Blackbird Kitchen + Beer Gallery

This place is great for pre gaming before concert in the park since it’s right down the street. I was impressed by the selection of beers they had. The have some good happy hour deals on beer flights and oysters. Their chips and gauc was killing it.

We (5 of us from the office) lunched for the first time at Blackbird Kitchen today and the food was AMAZING!
The place doesn’t look like much from the outside (not inviting — most people would miss it if just walking by) but décor was fun and vibe was inviting once inside. Service was a bit slow but bartender/​waiter/​server was a friendly guy and apologized about the lunch crowd rush.
We ordered guacamole and chips to share and it was very tasty & fresh — Chips were warm & freshly made!
We all ordered the fish tacos: 2 orders of original batter fried and 3 orders with the fish grilled. I had one of the original orders and must say that it was extremely yummy and fresh! The grilled fish tacos were reported to be very tasty also. We also ordered a 5 piece fried chicken to share, which was a VERY good idea! The chicken was fried to perfection and the batter was crisp and well-​seasoned. Fantastic!
I highly recommend Blackbird and I’m sitting here thinking of a way to get back there for lunch as soon as I can!

LOVE this place! First time and I’ll definitely be back for their happy hour.
The beer flights are only $ 10 (for 4) and you get a slider or 2 tacos for an additional $ 5 with the flight.
The décor and ambience suits my style. If your eyes get bored (trust me it’s a thing) you can look at the artwork for sale that lines the walls. Did I mention they have a killer selfie mirror in the women’s restroom?
Our waiter was Perf. I wish I could remember his name! Very attentive and patient.
I got the fish tacos (BOMB!), $ 2 miyagi oysters (BOMB!), a flight, and a dirty martini (not apart of the happy hour special).
My roommate got the BBQ oysters (not a fan) and the guacamole with chips (BOMB!).

Cool place and I was excited to see the framed artwork of Ginny Jester on the walls. I was here early in the evening so I don’t know what the later crowd is like here. They put a Luxardo Cherry in my Old Fashioned which is always welcome, and the only other place I know that does it is Piatti’s.

While they have a range of cocktails and snacks, the service is consistently poor so don’t come looking for help. Know what you want and be ready to have to flag down the server.
The drinks are amazing and super fun! While each unique name is escaping me, check out the lavender cocktail and the cucumber summer cocktail, both are refreshing and tasteful. The Manhattan is STRONG so watch out for that.
I went here with two friends for happy hour and while our drinks were to die for, we had to flag down the waiter at least twice, once for menus and once to order. Note that we’re pretty self-​entertaining, low-​maintenance folk, especially during happy hour. I mentioned this lack of service to other friends that weren’t at HH with us and they echoed similar experiences.
PROS: cool space; fun cocktails; fair prices
CONS: service slow and DGAF; dark (unless that’s what you’re looking for); out of half the 10ish HH beers

Outstanding experience here! Came in for the happy hour menu and we were taken care of extremely well by a gentlemen that would constantly check on us and refill our water. They had really interesting cocktails and the guacamole and chips were excellent. I would love to come back. We ordered beers and were very pleased with the selection!

The food was superb, and the waiter even better. He was friendly, let us take our time, and joked around with us.
I had the sliders. Delish! The fried chicken was off the hook. And you should definitely order the chips and guacamole — both fantastic.
We chose this place due to good reviews and location. It was fun walking around downtown before and after dinner.

Trendy new-​ish brew house touting 50 beers and striving for hipster ambiance. Where are these 50 beers? 22 on menu and out of 2. Navigating the brew selections would have been improved with assistance of bartender. Instead she «gave more time» for us to decide and ran away before any questions could be asked.
We arrived hungry, but service was spotty, so decision was made to finish our first drinks and move on. Disappointing experience. Friday afternoon 4:30 pm. Hardly a crowd.
I would offer a review of our brew selections, but I think the service jaded our taste buds.

Came here for the happy hour 3−6PM. We got the oyster’s it was $ 1.5/per oyster, when they were normally $ 2/​each. But i’ll take the mini discount! Drinks are $ 5-​$ 6 for beer and house wine.
The guy was super nice and also gave us the fish taco’s usually $ 7 because the kitchen made a mistake. How awesome is that? They easily could have just eaten it themselves.
The french fries were nice and thick! Super yummy! In addition, i got the side rabbit salad. It was a large portion for $ 5. Definitely want to go back and try the rest!

We went there last Thursday. We each had one beer and ordered a ½ dozen oysters. By the time I was done with my pint there still weren’t any oysters. It turns out that the kitchen had given our order to another table. I had the bartender take it off our tab. I understand mistakes, but I was also there about 2 weeks ago and ordered the deviled eggs, which never came. The bartenders aren’t personable, and the prices are pretty high. I will be taking my business elsewhere from now on, unfortunately.

I celebrated my birthday last week and wanted to go somewhere that I don’t usually go, so I chose Blackbird. (I’ve been here two previous times and really enjoy the feel of the space.) I made a reservation for 8 and had no issues, our table was right by the loud speaker however which was a downside. I really like the flight and tacos or sliders for $ 15 deal, half of our group took advantage of that. They have a great selection of beers and ciders for those who don’t like beer + a full bar. I got the sliders and chips for my meal and was not impressed, they were dry and not very flavorful. A friend had the fried chicken and that was delicious. My boyfriend loved his chowder fries and I heard no complaints from my friends boyfriend who ordered the oysters. Overall the experience was good and I’d go back again for the flight and tacos/​sliders. I wish they still had these delicious nachos I had in the past but they do not :(

I went here a couple weeks ago with some friends and was appalled. Granted it was a Friday night, but I have never had service that bad.
There were four of us and we were seated right as we walked in, which was really great, but it took another ten minutes to get our menus. Once our actual waiter came to our table fifteen minutes later, we ordered beers and water. It took them another ten minutes to get those out. We then ordered three different appetizers and four happy hour food options. FORTY MINUTES later one of our appetizers showed up. The next one was a couple minutes later, and the last appetizer didn’t show up until some of the food did. I got my meal (fish tacos), then my girlfriend got hers (clam chowder), then my best friend got hers (fish tacos), but my other friend still didn’t have his appetizer or meal (French fries & fish tacos).
We asked the waiter if the other stuff was coming out and he said «what other stuff?» And we explained to him that my friend still didn’t get his food, and he said «well you didn’t order the fish tacos so you’ll have to order them now» when the other three people sitting at the table heard him order them, and we even made a joke about all getting fish tacos because he was the last to order!
During this entire time, our waiter was incredibly short and irritated every time he talked to us. We asked for napkins after our meal (Okay but why the hell were we not given napkins in the beginning?!)and he walked to the bar, grabbed those dinky little bar napkins, rolled his eyes, and put them on our table. Like really dude?
The only reason I didn’t give them one star was because of their attempt to fix their shit service. The hostess (I think her name is Catarina?) was walking by as we were trying to get our waiter’s attention, and asked if we were doing alright. My girlfriend explained to her about the incredibly ridiculous wait time and how our friend’s entire meal was forgotten. She apologized profusely and said she was gonna see what she could do. She came back a couple minutes later and informed us that they would take 50% off our bill. It was very generous, I thought. Then once we paid the bill, she came up to us with a $ 20 gift card and said they’d like to ask us for a second chance on their restaurant. She was so helpful & understanding, and is by far the best person they have working there.
All of the people in my party (including myself) have worked in the restaurant industry at one point or another, so we understand that sometimes it’s busy beyond your control and you can’t always control how fast the cook is, but there is absolutely no reason to be rude to your patrons when they’ve been nothing but patient & understanding. The food was excellent so it’s a big bummer that they hire such rude waiters. They need to promote their hostess (Catarina) to waitress because she was absolutely awesome. The décor and location were incredible as well.
I’m looking forward to going back and seeing if they can step their game up.

5o types of beers, love that! I did not eat so I honestly couldn’t give more stars for that reason. Bartenders attentive and happy hour was exactly the time we hung out right before concert in the park… I would recommend this place if you are off work early in downtown and killing time before concert. Best beer ever: chocolate porter shake!!!

What can I say? I’m quite digging for this place located in the Downtown neighborhood in Sacramento! On 5÷6÷2016 after the first night of the «Concert in the Park» series was over, I decided to visit to the «Blackbird Kitchen + Beer Gallery» for the first time. As I entered, the atmosphere is quite elegant and divey here as I welcomed. The concept is much like mixing Dive Bar and portions of Crocker Art Museum combined into a wicked art gallery dive restaurant all in one!
The bartenders, servers, and chefs are doing an amazing job for making the customers like me a sensational service despite the busiest nighttime environment. No cons at all.
Now onto the food! Since it’s on the happy hour special, I ordered the fish tacos for a dinner snack. So far, it tasted very good! They flavors are on-​point which I did feel the salsa flavors of that taco especially adding a squeeze pint of lime on all three mini tacos. Yummy! I haven’t tried their mixed drinks and beer here, so I’ll might be back next time for my next visits or so.
Parking at Blackbird can be difficult to park. You can park at the nearest surface street parking nor the parking garage if it’s available. Otherwise, you can also ride a bike, walk, or use public transportation easier without the hassles.
In the end, Blackbird Kitchen + Beery Gallery is the coolest and the finest local dive bar/​restaurant that I’ve ever visited for the first time! Perfect for nightouts, and friends gatherings too! A well, worthy experience! My rating: 4 solid stars.

I’m not one to post reviews but tonight’s service was definitely noteworthy. The three stars is for the service. Not the food.
As starters we are «seasoned» parents. We have three young children. Two of which were not with us tonight. Since we had our 5mo old with us, it was like a date night. We decided to go back to Blackbird since we haven’t been there in years and because we didn’t have to cater to our other children’s food needs, etc.
We got there at 550pm on a Saturday. The place had maybe two single people at the bar and a couple seated at a high top as we walked in. The host came over and said «do you have a reservation?» I tried to hold back a snarky laugh and my husband said «no.» The place was EMPTY. There were clearly no reservations needed.
The host walked away and said «let me find you a table.» Again, not sure why he’s making a huge deal (oh wait, yes, we have a baby).
He came back and said «oh you have a baby you get to sit upstairs» and began to walk upstairs to *look for a table.* There were no guests even seated up there. He finally walked back down and says «ok, since you have a baby you can sit at that table upstairs.»
We got seated and from their our waiter was good and the food was great. No complaints there.
I do understand there are places to take children and other places where you should not. However, the blatant prejudice for us having a young child with us was appalling.

I had Miyagi oyster (with Unilocal discount), poke ahi with Pliny the Elder! My husband ordered hamburger that came with homemade chips. Everything is outstanding. Interior is pretty fancy and service is very good.

Really random little place! I stumbled upon this place with my boyfriend while in Sacramento one weekend. The ambiance is what initially attracted me to this place, but that later completely turned me away. The bartenders seemed slammed and continually failed to acknowledge us at the bar — no menus, waters, nothing! After finally taking a look at their happy hour menu, we were not impressed. As others have mentioned, most of their happy hour menu is fish — that’s a bummer! I will say that the fish tacos were actually pretty good, but probably not the best I’ve ever had. I ended up getting sliders, which were actually pretty substantial. However, they tasted oddly like In’N’out burgers, it was probably the thousand island dressing. So I paid $ 14 for 4 little in’N’out burgers when I could of actually gotten 14 regular sized burgers from the actual in’N’out — can you say RIP OFF?!
Overall, the service seemed to improve as the night progressed. I probably would be back in the future for drinks, but nothing more unless their menu improves.

I was looking for a place downtown for dinner and Unilocal thought I might like blackbird. It was a quick walk from the hotel. We almost missed it and boy am I glad we didn’t.
It looks like a great place to have a couple beers a little on the Hipster side but that’s okay.
The menu was small but inviting and I asked our server Kyle what he thought was the best on the menu. Without hesitation he said the captain’s fries. He also noted that the ahi poki was a favorite as well.
I had the captain’s fries which were unbelievable. Take a bowl put a couple inches of the most wonderful clam chowder add french fries and top it with shrimp and bacon.
My friend had the ahi and loved it. We split their dessert and it was wonderful as well. Kyle was a wonderful waiter and we got out of there for under $ 50 for dinner for two. Hard to beat that in downtown Sacramento. I’ll be back.

I stopped in for oysters and a pint. The bartender was friendly and helpful with the extensive beer list. I couldn’t decide what to get so she recommended two half pints of different local beer that would pair well. She poured my beer, shucked my oysters and engaged in witty banter while I was there. Good bar

After reading through the negative reviews I wasn’t sure what to expect. I cam during lunch hour and the place was decently busy.
The service was nice, it took several minutes from when I sat down to get menus, but it wasn’t bad.
The oysters were awesome. The fish tacos were very good, maybe slightly under seasoned. The biggest complaint was the fish was too big to fit in the totillas (sarcasm font)
My regret was coming when I couldn’t have beer. They have a great beer menu.

First time since it reopened and this is disappointing. The place is woefully understaffed or they love to leave their bar a mess. It makes me wonder about cleansliness here

For what it’s worth, I actually went into this place with a pre-​conceived notion that I was going to write them a 5-​star Unilocal review. I had heard so many great things from so many people, including my friend who had invited me that day because they have the best happy hour and the best fish tacos.
They have the worst happy hour and the worst fish tacos. For drinks, they have a list of beers, ciders, and wines that are $ 5 during happy hour– no well drinks or cocktails even though they do have a full bar. For food, they have risotto sliders, deviled eggs, and four or five seafood items, which are all shellfish except for the fish tacos.
I forced myself to eat 1.5 tacos because my friend had raved about how they were the best tacos in the world and also because there was no chance of more food in my life until at least the next morning. The fish was so salty that I’m feeling a little bit sick just thinking about it. Like hey um can I have a little cod to go with my salt? The coleslaw was bland. The chipotle crema was either missing or undetectable, although I did look for it.
The waitress was the meanest waitress that has ever waitressed since the word «waitress» was invented. At first I thought my friends were tripping or maybe a little drunk so I was totally sticking up for her… but upon further inspection, she was just flat-​out mean. This happened at the table next to us:
«Hi! How are you? May I please have a menu?»
«Which menu?»
«Um… the happy hour menu?»
«Which menu?»
«Whatever menu you have right now.»
«Which menu? The food or the drink menu?» But it’s like… there’s a tiny happy hour menu that is like the size of an index card, and then the regular menu has the beers that are $ 5 during happy hour highlighted on it.
I’m just saying, you’re off to a really bad start if it takes that much arguing just to get a menu, which you shouldn’t even have to ask for in the first place…
She didn’t seem to be under the influence of anything. She didn’t seem to be having a bad day, because she was having a great time with her coworkers. The entire time we were there, she had a maximum of eight guests.
Then when the bill came, even though we were splitting one bill, she insisted on taking each card to the register one at a time, which would be totally acceptable if it was her first day or she was in training. Then, when she took my card, I made a point of clarifying more than once which amount was supposed to go on my card. I was charged that and then another charge, too, which could be from another table. Unless it wasn’t, if you know what I mean… and we had already tipped her 20% in spite of her lint-​licking ways because we have souls or something.
#pickleyoukumquat

Ate here on Friday evening based on the positive reviews and word of mouth.
GOODS
— The sever Corey/​Cory was very pleasant and patient and deserves credit.
— Cocktail (Paloma) was well made.
BADS
— Fried chicken was fried for too long with near-​burnt skin and overcooked meat.
— Vegan sliders were not very impressive. The patties were starch based and it was like eating carbs on carbs, not very satisfying.
— Fries were soaked in oil and not well seasoned.
We would be willing to try it again, but likely just for cocktails and snacks.

We stopped in on a whim!
What a fantastic place! Do NOT tell Guy Fieri! Keep this our Sac hidden secret!
Best local craft beer list!
great Happy Hour prices
Yummy yummy food!
Had the fish tacos and the sliders and we were too stuffed to try any more on the menu!
The oysters looked phenom!
The homemade chips are the snack starter bomb!!!
You must go! And this is not just because we met the Chef!
The food and beer are just excellent!

Looks like Blackbird is once again open for business. We came here around 9:30pm on a Friday night and they had 4 beer tastings for $ 10 in honor of beer week. I ordered 4 different types of cider, all pretty good. I’m glad they have 5 different ciders on tap now. They stop serving food at 10:00pm so will have to come back and try their dinner.
I remember when Blackbird had $ 1 oysters for happy hour, now it’s $ 2 on happy hour. Will be back to try the happy hour as well.

Uggghhhhhhh Blackbird 3.0 really??? Nothing has changed!!!
Our group had a room reserved for my coworkers promotion. Luckily she knows the owner so they were allowing us to have Happy Hour upstairs (normally bar only). We had a waitress to ourselves, great right??? Ugh no! We could never find the lady. She was MIA. I even went downstairs to complain. How do you keep leaving a party of 20??? Sucks for her because she could have made a killing on tips. Side note; owner was out of town.
Service boo, and now on to the food/menu…also boo! The HH menu consist of $ 2 Kumamoto oysters, chowder, fish tacos and fries; that was it! Oh I’m sorry one cider and one beer! Zero drink specials! So one drink for coworker, a few glasses of vino, 6 oysters…$ 65 dollars later… This Unilocaler was hungry! Oh and let me mention I ordered shrimp spring rolls from the special beer pairing menu and it never showed up, I think our waitress forgot… I went home and made some pasta.
Blackbird 1.0 was good, 2.0 not so much, 3.0 even worse. Over priced and bad service!!! Boo to you black bird!

So I walked into Blackbird after wandering around Sacramento for about two hours. Immediately upon entering, I was greeted and asked to take a seat anywhere. I chose to sit at the bar.
Being the beer lover I am, I immediately ordered a flight of beers (four, five ounce pours of any of the beers offered on tap). The beers were served quickly, and the bartender, Erin, immediately engaged me in casual conversation. She was very friendly and attentive (not just to me, to everyone seated at the bar).
About halfway through my flight, she checked on me to see how I was doing, and whether I wanted or needed anything else (food or drink). As I was only exploring the city waiting for coworkers, I informed her that I didn’t need anything other than the check so that I could go catch up with my coworkers. I did promise to try and bring my coworkers back with me.
The beers offered here are great. By that I mean they have a great selection of brands and styles: porters, IPAs, hefeweizens, stouts, sours. Currently, they have «White Stout» by Track 7 Brewing here in Sacramento. If they’ve still got it, and you’re a fan of Stouts, try it… it’ll BLOW YOUR MIND.
For the record, I really did try to bring my coworkers back, however, when we came back, and they looked at the menu, they claimed there was too much fried food on the menu and not enough «fresh» options. Well, I’m certainly not going to «ding» this place on my rating for that purpose, because this is my review, and I think the menu here is just fine. Although, I can’t really give this place five stars until I Unilocal their food items. Next time Blackbird!

Very cool find in downtown Sac. Blackbird has an extraordinary interior, very hip and inviting and great vibes. My boyfriend and I dined at Blackbird on Saturday and to our surprise it was happy hour (until 7 pm AND on a Saturday!) and there was a DJ spinning live music (DJ Rock Bottom… he was excellent!).
The wait staff was super friendly, very nice, and attentive. The food was pretty damn tasty. Although on the greasier side, the breaded fish tacos and vegan risotto sliders were DELICIOUS– seasoned perfectly. The drinks were also incredibly made and the beer selection was awesome.
I will be back to try out Blackbird again. There were zero downsides to this place. 5 stars all the way. :)