Upscale Restaurants

Upscale Restaurants are restaurants that tend to have fewer people wearing backwards hats. They accomplish this mission not through the use of extensive security forces, but instead high prices. Expect there to be white tablecloths, high quality alcohol, innovative recipes unlikely to be cooked at home, and an emphasis on the presentation¹ of the food. As a general rule, you can get seafood and steak, but vegetarian options often emphasize portabella mushrooms and eggplant. Ambiance is generally good at these spots.

Davis

• Mustard Seed
• Osteria Fasulo
• Our House
• Seasons

Also see "Fine Dining" under Restaurants

Sacramento

• Biba Review First learn something about the legendary Biba Caggiano, then go.
• Ella Dining Room and Bar (Located between 12th and K, this place is for true ballers. Brought to you by the Mr. Selland, creator of The Kitchen. The food and atmosphere is unlike anything else in Sacramento. Dress to kill here.
• Esquire Grill (Arnold's Staff hangs out here.)
• The Firehouse Restaurant (Also a good place for events; I had my wedding rehearsal dinner here —TomGarberson)
• Frank Fat's
• Harlow's
• Il Fornaio Chain.
• The Kitchen
• Miyagi Bar and Sushi
• Morton's steakhouse
• Moxie
• Sacramento Supper Club
• Slocum House

Winters

• Buckhorn Steak and Roadhouse
• Monticello Bistro — became "Monticello Seasonal Cuisine" in Davis (and closed)

Woodland

• Kitchen 428/ Mojo's Lounge and Bar
• Maritime Seafood
• Tazzina Bistro

"right... places I'll probably never eat..." - MarieHuynh

JackHaskel asked whether Symposium is upscale. Although its kinda pricey, I would say no because (1) it has take-out, (2) its very family friendly and (3) its best known for its tasty pizza, which happens to be cheaper than most places in town when you account for FSI . I guess I would call them upper-midscale, the same level i would call Cafe Bernardo, Kathmandu Kitchen, and Fuzio. — CraigBrozinsky

2007-02-18 19:17:14   I added a fine dining section to the main Davis restaurants page. As for this page, Little Prague just isn't fine dining in my opinion. The others are okay. —GregKuperberg

2010-01-31 13:15:59   I agree with the removal of mikunis. Trendy, yes, overpriced, yes, upscale nooooooo. They have more of a club/bar atmosphere than an upscale atmosphere IMO. —rfrazier

2010-01-31 14:20:36   I do like Mikuni's, but including them on the list opens the door to a lot of other borderline restaurants that are pricey but fall short of fine dining.

I'll also note that Tucos is a fantastic place to drop by for a glass of wine and some cheese with crackers, fruit, and nuts. They have a nice selection of delicious cheeses, which come with an assortment of tasty tidbits for something like $5.50. It makes a great date, or just a pleasant, classy, and surprisingly cheap stop before or after catching a movie or shopping downtown. —TomGarberson

2010-01-31 14:43:37   I also agree w/removing Mikuni's. But I do think Little Prague should be on the list, even if many people don't like it because of the proprietor. —CovertProfessor

Footnotes

1. ...not to mention ostentation