Sabio On Main

Best eggs Benedict! Yummy hollandsuse sauce, very light … And tasty !! Staff wonderful … Defiantly great place for brunch !!

2 stars only for ambience and décor. Food is all mixed up, neither here nor there, mexican? spanish? american? Service — very slow. Portions not consistent, deviled egg — served only one half. Better options around Pleasanton downtown.

Been here twice so far and both times we’ve had an amazing experience! I had heart about this place from friends and through Unilocal,so my husband and I decided to try it out one Saturday night. We made reservations for 2 and were seating promptly as soon as we got there. We got a nice table for 2 right by the window, perfect spot already!
We’ve ordered a few different things throughout our two visits: chorizo and sourdough toast (our favorite!), pork belly, gulf shrimp corn dog (which was okay, but we probably wouldn’t get again), wagu beef (so good!!), charcuterie board (I just love charuterie boards wherever we go! This one definitely did not disappoint), fried rice (delicious!!) and lamb meatballs (a little pricey for 3 meatballs, but they were good). We also got the mable bacon donuts for dessert and so delicious!
Definitely our new favorite place that we love. All the drinks we got were delicious too! Highly recommend!

Went for Father’s Day brunch, 6÷19÷2016.
Deviled eggs with paddlefish caviar: buy all you can afford
Caramelized cauliflower: don’t skip it — veggies this good should be eaten every day
501 burger: big, meaty, juicy, everything a burger s/​b
Huevos rancheros: chorizo, brown rice, black beans, fried potatoes topped with fried eggs & guac — hearty, spicy, gut buster (in a good way).
Eggs Benedict: (I didn’t eat this so my review is hearsay.) Eggs were way too runny, whites were still clear. Sauce was good but also pretty runny. (Or maybe that was the eggs mixing with the sauce.) Overall flavors were good. Would try it again.
Fried red potatoes: You get these potatoes with everything. On the Sabio Facebook page, these potatoes look fried to a golden crispness. Ours were all burnt. Besides that they were rather sweet. That taste potatoes get when they’ve been refrigerated. I love potatoes but they need to be savory & salty. Not sorta sweet and greasy.
Would I go back? Yes. Yucky potatoes and runny eggs aside, the food was delicious and the cocktails and wine selection make for a great meal with family and/​or friends. Service was excellent.
Should you try this place? Yes. You know you want to. You have to try these things for yourself.

FAN! Shrimp pop me anytime! I went for dinner with a friend for her birthday. She from outta state and I wanted her to really enjoy a nice meal and great evening. The server recommended Black Chicken for a wine. DING DING DING! Loved it. Seared Wagyu… Green Curry Seafood… Just cut it out. Sooo nummies! Go for a fun night, just for drinks, pop by for din-​din, just go, it’s worth your time.

Absolutely loved it. Food was fantastic. Service was friendly. Ambience was inviting but also elegant. We’ll definitely be back.

I thought for sure I’d reviewed this place already. better late than never! I’ve been here six times I think and it’s only been opened a short while so that should tell you something right there
service is always fantastic. clearing dirty dishes and replacing silverware often is such a nice touch. on our last visit, we ordered pretty much everything on the menu, one of the hosts came by and asked if we like everything and we were honest that we didn’t go for the rabbit pot stickers so much. so they brought a replacement at no charge.
they change the menu seasonally which makes it interesting to keep returning. one of the mainstays is the cauliflower which I definitely recommend. we also loved the chorizo and avocado toast, peach and burrata, chicken confit with kimchi rice and waygu beef.
an interesting cocktail menu, reasonable corkage, and beautiful interior all add to the positive experience. full menu at the bar too. Brunch is also very interesting
Pleasanton has a few upscale restaurants that have opened lately. it’s so welcome in the area. always crowded to make reservations!

Pork belly! It could have been seasoned a bit more. The curry shellfish, however, was super tasty & cooked well. I love coconut curry, and have always been a connoisseur of coconut curry. The bread that came with the curry dish was amazing. We also ordered the roasted cauliflower — it was well cooked (crunchy yet juicy), however lacked a bit of seasoning. Last one — the glazed white chocolate bacon donuts !!! Whoever put that on the menu, love you!
Service was about 4 stars. Our server was moderately attentive throughout the meal.
Pricey for Pleasanton! Well, they do work quite closely to the farms for organic groceries :)

My husband and I were there once for dinner and it was actually pretty good so we had decided to make it the place for mother’s day celebration (It was one week after).
The food was great but the wait was WAYYYYYYY too long. .The only had one waitress for the lunch crowd and one busy boy around. We were there for 45 minutes before we even got served with water. My husband’s so called french press coffee took another 30 minutes so we missed the toast as a group.
Service really needs to improve.
Probably won’t go back again.

My coworkers and I came to Sabio for lunch one day after wanting to check it out for a few months. They are open for lunch from around 11 – 2 and we squeezed in at 1:30. Our server was super friendly and attentive, offering suggestions of his favorite dishes when we were deciding what to order. I got the chicken sandwich, one of my coworkers got the lamb burger and the other got the seared hon hamachi salad. Each of us loved our dishes. My coworker who got the lamb burger raved on and on about how it was the best cooked lamb he’s ever had. We left happy and full, and are hoping to come back for the tapas and happy hour one evening!

Service and little slow. After being seated no one acknowledged us for a good 10 minutes. Flowed pretty well after we got started. Maitre D was excellent with recommendations.
Food was very good although small portions. Recommended are the shrimp corn dogs, lamb meatballs, shellfish dish (cannot remember the name) and Carmel bacon donuts. Will be back!

It’s my second time to have dinner here. Both service and food are pretty close to Michelin standard, but the price is relatively affordable.
Don’t miss it.
I will definitely come back for next time. If you don’t like it, please spare an extra reservation for me. Thank you.

Nice, newer place in downtown Pleasanton. Pricey for tapas that didn’t seem to flow together too smoothly. The portions were smaller than I got at tapas in Spain! Disappointed, because while I’d like to go back my boyfriend won’t. He doesn’t want to leave hungry again and prefers the other restaurants on Main Street for the same money he leaves satisfied.
Perhaps this is best for ladies sharing small bites with drinks, instead of somewhere you go for a meal with a man-​sized appetite.
FOOD QUALITY was outstanding, which is why I gave it 4 stars.
ATMOSPHERE was amazing too!
SERVICE is distant and not so friendly. Prompt and professional.

I was very hopeful and excited to see Downtown Pleasanton just open a Spanish tapas place. I love tapas and before going I already knew it is going to be a pricey meal. Any place that puts the word «Tapas» on the menu, it usually is a $$$ sign place. Although I don’t mind shelling out the money, the quality of the food needs to be on par. Sadly, this was not the case here at Sabio. I have given this place the benefit of the doubt by going to their brunch and dinner. Both times, I left disappointed.
BRUNCH:
Mimosa: Brunch is never complete without mimosa. Table service done by the waitress. The alcohol to juice portion was done correctly.
Eggs Benedict: Poached Eggs, Jamon Serrano, Wilted Greens, Roasted Garlic Hollandaise, English Muffin. From the ingredients to the cooking it was a total fail. First off, the egg was not cooked properly. It was way too runny for a benedict. The yolk should have been soft in the center not cold and runny. As for the ingredient, the greens are too bitter. The Damon Serrano was unbearable salty. I actually eat food more salty than most people, but this Jamon was so salty I had to remove it from the rest. Lastly, the English muffin was burnt. What is the one thing we have learned from Gordon Ramsay? quality control. You should never send out poor quality and burnt dishes.
P-​Town Fry: Pork Belly, Scallion, and Piquillo Pepper Scramble with Shrimp Fritto Misto and Arugula. This does sound delicious when you see it on the menu. I mean, who doesn’t love pork belly, shrimp, and arugula? In terms of taste, it was sort of on the bland side. However, the potato was the best part of the meal.
New Orleans Style Beignets: Come with Warm Mocha Dipping Sauce and a spoon of macadamia nuts. Alright, this dessert actually is quite delicious and I would say worth the $ 10. The fresh fried dough served with a healthy dusting of confectioners’ sugar and can be dipped in warm chocolate and eaten with the nut. Everything was great together. This beignet was so good that I decided to give Sabio 2 stars instead of 1.
DINNER:
The dinner menu has a selection of larger (not that large) platters, tapas, and small plates that allow you to experience more of the kitchen’s range. We tried a little of every type and were not that impressed with the depth of flavor or composition.
Spanish Octopus Tots: The name says it all. It is literally shredded octopus mix with shredded potato and shaped to be «tot» like. It is laid on top of Black Olive Purée, Kewpie Mayo, and a really sour grapefruit (???). This is the worst composition of ingredients. I really want to ask the Chef why you would serve such atrocious thing.
Rum Glazed Kurobuta Pork Belly: with Plantain-​Espuma, Compressed Pineapple, and Spiced Pepitas. It is a mouthful of tender deliciousness pork. I didn’t care much for the Plantain-​Espuma nor the pineapple. It just didn’t go together with the rum pork belly. I am all for creative ingredients but it need to enhance the meat.
Charcuterie Board: Which is Jamon Serrano, Country Pâté, Coppa, Pork Rillettes, Iberico Salami. It is everything one would expect from a charcuterie board. The cure meats were high in quality and tasted delightful, especially the prosciutto, which was smoked, buttery, and salty. The pâté, on the other hand, was slightly too hard in texture. It made it difficult to spread on the crostini. Also, it was on the flavorless side, which was unexpected since it is usually savory.
Seared Wagyu Beef: Top off with Peanut-​Carrot Salad, Lemongrass Dressing, Cucumber, Baby Herbs. All the ingredient works well together. My only complaint with this is the price doesn’t constitute the little amount of beef given to us. I mean seriously all of that meat can be scooped into a spoon and fit into my mouth all at once.
Chicken & Kimchi Fried Rice: Included with Spring Garlic, Skillet Egg, Chicken Cracklins. This dish was a total fail. If you are going to make an Asian dish, you need to at least stay authentic. The kimchi was bland and the entire dish wasn’t even slightly spicy at all. The chicken was okay, but to be honest, it should have been fried or baked.
As for customer service, it is sometimes spot on and sometimes average. There has been times where the server brought plates to our table that we didn’t order. We had to double check the bill.
The décor on the other hand isn’t anything special either. The attempted Spanish-​inspired interior design try to provide intimacy for socialization but it was still so loud that it didn’t feel intimate.
To sum up, even after spending $ 50/​pp for dinner (with no alcohol), we still left quite hungry and end up wishing we had gone to the other restaurants nearby. The food is lacking in every way– portion (some of the dishes are way too pricey for even a «tapas» dish), composition, and uncouth. When comparing Sabio to other tapas restaurant in the SF Bay Area, Sabio gives me no reason to want to come back. I highly NOT recommend this place.

Beautiful restaurant!
The food is actually really good! For the 5 of us — we ordered the Poke $ 18, Beef Salad $ 16, Roast Potatoes $ 10, Cauliflower $ 9 and a $ 66 Mixed Grill = w/​tax/​tip — $ 156.
Yes I get that it’s a tapas restaurant… but the portions are sooooo small! The mixed grill was a tiny piece of beef, a tiny piece of duck, a tiny piece of chicken and a small sausage — $ 66!!!
We were all literally eyeing the Indian restaurant across the street as we left really hungry for a very unsatisfying dinner.

nice open classy atmosphere. friendly service.
wagyu beef was so tender and savory. very good quality. artichokes cooked perfectly. shellfish were fresh with strong green curry sauce.

5-​stars alone for having pappy van winkle.
i have no clue what used to be at this location, but i can tell you that i’ve never noticed this corner before. sabio, from the outside, is clean and stylish, with an elegant fireplace and outdoor patio dining. when you walk into the doors, it’s a feast for your eyes. a beautiful bar with an excellent selection of liquor from counter to ceiling. then you turn to the back wall… stacked with bottles of wine. then you look at the left partition… wine cooler and sparkling wine glasses. then you fix your gaze on the opening from the dining room into the kitchen, where chef francis hogan is making magic. creative and beautifully plated tapas and small plates come out in such an orderly fashion by wait staff in a synchronous pas de deux.
our waiter was nico– hilarious, friendly, with the perfect amount of checking in and leaving us to chat. he’s a great listener, and takes care of his guests. i was a little bummed that the pork belly wasn’t on the chef’s tasting menu, and what do you know… nico comes out with pork belly, compliments of chef hogan. THANK YOU!
owner jim kept a watchful eye and ear over our table… when we asked the busboy a question, he swiftly came over to answer our question on an ingredient, and periodically checked up on our satisfaction on the table smile-​scale. ear to ear, jim. it was an amazing meal with excellent wait staff. the only mis-​step was a waitress telling is that spigarello was a grain.
the dirty cougar cocktail was fabulous. i didn’t get the suntory that i wanted, but nico surprised me with hibiki instead. happy.
i can’t wait to come back and indulge some more.
—
Second visit!
Greeted at the door and shown straight to our table. Jason came by with champagnes on the house and friendly conversation and a welcome back. Nico greeted me with big smiles and a welcome back. We ordered everything a la care this time, and Chef Francis welcomed us back with a beautiful artichoke dish and an extra dessert to end our fabulous meal. We got our favorites from the previous visit, and a bunch of other small plates to share. My favorite still has to be the pork belly and the donuts. Luckily my dinner date hates sweets, because I got to take his donuts home: P. Woooohooooooo!

Came here for my NYE dinner with family on Dec 31, 2015. My reservation for 3 was at 7:30 but we had a rough time finding parking so we didn’t walk in till 7:38. We walked in, was greeted and waited to get seated. It was a nice ambience and warm feeling vibe to this little restaurant. It suits the look of downtown Pleasanton.
We were seated and food service was slow… Like I started to order at 7:50 and the first course never came till 8:33. I was kind of disappointed at this point because the first course was a cold dish and the night’s menu was based off the NYE set menu… For my second course I waited another 20 minutes to get. After that I thought the wait would be less since people were leaving and I was wrong. Even the table that walked in after our reservation got their food before us got their third course already and we were still waiting another 25 minutes to get the third course… My mom took her diabetic medicine and felt a little light headed so we asked the manager of the hot food would come sooner since the other tables that came in later than us got their food already. It was simply a question that if he can go check on our food but all he said was“Im sorry, all I can offer is my apologizes.” The reason why we chose this restaurant was because my family did not want to go through the crazy traffic the night. The food here is good but this meal has got to be the longest meal I have ever eaten. We are from 7:50 — 10:56, 3 HOURS for 5 courses… This has longer wait time than Gary Danko or Benu– I will never forget about this memorable long night.

This place made me SO HAPPY. We came here for a birthday brunch and was extremely satisfied. The best fresh lemonade came to start our afternoon. We began our entrees with avocado toast, ptown fry, huevos, whole wheat pancakes, and ended our meal with beignets.
Hands down, best brunch I’ve had. There was not a bad item on the table. Everything came out hot, tender, flavorful, and just down right delicious. The beignets here were better than the ones in New Orleans and the huevos was the best I’ve ever had. The pancakes were whole wheat but tasted nothing like healthy forced meal. Instead, it was a delight. We left this restaurant groaning from happiness that our bellies wanted to explode.
Definitely, a must.

5 stars in Pleasanton. If I could give it a sixth, I would. From the minute we sat down with our specialty cocktails to the minute our first plate hit our bellies we knew that this place was a success. It’s clear the genius owner was as tired as I was of coming home from business trips and dealing with the same old pasta dishes Pleasanton has to offer.
The décor has been clearly thought out and the lighting is fantastic. It all sets the stage for 2 hours of amazing small plates and a great wine list. The Walt was an amazing Pinot that matched most of the dishes perfectly.
The chef clearly has a passion for fresh seasonal plates and understand the meat «nose to tail». His masterful touch of celery root mousse on the pork belly dish makes us want to make this a weekly rotation on date night and see what else he has up his sleeve.
Pleasanton finally has something downtown can be proud of.