On Wednesday’s post I shared all about the great resort we stayed at for my belated birthday trip to Tahoe. Today I wanted to share some of the yummy food we ate while we were there. While it’s true that our room had a full kitchen and we used it to make lots of hot chocolate and breakfast the second morning, one of the best things about this trip was all the delicious food and the fact that I Never. Had. To. Wash. A. Dish. Ah, the glamorous life of a mom. Keep reading for some of our favorite restaurants in South Lake Tahoe.

great recommendations for restaurants in South Lake Tahoe

burgers for dinner

We relied on Yelp a lot to pick our restaurants in South Lake Tahoe and it did not disappoint. The first night we went to California Burger Co. for dinner and it was fantastic. Located at Heavenly Village just a block from our resort, the location means this is a busy spot. We called ahead and by the time we walked there we were able to be sat right away. The atmosphere is definitely fun and loud. There was live music outside with plenty of warm fire pits and blankets sitting round. We were almost sad that we didn’t have to wait for our table. Almost. After all, we were really hungry. 

Mike ordered the Californian and I ordered the Honorary Texan. Both are served with bottomless sidewinder fries, which were fantastic. The green chili and chipotle mayo on my burger were amazing and Mike loved the avocado and pesto on his. Service was quick and great, and I really loved the attention to detail. When it came time for our check it was brought out to us in a paperback book – such a fun touch! California Burger Co. was more than we would normally spend on burgers, but definitely a nice treat and at least the portions matched the price. 

the perfect brunch spot

The following morning we went to Red Hut Café for brunch. There are several different locations and we went to the one on Ski Run and Highway 50. It was about 10:00 on a Monday morning and we were able to be sat right away. We ordered lots of food, all in the name of research, of course. The hubby ordered one of the items off their specials board that included biscuits and gravy, as well as a strawberry waffle. I ordered the green chili and cheese omelet. Mike loved his biscuits and gravy. Oftentimes places disappoint him with the gravy, but this one was very flavorful with large chunks of sausage in it.

The waffle was just okay, maybe due to the fact that it’s not really strawberry season right now. I loved my green chili omelet with pepper jack cheese (you can choose any type of cheese). It’s not the traditional fluffy omelet that I usually think of at restaurants, but I thought the ratio of egg to ingredients was good. Mike thought there was a little bit too much green chili. Service was good and this location (I’m not sure about the other ones) has an ice cream shop and a cute little gift shop area with unique Tahoe souvenirs. We feel Red Hut Café offers your traditional breakfast foods at comparable prices to other chain breakfast establishments but in a more unique setting.

a romantic Italian dinner

The last place I’d like to talk about is Scusa Italian Restaurante where we enjoyed my official belated birthday dinner. We ate there on a Monday evening and had the place practically to ourselves. The atmosphere was very cozy and romantic, dim lighting and white tablecloths. Our server was great, very friendly and attentive and rattled off the specials like he’s known them his whole life. The prices were higher than we had expected after reading Yelp reviews, but the portions were generously sized. We also got a free order of garlic bread for checking in on Yelp!

Mike ordered the Pan Seared Chicken in Marsala and I ordered the Spinach Pasta Mediterranean. Mike thought the Marsala was delicious (and that coming from an Italian) and loved that it was a creamy Marsala sauce. One of the sides was asparagus and he was not a fan of how they had prepared and seasoned it, but he just covered it in Parmesan cheese and said it was fine, lol.  My pasta was delicious and a very unique dish. Lots of veggies, which I am a big fan of, and lots of delicious Feta cheese.

When we casually mentioned to our server that we were celebrating my birthday he told us all the desserts they had and I got to pick any one that I wanted! We chose the bread pudding and it was amazing!

What delicious things have you eaten lately? When you go on vacations do you like to eat at unique places, or familiar chains?

You might also like these Tahoe blog posts:

Spending 48 Hours in Tahoe with Kids

Summer in South Lake Tahoe at Heavenly Mountain

Staying in Tahoe: 3 Peaks Resort Review