Zinfandel Grille
Sacramento, CA 95825
Phone: (916) 485-7100
- Price:
- $$
- Hours:
- Mon-Wed 11:30am-10pm, Thu 11:30am-11pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-12am
Editorial Review for Zinfandel Grille – by Angela Schurhoff
The Scene
Not many people know John Hankard has owned the Paragary's on Fair Oaks Boulevard for years. In fact, it was a well-kept secret until August 2000, when the name change was announced. The restaurant now relies on the reputation it has forged to stay afloat. Hankard assures that it's business as usual and that nothing but the name has changed.
The Food
The menu celebrates fresh, seasonal ingredients. Offerings include wood-fired pizza and calzone, pasta and meat dishes.
What to Order
The Caesar salad-lemony and sprinkled with shaved parmesan-is a refreshing prelude to dinner. The butternut squash raviolis, with hazelnuts and brown butter, are little pillows of perfection. The contents are rich and robust with flavor.
What to Skip
If you order the crab cake appetizer at lunch, beware that only one diminutive cake will appear on the plate. Its taste is pleasing but will disappoint a hungry crowd.
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Insider Tips
The Name Says it AllThe restaurant was named for all the great zinfandel wine California produces. There are plenty of bottles to choose from on the wine list, but only one option by the glass.
User Reviews for Zinfandel Grille
09/25/2007 Posted by fulcrum777
I have eaten here a number of times, it is right down the street from my firm. I generally have been impressed with the food and service, but have noticed the wine is really on the high side. I often notice 3x markups over retail cost for bottles, however today I was blown away. They had a wine on the menu they referred to as Jillaroo Syrah from Australia, for 10 dollars a glass (I should add I am an avid oenophile). After tasting it, I was convinced that it was not 100% Shiraz, but instead what the Aussies call GSM (Grenache, Shiraz, Mouvedre). So I found the botte on the wall, and double checked it with the wine list and 2 servers. In this case it was a GSM but the M stood for Mataro not Mouvedre. I then proceeded to google it on my phone, because I had never heard of the wine and it did not seem like a 10 dollar glass. What I found blew me away, this wine was RETAILING for 7-9 dollars a bottle. At the most 1 dollar more then I had just paid for a glass. It was one of the most expensive wines on the list and they were drastically overcharging customers, with an average 4 glasses (little over 6 ounce pour) this wine was marked up by almost 600%. Worst of all, from my perspective, they were passing of a 7 dollar bottle as "premium wine", just because no one had ever heard of it before. I noticed a similar mark up on a bottle of Rioja. But at least in that case they were not "fudging" on the name of the wine. Moral of the story, not a bad place but bring your own wine. Even with a high corkage fee, you don't have to worry about being passed cheap wine for high prices.
Pros: Foods good, service is good
Cons: Wine list is deceiving and over priced
11/05/2006 Posted by groundeducd
I had a dream that one day I could go to out to eat in Sacramento and possibly have a decent meal. This was not that day. I was further disheartened by the positive reviews given this resteraunt on this and other sites. Not only does it leave me questioning the resteraunt and the horrendous food but also the utility of site like this. Food was of an unbelievably low quality. The roasted chicken was dry, polenta was greasy, salmon was like a eating a brick. The potatoes lacked flavor but my date couldn't even try them becasue they were so hard that her fork could not be inserted. Lastly, for any upscale resteraunt that would have their bartenders suggest Kendall Jackson Chardonney as a highlight of thier wine list makes me blush with embarrassment for the establishment as a whole.
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