Punch Bowl Social Sacramento has so much more than amazing food. Recently I checked out this restaurant/bar/bowling alley/billiards/gaming mecca.
First off, if location is everything, this place is gold. It’s within the Sawyer Hotel building and an anchor restaurant in DOCO.
For those not familiar, DOCO, stands for Downtown Commons. It’s the area surrounding the Golden 1 Center Arena. New restaurants and stores seem to be opening every week in this shopping and eating haven, minutes from the State Capitol and Old Sacramento.
Recently, my husband and I went over to Punch Bowl Social.
We got to the restaurant about 11 a.m. on a Saturday and we easily got a great table.
Tip: If you head over at a more popular time, like the night of a Kings’ Game or on a weekend evening, I’d recommend making a reservation. They are on OpenTable, so it’s really easy.
We decided we wanted to go big, so we sampled a lot of different items.
We started with the Lobster Bacon Fries and the It’s Nacho Mama’s nachos.
Both dishes were absolutely amazing. It would be really hard to pick a favorite.
The fries are topped lobster and bacon (of course), but also sour cream, cheddar cheese, and a yummy garlic sauce. Definitely not winning any health awards, but nothing wrong with scooping up a small, yummy serving for my occasional splurge.
The nachos were also absolutely amazing. These are topped with roasted cauliflower, queso, and fresh jalapeños. Or if you are spice wimp like me, jalapeños on the side so your partner can enjoy them all.
Again, not the healthiest of meals, but I scooped out a nice portion and enjoyed every bite.
We also made the mistake of ordering entrees. Not really a mistake in the traditional sense. They were delicious and perfect to take home. But a mistake because we really didn’t need any more food than the fries and nachos.
I ordered the Superfood Grain Bowl.
It really was perfection in a bowl, and if I could replicate it at home (maybe I’ll try), I definitely would. It had crispy farro, quinoa, kale, pickled radishes, sprouts, roasted carrots, shiitake mushrooms, and a poached egg. It also came with pickled chiles, but I got these on the side. So glad I did because they were SUPER SPICY. Only get them if you like to hang with hot stuff.
Since I was already full when my Superfood Grain Bowl arrived, I ate the egg (I didn’t think that it would keep well) and took the rest home. It made the perfect dinner.
My husband got the ‘Lil Street Tacos. They were really good. In fact, our waiter said that was his favorite dish they serve.
After lunch, we took a few laps around the beautiful space.
There are two different areas of bowling lanes, pool tables, corn hole, and a hockey puck table. They have a little arcade section, with everything from classic pinball to virtual reality, and a karaoke booth, in case you want to get your jam on.
And the cutest idea, in my opinion, is you can check out board games. They have all the classics. Such a great idea to make a dinner even more fun and memorable.
It’s so wonderful to have Punchbowl Social right here in Sacramento. What a great, unique addition to our growing entertainment center in downtown Sacramento!
And out-of-towners, maybe you have one close to you?! They have ten other locations throughout the U.S. and several more opening this year. If you live near one, check it out! If you live in the Sacramento area, get down to DOCO soon and experience what all the buzz is about. It is definitely worth it!
