Mulvaney’s B & L

We came here twice for special occasions, expecting to be wowed, but were very disappointed-​both times. The first time was an extremely busy night and the steak tasted more like charcoal. Second time, food was both prepared and presented so simply, nothing unique or even that tasty. Looked like something I can make at home and throw on a plate. To top it off, the salad had some black leaves in it– very big deal for a place that prides itself in fresh farm to fork. Part of my meal was pre-​prepped, so some of it was hot– some cold. Where’s the focus on «fine dining?» On the upside, the service was good. Don’t think it’s worth going back though.

It was a last minute whim and wish to go to Mulvaney’s on Saturday night and the experience did not disappoint. We were celebrating and it was recognized on our personal menu, which was very sweet and a nice touch.
We share, so we each ordered something different. The smoked salmon appetizer and the cherry and walnut salad. The smoked salmon was served in a most beautiful manner, with the brown bread adding a nice touch. The salad was exceptional with just the right amount of dressing, light to enhance the crisp, fresh flavors, not saturated like many establishments serve. It’s called dressing for a reason, not marinating!
The sommelier recommended a very nice Cabernet from Napa that he had just took in a case of and had not even put it on the wine list yet. It was full bodied and really took on exciting flavor and interesting notes with each sip throughout the meal.
The boyfriend had the pork chop, huge at two bones and their signature meat that is brined for 24 hours before grilling. You know it was when the meat is succulent and bursting with flavor. The smokey onion rings were a hit and I am still trying to figure out how to emulate that recipe.
I had the rib eye, cooked to perfection and served with carrot top spaetzle. A light eater, I knew I was only going to be able consume ¹⁄₃ of the steak, but take home is available which will leave you room for the banner course. (When you go, make sure you don’t eat the entire entrée… save some room!)
The dessert was to die for. The boyfriend ordered Apricot Crostade, a mini-​apricot cobbler, and I ordered the cheese cake bites. Do not be fooled. This deconstructed cheesecake was served with a blackberry sage compote, not too sweet and the sage gave it a nice, subtle earthiness, coupled with the tang of the cinnamon graham cracker pieces. Everything went nicely together with the creaminess of the cheesecake made to perfection. It danced on your palate like a beautiful, delicate Summer ballerina.
The most momentous time was spent with Chef Patrick Mulvaney who highlighted his career and endeavors within the hospitality profession. More importantly, he gave us another insight to his life, more than «just cooking», but his adventures to Washington D.C. to promote the Farm to Fork concept and how it could help feed many other less fortunate people. Very admirable!
You know how to tell a great restaurant? Ask the waitperson, «What’s it like to work here? For Patrick?» Glowing reviews, not contrived but really sincere.
A most memorable evening. The best yet. Thank you, Mulvaney’s!

Best meal I’ve had in Sacramento in a long time. Reserved a wine room for an intimate dinner party and the food was beyond my expectations! Definitely recommend the foie gras and duck breast. Perfection!

Best food in Sacramento hands down. The staff was amazing as well. Pâté was perfect, dessert was delicious!

Thank you, Mulvaney’s for making my son’s 8^th Grade Graduation a memorable one! It couldn’t have been any better of an experience. The private wine room was perfect. The food was delicious! Picture perfect! Our waitress and everyone else who served us were outstanding!

Waoh! This is a must try for anyone who like fine dining. Every time I have visited mulvanies my idea of the food they prepare sets new bench marks. Ravioli anywhere else does not taste good I am not sure if i should blame mulvanies for opening my eyes and exposing my taste budge to what food should taste like or realization that everything I have ever known has just been junk.
This is not the place for the buffet regulars it’s for the smaller quantity with a home run flavor type.

What a tremendous evening. Now even though I gave Mulvaney’s B&L a full 5, I want to get one little negative out of the way, the interior of the restaurant could use a little more color and style, but that is the only thing I could down this place for because the service, energy and amazing food are what this place is truly about. On to the reasons for the 5 stars…
This was my 21^st wedding anniversary to my wonderful wife which I did note on my reservations and they made sure to let us know on our menu. We started with cocktails and a charcuterie plate, all meats were cured in house and locally sourced, and were AMAZING, even a take on a marguez sausage made with game hen which was again out of this world. We then had some seared Foie Gras with toast and strawberries with a red wine reduction and this was good, but there could have been a little more sweetness to the strawberry to offset the tart wine reduction. Our main courses were over the top though, my wife had a perfectly cooked swordfish filet with asparagus and a mustard infused SUPER creamy mash that was perfectly backed behind the delicate fish. My dish was a double cut Beeler pork chop sourced from Iowa, (their local source was lost recently and were recommended to this farm by their original source). You could taste that this pig had only one bad day, perfectly cooked with a in house made barbecue sauce that was tangy but did not over power the flavor of this magnificent cut of pork. The collard greens though… Let me put this out there, I think collard green are disgusting, in fact I have only ever had the soupy, shitty kind that everyone raves about, me? Not a fan… That is until I tasted these!!! Light vinegar taste with loads of bacon, and NOT SOUPY!!! The pair of these together was comfort food 101. Taryn (hope I spelled that right) was our server and paired with the rest of the wait staff, we wanted for nothing. Thank you Mulvaney’s B&L, you made our anniversary a perfect evening and fan out of us, we will be back, with friends, and I highly recommend you Unilocaler’s to do the same!

Excellent for a date night or other special occasion dinner. We had a great experience here, and the food was tasty. While it wasn’t the most amazing restaurant we have ever eaten at, it’s certainly one of the better ones for Sacramento. Our servers were wonderful, explained the entrees in detail, and were attentive.
The ambiance is intimate and I highly recommend this spot to take your ladies to, fellas. :)

My best friend and I just ate here last night. They asked us if we were okay eating in the section next door since they were fully booked that night in the other room. Both rooms looked nice but I liked ours even better. Although my friend and I were just there to try great food, if you are having an anniversary or on a date the ambiance is VERY romantic.
The bread was nice and fresh and the slightly salted butter went very well. My friend and I split the fettuccine with panno gradano cheese with burgundy truffles. It was amazing!!! Definitely recommend. For the main course, I had the rib eye steak and my friend had the quail. The steak was huge and perfectly cooked. I don’t know if I would order the steak again because in my opinion it didn’t have as much flavor as other plates.
The dessert was great! I had the horchata cheesecake and my friend had the cheese plate. Wonderful choices for cheese, in particular, the blue cheese which was flavorful but not overbearing as some blue cheeses can be.
Finally, the service was attentive and very friendly with wonderful recommendations. The only thing to be aware of is parking, especially on a Saturday night. It is very busy as that area is full of bars and restaurants. Other, than that everything is relatively close to walk to.
Thank you for the wonderful meal!

Came to this restaurant for our 5 year anniversary and we couldn’t be any happier with the outcome.
My boyfriend made a reservation a couple days before without me telling. So when we entered the restaurant they gave us a customized menu which was really cute!
We were greeted right when we walked in and was seated immediately. This restaurant is perfect for any special occasion or an intimate date. The ambience is romantic and calming. Dim lights with candles.
All of the staff was great and provided superb service. our waiter was super sweet and helpful with deciding what we should order.
We both ended up ordering the 21 day dry age niman ranch rib eye and oh boy was it great! the rib eye was cooked perfectly, tender, and full of flavor. It was complimented with a sponge cake which was very interesting, but good. They gave us an appetizer and wine on the house! We were so surprised and both were tasty. For dessert we were torn between the lemon cheesecake and ding dong. We ended up ordering the ding dong. It is the perfect dessert for all the chocolate lovers. They even customized the dessert for our anniversary.
Thank you mulvaney’s for the great service and delicious food! Our anniversary was perfect and we will be back!

We came here for Valentine’s Day dinner yesterday. Our reservation was at 5:30, we didn’t arrive until 6:00 and they were really nice bout it. The place is really cute and nicely decorated with hearts and balloons for Valentine’s Day. Our server was very nice and sweet.
We ordered the pork chop, ribeye steak and the cheese plate. The bread and better was really tasty. The pork chop was huge. The ribeye has a good smokey flavor but was okay for me. Really enjoyed the cheese plate. Overall, good experience, would likely come back and try something else.

So many great reviews on hear and I came with high expectations to be blown away.
Was under-​impressed and the best part of the meal was the bread with sierra Nevada butter and Molokai sea salt. I ate almost a ½ a loaf of bread and butter it was just that good!
The rest of the meal needed a lot of work, the gristle in the ribeye, the overcooked dry fish.
Service started out great and then they kept coming around and I was dying of thirst.
I want to give this place another shot and hopefully it was just an off night.

My boyfriend had trouble deciding where to go to celebrate our anniversary and the owner of The Waffle Experience in Natomas (which is ahhhmazing BTW) suggested we go here.
Thankfully, we didn’t have trouble making a reservation for two the day before. We went on Saturday night around 7:30 and it was busy, but not too crowded or overwhelming. Cute little spot and there’s valet available until at least 10 p.m. The restaurant isn’t huge, but I think there’s a private room on one side and the tall ceilings give it a spacious feel. We loved the overall open and homey feel of the space.
For dinner, we had the smoked salmon, a cesar salad and beet salad to start; main courses were steak and ahi tuna and finally for dessert their secret item menu, the Ding Dong. Everything was fabulously presented – just freaking beautiful, especially the the freshly made Ding Dong. That was by far my favorite dish, rich, smooth chocolatey goodness that just melted in your mouth and even though we chose to add vanilla ice cream, it wasn’t at all overly sweet. Truly perfection. They also had an extensive full bar to make sure we washed down our eats well.
Now honestly, if I could break it down, I’d almost want to give the food portion of my trip 4.5 stars and not because any of the food was bad at all, just because I wasn’t in love with any of our food outside of the dessert. But truly, that just means I’ll have to come back and try other items and really the reason behind that though, was the superb service.
If I could rate that, it would be like a 10. LOL. Extreme, I know, but I definitely feel the the staff/​restaurant went beyond our expectations. For example, they printed out personal menus for our anniversary. I’m such a sucker for that stuff and you know, that is going to be saved and kept in my scrapbook. Our waitress, Taryn, was amazing as well. Super personable and helpful, even getting the valets to wait for us past the 10 p.m. deadline so we didn’t feel rushed on our special night.
Definitely coming back!

Mulvaney’s makes the world a better place.
I love coming here knowing that the previous night’s menu could completely change by morning. It’s kind of suspenseful & the results never disappoint. NEVER. EVER.
I adore the sliced bread with the lightly salted butter. It might be a smoked salt but whatever it is, it bounces all over your taste buds in the best way!
The amuse bouche (small bite/​taste) was (if I remember correctly) a sea bass — ceviche like with a sprinkling of a tomato kind of romanesco over a house made kettle chip. Small yet sooooooo good. I wanted 5 – 10 more. That’s the point.
We also tried the fresh, sustainable sturgeon caviar bite over a sweet carrot purée & a pinch of crème fraîche. It tasted like the ocean. I’m not usually a caviar fan but I must admit, it was fresh and very clean tasting.
We moved on to the main dishes. Yay! We ordered the pasta special — a decadent small plate. Handmade fettuccine, drawn butter, pinch of herbs — parsley, oregano and thyme. A delicious scattering of shaved parmesan and a table-​side dusting of silky black truffle to top it off. Simple. Fresh. Cooked to perfection. This might have been my very favorite dish of the night. Dreamy.
Followed it up with… more pasta. (Look, these are small plates & we did not regret ordering two & sharing). It was also a (perfectly cooked) fettuccine topped with Chili Colorado. Wow! I believe they used hatch chilis in this dish and they were the perfect choice! A good little kick (spice), sweet and perfectly cooked carrots, bite sized cuts of tender pork… mmmmmmm! Another mouth watering good pasta dish. It was the right choice to have the pasta with butter & truffle first. It would have been overpowered by the Colorado sauce had it come first.
I’d like to give a shout out to Sara Jean, our lovely and attentive server for the evening. She along with each and every member of the staff were warm, welcoming, knowledgeable of the menu and wine list and they made the night even more memorable. Sara recommended a beautiful 2012 Nebbiolo — Giornata. It complimented each and every dish perfectly. A new favorite.
We ordered the grilled, juicy, tender double pork chop. It came with a Hatch Chili purée, sautéed broccoli rabe and a creamy dollop of mash potato purée. I usually become blinded with love by a rib eye (also on the menu) but I’m so glad we chose the pork. That’s how pork is supposed taste.
Finally, the Meyer Lemon Pudding dessert is a game changer. I slowly yet surely started moving the martini shaped dish closer to my side of the table. I felt territorial over this puffy yet squishy, lemony yet not too lemony, sweet yet not overpowering pillow of heavenly goodness. I wanted to hug someone. But I settled for interrupting the table next to us to ask if they liked lemons and if so, they HAD to order that dessert. Creepy maybe, but it felt like the right thing to do.
I left beyond satisfied, with a yummy buzz, heart & belly filled with happiness. Thank you, Mulvaney’s B&L. I love you.

Surprise birthday dinner for my boyfriend.
We started off with the charcuterie plate & free bread. It consisted of duck prosciutto, regular prosciutto, lomo, pickles, and some other items. It was a good appetizer. We then ordered the rib eye & duck breast. I thought the duck breast was okay. Not that much of a fan, but it was okay. The rib eye was really good though! Wish I ordered that :(. My boyfriend and friend couldn’t finish their steak because they were so full. After that, we ordered two desserts! One was the famous ding dong. It was SOOO rich. We could not finish it. The other thing we got consisted of marmalade. WE LOVED IT! One appetizer, three entrees & two desserts came out to about 170 pre-​tax.
Other than the food, the customer service was amazing. They were very professional and alert w/​their tables.
Their menu rotates daily so what I listed may not be on there when you go in.
Also, since it was my boyfriend’s bday, they had a special «happy birthday» menu for our table. They also wrote out happy birthday on the dessert plate. Way to make it special, Mulvaney’s :)

On business and wanted to catch up with one of my coworkers over dinner and thought that Mulvaney’s would be a great place. Pictures of the food on Unilocal definitely appealed to us. Parking around midtown was terrible on the Wednesday night that we went but nothing that a little bit looking didn’t solve! The area was definitely busy and very adorable. Mulvaney’s was busy but not packed thank goodness. This made it easy for us to get seats without reservations. Service from our waitress was very typical. Something that you would expect from any nice restaurant. She first asked us what we would like to drink and left us alone for a bit for us to decide what we would like. We ended up ordering:
Smoked Salmon: it was good but not great. In comparison to the foie gras, the foie gras was clearly the winner.
Foie Gras: simply delicious. The foie gras was served on a log and I think I spent a good minute trying to figure out what the log was poking it at with my knife haha. Every single taste was divine!
Duck: I thought that the duck was also very delicious. Very soft and not chewy at all.
Pork Chop: I made sure the butter melted all over the pork chop before I started eating it. One bite and there was a firey kick that I could not explain. You can tell the expression on my face was not the best as well. I couldn’t tell if I liked the taste or not. I was trying to enjoy it however the spiciness would be there (even though the whole time it was bearable). After time it would go away. Weird. So weirded out that I had to ask our waitress what spice was in it and we found out that it was habanero butter: X The pork chop was very good after I was able to get over what the spice was and prepare myself for that unique taste. It is however very big and thick and therefore I was not able to finish it.
For dessert we decided on the hibiscus sorbet which sounded very floral, delicious, and refreshing however it was definitely the opposite. I kept eating it before my coworker got a taste. With every single bite I took before she was able to try it, I had 3 words to describe it and each time it got worse and worse. 1. Tart 2. Bitter. 3. Tastes like medicine. HAHA she tried it also and also agreed that it tasted like medicine but we both tried so hard to like it. We both kept eating it until I could not anymore. It was just so terrible. Our waitress came back to ask us how the sorbet was and how can you lie. so we told her and thank goodness she was very accommodating :) we were given two other sorbets to try (lemon and grapefruit). The grapefruit was definitely both our favorites! The lemon sorbet was too sour.
Overall we really liked the ambiance of the restaurant. It was very cozy yet had an elegant appeal to it. The service was also wonderful and accommodating although a little slow (we were only okay because we weren’t in a rush). Will be back again sometime for the small plates to share!
P. S. The waitress who brings out the food to you will explain everything on the dish but honestly you won’t hear what she’s saying because it’s kind of loud so we were pretty clueless as to what was on the salmon plate hahaha: X
P. S.S. Also the menu changes rather frequently so don’t be alarmed if you don’t see things on the menu. There will be some items that stay year round though!
OH YES. how can I forget. your checks come out in a book. and my book happened to have a few surprises in it that caused us to giggle up a storm: X however my coworkers had cute drawings and quotes in it.

In town for business and was looking for a nicer place to have dinner with my seven coworkers. Mulvaney’s was recommended by our hotel concierge, with reservations as a must.
They are located in a remodeled 1893 Firehouse, with a brick exterior. Once inside it is a tight cozy setting, with a small bar. We however decided to have a table outside on the garden patio because the weather was so perfect. As you enter the patio it’s like a secret garden party, there are a few trees with all these white lights in them as well as candles on each table. Such a great use of space in this private area. Their are two chiefs in the kitchen with a smaller menu that does change.
I decided to go with the Seared Duck Breast (med) with Squash Purée, Bloomsdale Spinach, and Honey Truffle. wow the duck was cooked so well and then married together with the sauce and sides were remarkable. I shared with the group and everyone was a fan. A few friends ordered the Grilled Beelers Pork Chop, and it is massive… both in size and taste.
I tried a few bites of the Grilled Storm Hill Rib Eye, very good but the side of Fried Green Tomatoes steals the show on this dish. They were some of the best iv’e ever had.
We were all so full after dinner but heard the desserts here can not be missed, so we went for a few to share. Sugar Roasted Quince & Apple Crisp, warm and delightful. Dulcey Custard, light and dreamy, homemade ice cream… ginger, vanilla and my favorite espresso! We were told about the famous not on the menu must have… ding dong. So rich and creamy! We were all in a food coma after this spectacular experience.
The service matches up to the quality of food, knowledgeable, personal and professional!
Put this on your list as a must!

Why anyone would rate this place anything less than 5 stars is beyond me!
SERVICE:
My boyfriend and I dined here this past weekend to celebrate his birthday. Upon stepping into the restaurant, the hostesses were incredibly friendly and seated us immediately. Mentioning that we were celebrating his birthday when making reservations, the menus were custom printed with «Happy Birthday John,» which I thought was a nice touch.
Our server for the night, Amy G, was incredible! She was very attentive and gave us excellent recommendations for the night.
FOOD:
Every bite and spoonful was extraordinarily fresh! Word has it that everything is delivered fresh in the morning and the chef creates the daily menu based on what has arrived. Mulvaney’s truly embodies the essence of Farm to Fork!
Starters: We both ordered the Spoon Caviar. It was my first time trying this fine delicacy and my god, am I glad I did! It was beautifully adorned on top of a spoonful of carrot purée and served in a petite fish shaped plate. It tasted a bit salty but the insipid taste of the purée balanced it out quite nicely.
Smaller Plates: Next, we shared an order of the Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras. AND MY GOD, not to be dramatic but this may be the best thing I have ever eaten in my life. The flavor of the foie gras with fig jam was transcendent. Every bite simply melted in my mouth.
Entrée: I ordered the Seared Hawaiian Walu. It was accompanied with shaved squash, daikon and a fried oyster mushroom. The taste and textures of all the components together in one bite made for a perfect symphony of flavors! The dashi sauce gave the dish a nice subtle acidic tang which really tied the whole plate together.
Dessert: For dessert we ordered off the secret, but not so secret menu. The infamous Mulaney’s Ding Dong! It was incredibly rich in flavor and went tremendously well with a cup of cappuccino. Amy wrote «Happy Birthday» on the plate and brought it out with a candle — it was the perfect touch for the end of our dinner.
Overall, my boyfriend and I had a terrific time here! Everything was perfect and I know we’re already trying to find our next excuse to come back!

Came here for a surprise date night!
It’s a cute, romantic, dimly lit restaurant. On a summer night like today, I’d recommend the patio seating!
The venue itself isn’t huge, but it’s cozy for smaller parties looking for intimacy.
Water and bread must be requested!
Service: little slow, but attentive waiters
I ordered the bacon wrapped stuffed sole which was very tasty. It looked small but when I started to eat it, it was definitely filling! Fish is seasoned well, and love the crispy bacon texture!
Pork chops seemed good too, but I like my fish more! This one is huge portioned and very chewy and meaty for you carnivores. My bf got his medium rare plus! Whatever that means.
All in all, great dinner and decent service!

Friday traffic sucks! Just had to get that out of my system since it made me late to my reservations — so many accidents on the freeway but it’s ok because the staff at Mulvaney’s were able to accommodate us.
I made reservations for my husband’s birthday to surprise him. I told him that I will pick him up after work to run errands but the surprise was ruined when we were stuck in bumper-​to-​bumper traffic for over an hour! I had to have him call Mulvaney’s to tell them we will be 30 minutes late.
Besides that minor bump, it was a wonderful evening. We parked our car down the block and walked to the old fire house building, of which is now the quaint restaurant, The weather was perfect and so were the staff at Mulvaney’s! Our waitress was so pleasant and served us marvelous food! They even had «Happy Birthday» on our menus for a personal touch.
The menu changes all the time. We ordered the abalone, albacore tuna tartare, potato soup, fettuccine, and duck. All were really delicious. We really enjoyed our experience as well as the food there. Such a wonderful date night with my husband!