Lake Tahoe is beautiful. The built environment around the lake? Well, let’s say it doesn’t always match. But, with the help of more than a half billion in renovations and new sustainability efforts, the manmade is catching up with nature. New entertainment, lodging remodels, transit options and new and improved dining experiences are popping onto the scene.
Feature photo courtesy of Edgewood Restaurant
Foodie Happenings
Brooks Bar & Deck
Luxurious is the name of the game at Edgewood Tahoe, and it continues with improvements to the ever popular Brooks’ Bar & Deck. The clubhouse added more seating at the bar and outdoor seating options with lake views and firepits, as well as new aesthetic touches in lighting, countertops and menu changes. Pan-seared salmon, spiced BBQ meatloaf, along with favorites like Mahi Mahi fish tacos, fish and chips, sandwiches, burgers and “on the green” salads. The adjacent Edgewood Restaurant closed in October for a rebrand and remodel and is expected to reopen in Spring 2025.
Wolf by Vanderpump
Harveys Lake Tahoe Hotel & Casino opened its second celebrity chef restaurant in April: Lisa Vanderpump’s Wolf by Vanderpump. The already established Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen also expanded this year to meet demand with 56 additional seats, a new bar and new entry.
The Grove Restaurant
From celebrity to history, Camp Richardson Resort, celebrating 100 years, opened The Grove Restaurant, a nod to its rich past and original name, Copeland’s Grove Resort, (formerly the Beacon Bar & Grill). Menu highlights include a miso salmon; fried chicken and ricotta beignets and coleslaw, spicy agave and powdered sugar; and a bison BBQ bacon burger. Signature cocktail choices range from a barrel-aged WhistlePig maple syrup Old Fashioned; The Kokanee made with Hendrick’s gin, housemade cucumber cordial, soda, with lime garnish; and, of course, The Rum Runner. The restaurant name and menu are new, but the view, only feet from the water, is the same classic.
Elements Eatery & Bar
Local Chef Gabriela Chavez opened Elements Eatery & Bar this spring, serving Mexican-American fusion with chilaquiles, avocado toast and sourdough pancakes for breakfast, tacos, burgers, pastor Reuben, enchiladas and Mexican hot dog (bacon-wrapped with grilled onions and home-made special sauce) for lunch and dinner. Most sauces are made in-house. Must-try items include their cold-pressed juices — add alcohol if desired.
Tahoe Bros Burgers
Locally owned, Tahoe Bros Burgers, is a new midtown spot on South Shore offering charbroiled burgers and marinated chicken sandwiches. BBQ chicken, all-beef hot dogs and wings come with an extensive list of customized fries, onion rings and pretzel bites.
Smoke Door Lake Tahoe Saryo
Kings Beach is harboring a secret. A high-end unique dining experience called SMOKE DOOR Lake Tahoe Saryo. This small boutique restaurant, or saryo, meaning a small tea house in Japanese, is the brainchild of Executive Chef Tyler Burges. It’s not exactly new since it opened in late 2023, but it has been growing slowly by design and mostly through word of mouth. Using wood-fire cooking, Burges “brings out the purest flavor of the ingredients,” says their website. Reservations are highly recommended as the restaurant has limited seating.
Sam Choy's Ohana Diner
Incline Village offers a whimsical choice — Hawaiian food and bowling — at Sam Choy’s Ohana Diner located inside Bowl Incline. A Food Network personality and James Beard Award-winner, Choy, the “Godfather of poke” brings Hawaiian traditional diner classics with an elevated twist. There’s spam musubi, poke nachos, and kalua pork french fries, along with burgers and pizza.
Hotels Refresh
Margaritaville
Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe, the brand’s first lodging location in a ski destination, celebrates its one-year anniversary in December. The all-suite resort, formerly Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel, is fully rebranded and remodeled. The resort’s new LandShark Bar & Grill and JWB Prime Steak and Seafood are signatures of the Margaritaville brand.
The Golden Nugget
On South Shore, Golden Nugget Lake Tahoe, formerly Hard Rock Hotel, is transforming with a full refresh that includes rooms, new VIP suites and services, a new lobby design and upgraded pool areas. A new H2O pool and lounge features built-in seating, fire pits, hot tub, private cabanas and a poolside bar. The remodel is slated for completion in early 2025. The resort is also opening two new restaurants. High-end Mastro’s Steakhouse, already well established and recognized by Gayot as one of the “top 10 steakhouses in the U.S.” will offer live entertainment, while Saltgrass Steak House, open now, provides a casual vibe with steaks, chicken and seafood, plus breads, soups and desserts made from scratch daily.
The Coachman Hotel
The Coachman Hotel, located near the Heavenly Gondola and Lakeside Beach in South Lake Tahoe, has expanded and renovated with added services for groups and wellness. New York-based Sugar Shed Design renovated the guest rooms and suites with a neutral color palette, leather accents, cozy handwoven wool rugs and heavy bed quilts. Bathrooms feature walk-in showers enclosed in subway tiles, built-in shelving and illuminated heated commodes — a nice touch for winter guests. The property’s four new “Business Suites” are set for remote workers with built-in work nooks equipped with adaptable desks, and smart TVs. The 900-square-foot, tech-equipped meeting space has a landscaped outdoor patio seating area, and the hotel’s gym added two Pelotons and a 300-square-foot wellness room with space for therapeutic massage services.
Entertainment
Tahoe Blue Events Center
The opening of the Tahoe Blue Event Center, a new multi-purpose venue in Stateline, Nev., has brought big-name comedians like recent SNL host Nate Bargatze and professional sports to Lake Tahoe. The ECHL Tahoe Knight Monsters’ inaugural season started in October with their first loss and first win against the Jacksonville Icemen in franchise history. An affiliate team of the Vegas Golden Knights, the Knight Monsters will be playing at the Tahoe Blue Event Center through April 2025. Opening night drew a packed house of 4,200 fans.
