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Location

UC Davis Silo

Hours

Weekdays 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM

Phone

(530) 752-6262

Website

http://gunrockpub.ucdavis.edu/

Established

2009-01-05

Payment Method(s)

Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AmEx, Aggie Cash

The Gunrock Pub was located on campus in the silo. Named after Gunrock, the UCD mascot, the menu had a local focus and includes such fare as pepper seared prawns with polenta. On the first Wednesday of every month, from 5:30 to 6:30 PM, they offed a wine tasting, which includes 4 wines and also 'pairings'. This cost $10 and no reservations were required.

The pub could also be reserved for private events, which was managed by CEVS.

There was a receptacle to recycle your natural wine corks by the front door.

The pub opened January 5th, 2009, replacing the Silo Pub and Cafe.  They closed ... when?  Please edit this page to add the information!

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2008-12-20 22:47:39   oooh aaah, fail rebranding for the lose

This seems like a lame attempt to get more undergrads to come post up, I wonder if it will detract from the food aspects. (We will see if my parents still hit it up for lunch) —StevenDaubert

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2008-12-20 23:28:13   Hah, yeah, I'd be more impressed if it seemed like they were changing more than the name. —JoePomidor

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2008-12-20 23:30:03   I always got the feeling that they didn't want this place to get too popular. Easier to keep drunk undergrads off campus were they are the city's headache not the university's. —AndrewPeake uuuh, they do that by not having liquor... —StevenDaubert Because as we all know getting drunk on beer is impossible...AndrewPeake

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2009-01-08 13:31:11   The folks where I work have had pretty bad luck eating at the Silo Pub. They tend to not give you your food for 45 minutes, or 55 minutes, or in some cases, maybe ever. This is not advantageous if you only GET an hour to eat.

The Aggie recently mentioned in an article on the "new" pub that they are really working on the service and trying to get people out within an hour. According to a coworker of mine who went today, this is still not true and it is just as bad as the "old" pub.

Warning to anyone reading this page who only gets an hour lunch: don't eat here if you have any kind of time limit. The food is okay, but so not worth the wait when you can walk to the downtown area, eat at a sitdown restaurant, and still get back to campus within an hour. Unlike the campus restaurant. —JenniferRutherford

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2009-03-08 13:06:07   Actually, a lot has really changed in the restaurant. Sodexho and Student Affairs spent about 40,000 renovating the interior and adding new furniture and art. It's much more contemporary than the former Silo Cafe & Pub and the menu now showcases several UC Davis produced foods, from the Student Farm to the campus meat lab, there are many campus foods that can't be enjoyed anywhere else. That's pretty cool. No hard alcohol but, plenty of beer and wine, if that's your thing. A tip on timing. Showing up at 12noon straight up is the busiest time but, show up at 11:45 or 12:30 and you can get out of there pretty fast. —RobinClement

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2009-03-10 18:11:38   I'll come right out and admit that I'm the manager at the Gunrock Pub, and was the manager when we were still the Silo Cafe & Pub. Am I biased? Sure I am, but I am also genuinely concerned about some of the things I've seen posted here, and on the page for the old Pub too. I realize we've had some challenges in the past with the timeliness of our service, but if anybody ever waited 45 or 55 minutes to be served, they didn't bring it to my attention, and it certainly was not a regular occurrence. A quick note to everyone; if you ever wait that long to eat at ANY restaurant, ask to talk to the manager. Having said that, Robin is absolutely right that timing is everything. If you arrive at 12:00 noon, along with the other 50 to 75 people we seat at that time, you may wait a few extra minutes. Try to get here at 11:30 or wait till 1:00 if you can. Some have said all we changed was our name. Heck, I already pointed out that even the management is the same. But that’s a good thing. I have a vested interest in the restaurant, and my guests. I promise you, no I guarantee you, that the service has changed. Will we still have challenging days? Yes, but we are continuously working to mitigate the impact on our guests. My staff and I are dedicated to providing the most pleasant dinning experience we possibly can. If you have questions or concerns, please come in talk to me about them (just don’t come by at noon; I’ll be busy serving everyone else). See you soon. —ShawnC

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2009-06-12 11:15:00   I work at UC Davis and can vouch that the service is great now and has been for awhile. The food is also very good. I recently went there and tried the pepper seared prawns with polenta. Generous serving of garlic seared prawns with the most delicious grilled polenta. —LokiAbbi

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2009-10-02 12:04:29   I've only been there a few times, but the service has been at least decent and occasionally good. The food has been delicious — a bit on the pricey side, but definitely high quality and executed well. Even the appetizers they have during their wine nights are usually pretty yummy. —jmofro

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2009-11-05 12:23:37   This place has literally changed my life. I can't believe I didn't come sooner. You can get a salad card - 10 salads for around $45 — CHEAP! and the salad bar is the best salad bar I've ever met. I come here and fill up on all kinds of amazing stuff, AND you can get bread (which they give to you warmed). Salad bar has great variety and different items every day and I can get my lunch in just a few minutes. Examples of what I find on a regular day: ORGANIC cherry tomatoes, cottage cheese, lettuce, spinach, garbanzos, sliced hardboiled eggs, green beans, corn, artichoke hearts... Service has always been pleasant and friendly. I cannot recommend highly enough. —soledad101

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2009-12-01 02:34:26   I came here for lunch today (first time since the re-model/re-brand). Arrived at 12:55 PM, was greeted promptly by the polite waitstaff, then shown to my table after a moment's pause while she presented the bill to another party. After looking over the new menu and weighing my options between sandwich and something that required utensils, I finally decided on the pasta pomodoro with shrimp added, and a 20 oz glass of Newcastle Brown ale.

The complementary white bread (rosemary infused, I believe) was very good: the flesh was light and soft with a hint of herbs (not overpowering) and the crust was surprisingly delicate and flaky with hints of oats and sweet cornflake. I enjoyed it so much with the Davis olive oil and vinegar that my server provided me with an additional helping.

However, I was saved from over-indulging in bread and ale with the arrival of the pasta (about 1:10 PM): al-dente penne tossed sauced with juicy tomato quarters, basil, leeks and garlic, highlighted with chewy morsels of seared and salty prosciutto and delicate cubes of feta cheese, topped with six succulent sauteed shrimp. Presentation was clean and balanced on white bistro ceramic, though I personally would have used a larger 12"-diameter dinner plate with 8"-diameter inset depression (instead of a medium-sized shallow pasta bowl) for a less-crowded and more balanced aesthetic.

The flavors paired well: the hearty and juicy tomatoes mixed with the salty prosciutto yielded earthy, autumnal flavors filled with umami that complimented the sweet shrimp. However, I think I would have found this too salty had I not opted for additional protein (shrimp or chicken) because the pasta alone would have been overpowered by the sauce. And I thought that the brown ale went well with it (though I initially kicked myself for not getting a glass of white, I remembered that the proffered Clay Station viognier, though a decent wine, may have been too sweet and not robust enough to cut through the hearty flavors that a drier, white Burgundy would have).

My meal came out to be: $9.95 pasta + $3.75 add'l shrimp + $4.50 beer + tax & tip = $21.00.

Verdict: if you're a student looking to only spend $7.00 on lunch, then this kind of meal would be considered expensive. However, when I consider that this is white-napkin, sit-down, full-service fare with accommodations for alcohol (as you might encounter at Cafe Bernardo, Mustard Seed, Season's Restaurant) at an on-campus exclusive location, then I find that the price is reasonable.

Your mileage may vary. —T.Zukumori

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2010-04-19 22:39:43   We went on picnic day, the one day a year when they don't serve beer. Bummer. I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food, though. I was completely unimpressed by the Silo Pub the 3 or 4 times I went there over the years, but Gunrock Pub was quite tasty. My quesadilla was delicious and fresh. The bread with oil and balsamic were quite nice, although it couldn't hurt if they were a little more attentive about it, bringing it and replacing it a little quicker. Not a biggie.

One suggestion: get bigger water glasses! After a long morning of a LOT of walking and sun, itty bitty glasses just didn't cut it. They were decently attentive and refilled the glasses, but I ended up being very glad I got an iced tea as well (which comes in a decent sized glass, and which I drained a couple of times). —TomGarberson

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2012-09-13 14:52:25   My grad department took potential graduate students here when they were showing us around campus. I've been to quite a few campus pubs, but never one that would rival some of the best restaurants in the Bay Area. I had a Cubano sandwich that was so simple but incredibly tasty, really nicely done. My partner RAVED about her quesadilla— made with some very unusual ingredients that worked together quite well. When I came back to campus to sign some papers, I stopped here for a glass of wine. They had a great sauvignon blanc. They have an impressive array of taps. The bartender said that they limit their taps and food to 500 miles, a nod to localvore culture. This is a great place. I may end up hanging out here a lot. —LisaCanjuraClayton