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Alamar Marina is located just minutes north of the Sacramento International Airport, yet it's a world away from the hustle and bustle of California's capitol city. The food is outstanding, and the view is amazing, as you can sit outside on the floating patio - actually the whole restaurant floats - and dine while floating on the Sacramento River. If you choose to enjoy your meal inside, you'll be able to watch sports on the many television monitors, and enjoy some of the friendliest company the greater Sacramento area has to offer. Alamar Marina is quite a restaurant, and there's nothing else like it in the area! As with all of reviews that I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: The entrance to Alamar Marina Restaurant and Bar starts at the parking lot, and you cross the lawn on a covered walkway, and you actually walk on the roof of the restaurant before descending down a flight of stairs to the restaurant, along with the marina, which is actually floating the Sacramento River. It's just a little past 1100, which is the opening time of the restaurant, Thursday, October 03, 2019, and we've arrived on the river to enjoy a delicious lunch. I'd been wanting to check out this fine restaurant ever since I saw a review on our morning news/magazine television show, Good Day Sacramento, and I knew my "foodie" friend, Melanie, would be interested in joining me.
Photo: I'm on the roof of the restaurant, overlooking a portion of the marina, with the patio to the right of the photo. The patio is shaded by a red tarp, which blocks the sun and lets in light for your dining pleasure. Unfortunately, the tarp gives all photos taken on the patio a "pinkish" hue, despite my best efforts to digitally enhance the photos. The bridge in the background is Interstate 5, as it crosses the Sacramento River a few miles north of downtown Sacramento.
Photo: We took a stroll on the boat dock and looked back at the patio, with the restaurant in the background. Note the railings on the roof and the stairs, to the left, to get down to the restaurant, which is actually floating on the Sacramento River. The floating restaurant makes for spectacular dining! a Photo: A portion of the "Entrees" menu. As I looked over the menu, everything looked delicious, and since we were dining on the river, fish seemed like the thing to order, but I finally broke down and ordered a "Big Time River Burger" as starting at the "top" of the menu seemed like a good idea.
Photo: After placing our orders, we ordered a couple of craft beers, which were brought to our table by Kristen, our server. Kristen was very friendly and treated us well.
Photo: Inside the restaurant is absolutely stunning, and offers a comfortable, full-service bar. There are many windows looking out to the marina and the river, which provide lots of natural lighting and beautiful views. The dining room has a definite "sports bar" feeling, and includes many television monitors, to watch games while you enjoy a great meal. This Sunday I have a feeling that the televisions will be getting a lot of use, as N.F.L. season is in full swing.
Photo: The black board on the wall gives daily specials, and posts the "Alamar to Go" section of the menu, where you can take beer, wine and more home with you. I notice the menu offers hot dogs, ice, along with bait.
Photo: The dining room is so cheery and pleasant that you ponder, "Do I eat inside or out on the patio?" We had to make that tough choice, but thanks to the sunny, 75-degree late morning, and the beautiful Sacramento River, we chose to dine outside on the patio, at river level.
Photo: Looking out of one of the dining room windows, out to the patio, the marina, and the Sacramento River.
Photo: Meet Brandon, our second server who brings our meal to us with a smile. The handoff between Kristen and Brandon was flawless, as Alamar Restaurant provides outstanding service, along with delicious food.
Photo: My dining companion, Melanie and I smile, as we're ready to enjoy lunch. Melanie and I are friends, dining companions, and "foodies," and love to explore new restaurants. As an added enhancement, we enjoyed a couple craft beers with our lunch. After enjoying this wonderful lunch, we agreed that Alamar Marina Restaurant and Bar is a wonderful restaurant, and a great place to enjoy an amazing lunch!
Photo: From the "Entrees" section of the menu, my friend chose the "Alamar Grill Sandwich," which is a grilled sandwich that has it all... she chose coleslaw as her side dish. The menu describes this elegant sandwich as, "Sliced turkey, crisp bacon, avocado and a blend of melted Cheddar and jack cheese on sourdough. Served with fries, coleslaw or side salad." Great way to describe the sandwich, but my friend described her sandwich as "delicious" and after taking a bite, I totally agree with her. Oh yeah... it was delicious! The sandwich starts out with two large slices of fresh turkey. Yes, there are lots of wild turkeys running around the Sacramento River, but I don't think these turkey slices are local. No matter, what you see is delicious, including the melted, cheese, which my friend absolutely loved. She's not a fan of avocados, so she opted to scoop them from her sandwich and put them on my plate, but the bacon and other goodies on the sandwich worked for her, and for me, as I was treated to a bite of her sandwich. The coleslaw was prefect, as it had just the right amount, and ratio, of cabbage, onion, celery, and whatever else goes into coleslaw to make for a perfect side dish.
Photo: From the "Entrees" section of the menu, I ordered the "Big Time River Burger," with fries as my side dish, which made for a very filling, and delicious lunch at Alamar Marina, located on the Sacramento River. Since Alamar Marina is located on the Sacramento River, I was really thinking ordering something with fish... when you're dining on the river, isn't fish the "thing" to order? ... yet... how could I resist a "Big Time River Burger," as it's a half pound burger patty, and it comes with fries, coleslaw or salad? Not to mention, you get to order TWO extras on the burger, which are included and part of the deal... I love "extras" so I chose bacon and avocado, in order to make this a complete, and awesome burger. The burger starts with a half pound charbroiled patty that's cooked the way you order it. It's large, juicy and delicious. The burger is placed on a large, toasted brioche bun, and includes your choice of cheese, and all the usual's such as tomato, lettuce, onion and pickles. As far as "extras," which are included with the burger, you get to choose between avocado, bacon, mushrooms, gilled onions barbecue sauce, or onion rings. The choices in sides are fries, coleslaw or a small salad. The burger comes without condiments, but Brandon brought ketchup and mustard to our table, and offered mayonnaise, but I didn't think the burger needed much, as when you're in the mood to enjoy a quality burger, you don't want to mask the goodness with condiments. At $16.00, this burger was not inexpensive, but it was simply fantastic, and worth every penny. The meat was perfectly cooked, and the bun was soft and chewy. The meat-to-bun ratio was perfect and all ingredients worked together to make for an absolutely stunning burger. In this amazing burger, you could actually taste each ingredient, which made for a delicious burger. Also the lettuce, onion, tomato, pickle and avocado were chilled, and everything else was hot, which added to the goodness of this amazing burger. The fries were perfectly cooked, with a crispy, golden brown on the outside, and tender white inside. They were seasoned perfectly, and neither salty or greasy. My friend and I really enjoyed our lunches, as the food was simply delicious, the outdoor dining atmosphere on the Sacramento River, especially on a 75-degree day like today was amazing, the service was stellar, and a couple of craft beers helped to round out an amazing lunch at Alamar Marina Restaurant. When you're in the mood for amazing food, and a relaxing patio dining experience, right on the Sacramento River, Alamar Marina Restaurant and Bar is the place to be. The food is delicious, the river is up-close-and-personal, and the staff will treat you like royalty. Great food, great service and fantastic riverfront dining! Alamar Marina Restaurant and Bar Copyright(c) 2019 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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