{"id":279303,"date":"2026-04-21T23:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/279303\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T23:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:09:09","slug":"a-swanky-new-wood-fire-mediterranean-restaurant-plus-persian-food-in-sacramento","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/279303\/","title":{"rendered":"A swanky new wood-fire Mediterranean restaurant. Plus, Persian food in Sacramento"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is from City of Treats, a food and drink newsletter. Want it sent directly to your inbox?\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\tSign Up for the City of Treats Newsletter<\/p>\n

Get the latest Sacramento food news from Benjy Egel in City of Treats \u2014 delivered every Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Hi everyone \u2014 Keyla here.<\/p>\n

Benjy is off in Italy this week (yes, we\u2019re very jealous), so I\u2019m stepping in to keep City of Treats cooking. If you\u2019ve been reading Abridged for a while, you\u2019ve probably seen my byline pop up across a few food stories, including this week\u2019s look at Aiona, the swanky new wood-fire Mediterranean restaurant that opened Monday on K Street<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Randy Paragary\u2019s iconic Esquire Grill space on K Street was empty for five years. The team behind Allora reopened it with a $4 million overhaul, a 3,000-bottle wine cellar and a dining room built around a central wood- and-charcoal-fire grill.<\/p>\n

The menu leans into Mediterranean traditions: whole fish, slow-cooked meats and shareable plates built around that live fire, alongside a rotating lineup of seasonal sides. I stopped by a friends-and-family preview this past weekend, and it was off to a strong start.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The restaurant was packed with guests, and the hospitality felt above and beyond. Servers were knowledgeable about the menu and stepped in to guide guests through the space, opening doors and walking them where they needed to go. Bartenders moved nonstop between cocktails and wine pours, while the open kitchen was in full swing, with cooks working the wood-fired grill and the expo sending out plates at a steady pace.<\/p>\n

These were a few of my favorite dishes: ajo blanco ($22) \u2014 reminded me of a bright scallop and pickled grape Peruvian ceviche, the wonderfully charred wood-roasted branzino ($48) and the huge side of patatas bravas ($14). Definitely recommend the warm date pudding ($13) for dessert. It was one of my most memorable sweet bites this year.<\/p>\n

Aiona is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, with happy hour in the afternoon and a bar setup that works just as well for a quick glass of wine as it does for a full meal.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more to get into in this week\u2019s City of Treats, including a new Sacramento lecture series turning nights out into something a little more educational<\/a> \u2014 with food and drinks in the mix.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dig in.<\/p>\n

KEYLA\u2019S CRAVINGS<\/p>\n

A Midtown Persian spot that always delivers<\/p>\n

Maydoon | 1501 16th St., Sacramento | 916-447-7000<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Taste of Maydoon comes with your choice of kabob, rice, hummus, salad and warm pita. (Keyla Vasconcellos)<\/p>\n

My go-to lunch lately has been Maydoon \u2014 partly because I\u2019m walking distance, and partly because it\u2019s one of the more affordable spots in Sacramento where you leave full and sometimes with leftovers for the next day. Win-win. It\u2019s a modern Persian restaurant that works just as well for a casual weekday lunch as it does for dinner with family or friends.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re like me and want a little of everything, the Taste of Maydoon ($21) comes with your choice of kabob (I love the super tender chicken breast), plus rice, hummus, salad and warm pita. Even the Maydoon wrap ($12) is a hefty portion and won\u2019t break the bank. If you\u2019re going at night, the lamb shank ($22) is fall-apart tender and easy to share. And if you\u2019re a tequila lover, I won\u2019t gatekeep \u2014 Maydoon pours Fortaleza reposado ($14), which is notoriously hard to find and usually priced much higher, making this one of the better deals in town.<\/p>\n

OFF THE CLOCK<\/p>\n

I live, play and cook in this community just like you. This recurring section is a window into my life outside of restaurants and bars, always with a food and\/or drink angle.<\/p>\n

An LA sandwich I keep recreating at home<\/p>\n

\"AA burrata caprese sandwich with prosciutto, inspired by Bay Cities in Santa Monica. (Keyla Vasconcellos)<\/p>\n

I\u2019m always trying to find Sacramento\u2019s best bites, but every now and then there\u2019s a craving I can\u2019t quite find here. Lately, it\u2019s a burrata caprese sandwich with prosciutto, like the one from my favorite Italian deli in Santa Monica (Bay Cities). So I decided to make my own.<\/p>\n

Trader Joe\u2019s has a few breads I like, but its herby, olive oil\u2013y parmesan focaccia works especially well here. I layer in Italian prosciutto di Parma, creamy burrata, tomato and basil, plus a quick homemade pesto (with walnuts, I know, not traditional), and a splash of balsamic for a little more acid. It\u2019s fresh, it\u2019s bright, and it\u2019s made its way into my lunch rotation more times than I can count.<\/p>\n

If you know a spot in Sacramento doing something similar, please let me know.<\/p>\n

IN THE NEWS<\/p>\n

Aiona brings wood-fired Mediterranean cooking to downtown Sacramento\u2019s K Street<\/p>\n

\"WoodWood- and charcoal-fired grill at Aiona at 1213 K Street in Sacramento. (Denis Akbari)<\/p>\n

Aiona, the new restaurant from the team behind Allora<\/a>, has opened at 1213 K St. in the former Esquire Grill space. The menu centers on a wood-fired grill, with shareable plates, whole fish and a 3,000-bottle wine program.<\/p>\n

New speaker series brings Sacramentans together to learn at their local bars<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople gather for the Common Knowledge event on April 7, 2026 at Garden At The Line in Sacramento. (Denis Akbari)<\/p>\n

A new Sacramento lecture series, Common Knowledge, is drawing crowds<\/a> with $35 talks paired with food and drinks at spots like Tandem Coffee & Wine, Teneral Cellars and Bike Dog Brewery. Founded by Zac Miller, the events have already sold out with waitlists, tapping into a growing appetite for community-driven, in-person learning.<\/p>\n

Sacramento\u2019s asparagus and snap peas team up for this spring-season pasta primavera<\/p>\n

\"PlatePasta Primavera with Sugar Snap Peas and Asparagus (Zoe Barrie)<\/p>\n

Zoe Barrie\u2019s latest Cooking In Season recipe<\/a> leans into peak spring produce with a pasta primavera built around sugar snap peas and asparagus. The dish uses a light, beurre blanc\u2013style sauce and can be adapted with whatever vegetables are showing up at local farmers markets.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING THIS WEEK\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Lincoln Wine Fest<\/a> fills downtown Lincoln on Saturday, April 25, with a walk-around tasting featuring Placer County wineries, local breweries and small bites from area restaurants. The event runs from 1 to 5 p.m. (VIP entry at 12:30 p.m.) and turns Beermann Plaza into a full afternoon of sipping, shopping and live music.<\/p>\n

PBS KVIE\u2019s inaugural Chili Cook-Off<\/a> takes place Sunday, April 26 from 2 to 4 p.m., bringing together chefs from across the region to compete with their own takes on chili. The $100 ticket includes tastings from participating restaurants, along with wine, tequila and other beverages, with proceeds supporting local public media.<\/p>\n

Sacramento Beer Week<\/a> kicks off April 24 through May 3, with breweries, taprooms and restaurants hosting events across the region. Expect special releases, tap takeovers and pop-ups throughout the 10-day stretch. Find the full lineup on their website.<\/p>\n

Keyla Vasconcellos\u00a0is a Sacramento-based freelance journalist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The following is from City of Treats, a food and drink newsletter. Want it sent directly to your…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279304,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-279303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}