The Press Bistro

I love this place. Came here on a Saturday night with friends and it was pretty packed at 8 — definitely make a reservation if you know you’ll be coming by on a weekend. We arrived a little before our reservation time, but the hostess helped us find a few seats at one of the bar tables and within seconds someone came to ask for our drink orders. The had a great cocktail menu and large wine menu.
Once we were seated at our table, we never had to ask for anything — service was fantastic! When our drinks were low, we were asked if we wanted to order more, and as plates began to empty, they were quickly cleared. Our waiter was great and super helpful when we had questions about any of their offerings. We sampled the tapas — the meatballs (OK), the arancini (delicious, everyone’s favorite), and the spanakopita (very good). I thought that the short rib was perfectly prepared, so tender and delicious!
I loved the exposed brick walls and wood ceiling beams. It’s a gorgeous building.

The food was five stars. We loved the cocktails, squid, manicotti, and chicken piccata. All locally fresh, flavorful, and presented well. The service was some of the worst we’ve had in Sacramento. The waiter was vapid, absent, and in a rush to get us out of there. The noise level of the space could also benefit from some tempering.

4 stars for the killer entrées and fresh pasta. I can see myself coming back for a special occasion. Otherwise, it was a nice one-​time dining experience with great entrées.
Make reservations for a formal date or group dinner. We were seated at the elevated community table for a casual meal which was fine too.
The service can use improvement. We were helped by six servers who lacked communication amongst each other. The overall attitude of the waiters are, well, they do what they can to get the job done.
Onto the food!
Based on fellow Unilocal reviews, the Tapas don’t seem amazing enough to try. Instead we ordered two appetizers: Ceviche and Mixed Greens with Lemon Vinaigrette. They weren’t bad. Portions stay true to the size of an appetizer (small). For $ 9 each, I’d save my appetite for the main dishes.
The entrées are portioned perfectly. Not too much or too little. Not a crumb leftover, which is a first for my family! They were all tasty so I can only rank them by personal preference.
24 $ Juicy hanger steak with a buttery stack of sliced potatoes
18 $ Fresh, thin linguine with clams and a light white wine sauce
21 $ Tender short ribs with polenta
20 $ Chicken pancetta and freshly grilled cauliflower n broccoli
22 $ Swordfish with mushroom risotto
Onto dessert…
Disappoint. Instead of the beautiful Pecan Pie I see on Unilocal,they’re currently serving Walnut Pie with bourbon ice cream. Instead we went with the Chocolate Lava Cake and Crème Brûlée. 7 $ each.
Much disappoint. So not good??? The lava cake is an artistic approach to a wet, grainy, under-​baked cake with semi-​runny batter. The latter tasted more like flan. But flan is ten times better.

Went here with a group of gals. The bartender that I got was awesome. I just described what type of drink I was in the mood for and he created a delicious treat. The peppers stuffed with goat cheese were amazing… I was skeptical, but get them, so savory. The short rib didn’t live up to the other reviews, for me at least. I’d try the hanger steak next time. The cream brûlée also just tasted burnt to me, I think I’d go chocolate next time. The staff was nice but overly attentive, it seemed like every two minutes we were checked on. Lastly, I just think it’s a little tacky to charge 25 cents for vinegar after we ordered bread and only received olive oil. I’d go there again,… probably sit at the bar and have drinks and eat stuffed peppers.

I like The Press a lot. the Cocktails are impressive, their Manhatten the best in town. THe MENU NEEDS CHANGING! it’s stuck!!! same since it first opened, and has lost its allure for us regulars… it’s BORING to have memorized a menu. Wait staff need to learn not to interrupt guests to ask ”may I take your plate”. …It was not a busy night and I guess they were over anxious, we wanted to linger but were rushed out of there.

Quaint, American-​Mediterranean Fusion Restaurant — 3.5 stars.
Parking: Street parking can be kind of tough in the prime dinner time, you’ll find yourself circling to park within the neighborhood. Eventually you will find something, so please give yourself about 10 minutes.
Ambiance: it’s quite romantical (romantic + magical). You’ll find soft lighting with candles, dark wood décor, a large bar. I personally liked how warm and cozy I felt having dinner here. The women’s restroom had a weird red light thing going on.
Food:
Tapas $ 10 for 3; we got:
1. Pumpkin & parmesan arancini — (3) per order, nicely fried cheesy, but really did not taste like it had any pumpkin in it.
2.Roasted beets, goat cheese — it really wasn’t anything special, oil, too much lemon flavor.
3. Fried meatballs, garlic yogurt sauce — it was okay, not special
Appetizer: Grilled calamari with white bean, leek & arugula salad ($ 9) — I felt that the calamari was nice and tender and it came out in an unexpected way. It was a slab of calamari. I’m not a fan of white beans, but the calamari had a nice grill marks and taste to it.
Dinner:
Butternut squash ravioli, brown butter sage sauce, parmesan ($ 9) for 4 pieces. I felt that this was my favorite dish of the night, but who could really say no to brown butter and sage? It wasn’t remarkably special, but still tasty.
Braised beef short rib, creamy polenta, red wine sauce ($ 21): I had high hopes for braised short rib. I felt that the beef fell right off the bone without a problem, but in terms of seasoning, it was kind of just salty and bland. Also the eventual texture of the beef was a bit too chewey for me. The polenta was good — buttery.
Dessert:
Banana caramel crêpe with rum ice cream & almond: This was a disappointing pairing. The caramel was bitter and burnt (not because of the rum ice cream), while the crêpe was soggy (not because of the ice ream). I really liked the idea of this combination, but it did not work.
Cocktails: The Girl with the Ginger Tattoo ($ 9): Maker’s mark bourbon, lemon juice, canton ginger liqueur, ginger beer. I think this was my favorite part of the night. It was nicely crafted, aromatic, not too sweet and very smooth. Would definitely have this again.
Service: I really appreciated how attentive and patient the service here was. Our servers were pretty knowledgeable and timely.
Overall: I didn’t fall in love with the food. I wanted to, but most things came out mediocre and needing a bit more sparkle to impress me. I did appreciate the ambiance, drinks and service though. It might be awhile before I circle back here.

So, for my wife’s birthday, all she asked is that we go to a place that we haven’t yet been. For some strange reason, we hadn’t made it over to The Press Bistro and so I booked a table and didn’t tell her. So, Sunday was her birthday and we arrived fashionably late (of course) and were promptly seated. First thing we noticed is that the water is great. I am so used to getting crappy tasting, over-​chlorinated, tap water and this was really refreshing water. We started with some tapas of the fried meatballs, goat cheese stuffed piquillo peppers, and spanakopita, which were all fabulous. Not large items, in fact rather small but they are cheap so that was expected. Order several tapas if you have a large group. Between all of us, we had the short ribs, lasagna, swordfish, and cod. The short ribs were my favorite followed by the lasagna. I didn’t get to taste the swordfish and cod but our dining partners loved the swordfish and the cod was well liked. Then for dessert we had was a walnut pie and some ice cream that was, of course, equally awesome!
Everybody raved about the short ribs. My mouth is watering again writing about them. We are so coming back here!

Cute lovely place for a nice date. My friend and I immediately got seated. I ordered their fettuccine pasta dish along with a Susan martini.
The pasta dish tasted alright. It wasn’t too creamy nor dry. Just right for me.
The martini on the other hand, the alcohol over powered everything that was in it. I only tasted alcohol until the end of my last few sips was when I can finally taste the lychee flavor.
We also ended up ordering dessert. I got a chocolate lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream. My gosh, it was the high light of my night lol the cake was moist and smooth along with the ice cream slowly melting to give it the hot and cold taste combination. It was delicious.

Hadn’t been here before tonight… made a reservation today to dine with my husband. We decided to eat outside. Great atmosphere at this little gem. I had the Pepper Le Pew martini for starters and it was AMAZING! We each had the mixed green salad, he chose the Hanger steak and I, the Pork Chop… Great food! Desert was a hit with my husband… He finally found place in Sacramento that serves the Chocolate Lava cake with vanilla ice cream… It was so good he ordered another! The walnut pie that I had was delicious as well. The only negative (which is why I deducted a star) was because of the wait staff. They were polite and did their job, but absolutely no friendly personality what so ever. No smiles from any of them… just like robots. Kind of a bummer when you are trying to have a fun night out and they bring the mood way down with blah personality.
Bottom line is, we will return… Hopefully when we do it will be to a happy, more vibrant wait staff.

Amazing drinks and tapas. I had a sip of the sangria and it’s by far one of the best sangrias I’ve tasted. This restaurant makes their sangria with brandy which makes the drink richer.
I ordered a tequila cocktail infused with chile with a dash of fresh-​squeezed watermelon juice. It was so refreshing!
If you’re looking for drinks that don’t taste like syrup, this is the place to go.

I’ve eaten here twice within about the last month or two — once with a reservation, once thanks to the good grace of their staff when a friend and I bailed on another restaurant to escape the noise.
I enjoyed the food on both occasions. The goat-​cheese stuffed piquillo peppers were just the right combo of savory and rich. The arancini (Italian fried rice balls), were savory, crispy and all around delicious even though I generally don’t «do» fried food. Not at all greasy — hearty flavor yet delicate feel (not gross or heavy). The grilled calamari appetizer was special because most restaurants default to breaded and deep-​fried. The grilled presentation better highlighted both the flavor and the tender texture of the calamari in a way that the deep-​fried presentation doesn’t, no matter how well handled it is.
I had the potato gnocci on both visits. The first time I was surprisingly un-​wowed. On the second visit, our server made a point of helping us group our dishes into courses; this made a huge difference because we got to eat the gnocci without having five other more-​assertively-​flavored dishes compete with the more delicate flavor and texture of the gnocci. Wow, I’m glad I got to taste it a second time.
Finally, a shout-​out to the staff. A friend and I called at the last minute (we were a few blocks away) because we found the noise in another restaurant too painful (among other issues, my friend wears a hearing aid) and excused ourselves before ordering. Press was able to fit us in. We explained our noise concerns, and they were able to accommodate us in the outdoor dining area with a little wait. While we were waiting for a seat to open up, the staff was solicitous, brought us a carafe of water, and was just generally friendly and accommodating. This, along with the food, will entice me back.

Stumbled upon this restaurant after doing some grocery shopping while I was in town for a conference.
The restaurant looked really nice so I was hesitant to go in with my baggy pants and bright yellow grocery bags. Kudos to the entire staff for making me feel welcome. In fact, I was even offered water while I waited for a table in the patio to be ready (which didn’t take more than a few minutes)
*White corn soup with chives was creamy, foamy, sweet and very good
*Parpadelle Bolognese: you can taste pasta is homemade as well as the sauce. It was a bit salty with the grated cheese but good. I like that you can order the appetizer size for $ 9 or entrée for $ 18
Service was great and attentive. The ambiance was great both indoors and out in the patio

So delicious! Tried out this place on Father’s Day this year and the food was excellent. I ordered the house bolognese and it was delicious! Would definitely recommend this restaurant for dinner along with the extensive wine selection and tasty dessert menu. 100% recommend this restaurant to anyone.

I came to The Press Bistro with my friend (and fellow Unilocaler) Elyssa L for Happy Hour after work on a weekday. We got there right after opening and were the only people in the place. We got a prime corner seat at the bar and watched the place quickly fill up.
I ordered their House Sangria which was actually really yummy and refreshing! I usually don’t like sangria (it’s kind of a weird combination) but I did like theirs and would order it again.
We also decided to start with their 3 for $ 10 tapas since you might as well get 3 if you order 2. My favorite was their Cheesed Stuffed Piquillo Pepper (2 small pieces) which surprised me because I don’t normally like peppers. Elyssa got their Fried Meatballs (5 small pieces) which she said were good, and we chose the Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Arancini (3 pieces) which were pretty good as well. We finished by ordering a half order of the Mushroom and Ricotta Ravioli (3 pieces) which had good flavor and tasted homemade which always earns extra points in my book.
I enjoyed the food and the service was good, but I couldn’t help but feeling a little underwhelmed with the whole experience. The presentation was lacking on some of the dishes, and the portion sizes were smaller than I was expecting. $ 9.00 for 3 raviolis? $ 3.33 for one small pepper? Not for me.
I would come back if one of my friends wanted to go, but I don’t think that for me, it’s worth the price to choose to come back or recommend.

Came in for dinner with some coworkers recently and had a lovely experience. We were seated quickly upon entering, because they were not busy at all. The service was quick and friendly!
We started with calamari which was probably the best I’ve eaten anywhere! No need to cover in batter and deep fry, this calamari was excellent. We also has the bay shrimp, fried meatballs, and arancini. Which were all excellent.
I ordered the swordfish with asparagus risotto and it was delicious! Both swordfish and risotto were perfectly cooked and seasoned! My friends had the chicken piccata and short ribs and both enjoyed their meals. We cleaned our plates even after all the tapas! Definitely would recommend to others and come back again!

I wanted to try this place after seeing so many good reviews and the food pictures looked good. I came here for my birthday this weekend and the tapas were tasty. My pasta entrees were just mediocre and quite frankly a little disappointing. The hanger steak was a little tough, the lamb chop was tasty. The atmosphere was romantic and it was very nice inside.
My biggest complaint was the service was a little slow and maybe the server was busy but I felt the server was hard to get ahold of and at the end we ask him to take a group photo and he seemed extremely rushed and my birthday photo was taken without a flash and it’s so dark I can barely see our faces. I did not feel like bothering him again for anything.
Overall, My experience was disappointing at the Press. Not sure when I would return but I wouldn’t discourage anyone from coming here.

I keep returning to Press because it is truly some of the best food in Sacramento. Period. My last review was when I had only been 3 times and now I can’t even count. Had my birthday dinner there last night and everyone cleaned their plates. Grilled calamari, squash soup, clam linguine, short ribs and swordfish! Cocktails were outstanding and service was warm and attentive.
If you’ve never been, go! You won’t be disappointed.

The 3 for $ 10 tapas is a pretty sweet deal. We got the arancini, the goat cheese-​stuffed piquillo peppers, and the fried meat balls. I enjoyed the peppers most of all, but the texture and appearance weren’t as enjoyable as the flavor. The other two items were good, but not awesome. The taste of frying oil gets in the way too often for me.
The cocktails were creative and delicious and we tried maybe six of them. The Hemingway was my favorite.
The service was spacey until our primary server disappeared and some other guy appeared that was much more attentive.
We got the lamb shoulder and the hangar steak. The scalloped potato stack that came with the steak (the actual name is escaping me) was fabulous and both the steak and the lamb were tender and tasty, but both were covered in too much gravysauce.
My experience was positive, but I don’t think I’ll be back.

Great eatery, I finally got a chance to try it, after friends highly recommended it. We walked there on a nice” warm for Fall” night, got a table outside, and enjoyed the last days before the time change and cooler winter temps take hold.
Started off with Tapas: Goat Cheese Stufffed Piquillo Peppers, Fried Meatballs with Garlic Yogurt Sauce and my favorite — Pumpkin & Parmesan Arancini, quite tasty indeed!
We added the House Baked Focaccia with Extra Virgin Olive Oil for $ 1 extra, along with Aged Balsamic for another $ 1
My entrée was pasta of course! Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Sauce. I like that they give you a choice of sizes on this certain dish. Sparkling mineral water with lemon was also enjoyed. Great ambiance, good location, excellent food, along with good service, makes Press Bistro a «must try»!

Came here on a Friday night at 8:30 pm and had reservations for three. Our table was not ready until right at 8:30 pm. It was packed inside but the outside had some available tables. We sat inside. Just a warning, parking is very limited in that area so make sure you keep your eye out for a parking spot.
Food: Pork chop was moist and flavorful. Green beans with caramelized onion and bacon was on point as well. I am still thinking about this entrée. I tried a bite of the steak and it was good, but had a sweetness to it. It was moist though. I would still pick the pork chop over the steak.
We also ordered the meatballs, bell pepper with cheese and this bread to dip with a white sauce. It was part of the tapas — 3 for $ 10. The meatballs were so delicious! The bell pepper with cheese was good but I could only eat a couple bites of it.
Service: GREAT SERVICE! Water refilled when needed. Waiter check on us on a timely manner. The chef actually came out at the end of the night to check on every to see if everything was fine with the food. Although, I wish they served ice, since I like to drink ice with my water. I’m sure they had it… I just didn’t ask for it.
Price: I don’t think it was too bad. $ 21 for an entrée that has a side with it in this kind of restaurant is adequate with me. The most expensive dish was the hanger steak for $ 24 but how can you beat the quality of the food and the service!
Overall, I am returning… And hopefully SOON.