Bandera
| Address: | 2232 Fair Oaks Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95825, USA |
| Phone: | +1 916-922-3524 |
| Site: | banderarestaurants.com |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | 4:30–9PM 4:30–10PM 4:30–10PM 4–10PM 4–10:30PM 4–10:30PM 4–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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D H
Bandera, near the corner of Fair Oaks and Howe, is nothing less than AMAZING. My wife and I decided to try this place out for a nice birthday dinner and from the call ahead phone call to the second we walked out the door we were treated with great customer service and hospitality. The atmosphere is nice and lighting is low with great décor. I love the smell of their wood burning fire also. The food and drink: They know how to make iced tea! It was very good. I ordered the chicken and beef rib combo platter that came with a piece of cornbread and peanut coleslaw. Let me first say that I am from the south where food like cornbread, ribs, and chicken are cultural favorite. The chicken was very tender and flavorful after being cooked over an open flame rotisserie. I had the beef ribs, which are usually not as good as pork ribs, but they made it just as great. The mustard barbeque sauce over the ribs made them unique and very satisfying. As for the coleslaw with a peanut garnish…amazing. Last and certainly not least is the skillet cornbread, which they offer as an appetizer, but since a slice came with my meal I abstained. It basically melted in my mouth. This cornbread was better than any cornbread I have ever tasted (sorry Grandma). In addition to my meal, my wife had a great cheeseburger served with great presentation and ate the mashed potatoes as a side, which were also great! After this amazing food and great service, I asked to speak with the manager. Now, as a manager myself, I understand that most customers who want to speak with the manager just want to complain. I guess that is why our server got wide eyed when I asked if the manager was available. Great service and food should also be reported. Victoria, the General Manager, made herself available to speak to us. She was just as nice as the other staff. It is great to see the manager setting the example for her staff. Top the entire night off with the dessert. We shared a plate of some type of banana cream dessert. It was such a good balance of toppings. The whipped cream wasn’t as sweet as most, which was good because it complemented the banana and filling. A must try for dessert lovers. There was nice sitting area around the kitchen where you can watch them cook your food. I think I will try sitting there next time. Bottom line is, you have to try this place and if your experience is anything like mine, it will become your favorite as well.
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D M Siebert
I read with great interest Bandera reviews and was pretty shocked at some of the negative comments. But everyone has their own dining interpretation. I agreed with one issue and that was the dim lighting to see your menu. Truthfully, I havent dined across town from where I live for some time, but we chose to take our neighbors to dinner at Banderas. We had no reservations and were expected to have a 45 minute wait. Here is our experience in a nutshell: the menu has changed but our food was delicious. I am on a special eating program and they gladly accommodated my request for a slight change in my selection. Our drinks and appetizer orders were taken by our waitress Carli who served them with a giant smile and happy personality. Dinner was delicious and I noticed small overhead lights had been installed making the menu easier to see. The Manager, Jose, came over and extended us a welcome to Banderas and asked if our meals were to our satisfaction. Overall, we got our monies worth, our neighbors thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and we left the restaurant feeling pretty happy. I saw no pretentious attitudes from this staff - we will be back.
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Stuart Johnson
We love this place. I have been coming here since they first opened. The food menu does not change much but the faire is usually predictably good and prepared well from quality ingredients. "Surf & Turf" is the best way to describe. The food and Bar are reasonably priced and the cool tip here is that you can bring your own bottle of wine with NO (yes, I said "NO") Corkage Fee. This alone puts this quality restaurant in a group apart from all others. The atmosphere reminds you of a steakhouse tucked away off the Great Lakes somewhere with its beautiful wood interior. Its a relaxed casual conversation inviting atmosphere and the staff is WELL trained. Bring your appetite, youll be glad you did. Call ahead for reservations EARLY. Or, try your luck at the wrap-around Bar for a seat like we do almost every time we go.
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Tracy James
I came here with a group of friends. The interior is very nice and has an open kitchen concept so you can see the chefs cooking. Very cool. They have a bring your own wine offer here too. My friend brought 2 bottles of wine. I had a Crush drink and it was made with Vodka, Lemon Juice and Basil, very nice. We shared the Corn Bread (which was out of this world) best I have ever had!!!! and also the Artichokes (which I would stay away from) because they had very little flavor or meat on them. They were very dry and a bit burnt. I ordered the Ribs and they were the fall off the bone type. Generous portion and tasty. They had a Thai salad that was also raved about but I didnt try it because between the Corn Bread and Ribs I was good.
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Brandon Heffley
Consistently good food at moderately expensive prices. Good date night or special event location. Wait staff are generally helpful, friendly, and they put up with our numerous questions. They arent really set up for extra large groups, so you should generally limit parties to 4 to 6 people. We always recommend reservations, as there is usually a wait of up to an hour during peak times. We have always enjoyed what weve ordered here. Plus no corkage fee on one bottle of BYO wine. Used to be unlimited bottles, but the policy changed a few months ago. Romantic setting, dim lighting, but is often noisy depending on which table you get, so you may have to yell your romantic conversation. Full bar and plenty of wine options.
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Lydia K
The service was fantastic, the food was just "OK". You should definitely call ahead for a reservation. We walked in and were told the wait was 1 hour 15 minutes, but they actually got us in after about 45 minutes. I had the White Cheddar Butternut Enchiladas, they were just OK. My husband had prime rib, and again it was just OK. The aus jus was more of a flavorless brown water, and the prime rib itself was not very flavorful either. Since this visit Ive been told by friends that their rotisserie chicken is AMAZING, so I would consider giving it another chance and trying the chicken. The service was excellent, and the restaurant has a nice atmosphere, but it is extremely loud.
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Nathan Hawkes
Banderas restaurant was an amazing place to eat. I recognize that its a slightly nicer establishment so the quality is expected to be higher. It was better than expected. We were seated quickly, approached by the waitress in a friendly manner and the food choices were excellent. The waitress was knowledgeable about everything on the menu and made it easier to choose what to eat. I chose the Hawaiian Rib-eye and was not disappointed. Cooked perfectly (medium) and as tasty as can be imagined. Vegetables and potatoes were a great compliment. The price was worth every penny. This place makes an ideal date night spot. Give it a shot!
