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Blue Onion Cafe & Catering
Categories: Restaurants American (New) Event Planning & Services Caterers American (New), Caterers [Edit]
400 Brassie AveKings Beach, CA 96143
(530) 546-3915
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch, Breakfast
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
40 reviews for Blue Onion Cafe & Catering
Review Highlights
"We had the scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato, and jack cheese..."
(in 3 reviews)
"...is positioned on an old golf course in Kings Beach, right..."
(in 4 reviews)
"Great, fast and friendly service."
(in 3 reviews)
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40 reviews in English
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Review from Matthew D.
San Diego, CA
1/9/2012
Really good crepes! Amazing view of the Lake and great service.
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Review from Analisa F.
Crystal Bay, NV
1/9/2012
Coming from Chicago and trying to find a decent breakfast place in North Lake Tahoe is turning out to be a challenge. Blue Onion was recommended to us by the realtor and we went to give it a go this morning.
Menu looked promising and I ordered the Eggs Benedict and my friend ordered the French Toast, and we both ordered orange juice.
Heads up on the orange juice, its $4 for a 6 oz. glass of FRESH SQUEEZED, so if it isn't orange season it's not really worth it as I'm pretty sure they are squeezing the oranges in the back.
Eggs Benedict was ok -- nothing spectacular but pretty good. The eggs appeared to have been "poached" in molds or something, but were poached hard, not what you expect when you want oozing egg yolk for an eggs benedict. Hollandaise was watery and the ham seemed to be lunch meat put on a griddle, but honestly it tasted pretty good ... $13 (side of sausage tasted like mushy meat and wasn't too great)
French toast -- tasted like what you would make at home. Advertised as "think cut" french toast, and it was your basic toast you get from the store. Nothing awful, but not amazing or worth $9.
Overall we'll probably go back due to the other options in town being gross but it wasn't anything spectacular. -
Review from Chris N.
8/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
We stopped by for lunch the other day, and it was a solid experience. Everything was good enough, worth perhaps 3 1/2 stars, but the sandwiches could have used a little more flavor.
One of us got the veggie panini ($11), the other a turkey prosciutto sandwich ($16). Both were tasty, but a little dry and could really have used something more flavorful, like pesto maybe? Still, a good meal overall.
A side of fries (sweet potato?) would have been nice too, but they instead offer either a salad (greek or cesar) or soup.
But the service was friendly and the food was solid enough. Not a bad place for lunch. -
Review from Aric W.
Berkeley, CA
11/20/2011
good food, nice people. Friendly for kids. There is a parking lot. It is right on the way out of town. I had the eggs Benedict. They hit it right on and they give you a side of meat that is nice and unusual for that dish. All the waitresses are attractive also. Don't tell my wife I wrote that.
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Review from stephanie H.
Carmichael, CA
10/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
We had brunch here not too long ago, the wait was really long, the staff seemed to struggle with the packed place. Our waitress was very friendly, and was doing the best she could- there appeared to be some in-house drama going on....but whatever. Our food was okay, and the view is nice from the outside deck- we would give them another try :)
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Review from Rick W.
Incline Village, NV
9/21/2011
I pretty much only come here for breakfast or brunch and I get the chilequiles 98% of the time. I love them, and my guests seem to be reliably happy with their choices too. Friendly staff, nice outdoor deck seating, and almost never a wait (which surprises me, as another near by breakfast hotspot that I don't find to be half as good always has a wait).
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Review from Shannon E.
San Francisco, CA
4/18/2011 3 Check-ins Here
There are so many delicious looking options, it took me entirely too long to decide between amazing breakfast options (think eggs, paninis, breakfast burritos, crepes) and the range of lunch offerings (sandwiches, soups, salads, etc.). I ended up grabbing a veggie sandwich and was totally in LOVE. The bread is amazing (it's rare that that's the component that stands out for me) and the portions are huge. From our experience, the service was good -- prompt and friendly -- and the food is definitely reasonably priced!
Listed in: Tahoe-Bound
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Review from Jeremy H.
Berkeley, CA
7/18/2010
Quality: 4/6
Service: 4/5
Value: 3/4
Total: 11/15 = 4/5
We had huevos rancheros and a savory crepe for brunch. We were very satisfied the first time we visited three years ago, so we came back. The service is very fast and friendly, and the food was delicious. Patio dining is available with a beautiful view. -
Review from Lawrence L.
Millbrae, CA
4/25/2010 2 photos
Nice spot for a brunch in Kings Beach... Small space located in a country club, but had a nice outdoor patio. It was still a little too cold, and the snow was still out, so no one was on the patio.
We had the scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato, and jack cheese panini (simple and tasty - hit the spot), black bean crepe with poached eggs (healthy and delicious), turkey and brie panini (melted brie - enough said), and buttermilk pancakes (fluffy)...
Service was fast and friendly, and they do not take reservations. I'd definitely come back again... -
Review from Mallory K.
Incline Village, NV
8/2/2011
This review is for Blue Onion Catering. My husband were just married and had an incredible experience with Margaretha and her catering team. I really can't say enough about the amazing food and incredible service from beginning to end. Margaretha helped us to come up with a menu that included our favorite foods, as well as a great variety of items that our families are still talking about.
We would HIGHLY recommend using Blue Onion for weddings or any other event. -
Review from Gil S.
9/1/2006 1 photo
Slightly hidden by the golf course where the road from Truckee hits the lake road, this is the only big time joint in all of Kings Beach.
They do catering, they do weddings, they also do pissing off potential patrons to the point of negative reviews. I came past the normal lunchtime, about 2 on a weekday. No sign of life at the host stand so I wandered into the bar that separates the lobby from the tables under umbrellas on the big wooden deck. The hostess was talking to the bartender, and seemed flustered that I had come in without permission. "Just you?" She asked. "Yes," I said.
"Um, there's a waiting list," she said.
Most of the tables were empty. "Can I sit here?" I said, gesturing to a small table in the otherwise empty bar.
"No, there's a waiting list." She seemed annoyed.
"There's only one server," she announced to me and a couple that had just come in, "so we have a waiting list."
"Can we sit at the bar?" they asked.
"No, we only have one server."
"How long is the waiting list?"
She stared at the host stand. "Five. . . uh. . . no. . . . fifteen or twenty minutes."
"Forget it," I said. -
Review from graham r.
San Francisco, CA
6/30/2009
Meh. Just OK.
I think the server had a bad hangover or something. He was pretty effen rude and it was as if our patronizing this place was a burden to him.
The breakfast I got was pretty mediocre. It was cold. There were only two pieces of bacon and one slice of bread.
The patio was cool but I don't think I will be coming back. Is it that hard for a server to be polite?
I asked him to make change for a $20 when it was time to pay. He gave me back $19. Then he said "Well it must have blown away out there or something, let's go see what happened." He thought I was trying to hustle him out of a dollar. It must have really broken his heart to hand that last dollar over. -
Review from Christopher Y.
McKinney, TX
6/4/2008
My wife and I used to live in the North Tahoe area and we tried to get to this place several times with no luck (usually timing, but occasionally the pass was closed due to snow). This place is intriguing and every time we drove by we wanted to try it out. It is positioned on an old golf course in Kings Beach, right at the junction of 267 and the road that wraps around Lake Tahoe.
If you are going to north Tahoe you must stop here. Excellent food and the price doesn't break the bank. The day we went the weather was awesome and we sat outside and watched the golfers and the lake.
I had my usual vacation breakfast special: half order of french toast, one pancake, chicken apple sausage, and scrambled eggs. I wasn't actually paying attention to what my wife ordered and I was too busy stuffing food in my mouth. But I could see it was a south-of-the-border inspired breakfast consisting of potatoes, eggs, onions, and prosciutto (maybe, it was meat--and that's observant enough for me). I had a bite of hers and it was delicious. My rather standard selection was tasty and well prepared. Thankfully they didn't use those ridiculous Texas Toast sized french toasts..standard bread was perfectly sized. The chicken apple sausage was the star of the show, in my opinion. I should've ordered more--but my piggy side stayed quiet this day.
Blue Onion Cafe is definitely a place to stop by if you are visiting. The view alone makes it worth it, but the food is a bonus. -
Review from Abby D.
Portland, OR
2/12/2010 1 photo
I've eaten here on a number of occasions for both lunch and dinner. I have to say, the food is great! However, on my last visit I was very disappointed with the service. My boyfriend and I arrived for lunch on a Monday around 11:30. There were two other parties of two and only one server. I can't imagine he was too swamped, it was lunch on a Monday for goodness sake!
When we arrived we waited at the entrance with the sign that said "Please wait to be seated." The sever looked annoyed at our arrival and said "sit anywhere." No hello, welcome...nothing. My boyfriend asked him how he was doing (having once been a server himself...this is the polite thing to ask when a customer sits at your table). The man just said "fine." Okayyyy.....Sounds like this is going to be a fun meal. Once seated he came to our table without menus and said "are you going to want anything but water?" Still no menus. Minutes later he finally brings us the menus and asks us if we're ready to order..uh no! We just got our menus!
He was very surly the whole time never asking us about our meal. The restaurant wasnt even FULL!! There was no excuse for his nasty attitude. Another larger party came in asking for a table for 8 and the server straight up told them they couldn't be accommodated in the barely full restaurant and turned them away! If I were working at the Blue Onion for the lunch shift, not having to split my tips with anyone, I'd be stoked on an 8 top! I guess this guy couldn't handle the stress and it showed.
The poor service has earned this restaurant 3 stars but please understand that the food is good. I ordered the Turkey Bacon Panini with the Ceasar salad and both were delicious! -
Review from Sandra W.
Roseville, CA
6/18/2009
We decided to try the Blue Onion for lunch. The outside is really nice, mostly because of the location, after all it's Tahoe! The inside of the cafe is another story. On our visit yesterday...Over all the cafe was really really dirty...our table was still sticky from previous diners.
The menu is not extensive, but considering the prices on the menu...we expected at least a clean table.
The food at the Blue Onion is o.k. not great...and everything is pre-seasoned. I ordered a standard dinner salad but asked for olive oil instead of the dressing offered. They charged me for it. The charge for a standard green dinner salad with nothing extra on it, was $13.00 and $1.00 for the 2 tablespoons of olive oil! I felt ripped off big time.
The women's restroom was not clean and there was no soap to wash your hands.
We are going to eat someplace else next time...even if it's McDonald's. -
Review from Joe F.
Oakland, CA
2/14/2011
'Love the Blue Onion and its staff. It's a great place for breakfast, with a host of yummy dishes - like chilequiles, and feta and spinachy things - and a nice fire place - and if you arrive at about 9:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning in Feb., after all the skiiers have hit the slopes but before the local crowd hits, you'll have the place to yourself, and when the food comes you'll be wondering, "where are all the people? this place is great." and as you eat they'll come streaming in, solidifying your choice of breakfast spots, and if you're really really lucky, a nice old local couple will sit down next to you and give you lots of great alternative ideas, like heading over to Granlibakken to do some sledding, followed by ice skating at the top of Squaw. And it all starts at the Blue Onion Cafe...
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Review from Morgan R.
Tahoe Vista, CA
6/30/2009
I would have liked to give this restaurant 1 star based on the service alone. BUT, I gave it 2 stars because the food is decent. I ordered the Greek Salad which was pretty good but not that creative. I could have gone to the Safeway next door and made that salad for half the price but it was cold and crispy so I ate the whole thing. I also had breakfast potatoes which were really good.
The gentleman who served us either did too much nose candy the night before or got fired from being a male stripper and is now forced to serve tables. (Sir, I apologize if there really was something serious going on in your life). I felt immediately that I had done something wrong and he was mad. We would order items off the menu and he would just walk away so we were unsure if he heard us. It was odd. Really odd.
I will go here again because it is a 1 minute drive from my house and I like the patio seating.
REALLY GOOD crepes also.
Word. -
Review from Foodie G.
Campbell, CA
4/13/2011
Overpriced and very plain food with bland ingredients. Service was good though.
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Review from Meredith C.
San Francisco, CA
10/2/2009
I love this place for breakfast or lunch. Great view of the lake and the 1st tee if you're into that kinda thing. Belgian waffle wasn't bad, pancake was fluffy and a little chewy. Omelette was delicious as well as their coffee! The bees aren't very friendly but tolerable.
Even though it's the same menu for breakfast & lunch there's a good variety. Their cobb salad is delish, especially since you can't find any other in the area. -
Review from Rinne R.
Union City, CA
8/28/2007 3 photos
Fun.
Bright...had outdoor seating which was perfect for the summer weather.
Great service.
Wonderful food...ordered the non traditional eggs benedict. They came with avocado, tomato served with country potatoes and chicken-apple sausages. I think the sausages were the best part! The potatoes were a little salty, though.
I will surely recommend it!! -
Review from Customer E.
Hayward, CA
2/26/2008
To all the reviewers who had a good experience here, I say: "Lucky you...you're one of the chosen few!" I was not so lucky.
After being price gouged for most of the weekend, we were hoping to find an unpretentious place for lunch. In desperation we turned into the Blue Onion, which reaked of snobbery...but hey, we were hungry. We entered into a lobby where about 5 other people were wandering around, looking lost. There was no hostess. After about 5 minutes and older gentleman told us that we had to sign in on the waiting list, which we were unaware of (he didn't work there- he was a customer). We said thanks and added our name. The restaurant had about 10 seated customers. They were NOT busy. There was absolutely NO excuse for the long wait and complete lack of service. In fact, after another 5 minutes of waiting, and no sign of a hostess, server, bartender, busboy, or anyone remotely concerned about losing our business, we crossed our name off the list and walked out. What a joke! -
Review from Joe L.
Bay Area
12/29/2008
We had brunch. Some of us ordered sandwich, some ordered breakfast. Food was okay. It was pretty expensive given the quality and quantity of the food. We don't mind the price if the meal is exceptionally good. We look more at the value, not the price.
After lunch, we spent the afternoon playing in snow close to this cafe. I later found out the open snow field was part of the golf course there. -
Review from Sara S.
Fair Oaks, CA
10/17/2010
We sat next to the cozy fireplace in the Kings Beach location. Very friendly attentive staff. A little disappointed with the Bloody Mary- nice presentation, but quite bland. Traditionally, I am not the "try something new" kind of person, but I am very happy that I was taking a walk on the wild side when I ordered a "local favorite" Chilaquiles - Scrambled eggs with diced tortillas, shredded chicken, spicey red sauce, queso fresco,and fresh avocado. Absolutely amazing !!
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Review from Krishnan S.
San Francisco, CA
1/2/2009
Pretty solid brunch! I got the eggs benedict with apple sausage and home fries. Plenty of grease to make everything taste good. The breakfast burrito looked pretty good too... actually all the Mexican brunch selections looked really good.
Apart from that I can't really put my finger on why I liked this place so much. The food was good but not great - I guess being in view of the lake and the mountains probably made the experience all the better -
Review from Adrian B.
Reno, NV
7/26/2011
Been wanting to check this place out for a while. We were on our way to the Char Pit and decided to stop here instead. Too bad for us because the food at Blue Onion wasn't great. I was excited to see that they had crepes which I love. I ordered a ham and cheese with spinach-- it was okay but the spinach wasn't fresh-- it seemed to be the frozen variety. It came with a cup of soup that sounded good-- Tuscan tomato but was not fresh but canned. It had super soggy noodles and limp veggies in a bland broth. Husband had a cob salad that he said was a-okay but nothing too exciting (but it was just a salad so that's okay).
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Review from Jill L.
East Bay, CA
7/31/2011
Went to Blue Onion for breakfast on 7/30/11 and waited 10 minutes at hostess stand. No one came out...we went in and asked to be seated, there were open tables in the dining room, and were told by a very rude waitress to go back to the hostess stand. Finally someone came out and said they would "assess" availability, but did not come back after five minutes. Ended up leaving with my party of 7...no service, no food. Blue Onion lost out on any further vacation business from me. Oh well....
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Review from Joe P.
San Jose, CA
8/3/2007
No host available to sign in for the waiting list. We had to hunt down the hostess in the bar. We sat at our table for over 25 minutes waiting to have an order taken. We asked three different employees to get our server, and we still waited for 25 minutes to order. The soda I ordered was watered down, and the food was marginal. I could understand if they were busy, but the place was at about 60% capacity, and did not appear to have a shortage of servers.
Listed in: North Lake Tahoe Places i Go
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Review from Emily B.
Gardnerville, NV
11/17/2010
Great, fast and friendly service. Super yummy food and not overpriced!
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Review from Michelle D.
San Francisco, CA
12/14/2007 2 photos
All I can say is YUM!! I have been coming to Blue Onion since they opened a few years ago and I have always been impressed with the delicious flavors, the wine, the friendly staff and the atmosphere. There is nothing like cozying up next to the fireplace with a big glass of red wine on a cold, winter night, or enjoying a hint of a lake view on their patio on a warm summer evening. There's not one other restaurant that matches Blue Onion in the Kings Beach/ Incline Village area. This place could easily stand up to any restaurant in SF!
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Review from Jason C.
Williston, VT
7/27/2009
We stopped here while on vacation. The outside deck is pretty cool and thankfully they had plenty of umbrellas for shade. We had to ask who our waiter was. The person we asked wasn't our waiter and seemed pretty upset that we asked although she did help by taking our order. Following that she brought out 1 of the two drinks we ordered (just iced tea and soda). We finally met our real waiter who apparently had all of the tables, while the other waitress was just hanging around. He was very apologetic about the delay and was attentive following that.
The food was pretty decent overall, but nothing to write home about. I'd say over all it's an OK place for lunch as long as your in for a relaxed lunch and have no where to be. The prices did seem a bit high for the quality of food you're getting, but it is a golf course, so I suppose that's expected. -
Review from Pancho P.
Sunnyvale, CA
12/31/2008
I went here a few months back on my stay in Lake Tahoe. Was hungry on day and was driving around the lake for a bite to eat and noticed the bright yellow umbrellas from the street so i decided to check it out. Had to wait a minute for someone to get us a table; I think she was the only one on so i didnt mind waiting, the seating area itself is fairly small. The food on the other hand was great. I would definitely go back to this place for a quick bite to eat.
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Review from Thomas W.
Hayward, CA
7/28/2010
Their taco Tuesday is great! We went in there with a party of 12 and ordered something like 45 tacos. We didn't have to wait very long, and everyone loved the tacos. I haven't been there for a regular menu meal, but if you go for the tacos you will be happy. My family goes to Tahoe once a year, and we always make Tuesday night taco night. The one drawback is you can not order the tacos for takeout because they have a policy where you can not takeout special menu items. It's okay though because they accommodate our large party every time.
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Review from Sara M.
Silver Spring, MD
12/23/2007
I've been to the Blue Onion several times for brunch and it's been quite good. In the summer their outdoor seating is really nice and set back far from the road with a great lake view (across the street).
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Review from Jenni D.
San Francisco, CA
7/9/2007
For a casual lunch or mid-day breakfast (served all day!), this spot is great. Lots of outdoor seating, quick service. Each of us had a panini, which were large and rich. I opted for the turkey pesto and brie. Delicious. The side ceaser salad was a sad little thing- wilted petals, not much flavor, no croutons or parmagean cheese. Thankfully I didn't need it. The price was right, about $28 for two with cokes and tip...
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Review from Eric L.
Redwood City, CA
1/6/2007
Tried this place out on NYE, and was very pleased. The food was good enough, but what made the evening was the atmosphere (intimate and warm), the huge-ass glass of wine the server poured for me, and the free port with dessert. Worth checking out if you're looking for something a little nicer than the usual suspects in the north shore area.
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Review from Rebecca F.
Oakland, CA
1/12/2009
I had brunch here on Sunday morning, and while the bagel and lox was tasty, the prices were a good $2-3 higher per plate than what I would expect (which is pretty pricey to begin with!). Restaurants around Tahoe tend to be expensive, so I suppose their prices are fair for the area. Good brunch selection - breakfast burritos, waffles, pancakes, bagels and plenty of refills on coffee.
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Review from scott h.
San Francisco, CA
2/7/2010
Okay breakfast. Nothing special. Nothing disastrous.
French Toast was average. Syrup was cold. I like my syrup heated.
Child's pancake was good.
Bacon was greasy and soft. Everyone likes crispy bacon. I'm still amazed how a chef can serve greasy, slimy bacon.
Hash browns, or not...
I specifically ordered "hash browns extra crispy" for my 8yo nephew and myself. The waitress said "okay." What she brought was "home fried potatoes" (giant chunks of potato fried together with spices and onion chunks). Kids hate fried onions mixed with their food. Also, instead of mentioning that the side order of "hash browns" that the 8yo ordered would be a full adult-size order, she just brought it--despite the fact that the rest of his food was from the kid's menu.
There are plenty of better places to eat breakfast. Maybe lunch is better. -
Review from Bryan S.
Oakland, CA
1/27/2010
Love this place and the breakfast is great!!!!! Summer on the deck is the best.
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Review from Liana M.
New Orleans, LA
3/15/2010 1 photo
Food was delicious but our server wad a big jerk, screwed up ours and everyone else's order and was rushing around like the place was packed when there were only three other tables. My chilaquiles were delicious though.
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Review from I K.
Palo Alto, CA
3/27/2009
Had late breakfast there on several occasions. Every time the food was delicious and service very good. I always come back there when I'm in North Tahoe area. It's a little pricey but definitely worth it!
