Manzanita

My family has owned a condo in the Northstar Village for more than 35 years, so we’ve been through many changes in not only the appearance of the resort but also in the dining options. My husband and I make a point of taking a ski week every year and we always make a dinner reservation at Manzanita for one of our night’s in town.
The overall ambiance is excellent, everything from the gondola ride up to the Ritz Carlton to the beautiful bar, open kitchen and fireplace near the middle of the main dining area.
This past January, everything was superb from appetizers to dessert. In years past, I’ve had some so-​so entrees that weren’t worth the price so I now consult Unilocal!to see what recent guests have to say about the menu selection.

We came here for their Sunday brunch and boy what a treat! I definitely recommend adding unlimited mimosas for $ 15, it was well worth it.
The server in our section was very attentive, my glass was never empty!
The spread is truly impressive, everything from eggs and bacon to cheese and charcuterie, as well as a huge layout of mini desserts. They also offer freshly made omelettes, waffles, and pancakes that they deliver to your table! Let me tell you, the pancakes are divine! They were the lightest, fluffiest, little morsels of lemony goodness, and I have been dreaming about them ever since! Can’t wait to come back! Great job staff!

Waitstaff was great, the seating was roomy and comfortable. I had the past on the lunch menu with the Burrata — it was really the best thing I have eaten in a long time. The wine list was extensive and great. The bread is good… it gets four stars because it was full
Of kids — this is a family
Resort so a nice quiet lunch was not to be had due to kids running through the the restaurant — a coding to our waiter this is not rare, as it is a kid friendly hotel — this restaurant is their top tier of the three, I thought it would be a little snazzier …

Beautiful restaurant with excellent food and service. Inside the Ritz Carlton at Northstar, you will find this modern restaurant with welcoming service, beautiful food presentations, delicious courses, and a large selection of wines.
The reason I did not give it 5 stars is Rabbit entrée on menu was not available and the reason we initially came to dinner here. We had lunch here the next day on the outside patio, and again service was excellent, and food perfect.

Good food, nice presentation of dishes.
Item on menu that was no longer available.
Nice ambiance.
Overall good.

Very dirty and disorganized. Dirtier than most McDonalds. Order not prepared correctly.

I’m a fan of this Ritz, perfect service, gorgeous setting, rustic luxurious décor, and ski-​in/​ski-​out at Northstar. We want to try Manzanita out of convenience as there aren’t any great restaurants nearby.
First, the good. The service was flawless, from maitre d to wait staff to bus staff, the front of the house is truly impeccable. The ambiance is refined and befitting of the mountain setting, warm and inviting.
Why the 3 star rating? The menu is your typical new American, however, everything fell apart on execution. Every dish sampled was either mediocre, oddly flavored or improperly prepared (over cooked). There was not one dish that I would order again, which is a complete fail for the Ritz’s dining room. At these price points carrying the Ritz name, there is no excuse for lackluster cooking.
I look forward to returning when there is a new executive chef. Before that, I will make the drive to downtown Truckee or Tahoe City for dinner.

Bring back Tracy!!! I was so disappointed going back. My wife and I were regulars. Have gone back 3 times since Tracy left. The food was consistently disappointing. One would expect better at these prices. At least the service is excellent. Please let us know when you get a new chef. We will try it again when that happens.

Food here, was amazing! Had the filet with bone marrow crust, was cooked perfectly! The only real issue I had was this table of really loud idiots that wanted everyone in the restaurant to know how super cool they were! They were celebrating a b-​day, and had wine, and a bunch of people, and they were all eating at the Ritz!!! OMG, I’m getting impressed just typing about it!!! Seriously, these people were inconsiderate assholes. No one goes to a place like this to hear people screaming at a table like you are at at Red Lobster in the middle of the ghetto, which was how these people acted. Then again, maybe there were just ghetto trying to act high class? Anyway, that was pretty much the only draw-​back to the night, but I can’t hit the restaurant for that.
My wife and I stayed at the Ritz on Half Moon Bay a few months ago, just for one night, because the experience was absolutely horrible. This Ritz, outstanding! We were here almost a week, and ate at Manzanita three times (once for lunch). It was great both times. All around, service was great! We will be back!

Food and service was top notch. We had a huge party for a birthday and our server kept up with us nicely. Large wine and cocktail selection. And the hotel is just beautiful. The Christmas decorations and fireplace were really nice and made the huge place very cozy.
Most of us had the short rib and it was amazing. Very tender and seasoned well. The shrimp cocktail was also tasty. The shrimp was huge and fresh.
My only critique is of the balloons and cake we ordered for our friends birthday. They just weren’t up to Ritz Carlton standards. We asked for black and white balloons and were given white and purple. Some of the balloons were small in size and some were deflated. It didn’t look nice when we approached the table. They were tied to each chair. The white balloons had ritz carton stamped on on them. Additionally our cake for our friends 40^th birthday was a Yule log cake… sorry we didn’t ask for a holiday cake. I believe that the manager took these off our bill which was nice of him as the charge was over 100 dollars for both. Had we been happy with either things we would have gladly paid.
Overall, we were happy with the ambience, food and service. Will definitely be back for a weekend!

Ordered room service from Manzanita at 930pm. An hour later we call down and they say «oops the pizza oven is broken, we tried to call you and someone came by and knocked on your door.»
No one called and we were right by the door, the do not disturb sign was not out and no one knocked. POOR service.

First time dining at Manzanita and we enjoyed a dinner. We started off with a nice Gary Farrell Chardonnay and a first rate Woodford Bourbon Manhattan. The bread they serve a is wonderful crusty sourdough. Be careful not to fill up on that before the entrees arrive. For appetizers, I had the cauliflower bisque which was outstanding and my wife had the foie gras which was interesting and decadent. For our entrees, I had the special veal chop which was cooked perfectly and delicious and my wife had the marrow encrusted filet which was also top notch. I had a very nice Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel with my entrée but we were too full to enjoy dessert. Our server Allie was friendly and attentive. All in all, a great dining experience. We will be back, especially since we are locals and get 50% off food and assorted beverages on Monday nights!

I never thought I would say I am disappointed with a Ritz Carlton establishment, but I am. My family was unable to make it home out of state for Thanksgiving, so we opted to go to the Ritz Carlton. In name alone, that sounds like a lovely choice. The hotel itself is beautiful with astonishing views everywhere you look. Manzanita, however, is a let down. The views from the restaurant are the only perk.
AMBIANCE: For starters, when we arrived for our special Thanksgiving day reservation, the restaurant was not that crowded. Yet we were sat in a table in the very back right near the door. Keep in mind the below freezing temperatures in Truckee. There were parents not controlling their kids as they were running in and out of the restaurant, letting in the freezing cold air. Not quite the ambiance one would hope for at a Ritz Carlton. With the frequency of little kids running in and out, it felt like we were sitting outside in below freezing weather. After all, we were so isolated being so far back from the other parties dining.
SERVICE: The service was below mediocre, embarrassingly beneath Ritz Carlton standards. Our waitress spent more time engaging in conversation with coworkers than serving our table. Our drinks were delivered about five minutes after our meal, followed very shortly by our bill. We had every intention of ordering more beverages and desserts, but our waitress unnecessarily rushed us out of our meal.
FOOD: Cold. The Thanksgiving meal was an absolute joke. The turkey was tough, mashed potatoes tasted frozen, stuffing was bland. Another person in our party opted for pizza as she is not a fan of Thanksgiving food, and it, too, was ice cold. The bread and butter were served after our meal and after our drinks. The butter was as hard as a rock and not even spreadable. We barely ate our meals. Normally, upon seeing the customers have not eaten, the server should suggest a box or ask what was wrong. Our waitress did nothing of the sorts to assist our concerns, only proceeded to make us want to leave anymore.
OVERALL: Thanksgiving is a special day. The Ritz Carlton is a special place. When paying such a high dollar amount, I have righteously high expectations of what the dining experience will be like. Disappointed is an understatement. Two stars are for the beautiful views out the window and the set up of the restaurant with welcoming fireplaces.

After waiting for considerable time in the «living room» area of the hotel to order food, we ended up eating here because we were tired of waiting. I don’t think the brunch is worth $ 45, especially without included unlimited mimosas. The food was just average. I’d expect more choices at the brunch at a Ritz. It was kind of annoying having to tell your server when you wanted a waffle, a specific type of egg, etc. What is the point of the buffet if you have to order a la cart and still pay buffet price? Which by the way on Sunday you are stuck with the $ 45 brunch. Nothing I tried was amazing unfortunately. I feel like I paid $ 45 for average waffles and basic scrambled eggs :(service was also slow and not the most attentive. I love this hotel but I wouldn’t eat here again for brunch.

We decided to try Manzanita on a recent visit to the Ritz and while the restaurant is good, we didn’t find it particularly memorable in terms of a place we’d revisit. Service was stellar, of course and the ambiance is nice. The food was well prepared and I’ve no complaints about it except to say that my Bone Marrow Crusted Filet Mignon ($ 42) was a solid three stars (A-​OK).
I almost feel bad for giving Manzanita only three stars when there really isn’t anything WRONG with it. But it just felt to me like it was nothing that special.

Good service and food quality was excellent. Portion size is small so you sort of have to order an appetizer and entrée.
We loved the salmon and filet minion. Cocktails were nice too!

The ambiance in the restaurant was lovely, as well as the scenery outside. We took a gondola ride up to the Ritz, so that was fun as well.
Once we were seated, we were immediately given water. As soon as we ordered, bread was brought to our table. There were 8 of us, so we did go through the bread rather quickly. A lot of restaurants wouldn’t notice, but our server brought us out two more rounds of bread before our lunches came out.
I ordered the lunch combo of potato soup and a veggie wrap. It was very good, but I again made the mistake of eating too much bread! I did finish all of my food, but I left very stuffed. A younger girl at my table ordered dessert, and it was a decadent ice cream sandwich. I was pleasantly surprised when it came out filled with chocolate ice cream rather than vanilla, as vanilla seems to be the norm. I am more of a chocolate ice cream person, so I tried her dessert, and it was great!

I would rate this restaurant experience 4.5 stars.
I have had 2 experiences at Manzanita. The first experience in the summer season was wonderful. The group I was with ordered 3 desserts for the table to share. Every dessert was delicious and fresh and made with many local herbs that are grown on-​site in the kitchen garden at the Ritz. I could have wished for a better dining experience ans was pleased with the flavors.
The second experience was in this past winter season where I was able to enjoy a full dinner. I believe my table was set out of the sight lines of our server, as we waited a long time for a server to approach us to take out order and to receive check-in’s/follow up. Not bad, but it was a bit disconcerting to flag down a bus boy to send over our server. Since we had such high expectations from the desserts we had earlier in the year, we were really looking forward to the dessert course. The winter desserts were good, just nowhere in the league of the summer season desserts.
The restaurant is beautiful and I would recommend it to everyone and will plan on returning again!

i think most people will have the awareness that this is a restaurant inside of the Ritz, and thus on the pricier side with a bit of entitlement factor to not really try all that hard to wow you. that said, i found everything we drank and ate on the lackluster side but so it goes.
we got the cheese fondue and pretzels app which sounded delicious. and it was pretty good albeit on the smaller side and the cheese sauce was loaded with mustard. ironic that the menu description fails to mention any mustard in it at all. i know some people like mustard on pretzels… but i dont… and really wish it had just been cheese as it appears to be. when I approached our server about it, and asked if there was a way to get it without mustard in it, she said no and that its pre-​made that way. bleck. such strong mustard taste it took away from everything else.
we also got one of the pizzas — Bianca — which we were told was an option to have pre-​dinner time. otherwise your only option is the bar food menu before 5(?). it was a white pizza with mushroom and arugula, told to be quite the favorite… but holy hell it was loaded with cheese. im a cheese lover but the ratio of cheese to crust was prob 2:1 or 3:1. i probably consumed a block of cheese in a few slices. just too much.
i got their version of the moscow mule and it was ok.
i mean it is what it is, if you want to eat or drink within this hotel. but friendly reminder it will end up a hefty bill for a 3 star experience at best.
FYI: you can validate parking here so the fee is $ 10 instead of $ 20.

I ate here for breakfast and lunch during my stay and I like lunch better. Had the Chef’s grilled cheese and a couple of glasses of rose, sitting under the canopy and looking out at participants as they ran in Toudh Mudder. My dog had a burger and loved it, as well :-)
For breakfast, I had the smoked salmon benedict and it was über salty. The summer truffle hollandaise was just ok. The hash browns were al dente. My mimosa, however, was light on OJ and heavy on champagne just the way I like it!