Restaurant 55 Degrees

It is a sad day in Sacramento when a good restaurant closes with great food and drinks.

Went here for dinner awhile back and came out very, very satisfied! This place is literally 2 blocks away from the state capitol. It’s located in this condo, business tower. Nice ambience, very casual and a small bar to go with it. Food was awesome. Their menu was very appealing with course 1 to 3. I would HIGHLY recommend this place for dinner!
Overall: Must try! stuffed organic roasted chicken breast $ 22.00
can you say perfect juicy chicken. nice size portion
tai snapper $ 27.00 Nice size fish and very moist.

Normally, I would hate to give a restaurant with so much potential a «3 star» hit. However, as I was thinking back, I have eaten here 5 times now and the food quality and overall experience has been very inconsistent. Sometimes I’ve left with a great impression, and other times feeling a little robbed. Somehow, their food experience has not been as consistent therefore become low on the rolodex when it comes to me considering a meal that I am prepared to spend a respectable amount of coin.
On the upside the soup (as a French chef’s should always be) is very creative and well flavored, the mussels 55 degree style are solid (although I prefer Plouf’s in San Francisco —
) — The Hoegaarden is a nice touch and the scallops always seem to be well flavored, simple and fresh.
The downsides are hard to notice, but for the quality and budget expectations of a gourmet French-​inspired menu, customers will be expecting the articulations of Thomas Keller or Joel Robuchon. And when they aren’t quite achieved consistently (the key), it is disappointing and a point to note. The crab cakes used to be a rave of mine, but have digressed to a slightly blander version of its original rendition. The tartar was very mediocre and the rest of the Course Two seems a bit shaky as well. The course three menu has been a bit inconsistent as well. The duck is great one trip out, and the next dry and overdone. The proteins overall have just been a bit hit and miss. And, the accompanying elements have been either bland or window dressing, where it would be nicer if they were seasoned a bit better with more attention to detail.
Overall, a great place to impress a date, bring a business partner or belly-​up and enjoy the drinks. But for a $ 200 – 300 meal, I’m not sure I am convinced I’m getting that quality every time I roll up on this experience.

The restaurant seemed overpriced when I went, but I don’t recall exactly since it was a sponsored lunch (Woot! Love them free lunches). The food was good, and I liked the atmosphere.
The express side on the other hand was nothing special at all. Dinky salads, an extremely ordinary sandwiches… if you’re looking for a good sandwich, there are at least 5 other places I would recommend going to first, including Subway.

This restaurant is very chic and well appointed; although it was busy it was not overly loud. The owner greeted us personally and the service was competent throughout. Prom Club definitely enjoyed themselves in this lovely spot.
Personally I thought the mussels were not good – rather fishy and old tasting but that is my fault for ordering them inland I guess. One of our group liked them just fine. Overall, the food could take some improvement – it isn’t quite up to the elegance of the surroundings.
Ya gotta love the Pomtini!

Loved it! Being someone who was born & raised in Sactown but left for the glories of the big (ger) city lights, I love coming home to Sac when there is a great restaurant like this to try. Took my mom for her birthday and she is hard to please. We all loved it!
My only complaint: The wagyu beef (steak frites) was pretty tough, if in fact it was wagyu. But the friendly waitress did everything she could to correct it, and finally ended up taking it off our bill. Wow. Nice save!

My wifey was forced to eat her on a Wednesday business lunch. She works for the corporation whose downtown offices occupy four floors of the 555 Capitol Mall building, of which this restaurant also inhabits.
She ordered a shrimp salad ($ 12)…which was hardly a salad (a few bits of arugula & greens) and contained only FOUR dinky pieces of shrimp.
RIPOFF ALERT: Do not eat here unless you like to waste money! The food is good, but (like that Master Card commercial) plan on being hungry after you finish your meal!
(Wifey says the only «saving grace» is that someone else was buying her lunch… so she didn’t have to pay for it!)

I was very underwhelmed by Restaurant 55. The décor is nice, if a bit sterile. Location is okay, parking is easy.
THE GOOD
— Some of what was mentioned above. Downtown, at night, is just much easier to brave than Midtown.
— Service is good, if a bit stiff. Unlike say, Mulvaney’s, it didn’t seem like the servers enjoy their job much.
— Had an interesting soup composed of mussels and carrot broth.
— The chef was in the house that evening.
— An incredible crème brûlée
— Meals are very well presented.
THE MEDIOCRE
— Pretty much the rest of the meal. Crab cakes were mostly crab, which is good. The slaw was a bit too miracle whip, mayonnaise-​y.
— Salmon did not taste very fresh. For a fine dining restaurant in California, this is absolutely inexcusable. I can get a very fresh tasting piece of fish at the Nugget deli on any given day. It was paired with some root vegetables, which were pleasantly earthy, but also with a beet sauce that added very little to the dish other than a hint of sweetness. It didn’t quite marry the earthy and seafood flavors as I’m sure was intended.
— Risotto was bland, uninspired. A pasty mélange of parmesaen and mushrooms. A very familiar flavor pairing which was not elevated in any way shape or form by this dish.
OVERALL
Perhaps it’s just the expected «wow» factor one expects to get out of this kind of restaurant. It didn’t really much during this meal. I’ll take the occasional lows for a couple of really exceptional highs, instead of a continuous flat note. That’s kind of the way to describe the meal. A continuous flat note. Not that it was terrible. Just not up to the caliber of many of the other fine dining restaurants in the area.

This place is for fine dining…
Thus, the price was on the high side.
The total came out to be around 150 – 160.
I believe this place is the best place to eat in sacramento; however, its too expensive for my blood. =)
My GF and I went around 8PM for her birthday.
All the tables had candles. romantic for girls i guess.
The waitress was nice and friendly; however, the place wasn’t really packed.
The food is so good, i dream about it. =)
I would recommend this place over Biba. =)

this review is strictly for the $ 30 prix fixe menu during dine downtown:
for the price, it was great. they also offered a wine pairing course for an additional $ 20 (and with a decent glass of wine there being around $ 14, the pairing was a steal!). a great deal for $ 50!
first course was a choice of crab cake, beet salad or saffron mussel soup. i had the soup and it was very good, albeit a little heavy on the crème fraîche. the mussel flavor was very subtle (it was a mussel stock with only one piece of mussel garnishing the soup). the wine paired with my soup of a gosset sparking champagne. the wine itself was good, but with the soup was a bit too acidy. i also had a bit of my friend’s crab cake and i must say i was surprised by the amount of crab. it’s so hard to find a good crab cake because many places don’t use fresh crab meat and/​or are 99% breadcrumbs. here, it was at least 90% crab, 10% breadcrumbs.
second course was a choice of steak frites, grilled salmon, or mushroom risotto. i had the steak, minus the frites but with sauteed wild mushrooms instead. the steak (which i asked to be cooked per chef’s recommendations) was perfect, but a tad bit sinewy. the lemon parsley butter that sat on top of the steak was great. it really added to the flavor. the wild mushrooms were perfectly cooked as well. the wine was a oberon cabernet sauvignon. it was quite bold, which stood up to the steak well, but it also had a very strong sweetness that lingered at the end… i didn’t know what to make of it. my friend’s mushroom risotto was tasty too, a bit al dente with just the right amount of truffle oil that made you wonder, what’s that flavor?
third course was either a trio of sorbet, crème brûlée or a chocolate mousse. i had the sorbet trio of mango, pineapple and kiwi. the kiwi was to die for. they were paired with some sort of a dessert wine that started with an «s». i don’t usually eat dessert, or drink dessert wine so i didn’t know what it was. but i thought this pairing was by far the best.
all in all, a good food experience. my only problem is that our reservation was for 5 people at 830 on a wednesday night, yet we had to wait 15 for a table (even though there was an open one in the corner which never got filled), AND it took about an hour and a half for 3 courses. i know this place is trying to be fine dining, so you’re supposed to be able to enjoy your meal, but the place was empty at around 915 and we had to wait eons for them to clear the plates and bring the next course.

One of my new favorite places to eat in Sac. The food is excellent and the service is top notch. The atmosphere is nice but not stuffy.
They have a great crab cake appetizer– not greasy or salty at all. Great salads as well.
They have a great steak frites– the chef perfectly cooked mine and it was probably the best steak I have had in a long time. Completely worth the $ 25.
The mushroom risotto also looks amazing– but its pretty rich with truffle oil and loads of butter– so I’m holding off on that till after my next big race– and totally reasonable for $ 17.
Their desserts are really really good. The crème brûlée was delicious!
Oh, and did I mention the service? Every staff member I’ve encountered has been pleasant and helpful.
A bit on the pricey side for me– this is a special occasion/​every once in a while place to get a really good dinner. I’d suggest it for business dinners, celebrating anniversaries/birthdays/holidays…and if you can afford to go here more than that more power to you!

I went here for lunch today. I’ll give them 3.5 stars. The restaurant is a very nice place. The wait staff are pleasant and present themselves well. The food is good but not great and really does not justify the high prices. Not for this area anyway. I had the tuna burger with the wasabi mayo. The arugula was on the bitter side. The pommes gaufrettes were few but they were good tasting. They kind of reminded me of Pringles potato chips with holes in them.

My bf took me here for my birthday. The waiters/​waitresses were awesome and it wasn’t just ONE person checking on us, it was pretty much their entire staff.
I especially loved their «white lady» dessert topped with a candle, whipped cream and ‘happy birthday’ written in fudge. I will definitely come back here when I am in town again. :)

They claim to have the best burgers in town. The $ 11 burgers comes with fries and dipping sauce served in shot glasses. I work in the building so the convenience and the service can’t beat the price. The meat is fantastic and the portion is perfect.

One of my favorite restaurants in the Downtown area. Elegantly prepared and presented dishes — perfect place for a special occasion or to bring special guests. Waitstaff here are attentive without being pretentious or overbearing.
They recently began a warm-​weather series on Thursday evenings beginning at 6pm on their patio: wine tastings and complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Flights of three wines for $ 12.
Without question, 55 Degrees has the best crab cake in town: fresh dungeness crab meat delicately seasoned and lightly seared, accompanied by micro greens. Unlike most crab cakes, this one stands on the quality and texture of the crab meat rather than bread crumbs or other fillers.
If you like mussels, try their mussels and pomme frites combinations — one of their more affordable meals at $ 16. I’ve enjoyed their day boat scallops, the atlantic salmon, and the organic chicken breast dishes. All of these have been superb and I’ve never had a meal disappoint me here (unlike Mason’s, which has failed to deliver every time, no matter how much I want to like it). Main dishes run from $ 17 to $ 32 so bring the plastic or lots of cash.
Desserts have been a little hit and miss here. Seasonal fruit sorbets vary and can be a little too tart. Next visit will have to try the artisanal cheese plate, which we have ogled from afar.
I personally am right at home with the minimalist modern ambiance — large plate glass windows and warm wood paneling. Kudos to the architects and designers who reworked the building and this space, leaving the original essence intact.

The beautiful and newly-​remodeled lobby of Plaza 555 now houses Restaurant 55. I came here just after my 21^st birthday and was treated very well by a staff of friendly waiters who gave their honest opinions on just about everything on the menu.
The food here is comparable to what I encountered in Nice, France a few summers ago. Rich, creamy sauces and tender meats call your name once you step inside. I would have liked to dine outside, but given the 109-​degree high that day, «55 degrees» inside seemed a bit more pleasant…

Overall, I have found this place to be very delicious and a very good deal. I chose this place on a day trip to Sacramento to visit a friend and knew nothing about it.
The waitress was very friendly and helpful and tolerated my wavering back and forth about whether or not to get a poached egg with mashed potatoes. In the end, I decided to take the risk and I was very pleased. It’s one of the weirder dishes I’ve had in a while and I completely enjoyed it. If I remember correctly, it also had a green pea paste and truffle oil. Yum.
The wine list was good, although a little more variation would have been nice. But, I wasn’t disappointed with my choices, either.
The dessert was a tasty crème brule – nothing special but also satisfying.
I look forward to going here again when I am forced to go back to Sacramento.

There are a few complaints I have about 55 degrees, so let us get them out of the way first.
1. Happy Hour. As you enter the restaurant there are a few tables lodged in the corridor created by the bar and the windows. During happy hour, people conversing with their colleagues seated at the bar push against those tables, creating a logjam. No one would want to sit at one of those tables while twenty people crowd around as though watching an after-​school fistfight. Please get rid of those tables. In their place I recommend a thin ledge along the windows where standing patrons can rest their drinks, or place smaller tables of a height equal to the bar for the same purpose.
2. Mayonnaise. I like my pommes frites with mayonnaise — real mayonnaise. 55 degrees makes excellent pommes frites. I don’t think it would be too much trouble to replace the mayonnaise currently served with the frites (I suspect Best Foods Mayo) with some whipped up by the talented chefs. This simple change would make all the difference in the world.
3. Bier. I would like to see a few more Trappist biers in the menu.
Three minor complaints, and really it’s only two complaints: the bier selection is great, and the Duvel is always served in proper Belgian glassware.
Which brings up the first great thing about 55 degrees: though the restaurant is listed here under the «French» category, I would classify it as Belgian. The signature dish of Mussels and Fries (Moules et Frites in French; in Flemmish, Mosselen en Fritten) transports you as close to the seaside resorts of Ostend (Oostende) as one can get in Sacramento. The smell alone is worth ordering the dish, and when a table nearby orders it, you will wish you had done so as well. Order the mussels with a bier — which is another distinction between Belgium and France: in Belgium it is perfectly acceptable to order a bier with your dinner. Though 55 degrees does have fine selection of wines.
The poached egg with mashed potatoes: my wife orders this every time. She prefers it with mushrooms or garden peas, to the squash. But she orders it every time.
The mushroom risotto is creamy, served hot, and the truffle oil is used sparingly.
The duck breast is excellent, never over-​cooked, and is well paired with the Belgian endive.
For lunch, the hamburger is great, the best in Sacramento, probably.
The attached lunch café has a wonderful tuna sandwich. The soups at the café, while tasty, are portioned conservatively for the price.
I forgot to talk about the Gin selection… by far the best in Sacramento.

All of what’s been said before is true – I guess it depends on what you had or when you went. I think the room is the coolest place in Sacramento – very Mies/​Farnsworth House! I’ve had two sit-​down meals there and the service is pretty good and the food was pretty good. was it worth it? Not really. The $ 7.50 asparagus plate consisted of 6 tiny asparagus spears-​either poached or steamed with a drizzle of relatively bland Hollandaise. The pork chops were very good. My «veg-​head» friend’s egg dish was wierd and she said «not very good».
The real deal is to sit at the bar, watch the Food Network (yes, they have two TVs in the bar – usually I hate this, but I’ll make an exception with food TV – unless if it’s Emeril!) and have mussels and frits with Belgian Beer – it’s perfect! You get to soak up the atmosphere, eat great food and you’re out of there for under twenty bucks.

Yes, I went to Restaurant 55. I know most of you can’t believe I can even afford such a place. I can’t afford it really, unless it’s a special occasion. Such an occasion came up and I took a date here to show her how rich AND well-​respected I really am (she didn’t buy it — but I think that had something to do with the Chuck Taylor’s on my feet). There is something about places like this that give me the willie’s… I mean, all the patrons seem way too uncomfortable and uptight. «No, actually I don’t need three different sets of silverware (one for each course), but thanks anyway.»
Reservations:
I made reservations on their website and it was pretty painless but you had to create an account on some other website so that was kinda annoying. I went on a weekday so it was almost empty and I didn’t really need a reservation. I imagine on weekends you have to make reservations the day before or maybe as late as the morning of.
Parking:
There is no valet parking (despite what you might see on their website) but they offer free validation if you park in the garage on 6^th in between Lst and Capitol.
Service:
I expected this place to be no different than other «nice» places I’ve been to before. I expected waiters to compliment me on my wine, appetizer, entrée, and dessert selections and that’s exactly what I got. We suspected our waiter was on coke so we started a conversation and it turns out we were prolly right. But, I will say that he and the staff did a great job and I only had an empty wine glass twice (and once was at the end of the meal).
Appetizer:
We split a nice cheese/​date/​honey appetizer. I prefer simple cheese’s so it was a bit much for me but the honey was very tasty and the sweet taste went well with the cheese.
Wine:
We had a cheap ($ 40 or so) bottle of a 2004 Italian Muscat. It wasn’t bad but I prefer red’s even if the white’s go better with my meal. I imagine if you bought this same bottle at Corti’s it’d cost $ 15.
Entrée:
I had a $ 25 pork chop and it was… well not worth 25 bucks. I mean it was a good pork chop, nice and dry like a pork chop should be, but it was way over priced. I was impressed that they could cook something so thick without drying it out completely.
Dessert:
We shared a custardy pastry with vanilla ice cream and a strawberry. It looked great but just wasn’t very filling. The pastry part was actually quite tasty.
My rating:
Also, in our discussions with the waiter apparently they make all the food there. We asked, «wow, even the bread?» «Well everything but the bread.» So I’ll have to give props to the cooks. I dropped one star because I didn’t feel very comfortable in the environment. Everything seemed way TOO sterile. I mean I like where I eat to be clean but I don’t want to eat in a freakin *clean room* like at Intel. Another star dropped for the price. Nobody should be paying $ 100+ for two people to eat one meal and still be hungry afterwards. Unless, of course, you have Lamborghini and are trying to pick up chicks with fake boobs on Thursday’s singles night.