Lanza's Restaurant — Restaurant in Incline Village-Crystal Bay

NOT a real Italian Restaurant! So much potential, but won’t be realized until they hire a cook who knows how to cook Italian.

Me and my Italian girlfriend are so desperately looking for a good Italian restaurant anywhere in Tahoe, and this place is not only a disappointment, it was the worst “Italian food” we had in our entire lives. And I’m not saying this to be mean, we really wanted to like this place. We didn’t walk out after the appetizer because we had high hopes that the food would make a turn for the better, but it only got worse. The most important thing I realized after the first 20 minutes here; if they don’t offer oil and vinegar with their bread, and they call calamari that the server clearly never tried but still highly recommended that was a frozen tasteless fish patty that made Gordon’s fish sticks seem amazing, then run out of there! I got the garlic butter pasta and my girlfriend got the ravioli with chicken added as the entree. The chicken was obviously frozen prior, and the cooked to a dry, hard and tasteless hockey puck that if I would have thrown at you i could go to jail for assaulting you with a razor sharp and hard weapon. The ravioli was obviously frozen prior to cooking as well because it was tasteless and ugly. The server recommended putting goat cheese on my pasta, and since I love goat cheese I gave it a try. That was a horrible decision, it not only does not belong on pasta, it completely ruined it. At this point, I don’t think the server has even tried any of the food here or the other possibility is, like the cook, has COVID and completely lost all sense of taste and smell. We got a glass of their Amador County Zin, and it was no better then box wine, so we upgraded to their cheapest drinkable wine by the glass, which starts around $14. Sorry about being so harsh, but if you are gong to expect couples to pay over $100 for a nice dinner and drinkable wine then we would expect the restaurant employees/employer to have slightly higher then fast food quality standards and put some pride and knowledge into it.

Here’s my ranking of some Italian eske eatery’s in Tahoe: best baked Italian: Vinnys take out pizza in south lake. Decent food and service but horrible wine by the glass selection: Izabella Ristorante of south lake Good food and wine but horrible service and cocktails: Capisce of Zephyr Cove. Is there anything in Tahoe...

Not impressive, place is old, dated, could use an upgrade and remodel. Food was unremarkable, service was poor. I’ve been going there when visiting the area, for over 40 years, since I was a teenager. Haven’t been there for about 10 years now. Seems like something has changed. Or maybe my palate has been influenced by the Michelin restaurants I’ve been to over the years. The artichoke appetizer tasted very bland, not recommended. It tasted like artichokes from a jar mixed with mushrooms & roasted red peppers that may have been freshly roasted, some breadcrumbs and heated under a broiler. Very bland, heavy on the artichoke marinade. Chicken Marsala was “sweet”, poorly executed. Tasted like the sauce was made separately without incorporating the chicken flavor, no hints of garlic flavor at all. I’ve cooked this at home so I know what it should taste like, with notes of garlic & herbs. Mostly the Marsala flavor was too strong, perhaps not cooked enough, I could only guess that maybe the sauce was prepared separately from the chicken and mushrooms. The lady serving was very sweet, but she seemed inexperienced. She didn’t explain what was included with my meal so I had to ask after she returned with my drink and update the order. Like she didn’t even know whether I wanted soup or salad. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I’m not sure if I’ll go back there anymore. It’s not worth it. I did like the little candies included with the check....

I read so many great reviews... I was excited to try it out. This was our anniversary trip and our first trip without kids in 15 years, so we were looking for something special.

I called ahead but was told they don't take reservations. Went in around 6pm on a Wednesday, and was told it was a 30 minute wait. After 40 minutes, I asked about our status. I was told they called our name but we didn't answer. Completely not true, as we were there the whole time. They said they'd put us back on the list but it will be another 10-15. I should have walked out right then.

They eventually sat us in the corner at a tiny, leaning table, where we sat for another 15 minutes before ever seeing a server. We did not order appetizers, or desserts. It took an hour for our entrees to come out. No explanation. No manager to check on us. I believe they forgot us more than once. The portions were average, and not large as the other reviews led us to believe. The ribeye for my husband was cooked perfectly, but not seasoned at all. My angel hair and mushroom ravioli were quite blah. Nothing had any flavor. We salted everything multiple times, trying to save the meal.

We had to ask several times for a hostess or busser to get our server, which caused her attitude when she came to the table. Over $60 for two meals. More than two hours of waiting and with the worst service we've had in years.

We will...