From sushi rolls to shrimp and grits, new El Dorado Hills restaurant offers variety

Restaurant owners Karoline and Mark Platt have expanded their restaurant realm with the opening of their seventh eatery: South Fork Grille.

The new restaurant in the El Dorado Hills Town Center spots a casual vibe — a contrast from the more formal Sienna, the Italian restaurant with a heavy wine focus that the Platt’s opened first in El Dorado Hills in February 2010.

The couple’s other concept restaurant is Land Ocean Restaurant, with locations in Roseville and Folsom.

The menu at South Fork Grille — named after the South Fork of the American River— is varied in a strategic attempt to draw in a broad swath of diners

“Originally I thought it was more BBQ, but we decided to make it more eclectic,” Karoline Platt told The Bee. “We have pizza, sushi rolls, smash burgers and shrimp and grits.”

Entrees range in price from $23 to $45.

Touches of the South Fork

Alcoholic drinks are named for various rapids on the river, including Cable Car and Lost Hat. A resin design on the bar’s counter top also aims to resemble the South Fork of the American River.

“We wanted to have fun with the river theme,” Karoline Platt said.

South Fork Grille fills an empty space in the middle of the El Dorado Town Center that has been vacant since Italian Restaurant Osteria Moto closed before the pandemic in 2019. The dining spot lasted less than a year before folding. .

The popular restaurant, Bistro 33, had occupied the space for more than a decade prior to Osteria Moto.

Karoline Platt said more than $1 million was spent renovating the space.

So far, the couple’s bet that people want to get out of their house — and get back to restaurant dining — seems to be paying off.

The 6,200-square-foot restaurant, with seating for 180 indoors, and another 40 or more on the patio, overlooking the town center’s man-made canal, is crowded on most nights.

“There is pent up demand,” said Karoline Platt. “People have the desire to go out and eat”

She said she also felt confident that the residential growth trajectory of El Dorado Hills and the entire South of Highway 50 area would help spur continued business.

Location, location, ,location

The Platt’s operate five of their restaurants in the Sacramento area’s upscale suburbs, including Roseville and Folsom, in addition to El Dorado Hills.

The other two restaurants are located in Reno and Meridian Idaho, a suburb of Boise, both communities that have seen continued population growth, including from Northern California transplants.

El Dorado Hills is also seeing transplants in the form of former Bay Area residents.

Mark Fucci, the director of operations for the Platt’s seven restaurants, said he used to know half of the diners at Sienna’s El Dorado Hills location, but an influx of new residents due to the South of Highway 50 housing boom has meant many new customers.

He believes many of those customers will also find South Fork Grille.

“Most of these people are from San Francisco and have money,” he said, “and are used to an upscale dining experience.”

This story was originally published September 29, 2022 at 7:00 AM.