Empress Tavern

I love the ambiance in this place, almost makes you feel like you’re in another country.
The food is not your usual selection and I love that.
The chicken hearts are amazing!!! Most of my friends could not believe it when I ordered them, but once I convinced them the try them, they really really liked them. The oysters are fresh, the double burger is amazing, and the griddled bacon is to die for.
I must say, my first couple of visits, I was sad to be served by a bar tender that looked like he didn’t want to be there, no smile, no interest in his guest. For such a lovely place, it was missing that welcoming feeling. I was really ONLY coming for the food at that point. Well, I’m happy to say that ALL THAT CHANGED YESTERDAY!!! I met my friend there for Happy Hour and was greeted with a big smile and a friendly face, PAUL. He knows how to sell the food and was VERY pleased with trying new things because of him. He also checked on us often. I told him I would Unilocal on behalf of Empress Tavern because he really made us feel special, and we cannot wait to come again. Now I feel like I can recommend more people to come here because I know they will be treated great! Thanks Paul for your amazing customer service. THANK YOU EMPRESS TAVERN, for bring in a person that really wants to be there and that cares about his guests.
Giving you guys a 5.

Empress Tavern is a fancy spot with lots of goodies like their «tea service.»
We ordered:
1) Beet Salad
2) Baltimore Crab Cakes
3) Roast Pork Belly
We got the Rye Tai tea service and while it was interesting to drink from a tea pot/​cup, the drink wasn’t my favorite and wish I just went with a straight up cocktail. It’s not the first time I’ve had an alcoholic beverage from a teacup – there’s this hard-​to-​find bar in NYC that I think does it way better (I believe it’s called Back Room).
All the food was tasty even though I don’t typically order salads or crab cakes. The Roast Pork Belly was juicy and flavorful. The service was awesome and the atmosphere is very romantic. So, if you’re looking for a nice date spot, this is the place to be. I don’t think it’s the best item for a barhopping list if you’re not somewhat dressed up.

I took my boyfriend here last night for a Birthday dinner. I made the reservation online and got a call from empress a couple days before verifying the time and asked me about the Birthday boy. Needless to say, we were both excited!
When we came in, we loved the atmosphere and entire dining area. We were seated in a booth area on the far side wall, with a great view of the kitchen. We started with the «tea» — specifically the margarita. It was yummy and I LOVE that it comes in an adorable tea kettle and cups. We moved on to sharing the crab cake and smoked salmon dip. If you are thinking about the crab cake, DO IT. It was so meaty and delicious! I could not believe how big the chunks of meat were! It just melted in your mouth! For our entrées I got the scallops and boyfriend the prime rib. He annihilated the meat so it’s safe to say it was wonderful. It also was a crazy large portion. The scallops were amazing! So savory and juicy and the yogurt and couscous complimented the seafood with fun, unexpected textures.
Here’s why I give 4 stars: up until this point our service was outstanding. But it was good until it wasn’t. We ordered dessert but waited a while because the runner forgot about us. She was very nice, apologized, and we got some extra pudding for our trouble. This probably would have been fine had our server not also seemed to forget about us. We didn’t see him for a good 15 or so minutes after we finished dessert and when we asked for the check it was another 10. It was a bit of a bummer to end on that note, considering how great the service started. Did I mention they wrote a note wishing my boyfriend happy birthday?! So thoughtful.
We might be back but most likely not anytime soon. Food was great, but the service disappointing.

Empress is an amazing experience. I’ve now been lucky enough to eat at Empress twice and I cannot wait until my next visit.
Tonight my date and I split the roast turkey, whipped potatoes and the bone marrow. Everything was well executed and incredibly savory.
The service is equally on point and the atmosphere is unlike anything else currently in Sacramento.
I love this place and I hope it’s around for a long time.

I’m torn on this one. I feel like everything was very tasty but I had high hopes that it didn’t quite meet. Overall, it was great. Here’s the deets.
I made reservations for a party of 9 on Friday night to celebrate a friend’s birthday and another friend’s graduation and also wishing her bon voyage on a pilgrimage she’s taking. This is one of the reasons Empress gets a higher rating… they left a card on the table with a note for both of them (see picture) because I had included in my rezzie that we were celebrating. Such a nice personal touch!
We were seated a little late because you can never control or accurately predict how long people will take at a table. No worries though as we weren’t exactly on time… If everyone is late, then no one is late!
My friends and I are as close as friends can be without actually being related by blood. That being said, there’s an unspoken agreement that anything you order can be tasted by anyone at the table. We ordered A LOT:
APPS AND SALADS
— Fried artichoke: a little difficult to eat… tasty but nothing special.
— Steak tartare: tasty as well, but they mixed the yolk into the meat. I prefer to have it placed delicately atop and to mix it in myself. Not as good as others I’ve had.
— French Onion Bone Marrow: oh my glob. SO YUMMY. Loved the onions on top. It only came with two small pieces of toast (could have used double) but I enjoyed it with the frisee on top. Capers were a delicious touch. ALSO. This comes with a complimentary WHISKY LUGE! If you know me, you know I love a good whisky. This was a fun drink interlude between apps and dinner.
— Baltimore crab cake: hokay, I come from New England so nothing will live up, but this was one of my favorite bites of the night. HUGE chunks of delicious fresh crab and not too much filler.
SNACKS
— Smoked salmon dip: super yummy, but the chips were sliced too thin so they kept breaking. I ended up eating a few bites with my fork instead.
— Blistered shishito peppers: I’m glad these were only $ 5. They’re pretty standard so it’s hard to F up. I usually make these myself in the summer time.
SIDES
— Baby carrots: I didn’t actually try these but I heard they were very tasty. And they were ACTUAL baby carrots. Not fake baby carrots that you get at the market.
Side note: when thinking of what to order, one friend asked what the server would recommend for something «light» and his response was «the stroganoff.» It made me question if he knew what light meant, or if maybe he heard something else, like, «super heavy.»
ROTISSERIE
— Roast pork belly: my husband and I both ordered this. I think we could have shared one plate and it would have been enough. We both love CRISPY pork belly and this was the opposite. Everything on this dish was soft. Soft pork belly (tasted GREAT though), soft hash browns, soft cooked apples… soft soft soft. Could’ve used some other textures.
— Smoked prime rib: two of the boys got this one and I had one bite and it was very tasty. I am not a fan of horseradish though and this is your classic prime rib so it had a lot of it.
— French dip: didn’t try this one either. I heard it was yummy, but nothing special.
— Seared scallops: cooked perfectly! Yummy and briny and soft. I’m not a fan of chorizo though so I didn’t try that. Best friend was not a fan of the rose yogurt, and everyone agreed the quinoa was completely unnecessary.
Overall, it was a delicious meal, but we all felt like we overpaid a bit. I ordered a dirty martini that was rather small and still $ 9. It was well made but it wasn’t anything special. Others ordered cocktails as well but I did not hear any exclamations about the tastiness of them.
I think I’ll come back another time with fewer people and order completely different things, like the Santa Maria tri tip family dinner.
Lastly, another reason for the 4 stars… we decided against dessert since we were stuffed, but they brought out a plate of mini brown butter cookies (YOU KNOW THOSE) with a candle on the plate for our birthday dude. Another lovely gesture!
TL;DR: tasty food; some things were over priced; high expectations not met, but came close. Theme of the night: tasty but nothing special.

I absolutely loved this place. Can’t wait for arena to be downtown so I can stop in for a drink here before or after. beautiful underground location. Fantastic atmosphere and not too pretentious at all.
Reasonably priced. i guess this is considered «American New».
We had the Steak Tartare, Blistered Shishito Peppers, Walnut Crusted Rack of Lamb, Orecchiette N’ Cheese, French Onion Bone Marrow, and a bottle of Tempernillo.
Loved it and we will be back.

I’m a fan of sleek and modern interiors and would really like to give them the perfect 5 stars but the food here was overly salty.
Don’t get me wrong, I have been told I utilize too much salt in general, but when my salt-​inclined taste buds even recoil, I know someone in the back of the kitchen needs to use a lighter hand.
First, the space here is amazing. I wish I could say our firm did it ;-) but Sigerson Architects did a great job in expanding on a limited subterranean space. The bar area is my favorite spot. It is basically a square set in the middle of the dining room and has the best light as well as visual distractions for anyone sitting at the counter. The lighting at the surrounding tables is a little on the dim side and my food didn’t look too flattering in the yellowish cast. I don’t know about the general public but I would like to see my food, not the shadows. In addition, to no fault of the establishment, but when this joint gets packed, the decibel level rises to an uncomfortable level. We were literally shouting to one another across the table.
That being said, I visited just for Happy Hour, since I have made it an objective to try out new spots in Sacramento since this new gentrification over the last few years has brought forth an explosion of new eateries and a fabulous Happy Hour scene to choose from.
Our selection:
Rolls (amazing
Empress Tavern Burger (heard high raves about their burger)
Cheese Puffs
Wedge Fries
Poutine
Salmon dip
BIG fan of their rolls. Dense but chewy. Had to flick off the salt, however. Burger was amazing but again, it must have been brushed with butter then sprinkled with more salt. I had to rub off the salt, but the burger was pretty good. I have a sweet and savory inclination so instead of salty pickles, if they were slightly sweet/​tart pickles, that would have provided a good balance to the burger. Cheese puffs, good for the group but not remarkable as well as the wedge fries. However, the poutine and salmon dip were pretty good and I would recommend ordering these two items.
I would actually look forward to trying their dinner menu in the near future but a humble request, to bring down the salt factor. Perhaps it has been tweaked since my initial visit because I’d love to come back!

I took my wife here for an early Mother’s Day dinner based a coworker’s recommendation. We were not disappointed.
We started with drinks and appetizers. We decided on the crab cakes w/​a Empress Long Island & Moscow Mule. I haven’t had fresh crab cakes like this ever. My wife and I both REALLY like it all. The orange squares, salad and crab all together so good. The Mule was ok, but the Long Island was very good.
For the main course, I ordered the Pork Belly and my wife had the Prime Rib w/​Whipped Potatoes. The Pork Belly was extremely flavorful. Juicy and spiced just right, but with a little sweetness. The Prime Rib was good, but we thought it came with a marrow bone. I was definitely looking forward to my marrow-​whiskey shot.
Anyhow, the ambiance was good. We liked the throw back, trendy spot. The brick layout with arches gives you a feel of being in an old movie. The service was really good as well. I highly recommend this place!

This place has everything going for it beautiful interior simple yet complex menu great cocktails good bartenders!
This place could be rated one of the top restaurants in the country it was incredible, great food and great ambiance!
I started with the grilled bacon with banana mustard and then ordered the steamed & grilled cabbage w mustard vinaigrette and the herb roasted chicken wow! Unbelievable the cabbage exploded with flavor the texture was perfect. The chicken was perfect with my local ipa’s I loved this place they need to move to Brooklyn already!

Oh my gosh! I was so excited when my friend treated me here for my birthday. I let my friend order everything we ate, because everything on the menu looked amazing. We shared the crab cake, short rib stroganoff, and the seared scallops. All of the food was good, but my favorite was the crab cake. It a huge amount of crab that just tasted awesome. I have had multiple crab cakes, but Empress’ version is my favorite by far.
Our server was very nice too. He had the bartender make a drink for me. I have no idea what was in it besides vodka, but I loved the taste of the drink and the creativity of the bartender. After dinner, I was presented with a carrot cake with Happy Birthday written on my plate in the prettiest writing I have seen. The cake definitely made my night extra special.

Yay! Finally made it to Empress Tavern! So glad I did, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner & fantastic drinks. Follow that with a heavenly chocolate soufflé and yes, we will be back! Oh & did I mention they have someone who walks around and asks if you’d like a roll? By all means say yes, they’re warm out of the oven, and so good, seriously!
The main reason I wanted to try this place was to see the space, itself, located under the Crest Theater on K Street. The architecture makes for an interesting dining experience. But the wonderful food, will keep you coming back.

I took my sister here for her birthday dinner. You walk downstairs from K Street into a cellar restaurant. It definitely has a hip vibe — cool looking bar — trendy interior — lots of people. While it had a nice ambiance, I disliked the noise level. I don’t know if it’s the acoustics, but you have to shout at your dining partner to have a conversation. Also the lighting was so dim I had to use my iPhone Flashlight app to read the menu. Another bummer was there is no cell service at all (including text messaging).
We started out with dinner rolls (I didn’t have any) — my sister had heard how good they are and apparently they lived up to their reputation. She also wanted to try their fried chicken but it only comes in a size for 4 people @ $ 80 so we opted to order some other things. We had the crab cakes (tasty but overpriced at $ 17 for one crab cake), the butter lettuce salad (comes in a wedge, which I didn’t expect), the scallops, and the prime rib. The scallops were delicious! The prime rib was a bit stringy with too much fat. The carrot cake was delicious but it wasn’t comped for her birthday (a lot of places do this as a nice gesture). My sister ordered decaf coffee after dessert — it was served in a French Press and was $ 6.
The service was excellent, and our overall dining was good. As I mentioned, I felt some items were overpriced. My two cents: It’s a cool new place that popular in Sacramento right now so I would recommend checking it out.

If you aren’t familiar with the area like this girl from San Francisco, it can be a little tricky to find. But I hit up my trusty Unilocal App to find storefront views and it saved the day! Just be sure to look for the big neat, old looking theater, if you are facing the theater, the door to Empress Tavern is directly to the right of the building, near the back.
Once you slink down the stairs you will find yourself whacked in the face with the loud clanking and chatter of other patrons. A glance upward and you will see an awesome, beautiful brick ceiling, which also explains that insanely loud acoustics.
We were greeted promptly and assisted with our reservation in a swift manor. They were able to seat us a little earlier than the rest of our party so we could set up a table for my best friend’s Dad’s (AKA my «other» dad’s) birthday! I was trying to set up a little stick balloon when our waiter approached up with a little vase to put it in, sighting it he saw me struggling with it. HUGE BROWNIE POINTS!
He was also able to provide us with a chair that did not have arm rests for a member of our party, so if this is something you need, don’t hesitate to ask!
Our drink orders were taken and our Birthday Boy arrived! They were also greeted swiftly, drink orders were taken and the celebrations began.
If you have the chance, ask to sit near the kitchen. This place has a lovely open kitchen and it is SO well executed. Like a well oiled machine, it was actually a joy to watch.
As snacks we ordered Grilled Bacon with Banana Mustard. That bacon was of course lovely, but that Banana Mustard was a total kicker. It clearly has the texture of mashed banana, but with a slight undertone of mustard, possibly achieved by mustard powder. So weird yet SO GOOD.
We also ordered Warm Gougers. Little fluffy pillows with cheese. How can you not like that?!
Opting for the Family Dinner with Tomahawk Rib-​eye, what a presentation! The amount of food was so massive and so beautiful. The rib-​eye was cooked to a perfect medium rare with glorious juices. Bone marrow to a buttery perfection, grilled onions and potatoes. 2 adult males and 2 adult females could not finish this meal and went home with a doggy bag for the Birthday Boy.
Dessert was carrot cake. Some of the BEST carrot cake I have EVER had. They provided us with a candle, a plate that had happy birthday written on it and a card signed by the entire staff. That carrot cake was spicy like a home made spice cake with the added carrots and cream cheese frosting I could have eaten with a spoon. Needless to say, there wasn’t a crumb left after.
French Press coffee was ordered and severed with dessert. If you like coffee, this is a MUST. I am not sure what beans they used, but the coffee was AMAZING. Smooth, Rich and not an ounce of burnt flavor.
**We did have one issue during our visit. While my best friend was enjoying her very tasty moscow mule she sucked a shard of glass through the straw. THANKFULLY she caught it in her mouth and without harm, the thing was so sharp and huge it could have caused serious damage. Upon informing the waiter, he informed the bar tender, who made her another drink and came to let us know they burned the ice and were washing out the tray to assure it did not happen to anyone else. Much later in the evening, the manager came over to wish the birthday boy a happy birthday (standard practice at Empress Tavern) and assured us the drink was taken off the bill. She told us that the glasses are crystal and one small bang can cause a chip, which is probably what happened. A very tiny tiny TINY gesture for a pretty serious situation.

First impression of this place was «how cool!» I absolutely fell in love with the brick ceiling, but with that being said the ceiling did not help the noise level in this place. I found myself shouting and leaning in several times in order to have a conversation with the person sitting right next to me. Also you will have to remember that you are in a basement and so kiss you beloved cell phone service goodbye!
As for the food everything we ordered was great looking. The server was very mindful of any diet restrictions and allergy issues throughout the night. I enjoyed a beer which was recommended by our server and he nailed the suggestion knowing exactly what I was craving. The rotisserie chicken was great, the scallops needed a little help, because they were barely warm, and the dumplings are meh. As for appetizers, the brussel sprouts were bomb, and the smoked salmon dip was awesome.
Our server did get a few things wrong in our order and we did have a discrepancy with our tab, but all was fixed when we brought it to his attention. Another hiccup was we kept getting other patrons food delivered to out table. It happened so many times that we almost made game out of which menu item would we get delivered next.

Easy to find down K Alley located under the Crest theater. If you’re not going to eat you at least need to check it out and have a drink at the bar. The wife and I treated a couple of her work peeps out to dinner and drinks since they were all in town for a conference.
The acoustics are great inside so if you’re looking for a quiet and romantic dinner or having a business meeting you may need to keep searching.
The menu has lots of cool eats to choose from. I liked the small bites available as appetizers at $ 5 a serving. The butter lettuce salad was great. My favorite dish of the night was the French onion bone marrow, served directly from the bone. When I was finished the server came over with a bottle of Johnny Walker and had me take a bone marrow luge. That was new to me and I enjoyed the experience.
The drink menu has lots of options to wet your whistle. I appreciate all of the local beers available on tap. There were a lot of special options going on with beer week.
I recommend reservations because of this place fills up quick. The entire staff was great! I was glad we stopped by. I hope you get to try it out. Happy eating!

I very rarely give 5 star ratings but this place takes the cake. The food is unique and delicious, the service is attentive but not annoying, the décor is very tasteful and relaxing, the ambiance is both friendly and romantic at the same time.
We went here for a secret Monday night date. (well it wasn’t secret to my partner, just me) and it was quite an adventure! Going down the stairs to get to this refurbished basement/​theater/​bunker is very exciting. Not unlike «Eyes Wide Shut» if you’re going for a romantic interpretation. Not unlike «A walk In the Clouds» if you’re going for a friendly interpretation (but that’s in a vineyard, this is a basement, same warm family feel)
We started with the tea service which is a fancy cold cocktail served in a teapot. We thought it’d be hot and herbal but it was a passion orange guava flavor and delicious. Paired great with the bone marrow hors devour and whiskey shots it came with (DO NOT MISS THIS, super fun and ‘when in Rome’)
Had the lamb with sides of cabbage and wild mushrooms. Delicious. Amazing. Marvelous.
PROS: everything.
CONS: lil loud

Being a fan of Mother despite being a carnivore, I had to try Empress. I heard about the place for months but just never made the effort to try it out, but I’m so glad it came to mind tonight.
First off the décor is amazing, old world, and beautiful. The food is almost the polar opposite of Mother, meat centric and extremely rich. It was hard deciding what to order as the menu items were expansive with small bites to full plates of meats and seafood. My date went with the pork belly which is from the rotisserie so I went with an assortment of small bites.
The food was flavorful and rich. Memorable bites included the bone marrow/​whiskey luge, lamb sweet breads, and chicken hearts. I’ve had my fair share of chicken hearts but these rank among the best. Great grill flavor and very little gameness. Check out my photos for a view of the menu items.

The Husband and I talked about how many stars to give the Empress Tavern after we went here on a Tuesday night for my Birthday dinner. We both decided that we would definitely give them 5 stars.
I made reservations about a week in advance, and already they were almost booked for the night. It’s a popular place! We arrived at our reservation time and were immediately escorted to our table overlooking the open kitchen. It was a great table and we really enjoyed watching the kitchen work!
We ordered the Pimento Cheese Crudité to start and it was amazing! A perfect mix of vegetables and dip, I loved it! It was so creative and tasted great. My Husband ordered a cocktail, #5 for $ 11.00 which I thought was a little steep, but he really enjoyed it.
I ordered the Ricotta Dumplings for my entrée because it was the only vegetarian entrée on the menu, and it looked amazing. It tasted just as great. The broth it came in had such a deep complex flavor, it was so good. The dumplings were amazing and I liked all the veggies and potatoes that came with it. No complaints!
My Husband ordered the Short Rib Stroganoff for his entrée and he really really liked it as well. He said he went out of the box with his choice, and definitely wasn’t disappointed. He also ordered the Boiled Cabbage to go with his meal and it was super flavorful and great! Not what you would expect from boiled cabbage. He said he wished he could fix cabbage like this at home!
For dessert we ordered the Seasonal Pie which happened to be a Pineapple Upside Down Pie. I remember not liking my Grandmas’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake as a kid, but fortunately this was nothing like that. It was SO yummy! It came with a homemade caramel sauce covering it and I would definitely have it again.
Service was ON POINT the entire night and really made the entire evening exceptional. Our server and all his helpers were exceptional and at the top of their game. We spent about $ 87 for the entire evening and it was money well spent. I would come back again anytime.

I have one word for this place… IMPRESSIVE! Located in what I believe is the basement of the Crest theater, you will be amazed by the ambience.
We had the salmon dip with homemade chips as our appetizer. For entrees, pork belly and a prime rib French dip. Everything was fabulous, including the service. Very large selection of alcohol including various wines on tap (who would’ve thought).
Give it a try. You will not be disappointed.

Speakeasy vibe underground. Literally… underground. Look for the Crest, then peek around the corner from the ticket booth and you’ll find it. Down a couple flights of stairs — it’s a must try kind of place. Ladies watch your heels here… besides the stairs, the floor is super slick!
Empress had been on my bookmark list since they opened and when they popped up on the list for Dine Downtown 2016 I knew it was fate. Friends assembled and we all agreed it was a great experience.
Ambience was energetic. This place has a great look with all the brick and the visible kitchen. Only downside was the insane noise level. This is NOT a quiet, intimate date night restaurant — the sound echoes and you’re going to have to speak with a raised voice. It is, however, a fun night out with a group.
Cocktails were… interesting. If you are a gin lover (or hipster) you’ll appreciate what they are muddling behind the bar. As I am neither, I opted for «Tea Service» and I recommend you try it. Translation: lethal cocktail served in a tea pot with cute tea cups and flower petals. No, there isn’t really tea. Ours was actually tequila based/​margaritaish and not shy with the liquor. For $ 21 and around six cups, you can look awfully classy getting your buzz on. Makes me wonder what Kate Middleton is really sipping on in her tea cup… but I digress.
Food was flavorful and unpretentious. We all ordered the Dine Downtown prix fixe menu and enjoyed it… two of us pasta and two of us cornish game hen for the entrée. The salad was crisp and filling. Not drowned in dressing either. The smoked pappardelle pasta with mushrooms was hearty and rich — they should put that on the main menu for sure.
Dessert was served tableside — a nice touch. The Seasonal Fruit Pie was really a chocolate cream/​devil’s food masterpiece topped with cherries and housemade whipped cream. My picture doesn’t do it justice.
Service here was notably above par. Rarely do I remember a server’s name, but Ernesto did this place proud from start to finish. I remember any man who keeps my tea cup filled ;)