Tahoe Joes

Sort of mixed feelings on this…
Wife’s burger was cooked perfectly the way she wanted. But it was dry in that there was no sauce with it, had to ask for mustard.
Son had the ribs and fries and they were burnt — I’m mixed here because my wife loves them burnt, but my son does not.
I had the peppercorn chicken and while the chicken was moist there wasn’t a peppercorn to be seen or tasted. The sauce they provided tasted more of butter than anything else. The green beans were good and I loved the mash potatoes and so did my son, which ended up being the only thing he ate.
Wait staff was friendly but our waitress was never the one to check on our table always seemed to be a manager or hostess that would then direct them. which is sad because it wasn’t even busy.
Maybe they do steak better I don’t know, not sure I could talk family into returning anytime soon. Basically I would have been better off taking them to Sizzlers.

Not impressed. Came here 5 years ago and didn’t care for it either. Jumbo crab cakes were actually small, compared to others. Pasta did not taste fresh. The other plate had shrimp and rice. The shrimp were not cooked all the way, and the bacon wrapped around it was not crispy, but soggy. The rice that came as the side was really sweet, as though somebody soaked it in Kool-​aid, and then added another complimentary kool-​aid packet over your plate. Can’t complain about the service, she was really nice.

This is the second chance and last. Terrible waitress service, she offered bread, never showed. Came with water, once! Offered no desert, no upsell for her. I give up!

The service is always good, and I usually order a chicken or steak salad which are big enough to share, but I thought I’d try fish and chips this time. The meal was hard to eat because it looked like they had over breaded the fish and dumped about a cup of fried batter on my plate along with the food. My husband had shrimp, which has also been over breaded in the past. The waiter asked if he wanted 10 or 15 shrimp. He opted for 10. He got 8. The waiter brought another small order. If we go back, we will not order anything fried.

We are regulars at Tahoe Joe’s, food is always great and this is best place to get a ribeye steak in Visalia. Great food at great price!

I’ve taken a couple of 1^st dates to the bar for a Drinks, Appetizers. Atmosphere is very nice, except the TVs in the Bar are like from 1995! Wanted to take in a College Bowl game while relaxing, holy smokes, 2 tiny TVs, far away from the bar. Drinks good. Appetizers both times were not so good. Below average size, everything on Appetizer menu appeared to be Deep Fried. Decided to leave for Sushi, instead of dinner both times. There won’t be a «A Strike 3» for me.

Whatever you do, don’t order gift cards from their website! They don’t disclose that they will take 15 business days, which is 3 weeks to process from Minnesota? Ordering them at the restaurant almost took as long, which is why I did the website. Ended up having to cancel the order with my credit card company, which will be a nightmare no doubt. Tahoe Joe’s refused to send a virtual card until it was approved which would be a 2 day wait. The food is so/​so and the service about the same, why I wanted to purchase gift cards for people is beyond me from this restaurant, should have gone to Cool Hand Luke’s!

It’s my birthday I’ve had three other drinks at a restaurant I came here for dessert and a coffee with Kahlúa and got refused I will never ever come to this fucking restaurant ever again this is the worst Tahoe Joe’s there is dirt in the bathroom cockroaches on the floor I will never eat at a place this nasty ever again

My husband and I like to go here for date nights and we are always happy with the service. The waitresses are friendly, professional and pretty prompt! I love that they regularly check to see if we need anything else and how yummy the food is.

Dude. Tahoe Joe’s just might be my new favorite place for happy hour. Seriously. Monday-​Friday from 11am-​6pm!?! Seriously, dude. You can’t beat $ 3 – 6 appetizers and burgers. My coworkers ordered burgers and fish tacos. I opted for the unlimited soup and salad because I save my indulging and binge eating for weekends: D
Ambiance is nice and casual, service is fast, food is good. The only thing I’d wish for is a better beer selection for happy hour, but I’m a bit of a beer snob haha. I like my hefs and porters/​stouts. I’ll definitely be back for more food and beer (especially for Sunday football with the boyfriend because they have happy hour ALL DAY on Sundays. Yeah, you read that right. All. Damn. Day.)
P. s. Terrell is phenomenal waiter! He’s attentive, friendly, and remembered all of our little details and requests. Thanks, dude!

From crowding our large party into a small booth, to the first batch of tableware (plates and flatware) being dirty, to overlooked food. This branch of Tahoe Joe’s was terrible. The water leaned over and touched the bread, the appetizer was cold, and everyone’s food was cold and over cooked. If you’re in this area just drive to Fresno for Tahoe Joe’s.

Our favorite place to eat with the family when visiting Visalia. There’s always something for everyone on the menu. Service is great, they will bring your little ones their food quickly so they don’t get bored or cranky. I can’t wait to go to Tahoe Joes again.

Nothing like it once was, food is not worth the money at all!!! Gave it a second chance but, we will not be back!!!

Horrible experience. Didn’t get our salad for an hour and a half!!! And it’s not even packed!!! Not worth the money if service is less than mediocre.

They have the best iced tea and lemonade but the food wasnt at all what I expected. We went here to celebrate an early mothers day and left bummed out because it was so disappointing. The fries that came with are meals weren’t appetizing and the same goes for the chicken finger kids meal. The steak was very bland and the caesar salad dressing was over fishy tasting. The service was very good. Just not the food.

I know it seems like I am on a negative nancy roll here, but seriously Visalia… when are you going to give us something to rave about?! I had been hearing about a steak house that everyone had wanted to try the last time we had a work conference in the area. During the ride up, and while checking in, the buzz was all about Tahoe Joes. So after settling in we meet in the lobby and head off to Tahoe Joes. As we enter the décor somewhat overwhelms you with its authentic Sierra’s looking backdrops. The moose head on the wall, and the careening canoe above the tables. This steak house appears like it is going to do us some good on this evening. Our waitress introduces herself and nearly immediately explains how many kids she has and how she hadn’t been working here for too long. It became very apparent each time she had to ask someone else for the answer on even the most basic of questions. Do croutons come on the salad? Even so I gave her the benefit of the doubt with the amount of tables she had to care for. I ordered the special of a nice piece of steak and lobster tail. The order moved quickly and was on the table after drinking the watered down Long Island. My buddy next too me looked at me with excitement as the plates were served and ordered a glass of J. Lohr to enjoy with his steak. The meat looked great, the lobster tail overcooked. I cut into the meat as blood littered my plate. They gave a new meaning to Medium Rare. I was fine with it while those seated to my left and right were not as delighted. The vegetables were beyond obviously pre-​frozen and the mashed potatoes were bland with a touch of flavor. The meal was certainly filling just from the meats alone. The lack of flavor in the vegetables ensured they found their way to the back of the kitchen where they would be enjoyed by whatever was digging in the trash that evening. It was such an unfortunate event that a year of building up was dragged to the bottom of the ocean with such basic cookie cutter feed with no care or attention made in the presentation or quality of food.

Went here about a week or two ago! Just driving by and realized it was a steakhouse my fiancé and I were delighted! We have been trying to look for a good steakhouse and glad we came across this! Upon arriving and getting seated to leaving, customer service was awesome! We got an amazing waiter name Trent! We couldn’t decide which one to get cos everything was great! We asked him for suggestions and I must say I am glad we did! I got the prime rib and my fiancé got the lobster and filet mignon! EVERYTHING WAS DELICIOUS! Also they have cute little mason jars where they put the drinks in and we wanted to take one home lol. Anywho, will definately come back here! It has good ambiance, good music, good for groups/​family and dates! Another thing a girl like me loves french fries! So wih my food I ordered it with fries and was surprised I was getting another side of fries because they said the fries on my plate were cold so they gave me fresh fries! The fries on my plate weren’t even cold they were fine for me! Just that shows that they truly care for their customers and also are not afraid to make mistakes!
I’m not from Visalia, I’m from San Diego so theres a lot of steak restaraunts in SD but finding this hidden gem made me smile!
We got cheesecake to go and I must say when we got home and ate it OMG it was delicious! That homemade whip cream yummy! Overall it topped cheesecake factory!

I think Tahoe Joes is the best place to eat in town. My family always takes me here when I’m in town visiting. Their prime rib dinner combo is a definite must try and a killer deal too for the price. I usually just go with the rib eye steak with bake potato and sauteed string beans. I have yet to have a bad meal here. Service is always great and seating inside with their cabin like feel is always comfortable. Not a great place to watch games however because the TV’s are small and they won’t turn on the sound. They’re a restaurant and not a sports bar so I get it. Other than that great place for a nice family dinner, especially for Visalia.

Tahoe Joe’s is just about the only chain restaurant I will eat at anymore. I have been disappointed in almost all the other chains at this point: Outback: dead to me, Olive Garden: meh, Red Lobster: give me a break, Marie Calendars: yawn, IHOP: I always LEAVE hungry, Applebees: oh puh-​leaze, Chili’s: maybe, Tahoe Joe’s: YEAH! Get in the car!!!
I have yet to be disappointed in Tahoe Joe’s (and in this day and age, that’s saying a lot). We are always greeted promptly, seated without delay, the wait staff is friendly and efficient, the place is clean and I love the décor, but best of all, I feel like I’m getting good food at a good value. In other words, I don’t feel like I’m getting ripped off. ((I’m talking to you, Red Lobster and Olive Garden.))
This is our new go-​to when we want steak, it’s our go-​to when we want something special, we came here as a family on the day we got married. They gave us free dessert for coming on our special day. Now, that’s classy.
I love the prime rib, my husband loves the Joe’s steak. We always love dinner deals, so we always go with the 2 for however much. We feel it’s a fair price. We always order an extra dessert because we bicker about the chocolate cake verses the cheesecake, so we end up each getting our own. We can never finish them both, so we take them to go, dropping them both into the same to-​go container. The next day I’ll sneak into the kitchen and eat the cheesecake and the cake together with all that whipped cream… leaving just enough cake to convince my husband that I didn’t touch his cake. SHHHH!!! Don’t tell him. That’s just between me and you Unilocalers.
So, the bottom line is that I really enjoy Tahoe Joe’s. It reminds me of how places like Red Lobster and Olive Garden used to make me feel before they started to just suck. Don’t get me wrong, I still like the food at these places, well, maybe not Olive Garden, I just don’t like the prices they charge for what they are serving. Tahoe Joe’s is a treat for us, and I know when we go here, we’re getting yummy food and I leave feeling good about the experience each time.

Tahoe Joes first opened near Lake Tahoe in ’93 and have been famous all over NorCal since. This location in Visalia along with the ones in San Luis Obsipo and Bakersfield are the closest to SoCal… at least until they open in Chino this Summer.
—-The Food — -
Onion Straws ($ 7.99) — These hand breaded onion petals were decently sized and paired with spicy ranch and jalapeño BBQ sauce – I liked it! The breading did taste like fish and chicken at times, which means they do all their breading in the same bin for every protein… not sure how I feel about that –_​–
Black Jack Burger ($ 13.99) — Half pound of wood grilled, medium well, Angus Beef that includes bacon, American cheese, and fries. I was very disappointed with this meal because it was bland, dry, and had no sauce to please the palate. I had to ask for the peppercorn sauce that usually comes with steaks to make it passable. I didn’t finish. The fries were borderline disgusting, because they were oily, limp, and seemed to be old.
Joe’s Steak Sandwich ($ 14.99) — Hand-​sliced steak, that had mushrooms, cheese, bacon, onions, bell peppers, thousand island sauce, all in between Parmesan bread. The ingredients seemed wonderful and presentation did too, but the taste was where this meal faltered. The steak, although tender, was tasteless and not the star as it should’ve been. Instead, I tasted more of the green chile and the bell peppers. Fries also accompanied this dish, but again, was the same as with the burger – oily and not fresh.
Joe’s Trio ($ 32.99) — Joe’s Steak, 3 Jumbo prawned scallops, and wood grilled bbq chicken. I really dislike how Tahoe Joes has a rule that they only make their steaks one way – medium well. That stubbornness and pride resulted in a very dry piece of steak lacking any taste, juice or funk. The peppercorn sauce saves the day once again. I didn’t taste the jumbo prawn and chicken, but my friend said it was OK.
—-
Conclusion: 2.5 stars. For such a famous steak chain, I was dissatisfied with the quality and taste of their food. I did like their happy hour choices, especially their tall bud light. I may give it another chance if I go to Tahoe, but for now, I’d eat with reluctance. In terms of chains, Black Angus is better.
Extra Notes:
–Accepts credit card
–Happy Hour is 11am-​6pm and 9pm-​close daily. All day Sunday – Appetizers are $ 3-​$ 4
–Service was ok, but could’ve been more attentive
–Bar area was filthy and reeked of dirty trash and beer bottles
–Loved the décor of the place, reminded me of Knott’s Berry Farm or a cabin
–Clean restrooms