Dining & Entertainment

Restaurants

After all of this activity, it is time for nourishment. Be it gourmet dining or simply the best pizza this side of Chicago – the Tahoe region’s stable of chefs ensconced in an amazing range of restaurant settings will fill your stomachs with the BEST MEALS ever conceived. Food and drink are a truly relaxing pleasure after a hard day of sports activities or shopping! One wants to be pampered and catered to. In this area, where the only difference between restaurants is the quality of the service, you can bet that you will be treated like royalty. Here’s a sampling of some of Lake Tahoe’s finest restaurants:

Breakfast

• Cafe Echo
  • 1132 Ski Run Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, CA – (530) 544-6544
    • Price range: $7.00-$20.00
• Fire Sign Cafe
  • 1785 West Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA – (530) 583-0871
    • Creative homestyle cooking, cozy country atmosphere. Price range: $5.00-$9.00
• Log Cabin Cafe & Ice Cream
  • 8692 North Lake Blvd., Kings Beach, CA – (530) 546-7109
    • Price range: $6.00-$12.00
• Rosie’s Cafe
  • 571 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA – (530) 583-8504
    • Price range: $4.99-$8.99

Fine Dining

• Dragonfly
  • 10118 Donner Pass Road, Truckee, CA – (530) 587-0557
    • An eclectic fusion of California cuisine with Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian and Malaysian influences served up in a soothing setting. Delicious seafood noodle bowls and killer curries. Price range: $20.00-$24.00
• Moody’s Bistro
  • 10007 Bridge Street, Truckee, CA – (530) 587-8688
    • A hot spot of Truckee, this city-style eatery features eclectic and creative interpretations of modern American cuisine. Pasta dishes are excellent, but don’t miss the Ahi four ways. The bar area often features live music. Price range: $17.00-$26.00
• The Soule Domain
  • 9983 Stateline Road, Kings Beach, CA – (530) 546-7529
    • This 60-year-old log cabin is a warm and romantic spot for gourmet dining. The saute pan works overtime in this kitchen: Try the curried cashew chicken or the lobster, rock shrimp and scallops. Filets are served several always-delicious ways. Price range: $15.00-$25.00
• Wild Goose
  • 7320 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe Vista, CA – (530) 546-3640
    • A sensory-filled dining experience, this exquisite restaurant and bar overlooks The Lake and distant mountains. The kitchen serves up one masterpiece after another under the direction of chef Dale Ray. The menu changes often and is both creative and playful. Price range: $24.00-$42.00
• Wolfdale’s Cuisine
  • 640 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA – (530) 583-5700
    • East meets West at this Tahoe original, a sophisticated shrine to clean, creative dining. The menu might include barbecued ribs with white corn bisque or a seared Alaskan halibut with green Thai curry. There’s a small, friendly bar and outdoor seating with a lake view during summer. Price range: $25.00-$39.00
• Balboa Cafe
  • 1995 Squaw Valley Road, Suite 11, Olympic Valley, CA – (530) 583-5850
    • A hot spot in the Village at Squaw Valley, with both indoor and patio dining (in the summer). The casual bar has its own menu with offerings like an Ahi club sandwich while the more formal dining room serves the likes of wild king salmon in a red wine reduction and bourbon-brined pork chops. Price range: $10.00-$26.00
• Boulevard Cafe
  • 6731 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe Vista, CA- (530) 546-7213
    • Serving up intimate evenings of crisp linens, candlelight and creative northern Italian cuisine. Don’t miss the raviolo di patate con porcini: potato-filled ravioli with porcini mushrooms, reggiano cheese and white truffles. Price range: $10.00-$29.00
• Chambers Landing
  • 6300 Chambers Lodge Road, Homewood, CA- (530) 525-7262
    • A elegant, semi-open air dining room that is only open in the summer and fall. This is the sister restaurant to Graham’s in Squaw Valley, with excellent seafood and steak entrees and perhaps the best lamb chops you’ve ever tasted. Great view, too. Price range: $23.00-$28.00
• Christy Hill Restaurant
  • 115 Grove, Tahoe City, CA – (530) 583-8551
    • California seasonal cuisine with a French accent. The newly redecorated dining room holds 10 elegantly set tables, each with gorgeous lake views. Specialties include chili rellenos stuffed with smoked chicken and Sonoma Valley foie gras seared with shiitake mushrooms. The wine list is extensive. Price range: $18.00-$33.00
• Cottonwood
  • State Highway 267 and Old Brockway Road, Truckee, CA – (530) 587-5711
    • Perched on a hillside overlooking Truckee, this is an atmospheric spot with patio dining in the summer and a cozy lodge feeling in winter. The menu includes a wide range of entrees and great desserts. Price range: $8.95-$28.95
• Coyotes Restaurante Latino
  • 521 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA – (530) 583-6653
    • This gourmet Mexican restaurant spot is a locals’ favorite, serving up a banquet of unique tastes, some of them very spicy (you can request mild). The seafood and beef specials are excellent, but everyone has a favorite on this menu. In summer, seating is available on an outdoor patio with, on some evenings, live music. Price range: $17.00-$26.00
• Crystal Bay Steak & Lobster House
  • 14 State Route 28, Crystal Bay, NV – (775) 833-6333
    • This restaurant has gone through a complete renovation under new casino ownership. Prime cut beef, veal piccata, lobster and rotisserie duck are a sample of menu items, all complimented by an extensive wine list. Price range: $18.00-$48.00
• Fiamma
  • 521 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA – (530) 581-1416
    • Catch up on the latest local news at the wine bar and then settle in for a creative Italian dinner. Price range: $13.95-$23.95
• Gar Woods Grill and Pier
  • 5000 North Lake Blvd., Carnelian Bay, Cay – (530) 546-3366 or (775) 833-1234
    • This lakeside dining room and bar features American classics with a few culinary twists. The lobster bisque is divine. Dining on the deck is popular in the summer. Price range: $8.00-$25.00
• Graham’s at Squaw Valley
  • 1650 Squaw Valley Road, Olympic Valley, CA – (530) 581-0454
    • An award-winning wine list and cozy, fire-lit dining room compliment a European-inspired menu. Impeccably prepared entrees and friendly, gracious service are the hallmarks of this popular spot. Price range: $20.00-$30.00
• Jake’s Lake Tahoe
  • 780 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA – (530) 583-0188
    • A delightful dining experience overlooking the marina at Tahoe City. Nightly seafood specials are delicious; the bar menu is a favorite of locals. Price range: $8.50-$36.00
• OB’s Pub and Restaurant
  • 10046 Donner Pass Road, Truckee, CA – (530) 587-4164
    • A favorite of Truckee residents, this pub serves up delicious Harris Ranch prime rib, char-grilled Jan Daniels top sirloin, camarones borrachos (drunken shrimp) and more. Price range: $15.95-$24.95
• Pacific Crest Restaurant
  • 10042 Donner Pass Road, Truckee, CA – (530) 587-2626
    • Mediterranean and Asian- influenced dishes, plus pizzas baked in a wood-burning oven, are part of an eclectic menu very popular with Truckeeans. The fresh fish specials are outstanding. The cozy restaurant adjoins the very casual Bar of America, where its menu items are also available. Price range: $9.00-$26.00
• Pianeta Ristorante
  • 10096 Donner Pass Road, Truckee, CA – (530) 587-4694
    • Located in a historic downtown Truckee building, this classy yet comfortable spot is well loved for its excellent homemade pasta dishes, which change weekly. Spicy crab cake appetizers, tasty vegetarian entrees and incredible rib-eye steaks are part of a feast of menu choices. Meals are also served at this friendly, lively bar. Price range: $12.50-$25.00
• Pfeifer House
  • 760 River Road, Tahoe City, CA – (530) 583-3102
    • Built in 1939, this is one of the oldest restaurants at The Lake. Award-winning chef Franz Fassbender brings the old world culinary traditions of Germany to this North Shore landmark. Price range: $17.95-$28.95
• PlumpJack, Squaw Valley Inn
  • 1920 Squaw Valley Road, Olympic Valley, CA – (530) 583-1578
    • This is contemporary dining with excellent American interpretations of a variety of cuisines. Try the Ahi tartar cones, the pan-seared mahi-mahi or the tamarind lamb kebabs. There is also an extensive and well-priced selection of wines. Price range: $23.00-$33.00
• The River Grill
  • 55 West Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA – (530) 581-2644
    • This riverside restaurant serves up imaginative American cuisine in a pleasant, knotty pine dining room. Dinner is also served on a terraced riverfront deck during the summer months. Price range: $15.00-$22.00
• Ristorante Montagna
  • Resort at Squaw Creek, Olympic Valley, CA – (530) 583-6300 ext.6618
    • This spot offers excellent Italian fare, both traditional and creative. The portions are large and the wait-staff is personable and attentive. Price range: $21.00-$31.00
• River Ranch Restaurant and Lodge
  • Highway 89 and Alpine Meadows Road, Tahoe City, CA – (530) 583-4264
    • Perched along the Truckee River, this spot features hardy fare, such as filet mignon with cabernet sauce and roasted garlic. Many appetizers are meals unto themselves. The bar is popular with the apres-ski crowd, the action moving out onto the large patio in the summer. Price range: $15.95-$32.95
• Sierra Vista
  • 700 North Lake Tahoe Blvd., Tahoe City , CA – (530) 583-0233
    • Popular American cuisine is served up at this lakefront restaurant as well as a generous happy hour. There’s lovely outdoor dining during the summer. After dinner, this place often becomes a hot spot for music. Price range: $13.00-$26.50
• Spindleshanks American Bistro
  • 6873 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe Vista, CA – (530) 546-2191
    • This relaxed spot is popular with locals for its happy hour in the bar and reasonably priced entrees in the dining room. The menu ranges from old favorites to creative new dishes. Don’t miss the appetizers. Outdoor seating is available in the summer; reservations are recommended year-round. Price range: $14.00-$28.00
• Stoney Ridge Cafe
  • 6821 West Lake Blvd., Tahoma, CA – (530) 525-0905
    • A funky, knotty pine restaurant with an eclectic dinner menu that changes every week. Chef Doug Baer creates a wide range of gems – try the wild mushroom soup, roasted vegetable gnocchi or tandoori chicken. Stony Ridge is also a West Shore favorite for breakfast and lunch. Price range: $18.00 average
• Sunnyside Resort
  • 1850 West Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA – (530) 583-7200
    • A classic, Tahoe-style dining experience in gorgeous, wood-paneled rooms, all with The Lake just outside the windows. Summer seating on the deck is like dining in a postcard. Sunnyside also has lake view guest rooms. Price range: $15.00-$36.00
• Swiss Lakewood Restaurant and Lodge
  • 5055 West Lakes Blvd., Homewood, CA – (530) 525-5211
    • This spot serves up a menu of Swiss and French origin along with many American standard, including marvelous beef and lamb. Try one of the specialties for two- foundue, beef Wellington, chateaubriand- or the incredible caviar appetizer. Price range: $14.50-$30.50
• True North
  • Highway 267 and Northstar Drive, Truckee, CA – (530) 562-2250
    • The premier restaurant at Northstar features California-American cuisine with hints of the Pacific Rim. Large windows look out over the golf course to the expanse of Martis Valley. During ski season, breakfast, lunch and dinner are served. Price range: $20.00-$35.00

Entertainment

As a destination resort area, the Lake Tahoe region offers the best of cabaret and club acts within the many casinos scattered around the Nevada portion of the Lake, such as Harrahs, Caesars, Harveys, and Cal Neva. Combine that with the exceptional restaurants that each casino boasts, plus the possibility you may win at the tables and you’ve got an evening that is not only fun, but relatively inexpensive.

Depending upon the season, there are many cultural programs that have become a tradition in our area. It would not be a summer celebration if we did not attend the outdoor presentations of ” The Whole Worlds a Stage” at Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe Summer Music Festival, and the Shakespeare Festival. For the kids there’s The Children’s Festival, The Kazoo Corporation’s Productions, Tahoe Mountain Musicals outdoor stage presentations, and Summer Theater Camp for Children.

Arts and Crafts Fairs are held throughout the area on an ongoing basis during the summer months. Each year there are major, international and local art shows at many of the area’s fine art galleries. There is an ARTour each summer. During this tour period, you may visit the studios of the individual, local artists over a period of three to four days.

With the coming of the fall season, Octoberfest, a decade old tradition, with German food, bands and beer is held at Alpine Meadows ski resort. Also, The native American Snow Dance Festival featuring the Washoe, Paiute, Miwok and Shoshone tribes dancing to the Great Spirit for plentiful snowfall. You’ll find displays of basket weaving, native arts, jewelry, and traditional food such as Indian Tacos and grilled salmon on a stick.

The Autumn Food and Wine Jubilee, the High Sierra’s premier food and wine event held in the elegant Resort at Squaw Creek’s Grand Ballroom. Over 35 California wineries pair with area restaurants to create the ultimate complement of food and wine. Also includes cooking and wine seminars and a silent auction.

Snowfest has evolved into the largest winter carnival in the Pacific Northwest. Ten days of fun including ski races, parties, parades and zany contests like Dress up your Dog and the Polar Bear Swim. The festival is opened with a torch light parade of skiers floating down the slopes of Squaw Valley in a rhythmic, giant slalom ballet. This is truly an opportune time to vacation in the Sierra Nevada’s.