Best Casual Restaurants in Truckee

I really enjoyed my meal. I had the beet salad & cornbread as starters and mushroom ragout. My husband had a squash soup but it had an unexpected bite to it that took away from the squash. His cod was not cooked appropriately it was mushy. My husband would not go back.

Holiday meal in a winter wonderland. Everyone at restaurant worked extra hard to provide plenty of holiday cheer. The special Christmas menu offered something for most food choices. Few nice places to dine after a long drive up to Tahoe today. Thankfully River Ranch was open. Will go out of my way to support them on low season weekdays.

Our meal for four at the Dining Room @ Village Lodge was very good. The setting is beautiful, the service friendly and professional, and the food was solid-some terrific, some disappointing. The dining room is quiet, relaxed, and friendly. Our pretty table looking out on the snow was pretty and comfortable. We ordered cocktails while looking over the menu, and it took a while to deliver from the bar. In the mean time, home made incredible Parker rolls and a tasty amuse bouche from the chef arrived. Salads were fresh and terrific - one baby lettuce, and one chicory. Our three appetizers - hamachi crudo, scallops, and octopus- were worthy, especially the crudo and octopus (tender, with charred edges). All fantastic so far. The entrees were slightly disappointing. Fresh California halibut was fine but so overcooked that it was dry and tough, too bad! The risotto was a bit bland and starchy, probably because the flavoring ingredient was pumpkin. Mushrooms, asparagus, or other veggie would have been less novel but tastier bases. We asked for parmesan, which our server brought quickly with no complaint. Last, we got the duck breast, which was advertised as "confit" but was more like a regular duck breast (I am used to duck confit as the leg slow-cooked and tender, so may not understand what "confit" means with breast). Anyway, the duck was solid. We did not try the Brick Chicken or fresh sugo pasta, but neighboring diners commented favorably about them. We skipped the $95 australian wagyu steak. On a menu where other entrees are $30-$50, a $95 steak stuck out. And from 10,000 miles away? A $60 California or Nebraska steak would have been snapped up. The high price and superrich flavor of wagyu didn't excite us. Overall a good meal. More simple California comfort dishes would be better for us. The wine list is an "A" by the way. Short and with many excellent whites and reds for normal restaurant prices (and a few over the top prices).

Gar Woods was beautifully decorated for Christmas. We sat at a window overlooking the lake with a beautiful Christmas tree nearby. Our food was delicious and we had very good cocktails with a large list to choose from. They have a very good food menu to choose from-from burgers and sandwiches to prime rib and fish. Our server was very sweet and kind but she must have had a lot of tables because we waited long stretches to get her attention to get more drinks and dessert. But it was Christmas and the place was packed. We will definitely go back again.

We had a terrific meal in a refined, cozy, and quiet dining room. There was a fire in the central fireplace, a view over the snow covered golf course, and the food was excellent. 2 of us shared a starter of grilled octopus, my wife had beef stroganoff, and I had prime rib, accompanied by a Nero d’Avola from Sicily. Although the room was nearly full, it was pleasantly quiet which was relaxing and made it easy to talk Our server, Michael, is outstanding! He is pleasant, attentive, and very knowledgeable about both the food and the wine list. He has taken care of us before and always makes dinner at the Lodge a great experience.