I would definitely come back here for drinks!

My first review for 2016 and am sad to say it’s not a good review. A few friends and I were super hungry NYE and wanted Chinese food.
I called Simon’s in advance to see if they were open and how long they were serving food. I was told until 2am.
We walk there no one greeted us and Amy approached the bartender to get us a waiter/​waitress. Finally one shows up and asked all of us if we wanted something to drink and went to get menus.
A few moments later a man came to out table and asked if we were helped we said yes and it should have been the end of that. No the guy goes and gets of menus and tells us we have 10 minutes to order before the kitchen closed. WTH?! I called and we told they were serving food until 2am.
The man tells us nope they stop serving food at 9pm and for us to hurry and order. Um no I’m not going to be rush not only that the man stood in our faces looking at his watch telling is to hurry up. I can’t function like that and we all politely walked out and got nothing. The man had the audacity to get mad as he is grabbing the forks off our table.
I can’t say if their food is good or not nor will I find out I was rubbed the wrong way. I will not be back.

I saw this place after the Bee ran an article that they might have to close down Simon’s to put up fancy Smancy apartments. Basically there’s a bit of history that Simon’s used to be the place for legislators to eat.
I suggest getting the Brandy fried chicken LUNCH SPECIAL! if you order the food ala carte it costs more. They have different lunch specials depending the day you go.
Lunch fried rice green onion, eggs, carrots. Okay, subtle flavors needed hot sauce.
Lunch chow mien bean sprouts, green onions, Tasty nice flavor
Chicken wings heavily season, nice crispy crunch.
Brandy fried chicken. (breast piece) moist and tender inside. Crispy crunch outside.
Note: All food does not contain MSG [mmm soo good]

Love this place! For a joke in the walk Chinese restaurant… I give it 4 stars. The food is tasty and the prices are even better. I’m a lunch time regular there and will continue to be! Pork fried rice for $ 6 and the prob size is enough for my lunch and breakfast the next day!

A friend and I went there for dinner last night. When we pulled up to the restaurant we could see that they were a little busy, not extremely, looked like some regulars enjoying themselves after work. So, we walked in, thinking someone would say hello or show any sign of recognition, but there was nothing. There were three server/​bar tenders behind the bar, so we approached the bar thinking we could quickly ask them if we could seat ourselves, or if we order our food at the bar, we had never been before and were pretty excited to try the place out, as we had both newly moved downtown, and heard good things about the place…
When we approached the bar, there was a tall gentleman that made eye contact with us, but didn’t smile, greet or say a word, simply looked past us, and continued to help other people that came to the bar after us. So, then we see another man behind the bar that was shorter, also just as unfriendly, didn’t smile or acknowledge us, just ignored us and helped other people that came up after us. Then, we see a younger girl behind the bar, there are three of them! And she doesn’t smile, or say a word either, simply ignores us like the other two did! We waited for a good 5 – 10 minutes standing at the bar getting more and more annoyed, and we both looked at each other and said, should we just go? We were extremely irritated with how rude the wait staff was! So, we stepped outside, and talked, realized we did want to try the place, so we decided this time to just go to a table and sit down.
When we did that, we were greeted by a nice young lady that was talkative and attentive. She was the only redeeming thing about that place. The food is mediocre, and the service is atrocious!!! My friend and I agreed we won’t be coming back to that place, it made us sad though because it is the only place open late for Chinese in downtown, and would’ve liked to come back for late night munchies in the future. But, the service left a bad taste in our mouths. Maybe if you know the right people, this place might be better, but you would think they have the common sense to greet their patrons with a hello, I’ll be right with you. At least SMILE!!!

Dive bar? Friends brought us here and said it was a dive bar. No way, this was a great neighborhood gem.
The interior was unique old charm. A mix of old school Chinese restaurant and great dark wood saloon. It was crowded and showed how popular of a neighborhood hot spot it is. We had already had dinner and stopped in for a night cap. Drinks were great.
Next time we will have to stop in for dinner and earlier in the day to check out the architecture and décor

Came for drinks, stayed for the calimari.
Nice bar, good food served late. That there is a winning combo. Friendly as heck staff, and I really liked the feel and look of the place. Enjoyed my stay immensely.
Will definitely be back. Next time i’ll come with more empty space in my tummy.

I have heard many good things about this place and I never been here. Sooo on a Friday evening, I come into this place around 7PM. I wanted something basic like a Beef Chow Fun. I sit at the bar and the host was super nice and friendly. I enjoyed Christina’s quality of service and her attention to all the patrons. Ordering food and a drink, it was a good start to a great night. My food came and i was digging in as I had not eaten since 11AM. I was hungry. The food was super duper salty and I couldn’t eat it. I was starving. Nonetheless, the host took care of me and I was on to the next spot. I definitely recommend this place in terms of service. I will try this place again.
Pros: Staff, friendly
Cons: Salty
Stars: 3.75

I’ve heard for years this is a great place. It wasn’t the night a friend and I had dinner at Simons. Service was good but the food terrible. My friend ordered Kung Pao chicken which was chicken, celery and peanuts in a thin sauce. I had a combo with two entrees (lemon chicken and a pork item, Chow Mein and a spring roll. The spring roll was dark and oily. The pork entrees was too spicy for me (was not marked on the menu as spicy). The second entrée was «lemon chicken» which was like the orange chicken from Costco in a different sauce. There was a very small portions of Chow Mein and fried rice.
I ate a small amount of everything and had enough to eat so I put the plate aside. The server asked if it was ok and I told her the pork was too spicy for me. She offered to prepare something different but I declined. But it was great she offered! She gave us a round of beers.
Would I go back — definitely not. I gave them 2 stars because the server asked if I wanted something else. Simon’s is locally owned so I hope my experience is not the norm.

As I was walking around Downtown few days ago, I was heading to Simon’s Bar and Café after I watched a segment on Fox 40 if this bar is planning to close despite of planning to add an apartment complex. So far, this place isn’t closed as I told the owner of this bar, Simon. He’s a fine gentleman who wants to keep this place tidy. It was such a pleasure to talk with Simon for the first time as I greeted.
As I entered, the atmosphere is much average with few people in here drinking beer and talking random things. I started for the happy hour for a cool Coors beer. This time, it’s a fine drink for me. I haven’t tried his Chinese food, so I’ll might probably be back if the food is quite good.
In the end, for the past 3 – 4 decades, Simon’s Bar and Café is a fine small Chinese restaurant and bar right in Downtown for simply having a good pleasure times. A worthy visit. 3 solid stars.

We have passed this place many times on our way home and asked, why havent we eaten here? Now we know. I’m giving it 2 stars because the service was good. First let me say, this is more of a «bar» that just happens to have Chinese food. (Some of the worst I have had in Sacramento.) We ordered Mongolian Beef and Szechaun chicken, that was subpar meat, mostly fatty. We also had combination fried rice with half cooked shrimp (please LORD don’t let us get food poisoning.) The food was extremely salty I had a small portion and was done.
Now for the good. The bar was well stocked and the bartender knowledgeable. $ 3 well drinks! There was a drunk and bilge rant patron that she had to call the Police to have remove from the premises, entertainment? More like our que that it was time to leave. $ 34+ tip gone.

If you want cheap drinks (depending on what you order and who you know there) and late night Chinese food then this is the spot! This is the homie’s kick it spot. The staff are nice and people who come here are there to drink and meet up with friends. It’s a good hangout spot. The female bathroom is big, but only one toilet! This place is definitely a hole in the wall!

Simon’s is a great fixture in midtown Sac. The lunch specials are such a deal – huge portions for a great price.
I most often come to Simon’s for a cocktail when I’m out and a out. They pour some strong cocktails at night!
Simon’s has a lot of loyal regular customers which says a lot about the place. Simon is actually at the bar quite a bit (especially at lunch time) chatting with customers. He’s such a cool old-​school character who will happily tell you about how he came here with nothing but is living the American dream.
If you read The Bee you will be sad to note that Simon’s is being threatened by a local developer who wants to tear the bar down and put in some pricey apartments. I’m all about redeveloping downtown Sacramento but there is no reason to do it at the expense of a fixture like Simon’s. It’s part of the neighborhood. There are plenty of other spots in midtown that could use redeveloping– not Simon’s.

Simon’s is not only a bar but a Chinese restaurant. It is Chinese owned, but their customers are of all ages and decent. I like the diversity and love their chicken wings. There is a private party room where I have seen family parties taken place in for dinner. Service is quick when it comes to the bar. Bartenders are very nice and there are definitely regulars there. There is a jukebox where different genres of music may be played. small, cozy, and great hospitable employees and bartenders.

So this review is loooooong overdue.
My husband & I came to this place for Xmas Eve dinner, as we have been for the past few years. I’m giving them a solid 3 stars STRICKLY for the food. Why the downgrade? This time it was the service that has got us rethinking our Xmas Eve go-​to spot.
When we arrived, it must’ve been close to 9:30p. The place was busy but we were willing to wait for a table. The owner asked if we’d like to sit at the bar, so when we told him we wanted to order food to eat, he said that was ok & proceeded to seat us. Once he returned to take our order, which I recall it took a bit to do, we let him know what we wanted… the Dinner for two meals, that typically came w/​soup, choice of rice, & two entrees. After telling the owner what we wanted, he tells us «That’s a lot of food.» Yeah we know, was my thought, which is why we told you we wanted to eat. I responded, «Yes, we like to eat your food here. Do you not want us to order this much food?» He then proceeded to take our order & said maybe we can clear off a table for you. Ok, great!
Except not great. The tables they end up clearing from a large party end up going to other patrons who arrived after us. Wait a sec, I thought that was for us??? Anyways, the rest of the evening, the owner «took care of us», & by that I mean he continues walking by w/​out making eye contact, so whenever I needed something-​a refill, a request for something-​I couldn’t get it. It really was the worst service experience we’ve ever experienced. They bring all our dishes to us, at the bar, & we end up super cramped w/​our food dishes. I’m sure there were other annoying things that happened that evening that I don’t even remember anymore. But the lasting impression we got was… we need to find another Xmas Eve dinner spot.
Again, food here is still great but with the service we received on our last visit being what it was, I don’t think I can promote Simon’s anymore. Too bad too.

I LOVE THIS DIVE BAR! It literally reminds me of the show Cheers where, «everyone knows your name!» The drinks are cheap (~$ 5 a shot), the owner, Simon, and bartenders (especially Alvin) are SUPER NICE and try to make drinks just the way you like them, patrons are always friendly, and now they offer late night Chinese food for only $ 5! There is NEVER A WAIT to order your drinks as well which is a HUGE plus for me! I hate pushing my way through to the front at other bars just to get my order in and then waiting another 5 – 10 minutes just to get my drink!
For a dive bar, this place is pretty clean and there’s always a lot of seating available. They have a huge bar in the middle of the restaurant accompanied with tables and booths if you’re looking for something more intimate. They even have an old school jukebox you can pick and choose music from!
Overall, I recommend this place to everyone! I ALWAYS come here for the cheap drinks and nice people! Worth a visit for sure!

I had lunch here a few days ago. I haven’t dined here for over 2 years. I was looking forward to it, but was disappointed.
Service: needs improvement
The hostess was no where to be found. So me and my coworker sat ourselves and got our own menus. The bartender walked past and I made eye contact and I said hello… I didn’t get a boo out of her. I thought she was coming over to take our order, no such thing. She ignored me and walked past our table because it was on her way to the kitchen. There was a gentlemen walking around and going back and forth to the kitchen but not doing anything… just staring, even though there were plenty of things to do… like seating people, taking orders, bussing tables.
Eventually a waitress came out, she took our food order but didn’t ask about drinks. I asked the roving man for cups of water. Odd, he got the waters but never said a word. The staff at Simons are people of few or no words.
Food: mediocre
Roasted duck rice plate $ 7.95-the duck pieces were all mismatched boney pieces. The steamed veggies had a strong oder and after taste. The white rice was good. The food came out quickly, but my plate came out sooner than my coworkers.