Restaurant Review: Cordova Casino and Restaurant

When my husband and I saw construction going on in the old Bridal Mart building on Prospect Park Drive and heard the buzz that it was going to be turning into a casino and restaurant, we were pretty excited. Especially because it’s just a couple miles away from us, in our own neighborhood.

Cordova Casino and Restaurant opened their doors with a soft opening on February 26th. We decided to stop in to visit the restaurant and check out the card room that very weekend. And we were so glad that we did!

We went in for dinner, and were so impressed with the major renovations that had taken place to convert the building into a casino – it’s beautiful inside! The main dining room is on the opposite side of the card room, so when you’re in the restaurant itself you actually forget that you’re in a casino. The dining room is open and airy and tastefully decorated – a lot of the decorations and stylings reminded us of the Sheepherder.

For our dinner entrees, we both had a hankering for steaks, so we ordered the New York steaks, both of them medium. Our meals also came with asparagus and a baked potato. When they arrived, we were quite surprised at the generous portion – so generous that I actually had a difficult time rearranging my plate to try to cut into them, and we both had quite a bit left over.

The flavor of the steaks was fantastic – the Angus beef is brushed with a garlic herb sauce. The temperature was perfect, and the steaks had beautiful grill marks across them. Unfortunately, the quality of the meat (tenderness and flavor) left something to be desired. My husband pointed out that while the chef obviously knows how to prepare a flavorful meal, he might do even better with higher quality meat.

The asparagus was also deliciously prepared. Our baked potatoes were nice in the sense of lightly salted skins and accompaniments on the side (sour cream, butter and onions), but we both noticed that one side of our potato was hard while the other side was perfect.

The service was fantastic – our server Liz was warm, friendly, and attentive. Since it was a “soft launch”, the dining room wasn’t very crowded, which was nice because it allowed us to be tended to, as well as the opportunity to take our time with dinner.

We also had the opportunity to meet the restaurant manager, Brody. He answered questions about the various types of food they serve (lots of great entrees including steaks, fish, prime rib). Brody shared with us that they are very excited to be here and that with the various business parks in the neighborhood that he hopes they’ll be able to offer workers in the area something different. They are very much looking forward to becoming a partner in the community – already they have hosted a major Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce event, before their doors opened officially.

After dinner we took a little tour of the rest of the casino – the bar and lounge area, as well as the card room area. Both were warm and inviting, and very stylish. We inquired about how to get involved in the card games (primarily Texas Hold ‘em), but unfortunately we were actually more confused after we chatted with two different staff members. They admitted that they didn’t have all the systems figured out yet, as this was their soft opening.

My husband was so impressed with the restaurant that the next weekend when he had a friend up visiting from the Bay Area he took him in for a visit. They chose to sit in the bar/lounge area (comfy couches by the fireplace), and they ordered dinner off the bar menu (the bar menu is similar to their lunch menu – less heavy entrees). Staff checked in on them periodically as they hung out that evening and even asked for suggestions on what could make their experience better. Our friend suggested possibly dimming the lighting and turning up the music (it was barely audible), and within minutes the staff did just that!

Would you believe they went back AGAIN the next morning before our friend headed back to the Bay Area? This time I joined them for breakfast, and I’m so glad that I did – their breakfasts are delicious and the presentation was very nice. I had the biscuits and gravy (two fluffy biscuits with just the right amount of gravy – not drowning the biscuits) with two slices of bacon and some fruit. All three of us agreed that the breakfasts were fantastic – reasonably priced (just a hint higher priced than what you’d find at Denny’s or a breakfast diner) but much more appealing. Breakfast is served from 6:00 a.m. to noon.

In the sake of not turning this review into a novel, I’ll just close by saying that I highly recommend a visit to the Cordova Casino and Restaurant – whether it’s for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or an evening of lounging and card games. When the weather gets a bit better, I imagine we’ll even sit outside on their patio which seats 40 patrons. In fact, I’d like to go back for lunch because they have all sorts of wonderful salads, sandwiches and burgers on the menu! Who’s with me?

Cordova Casino & Restaurant’s official Grand Opening is Friday, March 12th!

Have you eaten at Cordova Casino & Restaurant? Tell us about your experience, or share with us your favorite dish!

Barbara’s review rating (new system!):

Dining experience and service: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Food: 4 out of 5 stars

Cordova Casino & Restaurant
2801 Prospect Park Drive
(916) 293-7481

Do you want to know about a local, Rancho Cordova eatery? Tell Barbara where to visit, in the comments section!