Punch Bowl Social — Restaurant in Sacramento

I recently dined at the Punch Bowl Social in Sacramento, on a Thursday around noon, for a work lunch with a large party(17people). This is a large restaurant with two floors, 3 bars, arcade games, table games, karaoke and a bowling alley. The bottom floor is easily accessible from Jst but it is kind of confusing to get upstairs. You either have to go up the ramp towards the Kings Stadium, then up 3 flights of stairs to the main entrance or go through the hotel and up the elevator which takes you through the back of the restaurant. Once we made it to the hostess stand she sat us at a nice large table in the bar area with a view of Downtown Commons. The environment is very nice, wasn’t loud, super chill and fun!

Now let’s get to the meat(pun intended) of why I was here. This is my honest review: I ordered the knockoff burger with a side salad featuring a lemon vinaigrette dressing and a fresh spritz drink.

The burger was served beautifully in a cast iron skillet but I felt this was the incorrect plating for a burger as it felt awkward to eat from. The burger itself was overcooked, and I wasn’t asked how I wanted it cooked. It needed more salt and their signature Kickoff sauce, also the cheese was the most prominent flavor. This combination made it a bit dry and gloopy with the cheese. I wished there were more pickled onions for texture and tang, although the knockoff sauce was delicious, there wasn’t enough on the burger to fully appreciate its flavor and subtle spice. Unfortunately, the pickles were too sweet for my liking, so I was happy they were on the side.

The fries were a bit disappointing as they arrived cold, but they did have a good taste and a satisfying crispiness.

On a positive note, the fresh spritz drink was excellent – not overly sweet and very refreshing. The side salad was the best thing I had out of the whole meal. The vinaigrette dressing was delicious, bright and full of flavor. I do feel like it could benefit from some other mixed greens to offset the slight bitterness

The service left much to be desired; it was slow and sporadic, with some of our party waiting much longer than others for their food. It took about 40min for everyone to receive there food and by the time the last few were served their food the first that were served had finished eating. There were also mix-ups with the orders, and my request for extra comeback sauce wasn’t fulfilled until my third request when I asked for it to go for my leftovers. At the end, the server did let us know there was new staff being trained in the back which contributed to the food coming out slow, I feel like this should have been expressed to us in the beginning to manage our expectations.

Overall, I was not impressed with the service we received and in my opinion the food was just good. The prices of all the food seemed fair and wasn’t too expensive. I did ask my coworkers of their opinions and they agreed it was good food and a nice environment. I’m uncertain if I’ll choose to return in the future.

I can see why this place would be busy before or after a Kings game, especially with the location being right next to the stadium. The ambiance is really nice, there’s a lot of tv’s to watch all the sports games, and it would be fun to chill with your friends with a good drink and...

Same Day Update: They give the same regurgitated response to every bad review they receive. I’m not emailing them because another reviewer stated they just block your email. They don’t need to talk to me about anything. Everything for them to fix is in my review. I’m still not going back. It was THAT bad.

Original Review: Not much variety in food. No different sauces, only one barbecue sauce (their house-made with a lot of mayo in it & no regular barbecue sauce), so that was a bummer. Went for the Monday worker special with 50% off of games and 15% off of food.

Finished eating around 9:30-45pm but couldn’t get the check until almost 10pm (because it was really hard to get the server’s attention - couldn’t find her, music was blaring so had to almost scream to talk, by the time she checked on us, we were already serviced from her coworkers because they passed by a lot more than she did so I don’t know what she was doing). But that was a huge time-killer because we needed more syrup (you only get 1 small dipping cup size for the plate of thick waffles and chicken). We also didn’t get forks with our food, so I had to find someone for that even before eating.

The drinks with the sparkling water are not as sweet they sound. The sparkling water really takes over the flavor, so ask for extra syrup in your drinks if you want to taste the sweetness. Otherwise, it just tastes like regular sparkling water.

To top it off, when we tried to bowl (because they don’t close until midnight and confirmed this multiple times while eating), the bowling system all of a sudden didn’t work but was working fine while we were eating for other people. I think they clean up at 10pm and hope no one shows up. If that’s the case, don’t advertise those hours. Be honest with customers. If I just wanted food, I would’ve went somewhere else and spent less for more variety. The marketing towards working people on the website is way better than the reality. I won’t be back. Sucks because I work weekend nights. Coin-Op is way better.

P.S. I’m all for helping the earth, but paper straws are NOT it. They get soggy and then you’re drinking the paper. It changes the taste of the water before it even gets soggy. I tasted it with and without the straw. The water is disgusting with the straw. People don’t chug their cocktails. They sip drinks while eating. Please keep that in mind and get straws that don’t alter water or disintegrate into a drink.

*Enforce your “no smoking” policy! I saw multiple “no smoking” signs while walking up the stairs but zero enforcement. People smoked on the stairs and one was smoking outside the entrance door while I was eating. I only knew because as soon as the door opened, so much cigarette smoke came in and I looked to see where it was coming from. That’s so disgusting and contributed to killing the whole vibe. I didn’t pay for a side of...

FUN BUT NEEDS TO BE MANAGED BETTER

This was my first visit to Punch Bowl Social. I have heard a lot about it, and when I was visiting Sacramento decided to check it out. We had a good visit and would go back. However, the execution on the food and service needs to be better for this place stay popular.

This is a BIG place with plenty of room to accommodate any size group as well a huge main bar that's perfect for catching a game. The Kings play right next door so I imagine this place is pretty busy before and after games during the basketball season.

I went with my wife, my sister, and 2 year old kid. We really liked the way the place looked and felt. The atmosphere is fun and easy going and there was plenty of room for my little one to roam around and check things out.

Punch Bowl Social provides it's guests with lots to do from bowling and arcade games (two VR rooms too) to board games and karaoke. One thing to keep in mind is that it is very popular so it's best to call early to reserve the bowling and karaoke early on. You shouldn't expect to walk right in and get access to these things.

Also, because it's a big place and pretty busy that means you may not have access to a lot of what they offer. Not only was karaoke and bowling booked up, but because of private parties we couldn't gain access to the arcade either. Ultimately we were limited to playing Hungry Hippos at our table which was fine for our 2 year old, but could be disappointing for older groups looking to have some fun. There are other games too, but overall if you go on a busy night I think it will be hard to get access to the more popular things here.

The menu has pretty good all around offerings. They make sure to tell you that it is designed by a James Beard Award Winner. The trouble we had was with the execution. The food wasn't bad at all but I would measure your expectations. It's better than most eatertainment type restaurants but I didn't walk out thinking I just at an award winning dinner.

Another point on execution is that because this place is so big it's a lot to manage. When we walked in we didn't really know where to go or what was going on. No one seemed to be concerned with greeting guests (there are multiple entrances) and most the serving staff, while pleasant, did not seem too interested in engaging with guests (not as interested as they were in talking to each other). When I come to a restaurant like this I expect to see multiple managers walking the floor and making sure everything is going well. I only saw one and he was on his phone at the front desk. Again, everyone was pleasant but you get the feeling that things a are little disorganized and no one is on point. So don't be surprised if the service is somewhat middle...