Burmese, Hawaiian and Mexican among the Sacramento region’s 14 newest restaurants

A new year brought new restaurants to the Sacramento region’s dining scene, from Davis to Lincoln.

At least 14 eateries opened in the greater Sacramento area in January, including four in midtown Sacramento alone.

▪ Burma Eat (500 1st St., Suite 11, Davis): The Sacramento area’s second Burmese restaurant opened in Davis Commons shopping center on Jan 8. Don’t miss the tea leaf salad.

▪ Cafe Bernardo (2726 Capitol Ave., Sacramento): What’s old is new again in Paragary Restaurant Group’s recently-opened midtown hotel at the site of the original Cafe Bernardo, which ran from 1993-2018 alongside Monkey Bar.

▪ Chando’s Tacos (978 Olive Dr., Davis): Lisandro “Chando” Madrigal’s local chain has a taco truck parked out front its newest location while construction rages inside.

▪ East Patio Mexicano (5100 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento): After Three Sisters Mexican Kitchen Y Cantina closed at this site in December, a former manager opened their own iteration with a similar menu and most of the same staff, the Sacramento Business Journal reported.

▪ Fuego Mexican Kitchen (7800 Sunrise Blvd., Suite 10, Citrus Heights): A Chipotle-style assembly system for tacos, burritos, bowls and salads promises “food fast without the fast food experience,” according to Fuego’s website.

▪ Joon Market (5401 H St., Sacramento): Saba Rahimian moved her Granola Girl food truck from Sacramento to Austin in 2016 and met Seth Helmly while working in a kitchen down there. The couple’s East Sacramento restaurant features flavors of Texas, Iran and Latin America: a carnitas torta sits right above curried kofta flatbread on the menu.

▪ Pho Ivy (9261 Laguna Springs Dr., Suite 130, Elk Grove): Formerly known as East West Cafe, this Vietnamese restaurant carries a wide range of soups and rice dishes to be washed down with avocado, jackfruit or mango smoothies.

▪ Pho Vegan Asian Cuisine (329 E. Bidwell St., Folsom): It’s the second location for this plant-based Vietnamese restaurant, which opened in Rocklin in 2015.

▪ Pizza Twist (1441 Howe Ave., Suite 20, Sacramento): The 11-location Indian pizza chain prides itself on having options for every diet, including vegan, halal and keto.

▪ Pizzasaurus Rex (2322 K St., Sacramento): The crust-aceous period, as David Smith and Jamie Dougherty call it, has arrived in midtown with one-size-only rectangular pies. The husband-and-wife team also own Old Town Pizza and Tap House in Elk Grove.

▪ Ramendou (4001 Freeport Blvd., Suite 110, Sacramento): In addition to typical bowls of tonkatsu and shio, a house burger stacks chashu between buns made from crispy ramen noodles.

▪ Ro Sham Beaux (2413 J St., Sacramento): Irish Hospitality’s newest project (think de Vere’s Irish Pub, The Snug and Doobie Bar) is a low-ABV wine bar and market with a range of salty snacks.

▪ Shmack Shack (1801 L St., Suite 50, Sacramento): Plate lunch and poke are the backbone of this Hawaiian barbecue shop in midtown’s Handle District.

▪ Topthai Kitchen (150 Lincoln Blvd., Suite 110, Lincoln): Topthai’s menu includes the pad see ew and tom yum commonly seen at American Thai restaurants, but also rarer items like a whole deep-fried pompano fish in a spicy basil sauce.

This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 8:25 AM.