The Shack

mkotsayfan

California

4.03/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Went here shortly after lunchtime on a Friday. A cool atmosphere for sure, the building has a nice nostalgic feeling to it, and there are lots of cool beer signs up on the walls. There is a good selection of beer, about 8-10 good taps and quite a few bottles, including some nice selections from Russian River. The prices are very reasonable as well, and the owner told me he was only planning to charge $5/pour for Pliny the Younger when he taps it, a more than reasonable price.

The service started out good, the owner was manning the bar and he seemed really cool and was quick to offer up samples of beer, or answer questions. After he left, service took longer than I would have liked considering there were only a couple of people at the bar and the place wasn't full, but I think that was due to understaffing, since it seems the staff were always busy.

The food was ok, I had a western chicken sandwich and it did the job, but it wasn't spectacular. They seemed to have a decent food menu but I didn't look through it very much.

Overall, a cool place to have a beer and hang out, I sat inside but they have a nice outdoor area too. I'll definitely have to come back sometime.

02-25-2012 10:53:42 | More by mkotsayfan

ChristopherSchonborn

California

1.89/5  rDev -51.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 1 | service: 1 | selection: 3 | $

Actually, we never got to taste the food because we left before we ever got it. I came with two co-workers on Tusday 5/7/13 for lunch. We even got there early (11:30am) to beat the lunch crowds. The waitress came and took our lunch order, brought back the beverages we ordered and then we never saw her again for over 45 minutes. Not once did she come back to check on us or re-fill our drinks. When we got tired of waiting one of my co-workers got up and tracked her down to ask what was going on with our order. She said she'd check but 10 more minutes went by and she never came back to tell us what happened. So we got fed up with the service and just got up and left without looking back. WORST SERVICE EVER. If their rock-a-billy tatooed hipster butch-girl servers with pixie cuts don't like serving us white-collar-worker-yuppie folks then maybe put up sign outside that indicates you dont serve our kind. At least then we'll know before hand and we don't have to waste our lunch hour not getting served.

05-11-2013 08:48:16 | More by ChristopherSchonborn

triwolf

Ohio

4/5  rDev +1.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

A great little joint that's a little off the beaten path. I visited a couple times while I was out for a business trip and it was definitely worth it. Keep an eye out though - I drove by the place twice before I finally saw it. A pretty big selection of beers with some good draft options. The place is a little small, but the outdoor section is great. I mean you're outside drinking a beer in Cali and not paying a fortune for the experience. What more do you need? Food menu isn't that large and the food is average (and by average I don't mean bad, I mean 'meh'). But you're not gonig to go hungry. Definitely worth the visit.

10-13-2012 01:15:27 | More by triwolf

maryekline

Maryland

4.95/5  rDev +26%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$

We went here for the first time this week on our annual pilgrimage to Sacramento. What a pleasant surprise! The proprietors were both friendly and very knowledgeable, draft selections included Affligem Noel, Allagash Curieux and Pliny the Elder and the burgers were made with house-ground beef. It was like, well, finding a world class beer bar in Sacramento. We planned to stay for an hour and ended up staying nearly three. Rich (our host that day) took the time to visit their beer cellar and dig up several potential offerings. We settled on the Mammoth 305 but could have happily had everything he brought out. Not to be missed if you're in the area and worth a drive if you're within half an hour or so. Parking is a bit tight, but it lacks only a hotel next door to become a real destination while you're in Sacramento.

12-17-2010 03:33:29 | More by maryekline

telcontar42

California

4.35/5  rDev +10.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I went to this place tonight and it was great. The food a quite good, but could have been a little cheaper ($8-$10 for burgers and sandwiches, not too bad). They had about a dozen taps, with several nice Belgian beers, a few good american beers, including some locals, as well as PBR. They had a great bottle list, with many good american beers and a whole lot of great Belgians.

While looking over the bottle list, I commented to my friends that I would love to get the Cantillion Geuze, but it was a little pricey for me ($12 for 375ml). A bit later a customer came up to the bar next to me to ask the bartender about this lambic style that she had read about, but, while he knew they had one, he didn't know what it was, so briefly explained to her what a lambic was. The bartender then got a bottle of the Cantillion to pour her glass and poured a tasting for me and my two friends. Nothing like some free Cantillion.

12-04-2010 07:44:25 | More by telcontar42

macktbone

California

4.18/5  rDev +6.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Have a good early dinner with my wife and father-in law, both of whom had beers while there. Food was quite good and the service was about what I expected. Deffinately not as bad as others have mentioned.
Beer selection was good, but I always like a bunch of taps... Ten or so with a whole lot of bottles is no doubt nice, but I love trying new stuff on tap and didn't really get that chance.
An absolute must do if in the area or a beer loving local! Good history behind the place and I would love to see more of that story rolled into to atmosphere.
All in all a great place.

09-04-2010 19:08:52 | More by macktbone

marksweiner

California

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

been coming here for lunch for a couple years and the beer selection has slowly gotten a lot better. Gary, the owner, has quite the passion for beer and it is showing in his selection: about 10 beers on tap (some solid IPAs, belgians, and belgian/domestic sours) and many in the bottle. THe prices are quite reasonable for the beers and the food is solid quality for value. the only glitch is the sometimes-slow service at lunch (I would reccomend you go there for mid-week lunch only if you have time and patience). ALso, he closes his shop at 2 on the weekends - kinda wierd yea?

For selection of beers it is in the top three in Sac (Shack, Pangea, and Manderes - in order, with Manderes bringing up the rear because they are all the way up in Folsom). The vibe/atmoshpere is probably the best in town.
I wish Gary and co a lot of business so he can continue to offer his good selection.

04-20-2010 04:15:27 | More by marksweiner

lfrouse

California

4.28/5  rDev +8.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $

I love The Shack, though it took awhile to realize it. My first few trips were for lunch, and I left a bit disappointed with how long it took to get in and out. My disappointment wasn't with the food or atmosphere, just that I wasn't able to make it there and back to work over lunch, because it's a busy yet relaxed place. Then I went to Belgian beer night, first Tuesday of each month. My first time resulted in Gary, a knowledgeable dreamer when it comes to beer (most recent visit included a discussion of spontaneously fermenting a homebrew in a vineyard), sharing a bottle of Westvleteren with me and my friend, and he hadn't met us before. I've become a frequent patron, and took some homebrews with me last time, to share with Gary and others. The Shack has a great beer selection, and the food is solid, too. Beer lovers in the area should know about this place if they don't already.

02-01-2010 07:45:24 | More by lfrouse

MisterClean

California

3.98/5  rDev +1.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 5 | $$

Went to The Shack last night for their Belgian beer tasting:

The Shack has quite a history. Immediately after he repeal of prohibition, the Governor of California purchased the first legal libation from The Shack.

A - The Shack is an 80 year old building set in the east side of Sacramento. It bustles inside with professionals looking for a cold beer, beer enthusiasts, and even a group of homebrewers. Being that it is family owned, Gary and Jen try to make everyone feel welcome. The inside comfortably seats about 40 while outside, another 40 may sit. Unforunately, the owners need to purchase several more outdoor heaters for the place to be full functional.

Q - For Sacramento, the beer selection is excellent. About 8 taps and 60 bottles await thirst customers. The selection ranges from Belgian, to local, and of course, a couple of macros. I think they could purchase a few more hop monsters to appease the bitter crowd.

Svce - The service was kind of slow yesterday due to the excessive crowd gathered for the tasting. However, after it thinned out, plenty of appetizers remained to sober up the intoxicated crowd.

Sele - See quality.

Food - The food is excellent. Gary and his crew serves some unique appetizers from mussels, monte cristo sandwiches, to pot pie souffles. Very good and very reasonably priced.

Value - Overall, the value is good. $25 for 14 2-3 oz tastes of Belgian beer is not a bad deal, especially if it includes appetizers.

12-17-2008 16:33:13 | More by MisterClean