Armenian American steakhouse opens in historic Old Sacramento building
Fat City is gone. Wagyu city has taken its place.
Armenian American steakhouse V’s Paradise will host its grand opening Friday at 1001 Front St., the longtime home of Fat City Bar & Cafe in Old Sacramento.
A soft opening began Feb. 29, and while the menu has yet to be fully set, general manager Richard Kazanjian said the kitchen would source local meat and vegetables to prepare steaks as well as lesser-seen options.
There are $69 rib-eyes, Wagyu short ribs ($47) and confit chicken wings ($19) with blue cheese from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. But diners can also enjoy beef tartare ($28) held together by yogurt, lamb khorovats skewers ($26) or a Caesar salad ($16) dressed with the Armenian spice mix chaimen.
Veteran local chefs Tyler Bond and Joe Pruner are getting the kitchen started as culinary consultants. Both will stay on at V’s Paradise for three or four months, developing the menu while training staff members to replace them, Bond said.
Bond formerly co-owned the venerable Lemon Grass Restaurant in Loehmann’s Plaza shopping center and will open Chinese-Vietnamese concept Chu Mai with Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine founder Billy Ngo later this year. Pruner was most recently The Bank’s chef de cuisine, and previously the executive chef at Allora in East Sacramento and chef de cuisine at Mother during the all-vegetarian spot’s downtown era.
Bond’s inclination toward Asian cooking shows up in a few V’s Paradise dishes, including a kabocha squash bisque ($25) with poached lobster and prawns and a miso-glazed black cod ($36). Housemade desserts include a seasonal pavlova ($13), ricotta zeppole ($14) and a chocolate ganache cake ($15).
“I want it to be international, so we’re bringing some Armenian flair, of course some California-style steakhouse and vegetable dishes, and also some inspiration from Japan because of my background,” Bond said.
Owner Vardan Sargsyan wants to add some theatrical elements to the food presentation such as creating smoke with dry ice, similar to steakhouses in Chicago or Las Vegas, Bond said. But like many restaurants in downtown or Old Sacramento, V’s Paradise will have to find customers outside of one-off occasions. Kazanjian hopes people come for upscale dinners, but also for post-work drinks or a nightcap after Golden 1 Center events.
“We’re really trying to make this a high-quality premier destination, not only for the district but for the city and state,” Kazanjian said. “The hope is that this is the kind of place where not only someone can come annually for their dinner for their birthday or anniversary, but someplace they can bring (people) to entertain their guests or family.”
The dark, sleek restaurant and cocktail bar with brick walls and modern finishes will source wines from Amador, Napa and Sonoma counties as well as Europe and Armenia. It’ll eventually encompasses about 8,500 square feet once a dance hall is built out, Bond said.
Fat City was the Old Sacramento sister concept to elegant downtown Chinese American restaurant Frank Fat’s, and leaned more into the American side, with tri-colored nachos, turkey avocado BLTs and bacon cheeseburgers on its final menu. It closed in late 2019 after 43 years in business.
V’s Paradise is open from 5-9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and closed Sunday-Tuesday.
