Bandera

04/27/2008 Posted by madelaineg

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.

04/27/2008 Posted by holden822

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

12/23/2007 Posted by designzio

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

07/01/2007 Posted by missamyq

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

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

04/17/2007 Posted by lovelysacgirl

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

04/16/2007 Posted by vercash

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.

11/30/2006 Posted by lostinbfe

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. My waitress seemed cheerful enough as she announced the special and took my order -- prime rib and a pint of Sierra -- but she didn't quite mention her name until the end, almost as if serving me would be an afterthought. After checking/swiping my ID, she brought it back and told me that my order would be out shortly. While stuffing the ID back into my wallet, I contemplated what kind of a tip I would have given her if she noticed it was my birthday during the 5 minutes she had it in her possession. Oh well, that's not the kind of service you expect out of a place you pay $40 for a meal. Although I must complement the Mexican cooks who noticed me several minutes before my waitress did when I requested another pint. The meal came out in all its simplicity. A fair portion of meat and a lumpy scoop of mashed potatoes. There was really nothing special about the prime rib, so if I was pressed to say a single good thing about it.. it would have to be, "It wasn't bad." The potatoes on the other hand were simply bad. While might have gone for the undercooked/watery mashed potatoes angle, it simply didn't match very well with the food, and even left me feeling a little sick. I usually hesitate to give anything less than a 7, but Citysearch says "average" is a 5, so I'd say Bandera as a whole, is a 6 because of its decor. Otherwise, the food is around a 4.5 on a "taste to cost" scale.

Pros: Swank decor and an attractive crowd.

Cons: While the food is not expensive, it's too expensive for such unimpressive food.

08/02/2006 Posted by yumyumdoowaa

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. The wait time is terrible and not worth it. They don't let you sit and wait for other people to arrive because they like to turn tables quickly to make more money. You'll feel rushed through the meal because they can't wait to take your money and seat another one.

Pros: Tender Meats, good salad

Cons: noise, team service

04/20/2006 Posted by alyssajones

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

12/21/2005 Posted by maryjanesampris

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