Bandera

Bandera is still the Gold Standard. We arrived at 6:45 for 7:00 pm reservations and were sat immediately and the house was packed. I asked the server for a recommendation because I usually have the Ribeye but I wasn't that hungry. My server recommended the cheeseburger which came with their coleslaw( I could write a review on just the cole slaw if I had space) and I was pleased to see her recommend something so modest in price: 15 bucks. It was the best cheeseburger ever, if you could even call it that! It was more like a cheeseburger inspired sandwich masterpiece. We brought our own wine and with appetizers and tip my wife and I walked out for 54 bucks. I BTW have never seen or had anything but the most friendly service no matter who helped me even when they're full. THANKS BANDERA!!! Please never again make me listen to people compare this place to Ruth's Chris. RC has fallen a lot and is not even on the same radar as Bandera. more

I don't know where these negative reviews are coming from. We arrived at 5:30pm on Saturday. The restaurant was 2/3's full. By 6:00pm, they had a waiting list. Everyone I've spoken to since has had good Everything was wonderful. The service, the food, the ambience. The best dinner I've had in Sacramento. The French Dip, the mashed potatoes, the corn bread, all great. They poured a generous glass of wine. I can't wait to go back. Pros: Wonderful Food more

Order the corn bread or the grilled artichoke appetizer or the hot queso cheese dip. Ever appetizer there is fab. more

What a truly godawful place, and excuse the blasphemy, but sometimes it has its uses. Overpriced would be a vast understatement for this restaurant. I echo so many here, with the paramount complaint being the stratospheric prices. Reprehensible, and shame on this place!!! What sealed it for me were the servers (this place must be a commune, no one server!) with their little scraper things to flash across the paper table covering to herd food onto, I think, the floor (done so adeptly and swiftly, I couldn't tell!). How phony and hoidy toidy and excuse my French!!!!! And that, I suppose, is supposed to make up for the obscene prices. What a cheat of a joint, belied by its exterior which advertises American food, as if it's reasonably priced and/or even good. This place's fourteen to twenty five dollar entries could have been better prepared at the Baker's Square next door. What a place, and again, it should be ashamed. more

What a ripoff of the first caliber, horrifically pretentious, with a menu of nearly no selections that made you feel trapped and desperate to choose something cheaper (which wasn't there!). Trapped is right: sure, my two teenage sons and I could have walked out, and in retrospect should have. We were in the area from out of town for a sleep study for one of my sons, and thought, ok, good, solid American food (as it advertises itself). We were in a dungeon after that. The menus have to be slanted to catch sparse rays of light to be read, and then what a proverbial ticket shock. Wow! I didn't want to complain or whine to my boys, so we persevered. I even ordered two appetizers. Get this: a plate with fewer than twelve chips with two little piles of dip for five bucks, and that was the cheapest thing on the menu. Whoops, a mistake: the sodas were THREE DOLLARS AND TWENTY FIVE CENTS each! Pretentiousness permeated the place, and I walked out nearly one hundred dollars lighter (yes, I tipped at the prevailing rate: I at least at some honor). A RIPOFF. The food was anything (or worse) you could pick up at any restaurant for far fewer bucks. Why isn't there a choice here for NO STARS? And the Angela Somebody here whose headline review for this restaurant raves about it: what universe do you live in? Pros: Drawing a real blank here Cons: Dark, exorbitant and extortionist prices, pretentious more

I feel sorry for the waitress we had because she did such a fantastic job. Unfortunately, the rest of the service is poor. This place is simply not nice enough to have the attitude I was confronted with last night. And, the cell phone policy is a joke. Bandera, get over yourself. Serve the paying customer, not your stuck up employees or supposed image. Pros: Well designed interior, nice ambiance Cons: Bad attitudes, cell phone policy, average food at high price more

SO its right across from Ruth's Chris, which has held its good name to me. I decided to try it out, and had a steak with the usual. Prices were unreasonable and it was just ...typical meat, not even aged or any flavor. I disliked the hostess and waitresses that were rude and non-attentive. Food was so-so. Portions were skimpy and wished I was across the street. Also, waiting was unbearable, I don't understand why people still go to this place. Pros: Great setting and lighting? Cons: Way to expensive more

Bandera has been a favorite dinner spot for our household for the past couple of years. The food is consistant and flavorful and the wait staff works as a team to give us the best possible experience. We generally start at the bar for Martinis and love to see the same bartenders time after time. Although its not the most comfortable restaurant for a large group or kids thoes negatives are big pluses for the couples like us who like to be able to go out to eat and be relaxed without clusters of people and noisy children. This is the best date spot in town! The atmosphere is dark and comforting and all seating is candle lit booths and they are very comfortable. We are never dissapointed! Prepare to wait for your table on Thursdays as its a very ""singles"" hang out night. Pros: Excellent Food Cons: Can be a long wait more

We had the worst service I've had in a long time at this restaurant. I'm not hard to please or picky, and was a server myself for years. Our waiter was not the problem, and the food was decent. The hostess was so rude it was unbelievable. Four of us arrived on time for our reservation and was told we would not be seated until all six of our party had arrived. If we knew it was their policy to not seat parties until all arrived we would not have chosen the place, as we knew two people were coming later. There was no place to wait at the bar and she told us we could wait outside (it was raining). The hostess never smiled, and came across as very rude. We then had two people more show up than the reservation was for, admittedly a problem but their response was unacceptable. The hostess said, ""there is no table in the restaurant that seats eight, so two of your party will have to stand at the front of the restaurant until a table becomes available, then sit separately."" We had already been sitting for 15 minutes and had ordered our food and drinks. Our appetizer came for desert, and only then were we told there was a delay because the first one was burned. No one who worked there was friendly. There are a lot of good restaurants in Sacramento--there's no reason to go here. more

The crowd was sparse, so I didn't have any issues with waiting for a table, but the hostess still chose to sit me in the most isolated corner of the restaurant, next to the restrooms. Even though I requested a table for one, I couldn't quite understand why I was sat in the farthest corner of the restaurant, next to the restrooms. I, a mid-20s Asian male, was still dressed in my work clothes, sans the coat and tie that I left in the car. So I didn't understand why I would need to be so far removed from the rest of the patrons, but I held my tongue since I was too tired. Pros: Swank decor and an attractive crowd. Cons: While the food is not expensive, it's too expensive for such unimpressive food. more

If you like trendy meat markets, then go to Bandera. Don't get me wrong, their food is good. But the ambience is NOT relaxing and very busy. They emphasize team service, so you it's as if you have 4 different servers visiting your table. There is a lot of clammering of dishes and loud noises since the restaurant is very open. You can see and hear the cooks making the meals. It's like being seated in a warehouse with some fancy decor and lots of noise. Pros: Tender Meats, good salad Cons: noise, team service more

Bandera is one of the better upscale trendy restaurants in Sac. The service can be a little spotty....they wont give you a big glass of H2O and they will make you wait a while sometimes, or sometimes all three courses come out together, but I let that stuff slide. The ambiance is great. Its a great bar also. The food is awesome, the prime rib is to die for. The wood grilled stuff is good too. The best feature about this place is that it has NO corkage FEE for wine. you can bring in your own wine and not get charged! If your looking for a place to take someone for a date, a special occasion or just to hang out, Bandera does it well. Ive been there over 5 times, and never had a ""bad"" experience. Make reservations if your going on a weekend! Pros: food, ambiance, no wine corkage fee Cons: service, water refills, the wait more

We have visited Bandera a handful of times this past year, every visit well worth the money. The Fish, Steaks, Artichoke, and Enchiladas are my favs. This last visit we recieved extrordinary service from a new server on their team Jon. This man took the time to make us feel appreciated and chatted with us during our experience. Most of the female staff is not as friendly as this young man. We reccomend him highly. We dont reccomend having the managers assist you on your visit, one in particular is creepy. But the foods excellent, the atmosphere is warm and comfortable, the prices are right on and now that Ruths Chris is open across the street the wait time is less for a table ;) . If you havent tried Bandera your punishing yourself. Pros: Food, Atmosphere, Wait Staff Cons: Parking, Management more

Much love to one of the best restaurants in the city. Reasonably priced, excellant food prepared perfectly every time we visit... Best Martini's in town as evident by everyone who's anyone reading Sacramento Magazine. Great job to the cutie bartenders Matt and Jon who work the crowd every week. The bar is always hopping and there are sports available from from other areas where you can watch the score of the game and still be seated in peace in a warm setting. Its heaven for me and my hubby. Pros: Excellent Food, Open Fire, The Bartenders Cons: Parking, Wait Seating more

I visited my first Bandera's in Scottsdale Arizona, and I must say when I left Arizona I was quite upset that I would be leaving this place behind. The food is incredible! Their chicken is the best I have ever had! Lucky for me one day I ran acrossed their location in Sacramento. After making several phone calls to rub it in my old college friends faces, I was once again able to taste a piece of heaven. For years I have dreamt of their chicken and mash patatoes and now I can finally have them! Pros: Taste, Atmosphere, Value more

Never understood how having only 2 steak items on your menu makes you a steakhouse. And since when are enchiladas American cuisine? Plus the house made desserts, I would recommend that the restaurant invest in frozen ready to serve items. Needless to say our dining experience at Bandera was less than satisfying. Finally, the prices do not merit the food that was served. Not suprisingly we will never eat at this establishment again. Pros: parking Cons: , service, cost more

I used to be a regular customer at this restaurant until I became pregnant and was 9 months along in the middle of August. My husband asked if we could get seated as we were waiting for our friends AND since there are NO seats inside to wait AND it was not a busy dayAND there were actually empty tables. The young hostess said they don't seat until everyone was there as my husband explained the extreme heat outside and my obviously very pregnant 9 month self was sitting in the heat. The waitress said we can wait in the bar. (Right, with those very high bar stools and I was only 4'10 inches. SHE finally agreed after HE begged her to seat us but SAID WE HAD TO ORDER SOMETHING TO BE SEATED. After that experience, I no longer dine at this eatery!!! more

I recently had dinner at Bandera and was extremely surprised by some changes in the restaurant. New lighting brightened the bar area new hardwood flooring created a richer more western look to the place. There are new items on the menu and more specials. The food was better then ever and the servers seemed happier and more friendly. There has been a change in managers at Bandera and I think they are bringing new and better products and service to the clientele. Pros: excellent food, good portions, great value Cons: , poor parking, too loud more

I went to Bandera's full of hope and expecting nothing short of great service and food. Even after making my reservation, with whom I made with the friendliest person, did I go with nothing but excitement. What actually transpired, was nothing but the biggest let down , since the come back of flared pants. The wait (with my reservation) was still over an hour, the waiter often ignored us, didn't even offer us dessert - merely threw down the bill and walked away. Then there was the food. The food, was overly priced Denny's style, food with a few VERY expensive entrees. No salad, no bread, upon sitting down having to ask more than once for our drinks...very disappointing overall. Cons: , Crowded, Bad service more

Bandera is a favorite in Sacramento when looking for comfort food. Awesome steak and salmon. The grilled artichoke served with a remoulade sauce is a must have each visit. Even the Macho Salad with chicken, dates and avocado is out of sight. Place is packed on Thursday nights - they only serve wine and beer on this night at the bar due to the crowds. Good people watching on this night too. Cons: no reservations more