Wolfdale’s Cuisine Unique

If you want a top notch dining experience you have to make your way to Wolfdales. Not only was our food beautifully presented on original, hand crafted flatware but the flavor pallet was diverse and moderately decadent. Our waiter KC had a thorough knowledge of the menu and was delightfully kind and fluid in his approach! The ahi tuna cones are good enough to request several orders. We were fortunate to experience watermelon fresco refreshments in between healthily concocted house blended Martini cocktails. Our main entrees were the most flavorful of their kind. The duck and halibut were creative and thoughtful. Followed by a simple but delicious dessert of ice cream, espresso and brandy. We loved everything about this restaurant and cannot wait to come back!

It was fine but at the price it was nothing special, maybe not quite as good as I would expect for that price range. I’d say they are trading a little more on their location, it is a beautiful spot with an amazing view. Be sure to get there before sunset. But it’s certainly not bad and if what you want is a fancy looking place with a great view you could certainly do worse.

Very good. Creative dishes, not too touristy.

This is our favorite restaurant in Tahoe City. The food is unique, delicious and consistent. The servers are professional and friendly. The ambiance is great and it’s frequented by locals so you know it’s good.

Unremarkable food + $$$ prices = disappointment. By the end of the night I was scratching my head… the décor is handsome and the service attentive, but what’s with the average, even underwhelming food?
Appetizers/​Teasers: we ordered the poke cones, four little ice cream cones filled with ahi. The fish was good, but when you get to the bottom of the cone, you’re greeted with a mouthful of creamy wasabi/​horseradishy sauce… kind of strange to consume after all the tuna is gone. We also had the seared scallops. They came well-​plated, each scallop presented on a different colored seashell, but they didn’t taste like much. Not disgusting, just a missed opportunity to entice or impress.
Salad: Caesar salad. Fine, very typical. I think Wolfdale’s could really benefit from a few more creative salad options. Focus on freshness, and carry over the Asian fusion themes from the rest of the menu to make a couple of truly unique experiences for the customer.
Entrees: I had the roast duck, which came served on a risotto patty sitting in a pool of a balsamic-​based sauce. I order duck when I want a rich protein that either is prepared in something that complements it (something tangy, maybe slightly sweet) or instead is left alone to rely on the meat’s natural, bold flavor. Unfortunately, this dish took neither route. The meat had only small hints of duck. The rice beneath was likewise bland with a crispier, dryer texture than I would have expected. (At this point, I thought these ho-​hum reactions might have just been me being picky. No… my girlfriend didn’t care much for the prawns and scallops in her Thai seafood stew. She said they were overcooked.)
Cocktails: The Jimi Hendrix, a mixture of cucumber and mint soda and gin. It was a blast of cucumber and not much else. I’d only recommend if you’re a cucumber fanatic. And even then… not all that exciting for a cocktail.
The pie for dessert was good, but it was too little too late in terms of changing my mind on this place. My party much preferred our meal at Christy Hill on the following night. I’d consider checking out their menu or other places before committing to Wolfdale’s.

We enjoyed our meal and the excellent Gigondas wine. Thai seafood stew was outstanding. The simple red and green leaf lettuce salad with cheese was a create palate pleaser. I sensed a French esthetic with the food. It was great.

Just celebrated New Year’s Eve (again!) at Wolfdales and they didn’t disappoint. Food was delicious and beautifully presented. Service was great and our whole party enjoyed their evening from start to finish!

Best Birthday Dinner ever! We had a great evening. What a wine list also! Loved everything and so did our boys at 10 and 13.

Asiany flair with great apps and drinks in the bar area.
Food: 4, Atmosphere: 4, Service: 4
Cost to worth it rating: 4 (high quality appetizers ~$ 10)
Return worthiness: yes
Highlights:
— Gyoza: loved the coconut sauce they were sitting on top of. 4 stars
— Scallops: came in the shells for a nice presentation. It had sauce on it I didn’t expect looked a little mayo-​like so I spooned it off. 4 stars
— Drinks: creative, strong, pretty, and tasty. I got a vodka blue tahoe martini one. 4 stars
— Service: both people who helped us were very friendly
— Crowd: lots of locals which I liked so it was authentic vs touristy
— Asiany décor: sat next to a little Buddha
Lowlights:
— If seats at the bar are taken there’s not much area to stand
Had a nice pre-​dinner time here and would return for a full meal.

This place is magical. I’ve been going to it for many years. It is right up there with the best, but even better because it is so cleverly and carefully run. I have only experienced service like theirs on rare occasions — yet it is always consistent at Wolfdales. The food is so exotic — in flavor, care of ingredients — and the presentation is awesome, sometimes whimsical. I recently celebrated my sis’s bday on the deck — July sunset — and we really splurged. The oyster shots, the thai shrimp soup, so much detail and careful taste combinations. We could not stop, and it was so worth it. I’ve also sat at the bar and enjoyed seared oysters with champagne thoroughly entertained by a darling bartender who pays attention to each guest.
What can I say — one of my all-​time favorites — never disappointed.

The presentations of all the food are very artistic. The seared scallop is the best scallop I have ever tasted. Other appetizers and teasers that we ordered are only ok. The service is fantastic. Overall it is a very elegant restaurant to dine in. Good for a romantic night out if you want to impress your date. The high class atmosphere and Great Lake view will reflect in your bills at the end.

I ate here last week for my bday dinner with friends. It was very nice for that type of sit down — dress up occasion. The cuisine was sort of confusing in that it had Asian elements but is overall new American (?) We shared the fried soft shell crab appetizer — which was good but what isn’t good fried? I had the one vegetarian option — it was a vegetable sampler with many different delicately prepared seasonal vegetables and it was really good. I enjoyed the variety. The presentation of food was really nice too. The salmon that my bf had was really yummy too. My friends had the wagyu burger and some meat salad — I think they were on the fence about their options. Overall I liked this place and would recommend for a nice dinner out.

Welcome to Wolfdale’s…you’re welcome.
That’s basically how the waiter made me feel. He was extremely snooty and had an attitude which made the experience not so pleasant. The food was really good, but I don’t think I’d go back there. I can get cheaper delicious food without the pretentious attitude elsewhere.

My wife and I had dinner here on July 3^rd. The food and service were amazing. Our reservation was for 8pm and we did have to wait a little bit for our reserved outside table to become available, but the hostesses were apologetic and great about keeping us informed and happy. Our table was worth the short wait and had a nice view for the sunset. We ordered salads, appetizers, entrees, drinks and a shared dessert. All were fantastic. They also brought us (and every other table we saw) a free smoked trout appetizer. We hadn’t told anyone that it was our anniversary, but our server must have seen that we had exchanged some cards so he brought out our dessert with a decoration on it. OK, so it said Happy Birthday, but that was a logical guess on his part, which we corrected with a smile. A nice touch and sign of good service.
In terms of service and food, Wolfdale’s is 5 stars. So why did I only give 4 stars? Unfortunately… and maybe it was because it was late in the evening and/​or a Friday and/​or a holiday weekend… the parties on either side of us were loud and obnoxious. To one side was a couple who had clearly had too much to drink and were going a little overboard with the PDA’s and flirting. While they were making too much of a spectacle, they were mostly harmless. On the other side was a party of 6 young-​ish adults (3 couples it seemed) who arrived drinking (one was already slurring his speech) and continued drinking heavily the entire time. They were very loud and their language was quite offensive. The good news is that the low hanging light above their table began attracting a huge number of gnats, so many in fact that they had to move inside. Yay! The bad news is that the gnats started to creep over to our table. Nothing too horrible but that one light seemed to be the cause and needs to be fixed especially since our apologetic server indicated it happens with some regularity.
We definitely hope to return to Wolfdale’s on another trip and presumably an earlier dinner or a different day of the week/​year will mean better neighbors.
As it just so happens, while we were waiting to be seated, we watched the whole drama involving fellow reviewer Triathalon G. unfold. See her 1 star review for her side of things, but we would respectfully disagree with her characterization of events. We were seated right there and witnessed everything. The hostesses were entirely polite and professional the entire time. I don’t know where the breakdown was… maybe Wolfdale’s messed up the reservation or perhaps the customer was incorrect… but Wolfdale’s did try to help them out as much as possible under the (very crowded) circumstances by offering a nicely located inside table right away or an outside table following a wait. For what it’s worth, when I phoned to make my reservation, one of the first things I was asked was if I wanted inside or outside and Wolfdale’s also called to confirm my reservation the day of. Glad to see the reviewer was able to have a nice dinner elsewhere though.

I made reservations on Open Table for my husbands birthday dinner about a month before going to Tahoe
9 days before the reservation I called and asked for a good table since it was my husbands birthday. The very nice lady told me they have great outdoor seats (best seats) but she would have to move my reservation to 8 PM. I said absolutely I’ll move the time for outdoor seats.
We arrived at 7:50. The hostess twice told me how stressed she was and how mistakes were made that night. Fine. Then a second lady took us to a terrible seat. It wasn’t outside. It wasn’t even at a window.
At that point I went back to the «stressed» hostess. I told her how I called, they moved my reservation to give me outdoor seat. She acted as if I was lying. I then asked if we could wait for an outdoor seat. She said I guess. I asked how long. She said she hadn’t idea. Then I asked her when the current outdoor tables had sat down. She said one table sat at 6. I said we would wait for it. She said– oh no other people are waiting for outdoor. At that point I said we were leaving and she shrugged her shoulders and cancelled the reservation
No apologies. She didn’t even try to help us out for this occasion
If the manager reads this and wants to know who this hostess was/​it was July 3.

A five-​star dinner experience here, from the wonderful lake view (step outside if it’s time to enjoy the sunset), to the impeccable service, to the recycled wine bottles used to house drinking water, to the unique pottery handcrafted just for the restaurant that served as plates and bowls.
We started with a small sourdough bread roll, served warm with a small stone butter vessel (just one? I would’ve loved one more without having to ask for one). Our apps came out — the dumplings were superb (they were tiny little explosions of flavor — I could have popped them into my mouth like candy), and so were the sashimi and edamame, served warm with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
Tiny shot glasses of Japanese miso soup was served as a cleanser.
Several of us ordered the Thai seafood stew for our main dish — hands down one of the most memorable dishes I’ve had in a very long time. Delicate flavors in a hearty serving filled with shrimp, crab claws, fish, spinach, eggplant, mushrooms — just divine. If I wasn’t in polite company, I would’ve asked for another bread roll and sopped up any of the stew left in my bowl. Dessert was a selection of coconut and pineapple gelato.
I was in love with the ceramics — my stew was served in square shallow bowl that had tiny little legs on them. Adorable. They sell them, so I may just have to return to inquire how to get myself one or those of those things.

My boyfriend and I are visiting Tahoe for the weekend and decided to give Wolfdale’s a try for dinner last night. Man, did we make the right decision.
The ambiance is very warm and cozy, with a view of the lake. We got there right when they opened at 5, but since they don’t start seating in the main dining area until 5:30, we took a spot at the end of the bar. We’d planned on getting a table when the dining room opened, but our bartender BP ended up being so wonderful, attentive, and entertaining, that we ate our whole meal at the bar.
I’ll start with the drinks — we ordered a cocktail initially (which was great) and when I mentioned that we’d brought a bottle of wine, BP immediately went and grabbed it to decant. Then while we were waiting for the wine to breath, he generously poured is each a taster of Joel Gott Cabernet to hold us over.
BP enthusiastically recommended many of the things on the menu, and he didn’t steer us wrong. We started with a chef’s tasting of «teasers» which included olives, smoked salmon (which was delicious!), edamame, roasted sesame beets, and scallops that came served with several other accoutrements as a flavorful one-​bite spoon (this was my favorite!)
Next course was Asian Duck Wings. One word: wow. Two, perfectly-​braised, perfectly-​crispy pieces of duck wing coated in a sweet-​but-​not-​too-​sweet sauce. It was probably my favorite thing we ate, and that’s saying something in a dinner of winner dishes.
For our entrees, my boyfriend had corvina, which was served with crab claws and a red sauce — he let me have a bite and it was absolutely amazing. I ordered the petite filet, which came sliced in medallions with a yam mash — also completely to die for.
We rarely order dessert in restaurants but we were having such a great time that we let ourselves be talked into getting the crème brûlée. As is becoming the theme with this review, the dessert was prepared perfectly. I don’t love dessert but this was 100% worth it. And as if that weren’t enough, BP poured is each a taste of 30 year port to go with it.
The whole meal was flawlessly executed, and the service was stellar. BP paced our meal so the dishes weren’t arriving one on top of the other, and he had exactly the right beat on when to come chat with us and when to give us space to talk to each other. All in all, it was a great way to end our Tahoe trip and I can’t recommend this restaurant highly enough!

Such a fan! Went to this place for a quick appetizer with my travel buddy based on a recommendation from a former local.
We arrived at 5:00pm on the dot (when they open) and to my surprise we were not the first pair there! The place filled up pretty quickly as they open the kitchen for food at 5:30pm. The bartenders were joyous and energetic, the local I was with said that the happy-go-lucky-‘tenders were there since he moved (which was about 3 years ago). That just proves this place is managed really well.
The owner is also the chef, and the food really depicts it. We got the Chef’s sampler appetizer and a few drinks before we scurried off to make some delicious food at home.
The venue is also gorgeous, with a nice outdoor area, a view of the pier, and a breathtaking view of the sunset. All in all I would come here again to try a few main dishes!

After a long day on the slopes at Mt Rose I was fortunate enough to have a fantastic valentines dinner here with my girlfriend.
Drinks
The commodore
Food
Oysters — raw, would be good if they gave you some hot sauce and horse radish
Mediterranean Mussels — were delicious, but it would be good if it came with a little bread for dipping in the broth (but I still highly recommend these)
Seafood Risotto — this was a special, and was excellent, my gf was very happy she ordered it
Sea and Mountain (prawns and rabbit sausage) — I loved how this was served on 2 plates almost a separate dishes. Both were excellent.
Service was exactly what you want. And I have to say, that while this place is pricey you get a good value for your $. If you’re looking for a great dinner in Tahoe for a special occasion this is a great choice.

Incredible. We came here two nights in a row to try more dishes.
The risotto, smoked trout and grilled artichoke were my favorite dishes BUT the burger, fish & chips were close seconds. It’s hard to decide which since they were all amazing.
The service, the ambiance and the dishes did not disappoint. Thank you for a lovely time and meal!