At least 20 restaurants opened around the Sacramento area throughout the month of May, bringing familiar concepts to new locales and fresh ideas to hungry neighborhoods.
The list includes multiple boba shops, Middle Eastern restaurants, taprooms and fried chicken-oriented concepts. Three new restaurants opened in Rocklin, two apiece opened in Citrus Heights and Folsom, and Roseville, Rancho Cordova, Placerville and Galt all added one apiece.
East Kabob & Gyro (1310 Howe Ave., Sacramento): Look for kebabs, shawarma and other Afghan specialties such as mantoo (beef-filled dumplings topped with tomato sauce and yogurt) at this relatively informal Arden Arcade spot.
Falafel Corner (7700 Sunrise Blvd., Citrus Heights): Sajad Shakoor‘s fast-casual Middle Eastern concept reached Citrus Heights in its new wave of expansion, which has also seen Falafel Corners open in Arden Arcade and Land Park in the past seven months.
Flame-N-Chickz (4006 Foothills Blvd., Roseville): Choose your spice level at Placer County’s new Nashville hot chicken spot, from nothing to 2 million Scoville heat units (waiver required).
Fourk Kitchen (1177 Riley St., Folsom): Chef/owner Paul Jensen, who also founded Citizen Vine in Folsom, offers four courses for $54 at his prix-fixe concept that has sister outposts in Lincoln and Reno.
Fusion Boba Tea & Snacks (1004 Riley St, Suite 1, Folsom): Boba tea, banh mi, wraps and Vietnamese coffee are the staples at Fusion, which launched in Rancho Cordova in 2015 and later added a store in Woodland.
Himalaya Vegan Organic Restaurant (4160 Northgate Blvd., Suite 4, Sacramento): A former Tibetan monk, Luo Rong “Sam” Sang Zhu turns over the menu twice daily at his all-vegan, macrobiotic-oriented North Natomas restaurant.
Jersey Mike’s Subs (5855 Sunrise Blvd., Citrus Heights): The fast-casual sandwich chain is now open in Citrus Heights, its 14th Sacramento-area location.
Kau Kau (855 57th St., Suite C, Sacramento): Amanda Bridger and Chris Tocchini’s new Hawaiian restaurant in East Sacramento began as a midtown pop-up during the pandemic, but now has more room and staff for butchering whole animals and creating brunch items such as taro French toast with pineapple-ginger compote and rum whipped cream.
Mario’s Early Toast (4460 Rocklin Road, Rocklin): Mario Astorga’s third brunch spot joins sister restaurants in Granite Bay and Roseville, which are best known for their 25 spins on mimosas.
Mindscape Fermentations (5424 Crossings Drive, Suite 105, Rocklin): While a trio of female co-owners mostly creates beer, kombucha and cider, they’ll also begin selling house-fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut and hot sauces shortly.
Mountain Mike’s Pizza (3966 Missouri Flat Road, Placerville): This 3,000-square foot restaurant franchised to R.J. and Sandeep Kaur marks the third El Dorado County location for this pizza chain known for its curly pepperoni cups.
Nectar at the Villa (3905 Park Drive, Suite 100, El Dorado Hills): Part beer taproom, part beauty spa, Nectar at the Villa comes up with seasonal bar bites but always keeps Bavarian-style pretzels and tortilla chips with fresh-made guacamole on the menu.
Philz Coffee (4689 Freeport Blvd., Suite 120, Sacramento): San Francisco-based Philz opened its third area coffee shop in The Park, a Raley’s-anchored shopping center in South Land Park.
Pipo Ramen & Rice (6511 Savings Plaza, Suite 140, Sacramento): Newly open in a South Sacramento shopping center, Pipo merges Thai and Japanese cuisines in dishes such as curry ramen with soft-shell crab, fried rice with crispy duck meat or salmon teriyaki.
ReUnion Kitchen & Bar (1028 2nd St., Suite 201, Sacramento): Rodrigo Zamora makes a mix of interesting bar bites (tempura oyster mushrooms, picadillo beef tacos) and heartier entrees like a house burger with salami, cucumber and Calabrian chili aioli at Old Sacramento’s newest restaurant.
Rocklin Donuts & Cinnamon (4845 Granite Drive, Suite B, Rocklin): Rocklin Donuts & Cinnamon unveiled breakfast sweets, croissant sandwiches and Vanelli’s Handcrafted Coffee at its grand opening on May 27.
Seafood Craze (5825 Madison Ave., Suite 2, Sacramento): Donnie Her’s Cajun-inspired restaurant sells bags and buckets of seasoned shellfish near the Manzanita Avenue intersection, with Hmong pepper-based “craze sauce” available.
Sonic Drive-In (8162 Delta Shores Circle S., Sacramento): America’s most famous drive-in expanded to South Sacramento on May 23, bringing burgers, hot dogs, cherry limeade and more to the Delta Shores Shopping Center.
The Hangout (905 C St., Suite 140, Galt): A boba and coffee shop, The Hangout’s food items include crepes and sandwiches such as the School Lunch (ham, American cheese and Doritos on a milk roll) or The Italian (salami, prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes and provolone on sourdough).
Vons Chicken (10947 Olson Drive, Suite 411, Rancho Cordova): A Korean fried and baked chicken chain, Vons added a Rancho Cordova store to a local reach that includes East Sacramento, Carmichael, Arden Arcade, Roseville and Folsom locations.