Empress Tavern
Empress Tavern is named for the Empress Theatre which was the original name of the theatre when it was built as a vaudeville palace in 1912.
Safety precautions
- Surfaces sanitized between seatings
- Common areas deep cleaned daily
- Digital, disposable or sanitized menu provided
- Sanitizer or wipes provided for customers
- Contactless payment available
- Sealed or wrapped utensils used
- Limited number of seated diners
- Distancing maintained in common areas
- Extra space between tables
- Waitstaff wear masks
- Diners must wear masks unless eating or drinking
- Sick staff prohibited in the workplace
Popular dishes
Beet and Burrata Salad
roasted & raw beets, burrata, arugula, hazelnut vinaigrette
6 reviews
Fried Chicken
free range Petaluma chicken, hot honey, pickles, lemon, butter lettuce salad, broccolini, wedge potatoes, parker house rolls, chocolate chip cookies
8 reviews
Mac 'N' Cheese
bacon, breadcrumbs
4 reviews
Heather was our waitress, great customer service! She really made us feel at home! Food & drinks were delicious
What a cool location. Great bar. Very average and overpriced food. I ordered fried chicken, burned on the outside raw on the inside. Instant potatoes, cold bottled brown gravy. I would come here to drink,but not eat!
Prime Rib was good, but for $55 very small and sides were ok. Big bone on plate with a smattering of marrow,
Seemed like a very inexperienced chef. He tried but fell very short of the mark.
Beautiful ambiance, delicious food, attentive service, and well crafted cocktails. An absolute must for a great dining experience in Downtown Sacramento.
I shared the kale salad with a friend but wish I had it all to myself. It was the best salad I've ever eaten! I can't stop thinking about it!
I love this place! Everytime I go the food is amazing and served beautifully. The rotating movie themed cocktails are reason enough to go. The attention to detail they put into everything makes it an unforgettable experience each time.
Fabulous food, service, and atmosphere! The strawberry cheesecake was amazing. Do it!
Amazing! Super cute and loved all the added touches!
Atmosphere was great, our server was wonderful, and the food was delicious!
Excellent dining experience post COVID-19. Social distancing was appropriate, staff wore masks and patrons wore masks when entering/exiting and moving about the restaurant. We were welcomed and provided a taste of champagne and a nice card at the table to acknowledge our special occasion. The food was delicious. The bartenders were on point. Can't wait to go back.
Wow!
Top notch in every category from ambiance to presentation.
The food was prepared to perfection and the service was excellent.
As a saucier I was so impressed with the overall experience that I brought my mentor The Shaman Chef out with me the next day and enjoyed the Empress two nights in a row.
We hope you will consider hosting our new blog, the Spirit of Food, and let us record an episode at the Empress
The food was excellent - flavorful and perfectly prepared. The wait staff was helpful when asked for suggestions and timely in the service. Wish I lived closer, but it is well situated for attending events in the area. Will definitely go again when in the area.
we had great service and food was very good. very convenient when going to the Crest theater
Perfect restaurant for a nice and intimate date night!
Food & Wine were delicious and the ambience was perfect for my blind date
Way too loud and overpriced. Service is great. Limited menu and not all items are available.
Everything is always impeccably stellar at Empress Tavern. The food, decor, atmosphere, service, etc. They truly focus on amazing food, outstanding service, and an overall idyllic dining experience.
Great service. Overpriced food.
food was excellent with terrific service
Loved the environment and food was off the chart! Waiter Jordan is one of a kind!
My birthday, with my grown kids(2). We are elderly and when asked for a booth...was told they are reserved in advance. I use open table and did not see where to add that in.
The cocktails were fantastic, especially on the happy hour menu.
The food was great, the halibut was tasty, the steak cooked nicely, the Brussels spouts was a tasty excellent side, the vegetarian pasta dish great too.
The walnut ice cream was excellent and has me searching recipes because I’d love to recreate that tasty treat.
Our server was the best...she gave us time and suggested a few wines to go with our meal.
Great experience, just a bit loud for folks 70 plus who have hearing problems.
We’d come back....and I guess call ahead to make sure we could get a booth!
It did quite down about 7:30 pm when we were getting ready to leave.
Heather was very friendly, helpful and went above and beyond to accommodate my family which included my 7 year old hard core vegan. Thank you again Heather, you rock!!!
Wait staff was extremely helpful and courteous. Erica was our waitress and she was excellent. My wife loved her halibut, I found my roasted chicken mediocre, it was on the dryside...I expected better for the price. Overall the atmosphere and service was fantastic. I'll just order something different on our next visit.
To noisy. Description of menu items did not match what was served. Too pricey for what you received. Would not recommend.
Everything was incredible! The bone marrow and complimentary whiskey luge was to die for! Service was amazing and even though it was a little loud it wasn’t enough to bother us or deter us from an incredible date night. 10/10 would recommend!
Experience was fabulous. Our meal was a bit rushed - didn't look so busy that our table was needed, but waiter was very quick to take plates away.
Very noisey!
There wasn’t much flavor in the food. Soup was too watery. Desert was a Nutella crepe and they sold out of the other Valentine’s Day desert option. Terrible value for $90 a person.
The food was great! The place was gorgeous and unique. Tucked away like an underground gem. The service was super efficient and courteous just not very personable but who cares when everything else it wonderful. We will definitely be back!
It was wonderful, the menu for Valentines was delicious.
Went there for Valentine’s Day 2020. They failed to mention anywhere (when you reserve a table) that they will not offer their regular menu and instead do a preset dinner. It wouldn’t be so bad if not for the fact that they charge you $90 per person for what ends up being a worse version of Chef Boyardee ravioli, a $2 skirt steak, and coconut jell-o.
It was truly a pathetic excuse for a meal. If you are looking for a place in this price range I would recommend Morton’s, Ruth Chris and Mulvaneys B&L over this place.
Hi Angel, I'm sorry that you and your date were disappointed in the meal you had on Valentine's Day. There was an alert to let you know we had a special menu when you booked through OpenTable but I apologize you felt blindsided when you sat down. It's pretty common with restaurants to do prix fixe menus on busier holidays, we also offered an ala carte menu in our bar and lounge. We wish we had this feedback during the meal so we could make it right, we hope you give us a second chance.
The preset menu made no sense. Cost was huge, and they ran out of their signature drink. Very loud, desserts were poor both in flavor and texture.
Hi Lino, we apologize for the confusion you felt on our prix fixe menu for Valentine's Day. We wish we had this feedback during the meal so we could try to make it right, we hope you give us another opportunity.
I would come back for another meal because the Valentine's Day dinner probably not indicative of normal meal.
The steak and side dish were slightly above room temperature. The acorn squash was bland and too big. The coconut gelatin was hard and rubbery. The celery-leek soup and soft Hawaiian bread were tasty.
Noise level were too high. I could barely hear my date. And the $16 glass of wine was expensive for a small serving.
The Valentine's Day meal was $275 tax and tip included for 2. I won't come back next year for V-Day.
Great service. Great food. Enjoy the experience and will be back soon
The food was fantastic, and our server was incredible.
The halibut was served overcooked on a plate only sprinkled with bacon bits. This presentation was because my fiancée didn’t want the carbs so she asked for a veggie substitute instead was up sold to a complete separate side of Brussel Sprouts.
Concert at the Crest
This is our 5th time going and each time before was great. Tonight we enjoyed the bar service but once we sat it was poor. Food was also disappointing in comparison to previous visits. We’ll go back only because we’ve had great experiences during previous visits, but if we have another night like tonight we probably won’t.
Amazing food and a staff that makes you feel welcomed!
The food was fantastic but it was so loud it was hard to hold a conversation.
Small menu, but very good food. Noise level was too loud, not a great place to go for a nice, quieter evening out.
The food, service and decor was very fine. But the noise level was beyond deafening. We sat at the base of the brick vault and the sound seemed to funnel right down on our heads. It was enough to blast us with ringing in our ears. We couldn't carry on a conversation at all. We loved the food, but it was difficult to relax. Perhaps padded wall coverings would help. If you go, don't sit at the base of a vault.
FAQs
Empress Tavern offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (916) 662-7694.
Empress Tavern is rated 4.9 stars by 1191 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.