10 Sacramento-area restaurants that opened in June, from brisket pizza and quesabirria tacos
As California restaurants’ dining rooms expanded to full capacity in June, a handful of newcomers ramped up for their initial unveilings.
These 10 Sacramento-area restaurants opened during the last month. They span from Galt to Lincoln, with cuisines varying from jerk chicken pizza to quick-service souvlaki.
▪ Chant’el Cafe (1750 Prairie City Rd., Suite 150, Folsom): A bright, Instagrammable cafe with a wall of roses near Folsom High School, Chant’el serves up coffee drinks with salads and croissant sandwiches.
▪ Compadres Bar & Grill (10400 Twin Cities Rd., Galt): Dishes at this Mexican restaurant with a full bar include machaca, quesabirria tacos and pescado zarandeado.
▪ Easy Diner & Bar (1725 I St., Sacramento): Bambi Vegan Tacos food truck owners Elizabeth Gibb and Chad Novick have introduced several Southwestern and Central American-influenced dishes at what used to be Easy on I, such as morita chili chicken wings and lamb barbacoa tacos.
▪ Krispy Krunchy Chicken (8830 E. Stockton Blvd., Elk Grove): Thrillist dubbed Krispy Krunchy, which opens mostly in convenience stores like this Circle K in Elk Grove, “America’s best fried chicken chain” in a 2017 article.
▪ Luis Jr.’s Mexican Food (1900 K St., Sacramento): Luis Leyva Jr. closed his eponymous Mexican restaurant in Old Sacramento in 2019, but it’s restarted inside midtown nightclub Mango’s, which ditched its burger component during the pandemic.
▪ Nick the Greek (711 Pleasant Grove Blvd., Roseville): This San Jose-based, quick-service souvlaki and gyro shop opened June 15 in a former Zpizza space.
▪ Old School Smoke (1750 Creekside Oaks Dr., Suite 170, Sacramento): Colby Cason started catering smoked meat sandwiches and salads in 2013, then opened Old School Smoke’s brick-and-mortar restaurant in south Natomas on June 24.
▪ Oliver’s Brewhouse and Grill (645 5th St., Lincoln): House of Oliver owners Matthew and Siobhan Oliver opened a steakhouse, a pub restaurant and whiskey bar in various areas of the 14,500-square-foot former Beermann’s Brewery.
▪ Pizza Boyz (7829 Sunrise Blvd., Citrus Heights): Carne asada pizza? Brisket pizza? Jerk chicken pizza? Why not, says Muneeb Mian at his halal restaurant that opened June 21.
▪ Tasty Dumpling (3700 Crocker Dr., Suite 150, Sacramento): This Chinese restaurant in Crocker Village specializes in handmade dumplings, including xiao long bao (soup dumplings).
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 6:37 AM.