These 20 Sacramento-area restaurants opened in January, from Elk Grove to El Dorado Hills
A wave of new restaurants opened around the Sacramento region in January 2022. You just might need to know where to look for them.
Of these 20 restaurants that opened in the last month, 15 are outside Sacramento city limits. The five in the city landed in neighborhoods more residential than metropolitan: Curtis Park, Arden Arcade, Florin, Natomas and Campus Commons.
Elk Grove, Rocklin and El Dorado Hills all added two new restaurants apiece, while Granite Bay, Carmichael, Folsom, Davis, Winters, El Dorado, Roseville, Fair Oaks and Woodland each had one.
The list includes four pizzerias, three Chinese restaurants, two fast-casual Middle Eastern concepts and a pair of Japanese places.
▪ 4 Heroes Grill (5050 Rocklin Rd., Suite A11, Rocklin): You’ll find falafel plates, fattoush salads, gyro cheeseburgers and more at this fast-casual Mediterranean/Greek restaurant.
▪ Avatar Indian Bistro (8657 Auburn Folsom Rd., Granite Bay): Placer County residents have given Avatar rave reviews for dishes like avocado-date chaat, wild mint salmon and black gram dal cooked overnight over a low flame.
▪ Buckhorn BBQ & Grill (5430 Crossings Dr., Suite 104, Rocklin): Customers can now get Buckhorn’s tri-tip sandwiches and onion string-topped salads at Land Park, Campus Commons, Folsom and Rocklin locations, plus the original Winters steakhouse.
▪ Falafel Corner (801 Howe Ave., Sacramento): Another local chain with locations in Granite Bay, Roseville and six Sacramento neighborhoods, Falafel Corner’s fast-casual Middle Eastern concept incorporates burgers, wraps and gyro platters.
▪ Formaggio Pizza Express (El Dorado Hills): Opened Jan. 3 in the El Dorado Hills Town Center, Formaggio offers wings, salads and sandwiches in addition to pizzas that can be made gluten-free and vegan.
▪ Huong Lan Sandwiches (811 Wales Dr., Folsom): In-the-know eaters flock to south Sacramento and Rancho Cordova for Huong Lan’s inexpensive banh mi and rice plates; now there’s a Folsom outpost as well.
▪ KJ Donuts (9320 Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove): Waterman Plaza’s new doughnut shop sells classics like chocolate old-fashioneds and glazed twists.
▪ Maggie’s Table at Casa Garden (2760 Sutterville Rd., Sacramento): Maggie’s offers classic American breakfast, lunch and dinner entrees in Casa Garden’s refined grounds, plus event catering.
▪ MT BBQ House (229 G St., Davis): Davis’ long-awaited, grill-it-yourself Chinese barbecue restaurant opened in mid-January but temporarily closed a few days for maintenance.
▪ Patio29 Spirits (723 Railroad Ave., Winters): Anita and Jeff Boone’s distillery is now a restaurant, with housemade empanadas, wild rice salads, pretzels, sausage bites and more.
▪ Pizza Norcia (6180 Pleasant Valley Rd., El Dorado): Wood-fired, Umbrian-inspired pizzas like The Porter (housemade tomato sauce and sausage, pepperoni, fresh mozzarella and garlic confit) or The Norcino (black truffle sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, prosciutto, arugula and lemon) come on dough fermented for 36 hours.
▪ Pizza Stone (933 Pleasant Grove Blvd., Suite 130, Roseville): Slices are cheese or pepperoni at this Roseville pizzeria, while whole pies include the Rolling Stone (pepperoni, sausage, beef, mushrooms, yellow onions, black olives and green peppers) and the Maui Sunset (honey garlic sauce, ham, bacon, tomatoes, red onions and yes, pineapple).
▪ Rice & Noodles (7501 W. Stockton Blvd., Suite 110, Sacramento): Dishes like Hainan chicken rice or spareribs noodle soup get a new look at this nautically-decorated Chinese restaurant in south Sacramento’s Florin neighborhood.
▪ Silver Dragon (8116 Madison Ave., Fair Oaks): A longtime Cantonese/Sichuan restaurant in Citrus Heights’ Sunrise Village shopping center, Silver Dragon closed last January but reopened a year later at the corner of Madison Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard.
▪ Tanuki Izakaya & Ramen (7119 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 125, Elk Grove): Elk Grove’s newest Japanese restaurant carries items like unagi donburi bowls and miso tonkatsu ramen, all for $16 or less.
▪ Taqueria Roberto Jr. (1580 W El Camino Ave., Suite A1, Sacramento): Look for chicken flautas, asada fries, breakfast burritos and other Cali-Mex options at this South Natomas taqueria.
▪ Tia Judith Confection (512 Main St., Woodland): Judith Espinoza Healy opened her first bakery in Sonoma County in 1998; the new shop has Mexican treats like tres leches and will later add Italian food inspired by co-owner Greg Healy’s roots, the Davis Enterprise reported.
▪ Tokyo Express (4005 Manzanita Ave., Suite 4, Carmichael): Noodle soups, teriyaki and sushi make up much of the menu at this unpretentious Japanese restaurant near the corner of Manzanita Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard.
▪ Two Hands Seoul Fresh Corn Dogs (2648 Watt Ave., Suite 117, Sacramento): These Korean-style corn dogs come coated with potato cubes, crushed Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or bean powder, among others, and can be filled with sausage, cheese or a combination of the two.
▪ Viscuso’s Pizza & Draft House (2222 Francisco Dr., El Dorado Hills): Try a sub sandwich, a trip through the salad bar or a pizza like the Pisa (chicken, bacon, spinach, tomatoes, marinated artichokes on thin crust, with your choice of pesto, red or creamy garlic sauce) at this pizzeria/tap house, which replaced Mountain Mike’s in a north El Dorado Hills shopping center.