What to eat at Sacramento’s 3 newest Michelin-recognized restaurants
Three restaurants joined Sacramento’s class of Michelin Guide-recognized spots earlier this month, when the prestigious food guide added them to its latest edition.
Majka Pizzeria & Bakery in downtown Sacramento, Pho Momma in the La Riviera neighborhood and Kin Thai Street Eatery in midtown were lauded for their unique concepts and “apparent care” for their food. Pho Momma and Kin Thai are the first restaurants from their respective cuisines to represent Sacramento in the guide.
I visited each restaurant to experience the newest best-of-the-best in Sactown. Here are some of my picks:
Majka Pizzeria & Bakery
1704 15th St., Sacramento
Alex Sherry and Chutharat Sae Tong’s farm-to-fork pizza restaurant is already popular among Sacramento foodies, but the downtown restaurant was especially packed the weekend after Michelin announced its addition to the guide, the restaurant shared on Instagram.
The menu at Majka changes seasonally, with specialty pizza toppings relying on what is being grown in the region at the time. If you like to know what’s being served before you arrive, the restaurant’s website features a weekly ingredient update and a list of the upcoming pizzas of the day.
This week, the pizzeria is phasing out springtime asparagus, introducing a juicy corn topping with poblano chile, red onion, cilantro, lime and three cheeses on one pie. Rainier and Bing cherries from Doyle’s End Farm in Dixon are making their debut this week in a new salad featuring Little Gem lettuce, Marcona almonds and goat cheese topped with a lemon-mint vinaigrette.
I recently tried a slice of baby spinach and ricotta pizza ($6) that softened the earthy flavors of cooked spinach with full-fat, creamy Jersey cow milk cheese. Classic, high-quality cheese, pepperoni and sausage pizzas are available daily. Full-sized pies range in cost from $28-$36.
If you time your visit right, you can try the small plates and pasta offerings served Friday and Saturday evenings.
Pho Momma
9555 Folsom Blvd., Suite A, La Riviera
There’s no wrong way to have your bowl of pho, said Pho Momma’s owner, My Le. The noodle soup is highly customizable at Pho Momma, with four sizes, 12 standard protein combinations and even more add-ins.
My medium-sized pho bowl came with brisket and rare beef ($15) dunked in impossibly clear and flavorful beef broth. Le said she achieves this purity by simmering beef over low heat for multiple days.
A range of spring rolls, fried appetizers and other “Momma’s Specials” entrees accompany the restaurant’s featured dish. The pork sausage with crispy layers ($12) spring roll includes a fried sausage nestled into the roll with noodles and vegetables, encased in a rice paper wrapper.
My personal favorite was the delicately sweet and chewy shrimp egg roll (three for $7 or six for $13) with rice. The fried wrapper was surprisingly light and crispy without the oily residue often found in fried rolls.
Le created all of the recipes herself, cooks food in the restaurant and even serves dishes to diners. She said she feels honored to represent Vietnamese cuisine in Sacramento in the Michelin Guide.
Kin Thai Street Eatery
1050 20th St., Suite 180, midtown
Kin Thai’s menu spans the breadth of Thailand in a culinary love letter that sisters and co-owners Napis Lindley and Napak Kongsitthanakor created in honor of their country’s street food culture.
Isan steak ($32), a specialty entree from northeast Thailand, is a tender 10-ounce grilled ribeye cut into strips for easy portability. Though it comes with a small salad and cakes of rice sandwiched between two pancakes, the steak truly needs no accompaniment.
As appetizers, the hearty Moo Ping pork skewers ($7) and crunchy, fresh chive cakes ($11.50) felt like the best representation of street dining: Filling handheld meals that pack a punch of flavor.
A sweet and refreshing longan slushie ($10) celebrates the longan fruit, a relative of lychee and rambutan native to tropical regions including Thailand. For a more familiar beverage option, Thai iced tea ($6.50) always hits its mark.
What I’m Eating
Ginza Sushi & Grill opened as Rio Linda’s sole Japanese restaurant in March, filling a major culinary gap in Sacramento County’s northern unincorporated area. It is the only full-service restaurant in the Food 4 Less-anchored Rio Linda Plaza, off Elkhorn and Rio Linda Boulevards.
The restaurant’s scaled-back and relaxed decor style becomes almost cozy when the direct evening sun is filtered into soft mood lighting by the rolled-down window shades.
The yuzu hamachi plate ($16) is spectacularly colorful, with bright pink yellowtail arranged in an orange-yellow yuzu-passionfruit sauce topped with fresh greens.
Tuna lovers are not only recognized, but also appreciated by way of the double toro roll ($22). Fatty, melt-in-your-mouth tuna belly gets cut by the sharp vinegar and spice of pickled wasabi, and later freshened up with parsley. The roll comes already dipped with soy sauce, so resist the urge to dunk each piece before taking a bite.
An omakase-style nigiri sampler allows diners to try a variety of high-quality fish at just over $3 a piece. Chef’s special nigiri ($28) has eight different fish and shellfish with sushi rice, topped with garnishes unique to each piece, including fish roe, green onions and panko crumbs.
Ginza Sushi & Grill
Address: 440 Elkhorn Blvd., Suites 5 & 6, Rio Linda
Hours: 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and 5 pm.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon-3:30 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Sunday
Phone: 916-238-4047
Website: ginzasushigrillca.com
Drinks: Draft Japanese beer, selection of sake, soft drinks
Vegetarian options: Very few, mainly appetizers and a small handful of vegetarian rolls
Noise level: Moderate
Outdoor seating: None
Openings & Closings
▪ East Ave Cafe, at 701 East Ave. in Lincoln, held an opening event on Saturday featuring a ribbon-cutting and vintage car competition, according to a social media post. The cafe’s website says the shop is a nonprofit organization run by neighboring GraceLife Church, with its profits reportedly aiding causes like human trafficking justice and supporting refugee and orphan centers abroad.
▪ A new Mimosa House location in Granite Bay brings the regional brunch chain’s total to eight outposts across Sacramento and the eastern Capital region. The latest spot, 6861 Douglas Blvd. at Auburn Folsom Road, opened May 20, the restaurant posted on Facebook. The initial plans for a Granite Bay restaurant were announced more than two years ago, in December 2022, according to previous Bee reporting.
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
