Allora — Restaurant in Sacramento

I was really disappointed in my birthday dinner at Allora. I've come to Allora every year for the past few years for my birthday, and I always look forward to it. My last birthday dinner was wonderful! This meal, however, was a huge disappointment, and I told my boyfriend as we were driving home that I don't want to come back.

I felt rushed from beginning to end. We'd barely sat down when the waiter asked if we'd like any cocktails, and then he left for barely five minutes and came back and asked if we'd like anything. I hadn't really had time to look at the menu, so I just ordered a glass of white wine. I didn't really have a lot of time to look at the menu either, but I was able to order some things that sounded interesting.

I ordered the four course, and my boyfriend ordered the three course, and I ordered off the vegan menu. I ordered the salad for the first course, the fettuccine for the pasta course, the castelfranco radicchio with farro and sunchoke puree, and the bomboloni for dessert. My boyfriend ordered the pork belly, the wagyu beef, and the bomboloni.

The appetizer came quickly, and I thought the salad was fine. My boyfriend liked the pork belly. My pasta dish came very close afterward, and I was surprised to see that the fettuccine was in tomato sauce. I guess I wasn't really paying attention (or, perhaps, it was the lack of time to go over the menu) because I was expecting fettuccine alfredo. Nevertheless, the fettuccine was delicious and was the best course I had that evening. My boyfriend thought it was really good too. There was a palate cleanser of cucumber and lemon sorbet in between the pasta and entree courses, and it was fine, but I thought the overwhelming cucumber flavor was a little off-putting.

It was the entree course that was most disappointing. The dish was mostly grilled radicchio, which was not filling and felt like eating another salad. There wasn't much farro and sunchoke puree, which I was most excited about, but I didn't find it very appetizing either. I found the stringy radish or daikon segments strewn throughout to be unnecessary. I wish I had gotten something else instead. My boyfriend's wagyu looked perfectly cooked and much more appetizing.

The bomboloni were excellent and came almost immediately after the entree course. I was shocked when the server said they were made from ricotta because I'd ordered them off the vegan menu thinking they were vegan. I'm not actually vegan, so I ate them anyway, but a vegan could easily get that mixed up.

I'd finished my wine right before the dessert course, but the waiter did not ask if I wanted another drink. He did ask my boyfriend if he wanted another glass of his $25/glass wine. I was disappointed about that. The check came almost immediately after we'd finished dessert and was an astonishing $465. My boyfriend had ordered the $25 glass of wine, and the wagyu added another $60 to the charge for the three course he'd ordered, but I was shocked. Looking at other reviews, I've now realized that the 20% service charge and 3% kitchen equity charge added $80 to the bill. The waiter didn't tell us about the 20% charge until the bill came, and nobody said anything about the kitchen charge.

All said, we walked out like three minutes past an hour from when we'd arrived. ONE HOUR!! For four courses! And I'm even more infuriated because I've read Allora's responses to other reviews saying that they budget 2.5 to 3 hours per table! So why were we rushed right out of the restaurant? There was one couple there before us and a total of four couples, including us, by the time we left. It was a completely different and thoroughly underwhelming dinner from what I've experienced before, and it looks like others have said the quality of the experience has gone down recently too (or maybe since COVID).

The restaurant was also too hot, and I was sweating the whole time. I just wish we'd never gone, and I could do my birthday all over again instead of having to get rushed through the dinner and pay an exorbitant amount of money for...

Allora was a tale of highs and lows on a Tuesday night tasting menu meal on the Garden Patio, unfortunately more lows than highs.

First, the good. We found a few of the dishes well done and delicious. The sformato antipasti was divine carrot with depth of flavor. The fettucine with lobster, prawn and pancetta was generous. The golden reserve caramelized onion/potato chip/with caviar and accompanying bombolone were full of umami. Finally, the lead sommelier/manger was friendly and engaging.

However, the quality and dips in performance were too much for the price point.

Service: Our waiter suffered from a mix of body odor and deodorant cover-smell that was noticeable as he served our table and the neighboring diners. The setting of each course, and timing between courses, and wine arrival were all over the map. Our waiter repeatedly bumped into my chair while serving the table behind us. The repeat dips in performance removed any sense of smooth service we expected from a restaurant in the Michelin guide.

Flavor: The amuse-bouche was a stale cone filled with over-salted egg salad. Our pre-wine cocktail was cute but small (the half-melted ice was not cocktail quality, and the dried lime garnish was ugly). Several of the dishes were all too similar and lacked creativity. For example mains: short rib and steak Oscar both came with crab, and only one came with vegetables other than potato (they both had underwhelming potato). At dessert, the semifredo quenelle was rock hard and could not be sectioned with the side of a spoon. My companion’s gelato was overpowered by aged balsamic, and not saved by a parmesan crisp.

The final desert (an extra from the kitchen), three baked pieces in a box, were not worth biting into the second and third flavors after the first (peach butter filled doughnut of some sort) bite. It was as plain as the brioche earlier in the meal (warm, but otherwise unremarkable). Another table left theirs uneaten as well.

Wine: The wine pairing was nice, but not stunning, and a few of the selections lacked the quality we were hoping for (e.g., a sparkling wine with a short finish). Despite being matched to a tasting menu, the wines did not provide a broad journey of flavors and styles, but rather a mostly similar-flavor profile throughout.

In the end, had we paid $300 for the meal, my expectations would be lower and left a kinder review. We had dinner for two for $400 including tip at Flour + Water in SF and still remember it with a smile, stunned by every delicious course. Instead, at Allora we spent over $700 total with wine, add-ons, and a 23% service charge/tip for two people – overpriced and not worth a...

My family and I came here for my brother’s birthday. We were a little hesitant at first because of the price per person, but we had all heard excellent reviews about Allora and decided to try it. I am so glad that we did. When we made our reservation, we received a phone call from the restaurant confirming our reservation, checking for any food allergies, and clarifying if we were dining for a special occasion. They also offered us seating at either their interior dining room or their garden. We opted for the garden because the weather has been so nice and the photos online looked beautiful (and it was just as beautiful in person)!

The waiter wonderfully explained how each course would be served, along with very thorough descriptions of all of the dishes on the menu. He ended by saying that he was unable to recommend any dishes simply because everything was delicious. And he was right. The oysters they served were the best oysters we had ever had (which was especially surprising since Sacramento is not known for their oysters). The quail was cooked perfectly. All of the pasta dishes were incredible (no one could decide on a favorite). All of the entrees were cooked and seasoned perfectly. And the deserts were a perfect way to end an excellent dinner.

The service was also incredible. Everyone’s course came out at the same time and was heated appropriately (i.e. no one’s food had been sitting under a heat lamp for extensive periods of time). The server did an excellent job checking in on us but not bombarding or interrupting our conversations. We didn’t order any wine or cocktails, but they have a sommelier on staff that will pair your meal with the perfect wine. All of the staff were super personable and were able to answer all of our questions.

By the end of the meal, everyone was comfortably full and elated. My partner and I have already started bragging to our friends about this place and are already looking for any excuse to return.

One thing to be aware of is parking for this establishment is on the street (I think they may have a few handicap spots in their small parking lot). This did not particularly bother us, as it was nice to get a small walk in after our...