The Virgin Sturgeon

I had heard good things about the Virgin Sturgeon for a long time. Some friends were visiting from out of town, so we decided to take them to dinner here. First of all, it looked a little run down/​not quite kept clean. We had some chips and salsa before dinner. The chips had a few whole chips on the surface and over half a basket of crushed chips, and not high quality at that. The salsa was from a jar, and again lacked flavor. My husband ordered a cheeseburger with cheddar cheese. He had Cuban beans before the burger arrived, which he states were, «OK». His cheeseburger arrived on what looked like a two week old bun from the wonder bread bakery outlet. The cheeseburger was a pre fab looking, over cooked piece of mystery meat with some bright yellow, plastic looking American cheese. It arrived on a bread plate with no garnish, no side dish whatsoever. He said he’d get a better burger at McDonald’s, which he hates. I ordered a salad for the starter. It was chopped lettuce with a few, very small diced tomatoes, ranch dressing with some pre fab grated, low quality, parmesan cheese. The seabass with mango salsa was so dry, stale, and completely bland. It was served with «garlic mashed potatoes», which had no garlic, no salt, no flavor. They were definitely from a box and disgusting. There was some squash and broccoli florets on the plate that were obviously nuked in the microwave with no seasoning whatsoever. When the waitress finally came to the table, an hour after our meal was served, she asked how was the sea bass? I barely ate anything off the dinner plate. It was obvious that it was not edible. When I politely told her it was so dry and difficult to eat, she said, «You should have told me. It’s usually cooked really well». She did not apologize, or offer to take it off the check. If she had come back to the table at all, I would have told her how bad it was. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS HORRIBLE, DIRTY LOOKING RESTAURANT TO ANYBODY! I WOULD NEVER GO BACK HERE.

We love it here, have had like 6 different things on the brunch menu and it’s all amazing. Service is fast and friendly too.

Two stars for the view at sunset and the friendly service (beginning after we were moved from our table for a party of 7 — we had 8 — who never showed up), otherwise, I was duly unimpressed.
The food was marginal at best — as others have said, our orders ranged the gamut from bland to overcooked to inedible. I expected the seafood to at least be good, since that’s what they claim to specialize in and it is not inexpensive, but the sea bass was rubber, the shrimp still half frozen (they claimed it was «fresh»), the salmon obviously the farmed Atlantic stuff, and the coquille so drowned in butter and bread crumbs you could barely tell what it was.
Don’t get me started on the things that weren’t seafood. Really? A bag of Doritos with chicken tenders (which, by the way are the same tenders they use in the chicken parm, breaded and deep fried and pretty garlicky for kids, IMHO) constitutes a kids meal there? Really?
Also do not get me started on the cleanliness of the place. Mindy or Mandy Singh in Sacramento, the inspector who posted a pass at this place:
, might not know what s/​he is doing, or chose to look the other way. Had I not been with a group, I would’ve immediately turned around and left as soon as I hit the doorway. You can smell the cover up they are trying to do with cleaning chemicals and air masking devices. The adage «If the bathrooms aren’t clean, the restaurant isn’t either» really applies here.
Outside of the above, the place does have a certain charm in terms of its location and décor. Agree with other posters who comment that it really is more of a dive bar that happens to serve food. I’d order my drinks without ice, is all.

If you are coming to The Sturgeon it’s for the location not the food or the service.
The venue is great. I love it. I love the old airplane boarding walkway you use to get down to the restaurant that is adorned with paintings of fish. The view is great you are right on the river and the price is great for the view.
The menu is small and your choices are limited. We shared food when I went and none of the food stood out as amazing but it wasn’t bad either. It was a nice little meal.
Overall I would go back again but make sure you go in with the right expectations.
This place is best described as a Dive Bar that serves food with a great view.

The two stars are for the beautiful view and the friendly staff. Food is subpar. I was really thrown off by the poor quality and couldn’t believe the price I was paying for food that tasted like I was eare at Denny’s…
I took my mom and daughter here for dinner, thinking I was treating them to a special dinner. Unfortunately, none of us were impressed. We started with the ceviche appetizer which was ok but did not taste fresh plus I found a hair in my mouth after taking a bite. Gross. I didnt want to gross out my mom and daughter so I didnt mention it.
My mom and daughter both orderd the fish tacos and said they didn’t taste like fish. My daughter loves fish tacos and this is the first time she’s ever complained about it… she hates Del Taco and said she’d rather have picked up food from there! They use flour tortillas which was also strange.
I ordere the seafood coquille (spelling?) and thought it was ok but not high quality. The rice had an after taste and tasted like it came from a box.
Don’t waste your stomach space and money here. Maybe come for some drinks and the atmosphere, but definitely not the food.

So this place was introduced to me through a friend. We went around night time, I honestly like a dive bar type of atmosphere and this is what it is. There are different types of people that go here. Age range is all over from 21 – 50, but I love it! The beer is good and I’m sure all the other drinks are amazing. Didn’t have much food, but it did look good. Prices for beer/​alcohol is reasonable. The staff is very kind. The service is great and just the restaurant being on top of the river makes it a fun exoerirnce. Of course you have an amazing view. I would go here again to chill with my friends. :)

My husband and I had a very nice Sunday brunch at The Virgin Sturgeon this past weekend. The restaurant is very unique and right on the river. We had a window table and enjoyed watching the passing boats and jet skis.
It’s definitely not a fancy place but breakfast was delicious. (Get the machaca!) Next time I want to sit outside.

Absolutely will never go here again! I had a couple drinks with a friend, and was there fairly early in the evening. Upon paying, the bartender «misplaced» my credit card in all of two minutes that he had it in his possession. I repeatedly assured him he never gave it back to me and asked him to please look around. I left the bar upset, knowing I’d have to cancel my card and the hassle that comes along with it. I called the bar the next day to follow up, the manager stated they found it and I could come get it. I then had to drive 30 minutes out of my way to go pick up my card after a long 12hr shift. Once at the bar, I never once received an apology from the manager for the hassle or a drink for the trouble they caused me. He chuckled and said it had been right there on the cash register the entire time. Extremely unprofessional.

It’s a nice hidden spot on the river. Although the river water is dirty but it’s nice sitting and eating brunch on the patio. And enjoying the view of horn blower and other jets. The waitress was nice and friendly. I ordered my crab omelet but I wish they seasoned the crab. Besides that food was good. And it was nice going down the stairs and watching the jets and enjoying the weather. This location is situated on a weird spot. You can see the old sign and walkways but not the restaurant. It’s pass Chevys on the river. You park your cars near the side of the streets and go down the staircase to the hidden restaurant.

The service and the food is fantastic. This is a hide away GEM. A must to eat at virgin sturgeon !!!
Bar is great also fantastic drinks and good wines! The sturgeon was fresh and very tasty.
And sit on the river great view !!!

This place is getting a 2 star review from me. I would go lower but the service was decent, the atmosphere is fantastic; unlike the bland food.
We started by getting an appetizer of peel and eat shrimp. I asked if it was fresh shrimp. I have my doubts on how fresh they were. We had a hard time peeling them and some of the shrimp were tough. I would say they were definitely frozen.
My kids ordered chicken finger and chips. I would expect a seafood restaurant to have homemade chips. Nope they got lays products. We were very diasppointed. The chicken was home breaded and pan seared which was a pleasant surprise. Bland as far as seasonings went.
I ordered tilapia tacos that were supposed to be Panko breaded. A couple of things threw me off. One the fish was way to thick to be tilapia. Two the panko was over cooked so it was soggy. Finally the fish was so over cooked it was mushy. Not traits I want to see in my fish to top it off I was expecting corn tortillas and not flour tortillas. The only redeeming thing about my plate was the Cuban beans.
My husband ordered the rainbow trout. It was again under seasoned and still had to be flavored with lemon slices. Again the redeeming feature were the Cuban beans.
Highly doubt I will ever return.

Not the best service… way overpriced !

Nice service! Our waitress really took care of us and joked a bit with us.
The cool thing about this place is the nature that it’s in. It’s right next to the American River!
Entrees and appetizers were alright. Forgot the names of what we ordered):
Had some kind of cocktail though — It was very strong!

Lost our virgin sturgeon virginity a week or so ago. Another great place in Sacramento to dock the boat and grab some eats. Had combo platters to try multiple things, and it was all really good. The smoked sturgeon was a bit inconsistent in flavor, but even with that was all really good. We will be back!!! Oh yeah, bloody mart was pretty good, but buyer beware, SPICEY!!! Luckily I like spicy!!!

Front and center that Scott S. mentioned in his review back in January that cars on the non-​river side of the road have been broken into. Well, on Sunday night, our car was parked on the river side and was broken into, around 6:00 p.m. And after talking to people at the hotel and reading some other reviews for nearby hotels that discuss frequent car breakins, my guess is someone, or a group of people, have a pretty good system down and just toss the cars seeing what they will find. All of our stuff was hidden in the console or trunk and they got away with my GPS, Nikon camera, some 49ers items I picked up as gifts for a friend, a bag of toiletries from Walmart, and a couple of books we brought on this trip. Who steals old paperback books? Seriously?
Shame on us for having anything of value hidden in the car. I hope that bottle of Listerine gave the theives a hell of a headache. In all the time I traveled all over the country with suitcases, computers and other electronics hidden in the rental car, I never had an issue. I guess I was due to be hit by someone who’d rather redistribute other peoples’ possessions. The theives must have been fired from Pelosi’s staff and have fallen on hard times.
Aside from that, the restaurant was a lot of fun. It reminded me of places in Florida where there are a lot of boats parked nearby and the food is fresh and simple. We had the crab cakes which were full of crab and nicely seasoned, and the mussels and linguini. That dish was very simple, and hit the spot with a couple of nice cocktails. Overall, no complaints about the food or service. If I was to come down here again, I would have nothing of value in the car, other than my husband hiding in the trunk with a crowbar. Bring it on dirtbags. Someone will catch you eventually.

One of my favorite spots for weekend brunch with friends. Great drinks, service, and people. I love their sausages and get them every time now. I finally tried their fried rice, which you can sub instead of potatoes. Jenny is my favorite waitress, the other ladies are great too, just love them. Another favorite dish is the shrimp Louie salad.

I was on a business trip, staying at a hotel a couple of miles away. I decided to walk over to the river to a different restaurant on the water, but left after waiting a long time for service and not being able to find anything on the menu that appealed to me. I remembered seeing the sign for the Virgin Sturgeon, so I thought I’d walk over to check it out. I am very glad that I did! The place has a very rustic and quirky charm. It is a floating restaurant that you board via what appears to be an ancient airport jet bridge.
Once aboard, I was immediately greeted by the staff and made to feel very welcome. What a huge difference in attitude from what I experienced at the first restaurant I bailed on. Everything I ordered was spectacular. The smoked fish, shrimp cocktail, and combination scallop, shrimp, and crab dish was awesome.
I loved the easy going nature of the staff, and their genuine desire to make sure I was taken care of. The food was splendid. The atmosphere was great. No frills, just comfort.

The view of the river is amazing, with big windows letting the breeze come through. This place is a good spot to have a drink after work since I work just down the street. Food on the other hand, did not meet my expectation. I ordered the appetizer sampler and also the ceviche to try.
The sampler had some good items. One of my favorite was the salmon. It paired well with the cream cheese spread onto the provided slices of sourdough bread and top with some of the capers. I also enjoyed the piece of sturgeon, but it was such a small piece I did not get to enjoy it fully. Other thoughts, chicken tenders was okay. The sampler also comes with 6 pieces of shrimp that tasted good with their cocktail sauce.
The ceviche let me down big time. The portion was so small. You get roughly a half cup amount of chopped tilapia, tomatoes, and onions. All fused with lime juice and topped with slices of avocado. The chips that was given was so salty that I didn’t even like pairing it with the ceviche which has the slight tang from the lime juice. There was also a lemon wedge provided for some extra juice. I didn’t squeeze mine because I saw a dead bug on it. :(
Service here; however, is great. Workers are super friendly and cheerful. Our server was an elderly one, but she kept me entertained and fulfilled any requests I made.

Still loving this place, 7 years after my first visit. My old review still stands– I still order their cajun chicken sandwich every time– though I’ve tried a few of their other offerings when friends or family order over the years. The sandwich is really two sandwiches with perfectly cooked chicken, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on the best garlic bread ever! Most dishes come with a choice of salad, soup, or blackbeans/​rice. The salad is always fresh and is my favorite option.
Unfortunately their lunch menu on the weekend doesn’t start until 12:30 so you have to stick to their brunch menu before that (and no cajun chicken sandwiches then!). Their house dressing is ranch and blue cheese together– it’s divine but if you’re avoiding blue cheese (pregnant?) watch out because they don’t mention it. Their soups are pretty solid too.
I think the service has improved over the years but some of the waitresses are far more friendly than others. Sometimes you can get your food quick and other times it’s a wait. Of course the place is much busier in the spring and summer while people are out on the river, so I love to go when its colder and less crowded. It can get pretty loud! The ramp in is very steep and can be difficult for children, older individuals, and sometimes just the average joe.

One the river and still floating. Or rather, floating again.
I love popping in here by boat, motorcycle, or car because it is always a fun time. The crowd at the bar seems like a ton of locals, especially in the winter, and are friendly. The laid back atmosphere here makes this place even more special but the real gem is that the drinks are cheap and strong. Oh, and the food is good too. Last time we were here we ordered an appetizer combo to share with the table. It was massive and everything on it was tasty. Things got a little hazy after that. Did I mention the strong drinks?