Lanza's Restaurant

Listen up, folks! If you're in Tahoe and craving a taste of the good ol' days, Lanzas is your spot. My husband and I roll in here like clockwork every darn week. Anyways if you're on yelp to leave a nasty review, maybe re-think leaving a negative review for a locally owned mom and pop place, let me tell you why.

Now, let me give it to you straight. Some customers here, yes probably you, need a serious chill pill. The bartenders take their time, but that's because they have the whole restaurant to make drinks for, we are not in SF. hey, we're on Tahoe time, people. So just kick back, relax, and soak in that peaceful Tahoe vibe.

But let's talk about the grub. It's like a warm hug from your grandma - comforting, hearty, and downright delicious. And don't even get me started on the drinks. They may take a hot minute, but trust me, they're worth the wait.

If you're looking to be overlooked at a restaurant, this is the spot for you. Visiting Tahoe for the first time, I was eager to try the recommended pizza here.

2 stars is what I feel is right.

Location was cute, the restaurant it self felt like an old time pizza restaurant. I think the best part was that when we were walking out of the restaurant it was snowing.

The food, a simple medium pep pizza and baked penne, was decent enough. However, the service left much to be desired.

Our waitress barely checked on us after taking our order, and when she did, it felt rushed (note: she only checked in on us once) I did notice she was walking to our table and took a quick turn- so yes I did see that. Waiting to ask for refills and inquire about a wine selection, she seemed more focused on other tables. Getting her attention for a to-go box and the check took about an additional 20 minutes. The lackluster service left me with no desire to return for dine-in, and I'd hesitate to even consider takeout in the future. Overall, a disappointing experience.

Amazing family style Italian food. Love the food, the ambience of that classic Italian restaurant and the service.
We ordered the mushroom ravioli , eggplant parmigiana and chicken Milanese .

Everything was hot and tasty. Overall so good and highly recommend.

This is a very cute place, but ... the food quality and presentation is very strange. A lot of the dishes kinda just felt like they have a huge pot of marinara sauce and beef that they just plop into all of the dishes. Come here if you're okay with paying around $30 per dish for HUGE portions of pasta with a little bit of sauce.

Some saving graces: I like that all of the entrees come with a side (either the soup or salad)! The soup was so good, and the salad was fresh and a great portion size. The service was super friendly and attentive.

FOOD [3/5]
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+ Lumaconi (3.5/5)
I like the idea of this dish, but the pasta shells were hard and not cooked very well. The beef was also a little dry and not as flavorful as I think it could be.

+ Custom: Ravioli + House Meat Sauce + Meatballs (2.5/5)
If you look at the picture... it just didn't look very appetizing. It feels like a bag of frozen pasta was cooked to heat, with a bunch of sauce plopped on top. The raviolis were good but they weren't life-changing.

Fancier Italian spot in Tahoe. Plates weren't cheap but it is a lot of pasta for what you're getting. Having a salad or soup so the the pasta helps make the cost more justifiable. Overall pasta was good. The butter garlic was not well seasoned but I enjoyed the marinara sauce served with the breaded mozzarella and calamari steak strips. My favorite would be the appetizers. I had a large group of 9 and service was a bit on slower side that night but we got all of our food at relatively the same time. A solid option in Tahoe

I come up to north Lake Tahoe a few times a year.
Lanzas makes the best minestrone soup I've ever had.
I love it here. The neighborhood charm. The old school style classic Italian American food. I got Easy kind service, from a family owned small business.

You know what, this place is rated below 4 stars and I'm not gonna stand for it. Let me tell you, this is the kinda place that Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta, god rest his soul, would've eaten at in the movie Good Fellas had the been in Lake Tahoe. If you love old school Italian you'll love this place. If you like a restaurant you can take the family to, your date, or have a fun drink at then you're gonna love this place. You can be loud, or you can find a quiet corner, it's a gem and I hope you see what I see.

The food is old school Sicilian. It's like a classic car, it's been around for a while, and the fact that so many people appreciate it, it makes me respect where it came from.

It's not a super fancy restaurant, which is perfect for me. You can take your family here after you've been turning a wrench all day and they'll take care of you.

I got the spaghetti with meat sauce and added in meatballs; I don't regret it. The meat sauce is semi sweet yet savory at the same time. My wife got the Lasagna, it's rich and delicious, so don't feel bad about treating yourself. The chicken piccata marries capers and butter appropriately. The dinner salad is delicious, don't put the Gorgonzola on it unless you absolutely love it, it's not necessary. The pizza is pretty standard, nothing to write home about. Unfortunately, the cheese ravioli could use some work so I'd stay away from it.

You're gonna get full here, you're gonna have a nice drink and you're gonna leave satisfied. The service is absolutely impeccable and I love how they haven't deviated from the original recipes. This isn't the kind of place that breaks the bank and they'll take great care of you.

It is 100% an homage to the past. They have cute booths and tables their for couples but largest tables for the family. It's dark and has old school lighting fixtures, and I love it. Don't let the rating fool you; Lanza's is legit and you'll get it once you go there.

Classic, vintage ambience. Attentive and rapid service. Huge servings, both the included salad and the lasagna. Prices reasonable, particularly in light of the huge servings. Two normal people could have split what I had and been satisfied. $8 Sangiovese, totally acceptable.

Only one problem: The food was tasteless. Bland. Tasted of nothing. It wasn't terrible... It just wasn't anything.

I liked this place. I wanted to like it more. Three stars unfortunately is generous.

Nice local place for great Italian food. Casual lake ambiance with classic style Italian food made with traditional recipes. Servers were quick to serve, had cheerful attitudes which makes you feel welcome and at home. No complaints, great place for any occasion, no need to get fancy.

Big portions in a cozy setting. Detailed breakdown below:

**Service, 2.5/5** Took us 30 minutes to get seated despite having visible open tables. Service once we were seated was fine though.

**Price & portion, 4/5** Prices get pretty high at about $25-30+ per dish after tax and tip, but the portions are big and can probably last you two meals.

**Presentation of the food, 4/5** Not pretty, but very hearty and homey.

**Taste of the food, 5/5**

- Build your own angel hair with Alfredo sauce and Italian sausage: the angel hair was perfectly cooked, the Alfredo sauce had great flavor and wasn't too overwhelming, and this was one of the best Italian sausages I've had. The flavor and spice was fantastic and balanced out the creamy sauce really well.

- Chicken marsala: incredible flavor in the sauce!

- Minestrone soup: packed full of veggies and flavor, super hearty for a cold night.

- House bread: honestly so good, still warm and perfectly crispy.