Need some holiday spirits? Here’s your roundup of where to drink and be merry in Sacramento
Sacramento’s cocktail bars are getting into the Christmas spirit like never before.
At least eight city bars have redecorated and revamped their drink menu in the name of holiday cheer, more than any year in recent memory. There’s something for everyone, from a Caribbean Christmas to a cozy post-ski lodge feel.
Stop in, and you might just spot Matty the Giant Elf, a Sacramento wintertime celebrity who dresses up in Will Ferrell-inspired Christmas garb.
▪ Bodega Kitchen & Cocktails (6401 Riverside Blvd.): San Francisco-based Deck the Halls Bar took its first Sacramento plunge by revamping this Caribbean restaurant and bar in Greenhaven, adding the yellow snow (a rum slushie with lemon juice and Curaçao) and other drinks.
▪ Bottle and Barlow (1120 R St.): The Gremlins have taken over at this R Street Corridor bar and barber shop, where “You’re a Mean One” means vodka, allspice, pandan, Irish cream and nutmeg.
▪ The Butterscotch Den (3406 Broadway): Oak Park’s hottest bar is home to “Miracle on Broadway,” with cocktails such as the Koala Cooler (applejack, blanc vermouth, aquavit, spiced apple, lime juice, celery shrub, eucalyptus bitters, mint and soda).
▪ Frank (1610 R St., Suite 150): It’s a sophisticated Christmas celebration at this dimly-lit, cash-only whiskey bar in midtown Sacramento’s Ice Blocks development, where the Turtle Dove cocktail (a wintery paloma with Libélula tequila, Amaro Averna, rosemary, grapefruit, lime juice and soda) comes served in a miniature bird cage.
▪ The Jungle Bird (2516 J St.): Midtown Sacramento’s tiki bar brought back its “Sippin’ Santa” island Christmas decor for another year; the “Jingle Bird” is a standout with bourbon, pineapple rum, Campari, and lime pineapple juices).
▪ Kimpton Sawyer (500 J St.): This four-star Downtown Commons hotel’s lobby will take on a “Winter Chalet” vibe through Feb. 29, with decor, music and cocktails fitting for an après-ski celebration.
▪ The Snug (1800 15th St.): Enjoy the Krampus (reposado tequila, oloroso sherry, allspice dram, mezcal, ginger, hibiscus, lime juice and “hellfire bitters”) in a mug shaped like horned European mythological creature’s mouth at this R Street Corridor hotspot.
▪ Tipsy Putt (630 K St., Suite 120): This miniature golf course’s connected upscale speakeasy, the Trophy Club, took on a “Club Blitzen” theme; try Santa’s Biscotti (whiskey, cold brew liqueur, housemade cinnamon syrup, walnut bitters and a whole egg) for a sweeter libation inside the reindeers’ den.
What I’m Eating
Corey and Carmen Belanger’s dinner-only sourdough pizzeria has been open for a mere two years, but already feels entrenched atop downtown Auburn.
Named for Corey’s great-grandmother, Pizzeria Luba decorates naturally-leavened, 12-inch pies with ingredients from nearby Placer County farms. Calzones are a Wednesday night specialty, sausage is made in-house and string lights illuminate the wood-floored dining room under a corrugated roof.
The Foggy Dew mushroom pizza ($21) is the clearest example of that farmer-chef relationship. While flavorful oyster mushrooms are the default and crimini might sneak in there as well, the pizza features whatever Foggy Dew Fungi in Newcastle has recently cultivated, along with decadent truffle oil, Fontina cheese, caramelized onions and roasted garlic cream sauce.
Pizzeria Luba’s Coronado pizza ($22) is more piquant, and prettier. A creamy, artistic aji verde drizzle covers chorizo, Hatch chile jack cheese, pickled peppers and roasted garlic cream sauce as the chewy crust reaches up to its crunchy cornicione end.
The butter lettuce salad ($13) was the more interesting of Pizzeria Luba’s two salad options, a mix of its pleasant namesake green and more assertive arugula along with pungent Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. blue cheese, Fuji apple slices, candied pecans and a house vinaigrette.
Pizzeria Luba
Address: 780 Lincoln Way, Auburn.
Hours: 4-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday.
Phone number: (530) 537-2200.
Website: https://pizzerialuba.com/
Drinks: 13 beers on tap, many of them produced locally, along with wine and sodas.
Vegetarian options: Several — consider the Foggy Dew or the Bella (spinach, bell peppers, red onions and Castelvetrano olives) pizzas, and opt for vegan cheeze or gluten-free crust if you’re so inclined.
Noise level: Loud.
Openings & Closings
▪ Saigon 88 began its soft opening on Nov. 28 at 8785 Center Parkway, Suite B100 near Sacramento’s southern border. The latest endeavor from Mymy Nguyen and Jimmy Voong, owners of Saigon Alley Kitchen & Bar, Ōkesutora and Sit Lo Saigon specializes in chicken pho and congee.
▪ Benji’s Woodfire Pizza will open its brick-and-mortar location Friday at 7530 Auburn Blvd., Suite A in Citrus Heights. Owner Andray Mikayelyan has been “burning for Jesus” at pop-ups around the Sacramento region since 2021.
▪ Ohio-based Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream opened at 10842 Bear Hollow Drive in Rancho Cordova on Dec. 1. The old-timey scoop shop marks Handel’s fifth Sacramento-area location, joining those in Natomas, Folsom, Roseville and Elk Grove.
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