Crest Cafe and Catering

Crest café? NO WAY. We are Reno locals and enjoy visits to the Tahoe-​Trukee area every weekend. We have been to the Crest Café many times and had good experiences with the food and the staff. The boss however is a incredibly unpleasant, mean, and rude individual [blonde lady in her 60s]. She treated us with extreme disrespect and was openly condescending to her employees. This was going to be our new favorite spot… But now it’s not.
Advice: Avoid going here, Avoid working here. And just go to Sugar Pine Cakery in North Tahoe.

Great breakfast place right on the Truckee River! The banana pancakes are amazing! They have nightly specials that are great as well. It’s a great place to go before skiing Alpine or afterwards… they have PBR on draft!

I ordered the wings crest style and they were the bomb. We also ordered the Philly cheesesteak and it was killer dude. The crest waffle is also amazing. Definitely coming back

I frequent the Crest Café for lunch, and have always loved their great sandwiches and terrific variety. When it came time to hire a caterer for my company event, I decided to give them a shot. Lisa and her crew did an outstanding job with the meal. They were on time, had everything they needed, provided great service throughout the 4-​course dinner buffet, and were super efficient and tidy during the clean-​up and break down. The apps were delicious and passed with a smile. For dinner, the filet was prepared perfectly (which is hard to do for a big group), and the dessert was to die for (apple strudel a la mode).
Everyone loved the meal and raved about how impressive the whole event was, which was in a huge part due to the efforts of Lisa and the Crest Café Caterers. Would definitely recommend them.

Thank you to the entire team for rocking the Catering and coordinating the equipment set up for our Wedding (Venue: Gatekeepers Museum, Tahoe City)!
In my first engagement price quotes with Crest Catering, Lisa was VERY quick on the replies with helpful information to understand if they would be a fit on both price and great quality. She was so easy to work with from the start which held true through wedding day. The tasting session was spot on as she helped us make adjustments to our taste buds alongside Kyle.
Crest Café and Catering went above and beyond in each interaction. Lisa walked me through any changes, rationale, etc. Especially on wedding day with a few adjustments that needed to be made, they did them quick and professionally.
Important part: The food was GREAT! We heard from many of our guests that they LOVED the food. We were even sent with the left overs which we had tonight hosting the kick off of football season. YUMMY! We did tri tip steak carving station with a yummy mushroom chicken, mixed veggies that were grilled perfectly (not soggy!), fingerling potatoes and probably other yummy stuff I’m forgetting…
Two things I can point out about their service: 1) during our post ceremony pictures the staff came out to ensure we got some of the cocktail hour appetizers. They even left some at our sweetheart table just in case. 2) Lisa made a point to grab myself and my now husband as soon as the food was ready and insisted we stop to eat. I’ve met many couples that got so wrapped up mingling that they did not get a chance to eat. So that was a VERY nice touch. — And again, the food was great.
Crest Café, thank you for making our special day extra special! We sincerely ENJOYED every part of our wedding day. We sincerely had a blast with all our friends and family… and in a large part thanks to you great people!
You can use me as a reference anytime.

Try the pizzas. My go-​to is the BBQ chicken. The quesadillas, sandwiches and café specialities are kick ass. It’s nice to sip a beer on the deck by the Truckee River (when it’s flowing) but the vibe inside is just as good. The staff is friendly, have a bunch of good tips on fun things to do in the region. Love coming here after a ski day at Alpine Meadows and grabbing a special and a beer from the tap.

This place was suggested to us by a local surf shop in Tahoe City. We finished a nice trek to Five lakes, and came here for lunch. Such a great place. They have a deck with a great view as well. All the food we ordered was out of the world.
We started with a bagel with the garlic herb cream cheese. This was the first time my parents were having bagel, and it was so good.
Asian Tri-​tip Mango Wrap was super light and crunchy, and the mango sauce was abundant (but great). The veggie sandwich was perfectly crunchy, buttery, and the cheese and veggies went so well with each other. And finally, we had the veggie quesadilla — the first time that quesadilla wasn’t soggy, and the taste of garlic just lifted the whole experience. All in all, the food was super great, and very light :)
Will definitely go back there when I visit Tahoe.

This place is phenomenal! The staff is fantastic! Richard, Emily, the owner Kyle and Lisa, and the rest of the crew are awesome. Food is great and location is superb, with a great beer selection, what else could you need? Love it!

I wasn’t impressed.
One of my friends really ballyhooed the place, so maybe it was an off day for them. The service wasn’t stellar (the place was near empty, yet they were short with me and there was an absence of friendliness), the food didn’t really stand out as exceptional (Italian panini was just «so, so»), and the portions were scanty (I received maybe three forkfuls of pasta salad — are times so tough that you need to skimp on the pasta salad???).
Maybe I’ll go back in the future and give an updated review…

This place is amazing!!! Richard who works there is awesome!!! Best employee there. Best thing is that all the girls who work there r super hot. Food is of the highest quality!!!

Awesome food, amazing service. I always stop here on my way to the lake or turning up to Alpine Meadows. Highly recommended.

I love this place. Everything on the menu is really good. The service is great and the atmosphere is pleasant. The prices are reasonable as well. I always stop here and get the bomb sando on my way to skiing at alpine! If I lived in the area I would be here at least twice a week!!!

Great little ‘hole in the wall’ joint en route to Alpine Meadows. I was referred to it by the River Ranch Lodge nearby (which is a terrific joint, but wasn’t open yet). The gals at the counter were nice enough, and you can tell this is a local’s joint for the younger crowd that ‘shreds on pow days’ at the mountain. The tri tip quesadilla was massive, delicious, and hot. The ‘serve yourself’ beer fridge (think super market) had a great selection, and some great microbrews to drink out of the bottle in large sizes — hey, I was thirsty!
Lastly, be sure to have super sharp vision as it doesn’t have a massive sign, and you can easily drive right by.

Very nice spot to sit and have lunch over the truckee river. Sandwiches are very good, coffee is good. Nice sunny deck overlooking the river. The staff is always friendly and service is quick. The interior could use some attention, but still a great place to go for quick, good food.

Love crest. Doesn’t look much from the street, but try driving by river ranch and heading here. Good food, friendly service (thanks richard) nice deck, friendly to dogs. A good summer hangout or a stop for a post skiing beer and a bite. Much cheaper than the food at alpine or squaw. Way better than the summer food at river ranch.

My husband Jared and I recently moved to Tahoe City and the Crest Café has quickly become our second home for lunch, a quick afternoon snack or dinner. Our favorites are the trip tip asian wrap, the homemade soups, pizzas, and salads, but everything is tasty and best of all, everyone on the staff is super nice and welcoming. Crest Café rocks!!!

Best coffee and lunch near by! Friendly staff as also. Wish I could bring them home with me!

We stopped at Crest Café for an ice cold beer after hiking 5 lakes in the blistering heat. Aly was behind the counter and was so friendly. She had a line of people, and was able to give us all great service. She made a perfect beer recommendation for me (try the Pilsner!), and we ended up ordering lunch too. Thanks for a great lunch and easy location.

A simple café with good food and a great view of the Truckee River.
On warm days, it’s great to sit on the deck. You don’t get the entertainment of the rafters like you do at River Ranch, but you also don’t get the crowds. This is a quiet and laid-​back place that serves good food, yummy chili, and has a very good selection of beer and other drinks.
Their Thursday-​night sushi is very good. They have a few particularly tasty spicy rolls. They also do very good breakfast sandwiches.
I’ve never had a problem with the service, but it’s not a full-​featured restaurant. Order at the counter, grab your drinks and they’ll bring the food.

I love stopping by here right before a snowboarding session at Alpine Meadows. The staff is friendly and they even would change the channel for you if you wanted to check out a game on their tv.
I always order the Bomb Sando (it’s like a BLT but they add an egg and instead of regular lettuce they use arugula, then the bread comes with a pesto cream cheese spread). It tastes even better if you sprinkle a little Tabasco on it. I haven’t tried anything else from their menu because I am so hooked on their Bomb Sando. It’s a great way to start a day on the slopes. I have to come back sometime in the future and check out their happy hour sushi. It sounds tasty by just reading the menu. I will update my review once I have tried their rolls.