City Café & Taproom — Restaurant in Yuba City

The ambiance was cozy and quiet, creating a nice atmosphere. The hostess, though still in training, was very kind, pleasant, and attentive. However, my overall experience at the restaurant was just OK, and I personally wouldn’t return for the following reasons:

Bread and Butter Charge: I find it a bit tacky that a fine dining restaurant charges $6 for 4 slices of unheated bread and a small amount of butter. While I understand that costs have risen and everyone is cutting expenses, bread is hardly a luxury item, and this felt out of place at a restaurant with higher prices. In casual dining, I’d expect this, but not at a fine dining establishment. Small, thoughtful touches like complimentary bread can go a long way with customers and leave a better impression.

Tempura Roll ($22): The tempura roll was disappointing. It was essentially just a large portion of rice, with the main ingredients barely more than the size of a dime. I mentioned this to the waitress, noting how generous the chef was with the rice, but she didn’t seem to understand the point. This was not the level of fine dining I was expecting.

Hamburger ($18): The burger itself was good, but not memorable or worth a return visit. It came with delicious fries, but once again, there was a minor issue with the quality—several of the burgers had burnt bottom buns. My wife insisted I stay quiet about it, but it was a small but noticeable flaw.

Interestingly, my favorite part of the meal was the fries. This is a bit telling, as we've visited many restaurants where one dish stands out, creating a reason to return. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for this place. The overall experience didn't live up to the expectations set by the pricing and ambiance.

In conclusion, while the fries were good, they weren't enough to make me want to return for another fine dining experience. For the price, I was hoping for a more consistent and...

The overall experience was sub par. We first walked to the door, I had my kiddo with a stroller. The hostess noticed me and watched me have significant trouble opening the door due to handling the stroller and door, she did nothing but sit there and watch me struggle. Ordering food and drinks went along with no issues. The food arrived at a decent time, bit the restaurant began to fill with smoke and the rest of the time the restaurant was hazy and felt dingy. After eating half of my Tuscan chicken, I noticed a piece of the sun-dried tomato was completely burnt. I set it aside because you can get burnt ends when the chicken gets baked. It wasn't a big deal at first, but after eating a couple bites another piece turned up and basically ruined my appetite due to the bitterness of the burnt piece. After notifying the staff of the issue, the management decided to not comp that part of the meal because "I ate more than half". I was kind of annoyed because I'm not the type to complain to staff. After that my check came and they ended up charging me for somebody else's meal... after another 20 mins of waiting I was able to write this review and post it. Very embarrassing for a restaurant to have service like this. Btw the restaurant is still hazy from the smoke after 40 mins. Will...

Warning Med reps and private party reservations. I am a medical rep that had a private room reservation to entertain 12 of my clients from the hospital. I called the day before the event, spoke to the new owner to confirm my event. When I showed up I realized they had double booked the space even though I verified my name and number was in their reservation book. I was told by the owner that I needed to take my customers somewhere else because the other party had a written agreement and I only had a verbal agreement.... I found the owner to be short fused and very unprofessional in his dealing with me. I was the one who should have been furious. I informed my local clients what they had done and moved them all to Justin's Kitchen up the street. They actually have a much nicer private dining room and found the food to be better as well. It worked out for the better. I have been doing business at City Cafe for many years private dining and catering lunch events. There is definitely something much more disorganized and confusing about them then ever before. I...