For many, the experience of dining out is just as important as the menu items they seek to please their palette, whether it’s a special occasion for your group or simply a date night. At Folsom’s Fourk Kitchen, it’s all about the four-course dining experience.

Located at 1177 Riley Street, diners that live in Folsom and out of the area have been trekking to this very unique restaurant that first came to the city last year. Fourk was created by executive chef, restaurateur Paul Jansen, a 24-year military veteran who started his culinary journey in 2015 when he left his corporate career of 14 years to start his successful wine bar and tapas concept, Citizen Vine. 

Four years later, Jansen opened the doors to his first Fourk Kitchen in Lincoln, a restaurant concept created to change the way diners think about a four-course dining experience, which is usually expensive and sometimes intimidating. 

Instead of a once or twice a year special occasion, Jansen designed Fourk to be an approachable and unique monthly date night. Fourk has three locations in Lincoln, Reno and Folsom. 

The experience at Fourk is very interactive. The night starts out with a happy hour from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. Promptly at 6:30 p.m., dinner service starts with an interactive welcome from the executive or sous chef with an explanation of how the restaurant began, the artwork, menu and a team introduction. 

By utilizing more mainstream ingredients and keeping the pre-fixe menu simple, the dining experience is offered at a more reasonable price for guests.

 “We want guests to leave happier than when they came in, provide a reprieve from our chaotic lives and have a feeling restoration when they leave,” is Fourk’s message to the customers of the restaurant, “rooted in the values of service, courage and commitment.”

For the month of July, the restaurant’s menu starts off with the serving of an initial course of an arugula and watermelon salad along with prosciutto and hered feta. He second course is a flank steak crostini cooked to perfection with blue cheese butter and carmalized onion. 

The third course is a homemade meatloaf with sage gravy and crispy shallots. The monthly meal is wrapped up with a fouth course consisting of a savory s’mores brownie.

Not interested in what the current menu has to offer?  The restaurant’s website features its menu for the current month, along with the featured menu for the month to come to you can plan accordingly.

Fourk is reservations only. They are open Wednesday through Saturday nights with one seating a night with a maximum capacity of 24 patrons. When making reservations, guests have the option to choose dining room or bar seating. They offer a happy hour at their bar from 5:30 p.m. until 6;15 p.m.

The eatery advises those with reservations to arrive no later than 6:15 p.m. for dinner. The cost is $54 per person and the menu consists of four set courses of food that change monthly on the first Wednesday of each month. Wine and beer pairings are also available at an additional charge. 

For more information visit www.forkkitchen.com.