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Bootleggers Old Town Tavern & Grill
Category: Restaurants American (New) American (New) [Edit]
210 Washington StAuburn, CA 95603
(530) 889-2229
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Upscale
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
37 reviews for Bootleggers Old Town Tavern & Grill
Review Highlights
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"...lit atmosphere - they have a piano player on the weekends." In 2 reviews -
"...had one of my favorite cuts of meat, the korean skirt steak." In 2 reviews -
"Stopped here for lunch on the way up to Tahoe." In 5 reviews
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37 reviews in English
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Review from Scott J.
Granite Bay, CA
I think I actually have a new favorite place in Auburn. Maybe I didn't have any favorites in Auburn before. Anyway, tried this Friday Night for "date night". One of the advantages of having an 18-year-old... we finally get some freedom again to explore a little.
So, first, the 5-star stuff. Wow.. The ambiance, and the decor, it's pretty over-the-top. Service, impeccable, although our "new" waiter... his first night... was much better than the "trainer". She seemed kind of grumpy. We'll be back I'm sure to see the new guy.
Now, the not-so-great. I don't know what it is about eating out in Auburn and all the old people. I'm sorry to offend anyway, but you know, my wife and I have great educations, great jobs, and we did it on our own. Stop staring at us for crimping in on your turf. I make more than 95% of the people in the US. Get over it. Stop giving us dirty looks, or if you don't like a white guy with a latina, that's your own problem. It's California. Get over it, we've been married a long time and it's working out fine.
So why do I need to point that out? Well, our overly-awesome waiter had to actually step-in and ask another patron to "move" as he was standing in the way of my wife to pull out her chair and sit down when we arrived. He was talking to his friends at the adjacent table, some boomer old farts as well, and after being asked to move, the *sshole actually glared at my wife and I with a scowl, like she was the hired-help and shouldn't be there or something. She's a civil engineer, she probably makes more than the old farts as well without my help, so again, it's definitely an Auburn-thing... we always get that there. 6-stars to the waiter for getting impatient and making the jerks move in the first place. That scowl was serious though, I'm thinking he had a white-sheet & pointed-hat thing going on... you know how the mountain rednecks can be...
Food... My wife was raving about the salmon she ordered. She's picky about the salmon, so I would give that 5-stars. I'm not a salmon-eater, so I'll trust her. Table-bread was so/so, I've had much better at a million other places, so don't go for the free bread (definitely a 2).
By coincidence, I had been in Billings, Montana all week on business, so the only thing you eat in Billings is the steak & potatoes, the salads are probably shipped on a slow train from Chile or something. So I had a lot of red meat when I was there and I just wasn't feeling it at Bootleggers... so I just settled with a burger after debating between the chicken sandwich and the burger for 20 minutes. The burger was ok, not a barn-burner to be sure, but it was decent. I probably wouldn't order it again. I'm sure I'll try the prime rib or something in a few weeks when we go back. I think the pallette was a little tainted by the corn-fed-free-range steak I had in Montana with the home-made micro brews. I need to get a little more used to the New Zealand Zebra-Meat California Beef and I'll re-post with my personal impressions. I'm sure it will be excellent.
Big cheers to the staff, the ambiance, and the probably-excellent food though. -
Review from J N.
Newcastle, CA
We are regulars here. Great food great service consistently!
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Review from Eddie M.
Grass Valley, CA
How great is it to find a gem of a restaurant right in your own backyard?!
I'd driven by Bootleggers dozens of times, but for whatever reason, I had never dined there. A friend was recently raving about the place, so when I had some relatives come in from out of town yesterday, I immediately thought of Bootleggers. SO glad I did. My family was VERY impressed as was I - I had to hide my own surprise.
Bootleggers may not look like much from the outside, but you are transformed to an old European tavern once you walk through the doors. From the ambience (VERY warm and cozy) brought about by the dual facing Old English fireplace to the dark woods and attention-to-detail decorations to the incredible staff to the even more incredible food selection, this place is tops on my list now for Sac area/gold country restaurants.
Once you look around and see the decor and the white table clothes and think, "THIS is in Auburn??", you are struck by how friendly and attentive the staff is. If you've read any of my other reviews, you'll know that I can't stand to be ignored at a restaurant (like most of us, I'm sure) and I really appreciate staff that is attentive, but not bugging the crap out of you.
I've been very lucky to have had excellent experiences in TWO Auburn restaurants (the other was Joe Caribe) within a week of each other! Awesome.
The staff was extremely knowledgable (knew the details of the specials and menu without reading it), very attentive, friendly (I like to screw with wait staff and this young man was polite, but played along...I like that) and were overall just a pleasure.
The menu doesn't look all that fancy visually, but the amazing personal touches on every dish was incredible. They are apparently famous for their escargot, so we had that as an appetizer and it was fabulous, as were the sweet potato fries with a bleu cheese chipotle (I believe) dipping sauce.
We had the most delicious clam chowder - secret ingredient is smoked applewood bacon...holy crap - and one of the specials was a pork quesadilla that was the tastiest thing I've had in a LONG time. My niece and nephew are picky eaters, but they both practically cleaned their plates...no small accomplishment, believe me.
Do yourself a big favor and order the fish tacos. You take a bite and your brain says, "What the heck is in there that makes it so freaking delicious??" Answer: Jalapeno sauce and a layer of melted pepperjack cheese between the two tortillas!!
Can't wait to come back here as I had to stop the waiter from reading off the specials and menu highlights because each item sounded incredible. I already have my sights set on their fish dishes, oysters, roasted garlic, skirt steak and bacon wrapped filet...wow.
Another thing to mention is that you get the sense that it's expensive (white table cloths...), but I found it very, very reasonably priced considering the ambience, experience and quality of food. The average menu item for lunch was around $10...seriously, that's cheap for such a nice restaurant.
Bottom line is that I had lunch and didn't have dinner because we were so freaking stuffed from our meal. This is a place where you starve yourself for two days before, knowing you're going to stuff yourself silly. -
Review from Angela D.
Grass Valley, CA
We ate here again recently with friends and the food was very good....I love the atmosphere!
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Review from Aaron F.
So good we stopped again on the way home. There's so much to love:
1) The Atmosphere: Moose heads on the wall, a roaring fireplace, even a live pianist on Friday night. Heaven.
2) The food: The soups are out of this world (loved both the butternut squash and clam chowder). The salads are huge (best Cobb I've ever had). And you can't go wrong with any of the entrees.
3) The beer: Really good selection of Belgium, Microwbrews and lambics.
4) Prices: Very reasonable, especially the beer.
I will never drive down I-80 without stopping here. Enjoy! -
Review from Debra G.
Laguna Niguel, CA
We have a rule when traveling, no fast food and no chain restaurants, no exceptions. We were lucky enough to stumble into this great place and were immediately impressed with the fresh purple flowers on every table, the roaring fireplace and the soothing piano player.
The food was excellent. Fresh bread was served with soft butter. OH ordered Sea Bass with pineapple salsa. It had a "kick" to it but he loved it as well as the rice and veggies. I ordered the fillet and couldn't believe how incredibly tender and lean the meat was, I could actually cut it with a fork. We saved room for dessert and enjoyed the warm brownie topped with vanilla ice cream. It was good, a little dry so I would probably order something different the next time.
The atmosphere was excellent which made this a much more special meal than we had anticipated. I would go here again and again if I lived in the area so we'll have to settle for whenever we come back to visit our relatives.
One last note, our experience was made even better because our server, Debbie made sure we knew about how long our food would take. We relaxed and had such a great time.
And we will definitely be back! -
Review from Tpar T.
Sacramento, CA
My Ruben sandwich was great, however, service was below standards: my server or I should say order taker did not engage or connect. She never checked back with me and I even had to get up and ask for the check and the rest of my sandwich to-go. I understand if she was busy, but she only had two tables. Before lunch arrived, I asked my server if I could borrow a pen. She made a comment that the restaurant was short on pens!. She later brought me one. I never knew that restaurants provide their servers with pens!
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Review from Toiletfighter M.
Colfax, CA
Bootleggers has been a favorite of mine and my wife for some time now. Always good service and excellent food. This past Saturday on the 14th we were married at the old courthouse up the street and afterward made our way down to the restaurant for an informal lunch/reception. Our group was around 25 people, to which they handled no problem. Kelly, our favorite server, was amazing. Attentive, quick and as always very friendly. The entire lunch party went off without a hitch. Thanks again for all the hard work to make our day special, from the front of the house to the kitchen. See you all again soon!
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Review from David P.
Auburn, CA
Great, comfortable atmosphere, and service was good, but the food was not tonight. The salmon was a beautiful, fresh piece, but it was not just too salty for my taste; it was like there was a accident in the kitchen, and salt got dumped on the plate or cooking pan. The top of the filet was very good, but the bottom 2/3 was inedible. The pork scaloppine over polenta was tasty, but the pork was a little tough. We didn't say anything about the pork, because it was "O.K." I couldn't eat more than a couple bites of the salmon. When the server asked if everything was O.K., and I told him the salmon was so salty I couldn't eat it, he didn't know what to do or say. Eventually, he said he would tell the chef, and he did offer one complimentary dessert.
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Review from Shannon B.
San Francisco, CA
I came to Bootleggers Old Town Tavern for an after party for a funeral for a long time resident of Colfax. It was a surprisingly nice meal. We all loved the tavern interior with antiques and stonework. This place is really cute, and is located in historic old town Auburn- surrounded by many old Western buildings. I only wish they had a few more vegetarian options on the menu. An easy stop if your headed towards Tahoe and is probably healthier then your normal In & Out pit stops.
Listed in: Let's Go: Tahoe, California
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Review from Joe B.
San Mateo, CA
I forgot about reviewing this place...
We came here a while back and had a solid meal... It was.. A Ok.... Not amazing and not bad....
We really liked the feel of the restaurant...
They have a really wide ranging menu... The burger was huge... tasty....
They have plenty of beers as well..
We might go back again.. -
Review from Kerri T.
While on a work-related jaunt to Auburn to photograph a beautiful parcel with oak woodlands and wetlands that will likely be 75% less beautiful one year from now, my OH and I stopped in old town Auburn for lunch. While we drove past the cluster of restaurants I called out the names to him, and when I said "Bootleggers" he said "Stop."
So Bootleggers it was.
And our alcohol-related-name-induced choice did not disappoint.
The interior of the restaurant is really lovely. Dark wood or bare red brick interior walls, a gorgeous fireplace (which we immediately claimed as our own), old budweiser electric signs (the kind with the trains, or horses inside, that move) - super cool. They even managed to not creep me out with the taxidermy, though I'm very much NOT a fan of having the fronts of deer protruding from walls like they just happened to walk through the wrong wall that day and got stuck there, forever.
What surprised me most from the beauty of the old wooden bar is that they're beer and wine only. That really shocked me, because I could easily envision myself belly up at that bar one night with the OH and some friends, drinking whiskey, while some jug band plays in the corner.
The menu is eclectic enough to be suspect. Oysters AND fried chicken with mashed potatos AND beer ribs prepared in Asian marinade AND jagernauts sausage?
Of course we tried the oysters (I could tell they'd been either frozen, or VERY VERY MUCH ON ICE, so they were just ok to me but the OH liked them), the beef ribs (FREAKISHLY AWESOME - I could taste soy and perhaps miso (?) in the sauce, which was so good I kept dipping the tender beef bits into the sauce to ensure a thorough coating. Dunk dunk dunk dunkdunkdunk.), the jagernauts sausage (again, AWESOME. these are small cured sausages that hang on the wall above the bar. We ordered two - at $3 each - and they were sliced and served with spicy honey mustard and olives. Delicious!), and Cobb Salad (this was the OH's idea, and eh.).
My only complaint about the experience is that the OH looked up at me at one point, mid meal, and said "good god, we've already been here an hour and we don't have the ribs or the salad yet!" They were SOOOOOOOOOOOO SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! I don't know if that's an Auburn phenomenon, or peculiar to the restaurant, but it did drag on a bit longer than a lunch should, particularly when two of the four items you order just require being put on a plate (after shucking and slicing, respectively).
I was also surprised that they don't carry orange juice, because I had a hankering for a mimosa. Instead I had a very dry savignon blanc that was cheap ($5 a glass) and superb.
I'd come back here to come back here, but if you're passing through, it's definitely worth the stop, if you have a bit of time to kill. -
Review from Lindsay B.
Atherton, CA
what happened to this place? the skirt steak used to be awesome. it was tough and tasted like it had been frozen. really sad to see it's not as good. used to be a great place in Auburn. Go to Carpe Vino for a better meal.
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Review from Matt C.
Sacramento, CA
I like Bootleggers, but have to downgrade them by one star because they're a wee bit too snooty for their own good. Maybe we just have been unlucky with servers, but they always seem like they're doing you a favor by serving you.
Nevertheless, the food is great: try the Mixed Grill, since you get to sample 3 of the menu items at once.
Bootlegger's is the place you take your out-of-town relatives for high-quality eats.
Just don't go with 6 or more, as you will be forced to leave a gratuity of 15% for the inattentive server.Listed in: Favorite Places to eat in…
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Review from John G.
Nice stop on the way to Tahoe. Just had a very nice lunch there. Ate on their outdoor patio. Server was very prompt and friendly.
Food was really tasty. We had the calamari appetizer which was cooked just right. Tasty for sure.
They have a full menu with regular size meals, and then smaller meals. Almost like a tapas place.
Anyway, we had the tri-tip sandwich, shrimp salad, and the fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Downright great meals. Nice wine selection.
Overall, very lovely, and I would definitely return. -
Review from Eric R.
Auburn, CA
Yummers! Went to Bootleggers for lunch. I had the Fish Taco's which I have been craving for some time and I was not disappointed! The home made corn tortilla's have cheese between them and the fish is awesome. Give them a try!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/15/2011
I have gone to Bootleggers since it opened. It has been one of the most consistently excellent… Read more »
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9/15/2011
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Review from Terran O.
Emeryville, CA
Good food. It seems to always be crowded, but it's worth.
Service staff is always nice.
They tend to have some live music every now and then, which is nice. -
Review from Vince R.
Auburn, CA
I've been going here for years, usually as a ride share captive...
Eight bucks for a Caesar salad without meat? It's fifty cents worth of lettuce man. My salad was starting to wilt as well...
Tried the German sausage with sweet mustard. It was okay. It was just a cold sausage, badly sliced on a plate.
One more thing that disturbs me about this place. I can't order a steak for lunch? Why?
Anyway, I'm sick and tired of going to a non-destination restaurant and paying eight bucks for a salad that's nothing more than a cheap dinner salad. -
Review from Patricia S.
Auburn, CA
Bootleggers is a great restaurant.I've lived in Auburn all my life and i had never eaten here.My friend Bob suggested we stop by because of their steak specials,and I'm a huge fan of the steak.We walk in and it was quite busy,but we only waited five minutes for a table.I ordered a pear cider at the bar before we were seated.Looked over the menu,listing a wide range of entrees and a full page of appetizers.I decided on the New York strip steak,and Bob decided on the seared ahi tuna.We also ordered the escargot as an appetizer.My steak was delicious,it was juicy and cooked perfectly.The green beans were tasty but the mashed potatoes were a bit dry, not creamy.It almost tasted like it was instant mashed potatoes.Bob's lightly seared ahi tuna was really good.Cooked perfectly and the green tomato compote added a nice touch.
I had to dock one star due to the fact that our server forgot our escargot,so by the time it came out we were nearly done with our entrees.Nevertheless we still ordered coffee and dessert.We both decided on the New York cheesecake.Oh my gosh it was sooo good.The cream cheese wasn't too rich or over-powering and it came with a raspberry sauce drizzled on the plate and a dusting of powdered sugar.We ate every last graham cracker crumble.Delicious.I'll definitely come back for dinner in the near future. -
Review from Thayne L.
San Diego, CA
I came here for dinner with my girlfriend and her family here for my first meal in Auburn. My girlfriend's parents go here for most of their dates as it is one of the better places in Auburn to eat.
I digged the Rasberry Vinageretee. Tasted fresh and light. Excellent to go with my spring mix salad. For main course, they had one of my favorite cuts of meat, the korean skirt steak. As I have quoted in my Yelp's before, from Rachel Ray "Yummo".
Bootleggers is a perfect place to come on a date or to enjoy a family dinner. I'd say keep the kids at home as this is more of an adult enviroment. -
Review from Mike M.
Auburn, CA
The wife and I have tried this at least once a year for ab out 4 years. We really wanted to like this place but it just fails to deliver on the Main Courses
They have really good aps and beers, but whenever we order dinner, it's like " What the heck happened"
Ty is a Great Guy. He owns the place and is always a top notch host. -
Review from David L.
San Francisco, CA
Bootlegger's is the best restaurant between San Francisco and Tahoe.
Great food, charming atmosphere in old town Auburn (with a fireplace), great deck (you can even bring your dogs), first-rate service and fantastic wines. I can't say enough good things about Bootlegger's. Among my favorites: the Cobb salad, the sweet potato chips, the fish tacos, the Thai chicken salad and more. Plus the servers are among the friendliest and the most on top of their game in the business. Bootlegger's is a must if you're travelling to Auburn. -
Review from Martin S.
Point Reyes Station, CA
Ty is a decent enough guy, provides good service and the food is usually pretty consistent. Ask about stuff that may not be on the menu! Ty sometimes has cigars available, so check those out if you're into after dinner cigars ...
I would avoid the canned "antique" stores in this part of Auburn and enjoy the weather and Dr. Fox's (doctor of dentistry) statues here and around town ... Take a look at the firehouse and take a nice walk ...
Overall a good place to come eat, if you're already in Auburn - but do bring your wallet ... -
Review from Andy B.
Auburn, CA
Decent food, decent service, the prices are a little high for the quantity/quality of food you get. The menu isn't very extensive but everyone is sure to find something they like.
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Review from John M.
Roseville, CA
Obviously the people that give this place a favorable review have no concept of what good food really is. If you like bland, sub par cuisine, this is the place for you. Over cooked fish and undercooked chicken is their specialty. They need to get a chef/cook that knows what rice pilaf is. Any store brand rice pilaf in a box beats theirs hands down. If you want a good meal, take the time to cross the street and visit Carpe Vino; don't waste your time or money at this place.
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Review from Todd C.
Grass Valley, CA
If you are all about atmosphere and not so much about food, then Bootleggers is for you. Came here on a weekend and it was nice and quiet with a piano player. It had a nice cozy look to it. However, the food was so-so and nothing really to write home about. It really wasn't too flavorful, and I expected better from a place that looked the way it did. The service was average, they were helpful but not very personable. This place is ideal for a date who doesn't care too much about high quality food.
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Review from DENNIS J.
Rancho Murieta, CA
We were there early on a Saturday evening (about 5:30 PM). The service was acceptable but the food was a train wreck. The potatoes were cold, my order was wrong, my wifes soup was barely warm and the food was marginal. There were four couples seated around us and at least one person in each party, (both in one party) sent their food back!! It took forever to get our food back once it was sent back and all they appeared to do was nuke the cold potatoes and the "cold" soup. If anyone thinks that this establishment serves good food, go no further than Wendys and save a few bucks, you at least know what you are getting at Wendys. I even wrote a very nice message on their rating card with my phone number and address informing them of the difficulties we had with the meal. That was a month ago and I haven't herad a word from them. This establishment is not cheap and I for one will never return and will make sure I let ALL of my friends know about the issues we had.
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Review from Tom S.
Kenwood, CA
Stopped here for lunch on the way up to Tahoe. Place is dressed up like a foothills gold country ole' timey tourist restaurant, and the clientle all looked like me - middle aged, well-to-do travelers. The food was amazingly good. I had the calamari strips. They were better tasting than the ones at 90% of the places in San Fran. BambieKat's half-sandwich & salad portion was BIG! The sandwich was a pannini stuffed to the gills with lean meat, a roasted bell pepper, slathered with a delicious aoli. Neighborng table was having the crab louie salad, which had about 22 ounces of fresh crakced crab mounded on top. Looked great for $15!!! We had glasses of Napa wine. Total bill with tip $34. Great value! Recommended.
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Review from Jim O.
Antelope, CA
Warm, romantic candle-lit atmosphere - they have a piano player on the weekends. Nice old town location. Food is first-rate. Vegetables are so fresh I think they come from the owner's garden. We love to come here whenever we're in Auburn.
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Review from Ahna P.
Novato, CA
It was ok. The atmosphere is nice, being its in a cool old brick building. The food was fine. Nothing fantastic. Wine list was "eh". What really bothered me was the amount of flies. Thousands of flies inside and out. I'm glad we had an indoor table. Out our window we watched a group try to eat and swat at the same time. There was this poor woman-she had no idea-there were 8 flies on her back. And worse....2 of the 8 were on each other on her back, she had humping flies on her back...
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Review from Kat S.
Dublin, CA
Pro's : Atmosphere was great.
There was a piano player playing beautiful christmas music.
Our waiter was fantastic, he didn't miss anything.
Cons: Ordered a "Boot" of beer which is on the menu but apparantly they don't sell boot's anymore only half boots and they only actually had one glass boot left so the first one that ordered got the "boot" (Seems very odd for a restauraunt named Bootleggers to not carry any boots but oh well right?
The food: I had the bacon wrapped filet which I think is $27. The bacon wasn't even cooked crispy and the filet was the fattiest piece of meat I've ever eaten. I normally order the filet to avoid all the fat but I was only able to eat about half of the filet because of the fat.
The french onion soup was plain yucky. Another person at our table sent it back because it's just bad.
Someone else got the mixed grill which had very small portions of meat. The Korean marinated skirt steak which tasted just like sweet chili oil and nothing else.
Overall it was fun but the food was nothing to brag about and they should really put more pride in their food especially if they're going to charge the prices they charge. -
Review from Toshi I.
I was in town for business and this place was highly recommended. I ordered the fish tacos which were excellent, not deep fried which I see at most establishments. Portions were just right. I saved room for dessert which was the bourbon bread pudding and it was delicious, large enough to share but I did enough damage on my own. The service was excellent and I really liked this place. Classy but casual and unpretentious. Looks like a great place for a date. The menu was interesting with other entrees like a Korean steak sandwich which my coworker thoroughly enjoyed. He also seemed to like the creme brulee which he managed to polish off on his own as well.
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Review from Emily M.
Oakland, CA
We stopped there on our way to Reno. It was excellent lunch fare and very nice service. Old Town Auburn is cute but a real tourist trap. The prices were fair as well as the portions. If you're driving to Reno/Tahoe, I recommend this place
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Review from don c.
Auburn, CA
Ty Rowe has a great restaurant. Bootleggers menu ranges from steak and seafood to more simple fare, so it fits most budgets. The Tavern in the front is frequented by a 'who's who' of Auburn trying to unwind with a late afternoon drink and plenty of conversation. When I wrote the hamburger review in the Sentinel, Bootleggers came out on top, tied for the top spot with another Old Town restaurant. Great spot for lunch or dinner.
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Review from Hamilton S.
San Francisco, CA
Their appetizer menu is killer. I went there with a friend and we got stuffed just sharing starters. The mushroom empanadas were very tasty inside the filo bread and the pesto chimichurri sauce. Their loaded baked potato was very satisfying. I am usually impressed with the specials, too.
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Review from Bruce P.
Shingle Springs, CA
Great place with a lot of ambiance. My whole family enjoyed the experience. The service was good and the food selections covered all of our needs. I had the Rueben and it was great. I would imagine that this place would also be a nice place to enjoy a beer later on in the evening as well. Thumbs up.
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Review from kristie c.
Fresno, CA
still get mad when I think about my meal here a few weeks ago. in one word disgusting!!! had to send my halibut back luckily was taken off the bill. it was thin and greasy. salad was a rip off. pasta okay but overpriced. took forever to get our meal. on a positive note it is really nice inside but let's face it we are here for the food not the ambiance. maybe it was on off night but I will never go back.
