Pearl On the River

Great location. Servers were very nice and attentive. What sunk my visit was the food and lacking kitchen service. I could accept the slowwwwwwww service if had been busy, but is was not. And the food was not so good. They did give a small bowl clam chowder as the rest of my family ate their meals… nice touch, but it too was subpar. How does one mess up clam chowder?
again the wait staff were great, just the food and speed of it delivery were an issues. would be a great place for a drink by the river, just don’t bother with a food order.

A great, river side experience.
I went to eat at Pearl on the River, after hearing very positive reviews from some friends. I must say, I was not disappointed.
When we arrived, we were greeted by the host, a very energetic, happy looking man. He checked my reservation, and immediately took us to our seat. Within seconds, our waitress was table side to take our drink orders.
The décor of the restaurant is nice and inviting. We had opted for a balcony seat, so we had a great view of the river during our meal.
Our drinks were delivered quickly, and we put in our dinner orders with our peppy, smiling waitress. I’m not exaggerating when I say that our dinners were on the table, in no more than 10 minutes. Great service.
We both ordered the Ravioli plate, which were huge, and stuffed with chicken, cheese and spinach. Delicious! Cheers to the chef. You can feel the love in the food.
Overall, we had a great meal, with great service, and an awesome view of the Sacramento River. We will definitely be back soon.

First time here. Nice ambiance and good service for a Friday night. The best fish tacos I have ever had. Tried the mussels and I give them a three star. Salmon dish probably a three star. Two of our group had the chicken dish and rave about it and said it was a solid four. So overall I give four stars for service, timeliness, and food taste.

They have some tasty dishes (clam chowder, New York strip). However the seafood is par at best. Great service though. Was a little disappointed seeing the $ 60 bottle of wine we got at Safeway the next day for 10 bucks. All and all not a bad place but probably not quite worth the prices.

Service lousy, food lousy, view was good. Don’t waste your time

Well where do I start! I met a friend for lunch. The initial waitress was very good. However, she left and the bartender was it. We got our food, I had linguine which was ok, however at the bottom of my bowl I ate some linguine and pulled a long hair out of my mouth. On the side of the bowl was another hair. I told the waiter/​bartender, who immediately said he’d credit the linguine. We never did see him the entire time while eating. I received my bill which was 9.00, minus the linguine. I put a 20.00 dollar bill down. He never returned Any change. I asked him for it. Did he seriously think I was giving a 11.00 dollar tip, for hair, and bad service??? I think not. Now I know why NO ONE was there on a Saturday. I Will Never Return.
I suggest you do the same. VERY DISAPPOINTED!

I give this restaurant 2 stars mainly due to the ambiance but the food was terrible! Started out with raw oysters that were iffy– very strong tasting and the sauce on them had a strange flavor. After eating one my instincts said «no» and they had to go back. My main dish was pasta carbonara that was not at all creamy but was grainy and not very tasty. My friend had the salmon which was very salty and came with a lackluster cold cous-​cous salad. Even my cocktail was too sweet! The server was very nice and offered an exchange and I wasn’t charged for the returned food but it was a disappointing experience!

I was in Sacramento for business and had one evening to go out and get the Sacramento experience. I chose Pearls because of its proximity to the river and variety of food… I wasn’t I the mood for seafood and that’s what many river places are. I had a caesar salad and the mac and cheese. I love that the mac was packed with protein… bacon and chicken! The food was very tasty, I was quite happy with it. I would go back here for sure!

This place will be gone! HORRIBLE! $ 24 cake fee for a tiny cake. Enough said karma takes care of the greedy.

Let me start by saying we are not picky eaters. If the taste is yummy, we like it. If not, we dont. My boyfriend and I have lived about a mile from Pearl for the last 2 years and FINALLY got the courage to try this place out… we were anything but impressed.
We made reservations and we were seated right away. We had a wonderful booth with a view of Crawdads… I mean, I wasn’t expecting the world but that’s the only thing we could see.
Our server, whatever his name was, was actually decent. He came right over, got us some water and our drinks ordered. That was probably the highlight. I’ll get to the drinks later.
Another man came over and brought us some cold sourdough bread with some rock hard butter that had some green stuff over it… ummmm? What? I was disappointed that the bread was cold, but even more so that the butter was so hard. I couldn’t even spread it on my bread.
I wasn’t starving so I ordered the over-​priced ($ 15) mac and cheese and a cup of clam chowder. The clam chowder was decent, but I guess I’m biased based on the awesome clam chowder I had the weekend prior in Bodega Bay… but anyway. For 7 dollars the serving size was tiny and disappointing. The mac and cheese was… interesting. The pasta choice used was just off, the circles stuck together so every time I tried to get one or two I got a row. Anyway, all I tasted was chewy bacon and overcooked chicken… and the crushed bread crumbs? Overkill.
My boyfriend got the chicken marsala… I think the best part of the whole thing were the mashed potatoes. The broccoli was… meh. the chicken was dry, the mushrooms overcooked and the sauce non-​existant.
As far as drinks go… I usually have a jameson and ginger ale. They had an Irish redhead drink that was jameson and sprite with grenadine (sp?) So I thought I’d try it… it was too sweet… and that’s my own fault. I should’ve known better.
Long story short, it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. 2 stars for the friendly hostess and great server. Nothing else was worth a star in our opinions.
For the record — 3 food items, 4 drinks $ 100 poorly spent. We won’t be back.

It was New Year Eve so some friends and I wanted to eat at a restaurant by the river and possibly watch some fireworks. Pearl On the River did just that for us. Called to make reservations for 6 about 3 days before NYE. I was surprised that they had tables available since I felt it was a last minute reservation. Parking can be a hassle here since they share the parking lot with Chevy’s and there aren’t a lot of spots. As you walk into Pearl On the River, there is a hostess near the front door. I believe the main tables are upstairs since the rest of the people were there. There is seating outside along the river and a bar downstairs. Upstairs there is also a bar with tvs so you can enjoy a sport game. They have some beer on tap and they can also do certain mixed drinks.
Let’s talk about the food. I ordered the fish tacos and I was disappointed with the dish. The fish was dry and it felt like they over seasoned it to hide the dryness. The veggies on the side had a vinegar flavor and it was good. My fiancé ordered the scallops and I got to taste it. That was much better than what I ordered based on one bite. It came with 4 decent sized scallops with risotto on the bottom I think. My friend and I also ordered a beer from the tap but it was on the warm side.
Service was adequate enough to get through the night. Overall I wasn’t too impressed with this restaurant. Watching the fireworks from the outside was awesome but that’s about it.
Tip: When you make reservations, request sitting by the window if you want a view.

The service took forever for us to serve during New Years Eve. The dinner took forever to serve and they really overbooked the venue completely. They even had the hostess serving tables. It took literally over a half an hour to get service. Overall the food wasn’t the same as last time, I went that was amazing. For the price of the food if they want to sell upscale prices, must have upscale service. The salmon was okay and a little bland. Take your money and go to il fornaio or firehouse for the same price.

For a fancy anniversary dinner, this place was spot on for the atmosphere but a bit of a letdown for the food.
It’s right on the river and we sat at the window, so we could look out on the docks and the water, very cool. I thought the décor inside was nice. It’s a small restaurant and they have made the most of the space. I’m pretty sure there is seating upstairs for parties, but only the smaller main dining room was being used tonight.
The service was absolutely fantastic. The server was fast, knowledgable, and friendly. Absolutely no complaints there.
We ordered grilled oysters to start, and then we each had a cup of clam chowder, and we shared a main course of seared scallops.
Turns out neither of us really like grilled oysters. We love them raw but grilling them, not as much. That’s ok, that’s a personal preference thing I think and now we know!
The clam chowder was the shining star of the night. It is deliciously rich and creamy with a nice flavor and big bits of bacon. If you go here, get the clam chowder. Really. Yum!
The scallops… Eh. They came with a butternut squash risotto. It was just ok. There were some hazelnuts (I think!) that added a nice contrast in texture but aside from that, the flavor was just kind of boring. I only had half the dish and I got tired of it.
Anyway, not a bad experience for our anniversary but not excellent either. As we don’t live in the area, we won’t go out of our way to visit again.

This place looks like it should be slightly upscale or high end in some way but that’s just the décor and the way the staff dress. Walking in is pleasant, I guess. There is a bar in front of you with a big screen should you go there just for drinks. The dining room area looks nice and I’m not sure what the upstairs looks like but I’m guessing more of the same. We got seated by the window with these two posts next to us. Not all that flattering but well, it’s not their fault, I guess, those beams have to go SOMEwhere but you’d think they’d decide not to seat people there. I felt bad for the wait staff who have to contort a little to get to us.
We sat for a bit and got offered some bread. Mind you, they give you a tiny amount of sourdough bread and hard as heck butter with some green stuff in it, my guess is, herbed butter but have they not heard that butter should be at least room temperature? For a trying to be upscale place you’d think that’d be hosting 101 but I guess not. My date didn’t care for the butter. He said there was some weird twang to it. I used it to disguise the flavour of the sourdough. I have to point out, that is not the restaurant’s fault. I don’t like sourdough so at least the butter was bland enough or somehow counteracted the sourdough taste. This might be why my date didn’t like it though, he LIKES sourdough, so he ate his plain.
The food itself was OK but for the price, I expect better, like WAY better! The fried calamari was rubbery as all heck and the batter might as well be from some cheap trying to be tempura place with NO flavour. They offer you a way too tangy marinara type sauce and a wedge of lemon. Trust me, nothing could save that appetizer except maybe some ranch but even then I’m not over the tough chewy bits. So if that’s how you like your calamari, go for it. I prefer mine tender and not overcooked. I paid $ 11 dollars for this overcooked thing which I could do myself at home with that batter they sell in baggies at your local grocery store.
It’s late in the evening so I didn’t want a big plate, so I ordered an appetizer… mac and cheese. I’m not entirely sure how that’s an appetizer but whatever, the portion was small and the taste was OK. I paid $ 15 dollars. Maybe I’m picky but shouldn’t the mac and cheese have some kind of flavour besides bacon? Yup, there was bacon and there was chicken, though I suppose bacon flavoured chicken is some people’s favourite but not me. I like different flavours and textures which they attempted by adding some kind of crushed croutons, I guess? I’m not sure but it was a little crunch but again not much other flavour. Maybe I’m more used to traditional mac and cheese, maybe high end mac and cheese is supposed to have little flavour but I doubt it. They did use Orecchietes though as opposed to elbows which was a nice twist. I didn’t mind that at all.
I tried a little of their clam chowder which my date had and he wasn’t too pleased with it. I noticed that their bowl was more like a cup, so I can’t imagine what their cup must be like! Perhaps an actual cup like from a measuring thing… that’s not a whole lot for 7 bucks! For a dollar 50 more you get the bowl which, like I said, is more like a cup in other places. The soup spoon didn’t even get covered by the time he hit the bottom, it was a little over half covered. The flavour itself was alright, a little like unsalted canned but not horrible, it did have clams in it but I didn’t get any potato. They didn’t specify which kind of clam chowder this was so maybe it wasn’t supposed to have potatoes. To me, it was alright but I’ve had better which is why I rated this 2 stars overall.
I think for the price, they should try a little harder with their food. It’s not completely horrible and if you’re seated in a nice area maybe you can see the river, all we saw was crawdads (another restaurant) and the marina posts, planks, walkways, and one boat parked there if you looked down so it wasn’t a great view. I see no reason to have window seats at all but that’s my opinion. Maybe it looks prettier in the day time. I am not sure I’m coming back to this place but since it was nice looking, I can’t really give it a 1 star but it’s kinda close.
Anyway, if you like spending money for kinda mediocre this is your place. I think next time I’ll check out Crawdads or Chevy’s next door. Maybe they’ll actually have use for their window seats, I don’t know, but if I do I’ll let you know. Thank you for reading.

I’ve been here about half-​dozen times for meetings with my boss– usually after a meeting down the street. The service here is always spot on and the food is excellent. Also– Moscow mule is awesome!
Whenever I come here I ordered the fried chicken sandwich. But I ask for grilled chicken instead with no sauce on the bread. It is so damn good. I could eat it every day.
While it can sometimes get cramped in here, there is typically plenty of seating. And during the summer, you can sit outside of course.
This restaurant is appropriate for afternoon lunch dates or business meetings. It is professional and casual.
My boss always orders the fish tacos. I’ve never had them, but he swears by them.
Their Moscow mule is amazing. I recommend getting one even for lunch– really refreshing.

This place was just OK. It took too long to get our food, to refill our drinks, and it just seemed like it was a restaurant trying way to hard to be 5 stars while providing mediocre results. The prices weren’t bad, but I don’t feel like they were proportional (no pun intended) to the quality and portion size of the food.
It wasn’t so bad that I wouldn’t recommend trying it, but it won’t be on my short list when I want to eat out again.

A few months ago I had an early dinner at Pearl On the River. The restaurant appears to have been recently remodeled with a «water» theme (everything was white and blue) and appeared to be rather high-​end. We had a window seat, over-​looking a river, but most of our view was actually of another restaurant/“dock”.
Since we were ahead of the dinner crowd, there were only a few other groups in the restaurant. We were first greeted by one server, who poured our waters and then disappeared. About 10 minutes later, we were greeted by a second server that finally took our drink and appetizer order. It took another 10 minutes for them to return with our drinks and take our entrée order. The wait time seemed pretty ridiculous, especially considering how slow they were at that time of day.
Luckily the food came out quickly, and made up for the sub-​par service. We shared the Bruschetta, Cherry Tomatoes, Feta Cheese, Basil, Garlic, Balsalmic, EVOO appetizer. It was pretty large for an appetizer and the red and golden tomatoes were ripened to perfection. The feta cheese was a nice compliment with the balsamic, and a nice change to a typical bruschetta!
I had the Scallops, Sweet Corn-​Bacon Risotto, Basil Buttter entrée. It was also a pretty large dish of risotto with only 3 scallops on top. The corn flavor was evident throughout the dish but I think I was in carb-​overload after all of the bruschetta, because I couldn’t finish my entrée.
My friend had a fish special, and his dish was equally as large and had plenty of delicious flavors. We were both too full for dessert, even though the dessert menu was rather tempting.
Bottom line — decent food, ok service. I am not from Sacramento, but I imagine there are plenty of farm-​fresh restaurants in the city that are serving up similar cuisine.

Excellent burger and delicious fries ($ 13)
Garden greens were good ($ 9)
Clam chowder was delicious with a unique smoky flavor ($ 6.50 small portion).
Excellent service.
Nice outside patio area.
A bit over priced on many items/​drinks.
Beers on tap cost $ 7 & $ 8.

If dining along the Sacramento River were an oyster, this restaurant would be the pearl. The food was distinctive and memorable, but fantastic knowledgeable service is what really made the Pearl on the River a true gem.
Sitting on the outdoor patio for dinner with a view of the river docks was peaceful. Kudos to the hostess for recommending it. Even cooler than the river was receiving 5-​star service from my server. I wish I could remember his name. It was clear he knows and loves food. After a few recommendations from him, I was only my way to a pearl of a meal.
* Moscow Mule ($ 9) — Perfect start … and end to my meal thanks to Jovelle French Vodka, Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer, and Lime in a classic copper cup, (4 stars)
* Pearl’s Famous Clam Chowder ($ 8.50) — Creamy Soup with Bacon, Baby Clams, and Potato … Cream. Bacon. Yum. (4 stars)
* Grilled Oysters ($ 3 each) — Pungent Oysters on the Half-​Shell with Bloody Mary Butter … the only real disappointment, (2 stars)
* Smoked Salmon Pizza ($ 13) — Thin Pizza with Crème Fraiche, Red Onions, Capers, Chives and thin slices of Smoke Salmon (4 stars)
* Poutine ($ 7) — The Cheese Curds and Meat Gravy on House-​cut Kennebec Potato Fries was filling … Quick way to get full, so, I guess, you could say they are «fulfilling.» (4 stars)
The food is memorable and location special for Sacramento; however, the real gem of Pearl on the River was truly helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly service. Bring a date, an appetite, and a sense of foodie adventure …

Coming from LA i-​5, after you exit the freeway it’ll be towards your right. If you go at night without a navi you can easily miss it! Finally a cool place with a decent parking lot :).
Ambiance:
Dining here during the day time is most ideal, so you can enjoy the scenery of the river. However, we went at night, but the insides of the restaurant has a cozy and romantic ambiance. We were the youngest ones at the restaurant, so it was quiet and great for intimiate chit chats :).
Staff:
The best thing about this restaurant is service. From calling in for reservations to the end of the night, the staff has been extremely welcoming. 5+ stars for the service. 18% gratuity should be the standard requirmeent if not more for them. One of the waiter folded my napkin to place it on my lap and the other one picked it up for me when I dropped it. Superb service.
Food:
Angus New York strip steak was really tender and the cheese bake potato with it compliments it pretty well. The size portions are ideal if you’re not looking to put yourself into food coma.
Smoke Salmon Pizza is ideal for appetizers or the main meal. It was not too overwhelming. It was thin crust with smoke salmon, crème fraîche, red onion, caper, and chives. Like a lighter version of café rolle cold salmon sandwich.
Drinks and Desserts:
Ginger Mojitio was amazing. The ginger taste was not too strong and I just LOVED it, I’m going to try to custom order this at other bars.
The chilled coffee lorange was too much of a cocktail for me. Tasted almost like diluted milk with a pinch of coffee. The water boy said it was the first time he saw someone ordered it… Haha probably will be the last!
Chocolate Mousse cake was moiste, but please share it with someone. We couldn’t finish it even with two people. It was really rich!
Overall, I would come back again. Service was 5+, food was 4.

Nice location, good service, pretty good fish and chips, Not a lot of sizzle or je n’est ce quoi.