Sage Leaf Tahoe — Restaurant in Incline Village-Crystal Bay

I've been debating on how to review Sage Leaf because it wasn't bad, but I expected much more. My wife and I had a 6:30 reservation, got there on time, looked busy, but not packed. Took a while before we saw our server and placed drink orders; probably about 10 min or more. No biggie, my wife and I were chatting and enjoying a kid free evening. But by the time our server got there, we placed drink orders, appetizers and our entree orders all at once. The drinks were excellent...kudos to the bar. My wife had the passion fruit spritzer and I had a smoking revolver. Apps were good as well...duck fat fries, pork belly bites and arugula salad. Portion sizes caught me off guard a bit in addition to the slow service. I would've expected a bit more for the prices given the ingredients for each dish. The same observation carried over to dinner. My wife ordered the halibut and I ordered the lamb burger. Both dishes had excellent taste but lacked correct portion size. My lamb burger didn't even fill the bun. My first bite shouldn't have been mostly bun. If you're charging me $24 for a lamb burger, it should fill the bun. Not to mention it came with shoestring fries, but the fries looked like they were from the bottom of the bag. Small end pieces. I had to eat with a fork because they were so broken and small. They should probably serve that dish with their duck fat fries and the aioloi they make. Lastly, service was obviously not very good. Nobody noticed my wife's fork was taken with apps, I asked for a new one, waited a while and had to go ask for one at the bar. When you order a $39 halibut plate, you'd like to eat it while it's still hot. Needless to say, this place has a lot of potential but needs some things buttoned up a little bit more and this could easily be a 5 star place...

Sage Leaf isn’t just a breakfast spot. It’s a sermon. A sermon served with vodka, tomato juice, and bacon so transcendent it deserves its own religion. I’ve gnawed on A5 Wagyu in Miami, Barcelona, and Venice, but never — never — has a cube of pork belly dissolved on my tongue like this. It wasn’t bacon; it was divine intervention. I considered ordering a second Bloody Mary just to get another piece, because if these guys franchised bacon, McDonald’s would file for bankruptcy by Tuesday.

The drink itself wasn’t a drink at all. It was a still life. Something you’d hang on the wall of a museum, only to lick it when the guards weren’t looking.

And then the “mountain breakfast.” Eggs, toast, potatoes. Simple. Honest. Yet it felt like Sage Leaf invented the concept. As if every egg I’ve ever eaten before was just practice for this one. The potatoes had the quiet confidence of a dish that knows it’s better than you. Even the vegan hash didn’t feel like culinary punishment — which is saying something, because usually vegan hash is just regret served on a plate.

Our waitress, Geri, was flawless. Attentive but never lurking, knowledgeable without condescension. The kind of server who makes you trust a menu item you didn’t even know existed.

The space itself? Cozy, shaded outdoor seating, tucked on a corner in Incline Village — a town where ski bums and billionaires rub elbows at the same coffee counter. The place smells like hard work and old money, and somehow Sage Leaf manages to feel right at home in both worlds.

Bottom line: Sage Leaf doesn’t just make food. They remind you what food is supposed to do — make you laugh, sin, and maybe consider moving to Incline Village just so you can claim this as your...

We were Incline residents for years and have been to Sage numerous times. It’s been a while because we moved to Reno. We came over the hill to meet the kids for lunch on Sunday with a reservation for 6. We reserved a dining room table (it was confirmed) but we were seated in the Atrium instead! The food was ok but nothing to write home about! When the bill came there was a 22% gratuity added because we had 6 people. If you dig deep enough into the Sage website the 22% gratuity is there but why? I’m a generous tipper but being forced to tip an amount without first evaluating the service doesn’t work for me, the service can be good or really bad and the server is still rewarded, tips should be based on service and service only, 6 people will generate a big bill so the tip will be substantial anyway. It seems like the server and restaurant would be happy having that many people eating there…..right? Here’s the kicker, at first I didn’t see the forced tip of 22% added to the bill so I added my own 25% tip to the check!!! But then I realized my 25% as an “additional tip” so I scratched it off the bill!!! Yes I was going to tip 3% more, on top of that there’s state tax, and a request for more money to fund schools!! My $138 lunch tab came to $183 (I passed on funding the schools because I did it for years thru property taxes) and the food wasn’t as good as before. Sage is opening a new restaurant in Reno near me and I was excited to try it but I’ve decided I won’t be going there now. Someone needs to pay closer attention to customer satisfaction instead of...