River City Brewing Company
Categories: Beer, Wine & Spirits, Restaurants [Edit]
545 Downtown PlzSte 1115
Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 447-2739
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat 11:30 p.m.-12:00 a.m.
Sun 11:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Garage, Validated
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
30 Reviews for River City Brewing Company
Although we always get pretty good service here, something is amiss... The food is good, but not spectacular. I don't think they will make my best crab cake in sacramento list. I always feel like they forget to use salt and pepper when cooking.
No IPA on tap- enough said.
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I'd like to be nicer because my friend Jen works here as a hostess, and her friends who work here seem awesome, but the food is not great. It is, however, probably your best dining option at Downtown Plaza, although really Old Sac is just under the bridge so you might as well escape over there if you can, right?
I've had the crab cake, the pizzas, and the blue cheese fries. The blue cheese fries were...weird. Not exactly as advertised . What was with that chili oil? It wasn't hot, but it was oily. The crab cake was fine but not amazing. I'm so sick of fancy pizzas at upscale brewpubs but I've gotta say that the pizza here was quite tasty.
I love them most of all for having a smoking patio and pomegranate cider on tap.
After seeing the Sex and the City movie upstairs, we stopped here for a bite to eat.
My friend has found her new drink. Cran and Skyy Vodka 90 as recommended by our server. I had a great Margarita with Hornitos.
We shared a Margherita Pizza which was a cheesy and everything a pizza should be. The nicoise olives were a nice touch.
I will be back!
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GOLD STAR for River City Brewing Company!!!
And I don't give out gold stars too often, but this place definitely deserves one for the beautiful atmosphere of the restaurant and bar, patio seating options and a menu that reflects the same great taste in beer as it does in food.
I have never had a bad meal here, and their crab cakes ARE SPECTACULAR and I have had quite a few crab cakes in my day (yes yes, i know fried foods are not good for me but neither is ice cream and I think that is pretty spectacular too ha) and their salads are so fresh and have a great combo of flavors. They have about 22 beers they make here on tap and the service is very attentive. I just wish this place was viewed more as a brewery for beer and socializing than as a restaurant, but you can't have everything I guess...boo
Oh ya and it closes by noon on wednesdays so watch out for that!!
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Came here with some friends before seeing Iron Man upstairs, had a liter of the bock and was quite tasty. I had their wings which was $9 for 5 drumsticks, kinda pricey, but good. We sat outside and it was nice out. They have self serve on the left and waiter service on the right. We got there a little late for it but they have a BBQ outside where they cook things for you and walk around giving samples.
We visited the River City Brewing Company on Saturday and it was most excellent. We sat on stools at a high table. I ordered the Vienna, it was originally brewed in Munich. The Germans know their beers. All that marching made them thirsty for adult beverages. I though I'd try it since I'm half German...the lower half. The Vienna is a sweet amber. Nothing beats the taste of a sweet amber. It has 5.5% alcohol which gives it a nice kick. My wife and I were on the Original St Patty's Day Pub Crawl hankering for some pub grub. The food at the River City Brewing Company hit the spot. Top notch cheeseburger and fries. Excellent fish and chips. The service was outstanding. We also ordered a couple malt flavored Cap City Ales with our pub grub and were then on our way...marching to the next bar....
Free bread!
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We came here mostly because we know that they validate your garage parking at the Westfield Downtown Plaza for 4 hours. The mall was kind of sad though and it might be hard for me to actually spend 4 hours at this mall, but that's another issue.
We ordered both a Brewer's Salad ($9.75) and the Brewmaster's Pizza ($14.50) to share. I thought that the pecans, apples and bleu cheese blend well in the salad. The Brewmaster's Pizza was basically a meat-lover type pizza with mushrooms and onions added. The edges of the pizza held the promise of a deliciously crispy thin crust pizza, but then the disappointment came when the pizza soon became soft and soggy in the center.
Bottom Line: It's probably a very popular spot to get a beer, but don't expect too much in terms of food quality.
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I really love the food here. I think it's a great restaurant (a step up from your typical brewery food) and i really like their beer although it seems like the quality isn't very consistent.
This was my husband and my favorite brewery when we were first dating. The staff has always been very great and friendly.
I'm usually pretty generous with my ratings, but like i said, their quality isn't very consistent for their beer, when it's on the mark it deserves 4 stars, on bad days i'd give it 3. Their Creme brulee was kinda weird...i don't know if they didn't set it or something because it was cold and had the consistency of yogurt. I don't like to complain so i didn't send it back (I know i'm a wuss!). The taste was good though.
Pretty darn good mall food.
I've come here several times thru the years and it's always left me pleasantly surprised. The beer's good, the wine selection isn't too bad, the pizzas and the ribs are surprisingly tasty and the salads aren't too shabby either.
The staff sometimes seems a little inexperienced, but are friendly. My only complaint would be that sometimes the customers out on the front patio are annoying, blocking the entrance/exit and smoking all over the place.
I probably wouldn't drive across town to grab dinner here, but it's good if you're nearby or in the mall. It's a damn sight better than the food court or Carl's Jr, plus they validate your parking.
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Always a bad experience here. Long waits for table and food when it seems pretty slow. Food quality to price is not worth it. Service in my experience has always been poor. Servers never seem to care and do not come around as often as they should.
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yummy food, yummy beer
this was one of my sacto destinations i had in mind for a weekend roadtrip. They did not disappoint. We got some wings in plum sauce, (eh, it was ok) and shared a very thin crust rosemary mushroom pizza with cambazola (wow, that was some serious richness!). I was expecting some sort of generic upper scale franchise style of food, and it kinda was that--but it was still tasty and yummy. Mind you, I'm a spoiled bay arean with ridiculous gourmet tastes sometimes!
And the beer you ask? well first we shared a sampler. This is a good bargain by the way. 4 oz shots of 6 beers. My thoughts (ymmv): :kolsch-crisp yummy, city pale ale-yummy and refreshing , hefeweizen-okay sometimes, but a bit full of cloves to me, vienna lager-yummy, clear, complex stuff happening there in my mouth; woodenhead ale-okay-it has a lot going on in there--i think i'd have to be in the right mood for it; and stout-me, not quite into it, rather flat to me. Afterwards, we had the belgian white which was tasty and effervescent, but oddly not foamy; and the cask conditoned, which was chilled and had a good head on it, which seemed rather odd, but was still quite tasty. Overall, i say it's a winner!
There wasn't a wait for a table on a sunday afternoon during the jazz jamboree too!
According to my real age.com, I am only 5 months younger than calendar age. So, of course I need to change this and STAT! First thing, eat more fish. And that is where this place comes in. The Salmon is the best dish, its totally delish. But that is not the only reason why I love this place. The staff is really nice and the guys are very flirtatious. Also, there is seating outside for people watching. People watching at the mall is actually better than people watching at the Airport, contrary to popular opinion. Then there is the Carousel located right next to the seating area. Once in a awhile a kid will trip and is the best, especially of you have had a few drinks. Lastly, there are the stores. You can sit outside eating your dinner while planning what you are going to buy at Forever 21, all the while knowing the article of clothing will fall apart in the first wash. Or you can head over to Macy's right after dinner and of course that offers endless possibilities.
There was, however, one strange thing about this place. Happy hour. I ordered a happy hour drink from my table and was told that I could not order happy hour drinks from the table. So, I got up, walked like 8 steps to the bar, ordered the drink there and walked back to my table. Weird and inconvenient but true.
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I really do like this place. The calamari and artichoke hearts? THE EFFING BEST! (I recommend it) wayyy better then CA state fairs by far. (side note: WTF is with the deep fried tomatoes that comes with the deep fried avocados when you order? = cheap ploy to make you buy more!...)
Went there Valentine's day and ordered the calamari/artichoke, of course, I had the crusted asiago chicken. It was average..even though our waiter raved about it...They gave us the Valentine 2008 menu so some dishes were not the same as their regular items. Hence why my prince got a made up steak dish, which he loved.
Also since it was V-day, the ladies in the restaurant got chocolate covered strawberries :)
Overall the food is above average (even though chicken was average..the steak was delicious), price you get what you paid for, and service is average.
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Great food (though only a couple vegetarian options - the brie and spinach quesadilla is scrumptious), and most importantly, a really interesting and tasty variety of beer. Pretty good service, though not particularly fast.
Who cares that its in the mall??? Downtown Plaza is a pretty cool mall as far as the design goes - its outdoor and nestled near the river and Old Sac. And more importantly, the food is amazing. One of my favorite restaurants in Sacramento. You can casually go in before you catch a movie upstairs. Or, you can have 3 Dopplebach's (god I love Winter Beer) and go shopping which is a BAD idea! Drunken shopping will max your credit card out sooner than a stripper on sunday.
Their Ahi appetizer is wonderful. The pizzas are great. The foccacia with oil/vinegar/garlic is delicious bar snacking food.
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This place is more of a two and a half stars. I don't think I've strongly DISliked my food here, but it is definitely unmemorable and overpriced.
I go here when I don't feel like paying for the Firehouse, which has better food and ambiance. And when I want to hit the Macy's after my meal.
The good:
-close to Macy's
-decent service
-not fast food
The bad:
-no menu standouts
-noisy
-uninteresting
I had a great lunch here today. I love the location and it's a great place for colleagues and I to go since we work mere blocks away. I had the Brie Quesadilla. It was pretty good, generous portion. I would have preferred some type of dipping sauce, unless their intention was to see me writhing on the floor, begging for water. Which it could have been, no doubt that would have been fun to watch. My dining companions liked their meals, as well. The service was fast and extremely attentive. Nice bar area, clean, great atmosphere.
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I actually wouldn't even consider this pub food, definitely more of a restaurant that just so happens to brew beer. Awesome atmosphere, great service and some killer beer, yee-yah! (Beer is one of my favorites in case you didn't know)... Took boyfriend's family in here, and everyone was pleasantly surprised. Highly recommend the Pecan Crusted Chicken breast, mmm soo delish! The pizza's are super tasty and the Grilled Chicken Raviolis have some crazy crack laced sauce, soo good! Prices are decent, we (5 of us) all ate and drank for less than a hundo. Next time I go I'm definitely in for the beer sampler! Man I love me some beer...
Haha This is based one ONE drink on ONE occasion.
Both of us ordered a bloody mary with Peppar Vodka. This was my first time trying the pepper infused vodka. And it does add a kick to a bloody mary. My understanding is that it is made for bloody mary drinks? I could be completely wrong on that one.
Three stars because it is only based on one drink. Would I go back? For sure. Then I would modify accordingly.
The bartender is super nice, and she pours a good drink. Not many bartenders can make a good bloody mary, and she made one. Not as flavorful as I have had in the past, but tasty.
I'm not a beer drinker. But I was watching the others at the bar. The bartender was very generous with the beer samples and seemed knowledgeable about beer.
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The most I can say for this place is...eh. It wasnt a *bad* dining experience, but for the price, I was far from wow-ed. Portions were not consistent (four people in our party ordered the same thing, and we had four different versions of the dish...mine was signifigantly smaller...grrr). The menu was not outstanding, but the food itself was good. Alas, I was there on a working lunch so I did not get to enjoy any of the beers...I would say I will try them next time, but I was so underwhelmed, I dont think I will be going out of my way to go back.
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I've been here several times, for more reasons than my friend who is a chef there. The beer is great (favorites are Vienna and Kolsch) but the food is what will surprise you. This place serves excellent food, far greater than the typical burger or appetizers you expect from a place whose emphasis is beer.
The pizzas are good, and the brewmaster salad is still the best salad I've ever had at a restaurant, and I've tried quite a few. For St Patty's Day, they serve the traditional corned beef with cabbage and potatoes. The beef is served with a spicy pub mustard and overall is pretty good. My friend has told me that the way they cook it doesn't make it the most tender it could be but the taste is great overall. My favorite dish there is the pot roast.
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Had two beers, had some eye candies and then left. Not impressed.
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A friend was supposed to have an gig here on the patio last Saturday evening where he and another guy were going to play acoustic guitars for backround music. So, I told everyone about the gig, and gathered up a handful of friends. My friend flaked out at the last minute, so we had no live music, and I looked a bit stupid(er) in front of my friends. Damn flakey musicians...
The evening may have been a wash if it wasn't for the excellent food and beer. I got a White beer (a variation of a hefeweizen), and the prawn pasta. Both were excellent. Excellent, I tell you!
I've been here a few times before, and have always enjoyed both the food and the beverages. I'll surely back again.
The only reason that this place didn't get 5 stars from me is that I thought it was a bit pricey. Only a bit, though.
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This place has been through so many changes over the years that I'm always impressed by its consistency. By changes I mean owners, from (I believe) small independent, to semi-corporate, to back to small and independent.
If only they would bring back the amazing calamari appetizer, though you can get the perfectly cooked cornmeal dusted squids in a rockin' salad (my Favorite Salad Ever) or part of the frito misto (which I also like.) I generally don't waste the calories on a boring old turkey sandwich but the RBC is worth the expense - foccacia bread, avocado, cheese, some sort of garlicky aioli but is served with pasta salad and most all pasta salads are boring, boring, boring...this one is no exception.
When I'd fly up to visit Moms this was always our Saturday thing...Macy's followed by many martinis at RCBC followed by more Macy's while we sobered up (apple did not fall far from the tree there, nope.) Sadly now that I live here we never do this.
The beer...I have one of their Keglets and highly recommend it. I really like the basic Kolsch (sp?) the first on the list and lightest, it has great flavor and is the ultimate Hot Weather Beer. So refreshing. I also like the Vienna and the stout.
Pizzas are also pretty good too, thin crusted and sparsely topped which I like, not too many flavors competing. There is one with Brie and Brie on cheese is pretty smart if you ask me.
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Friendly staff and great food. A really nice location for a date or for a family. The outdoor seating is perfect for the Summer or Spring.
My review is based only on the service (lack of) we received during my 10 minute stay. I couldn't handle this place long enough to try the food or even the beer.
To be fair I think we may have caught them during a shift change but a well managed restaurant plans for these daily occurrences.
We were seated promptly and given menu's, water was delivered by the bus boy but that was as far as we got.
We waited another 5 to 10 minutes for our waiter that never showed. I suppose I could have gone to the bar and gotten a beer or asked the hostess when our waiter would be available but I wasn't completely sold on eating here in the first place.
My lack of proper attire probably didn't help my mood much. I was in shorts and T-shirt but parka and mittens would have been more appropriate in the near freezing temperatures, maybe somebody bumped the thermostat?.
While wondering when we would be served I saw two bragadocious waiters standing by the door talking story. They were laughing and high fiving each other while I was sitting waiting for service. This was like salt in the wound by this point and made my mind up to leave rather than to beg for assistance.
Oh well... I got free bread and water before leaving, the bread would have been better with oil and vinegar but they charge $1 for that (never seen anyone charge for this before)?
It is an upscale type brewery and the menu prices/choices reflect that. I really wanted to try them out but I'm not going to twist their arm to take my business.
My first appearance here was for a date........and then subsequently, numerous dates right thereafter. There was the general aspect of this location: public location, lots of people. So for the conspicuous dater, this was a good spot.
As John H. stated, most of the crowd here is/was professional, although you will get your usual redneck beer belly crowd in crowing for their teams in jerseys. Their appetizers are what kept me coming back. Large plates of soft yet crunchy chicken and cheese quesadillas. Large pints of beer. Finger food that would keep a date going and going and going.
I've had dinner here several times as well, and although my spinach salad was decent, with large mounds of fresh spinach tossed lightly in their house vinaigrette, my friend's hamburger was under cooked and she sent it back three times. By that time, I would have NEVER touched her food. Probably had something atrocious done to it.
Service was quick, as were the bartenders. I like the outdoor seating, but if there is a smoker out there, then forget it. I tend to like fresh air with my food in between bites, thank you.
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My favorite brewpub in Sacramento. Somewhat upscale decor, for a place that specializes in draft beer. Of course, for me, anyplace with white tablecloths is pretty fancy. They serve a variety of their own draft beers, and it is fun to sample them. The food is just fine, and a step up from hamburgers and fries. Good for lunch or dinner. Located right downtown, at the end of a shopping mall. Parking underground is convenient.
Above-average brew pub beer and food. Attracts the downtown professional crowd and prices reflect that. I particularly like the Woodenhead Ale--don't forget to check what cask-conditioned beer is on the handpump.
I really hate their beer and the food is overpriced. And its in the mall.
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