Spindleshanks Tahoe Restaurant — Restaurant in Incline Village-Crystal Bay

We enjoyed a lovely evening on the deck. The atmosphere is wonderful and there's a very nice relaxed vibe with friendly staff and an attentive owner/manager. BUT:

It wasn't even cool and the heat lamps were all fired up. And they were waaay too hot. My back was on fire and even after requesting they turn off/down I was very uncomfortable and eventually had to move my chair away from the lamp and sort of eat at the corner of the table.

The pitcher of water had a leak so we had water all over the table. Upon bringing this to the server's attention we promptly received a new pitcher but no one wiped down the wet table.

I ordered the brick chicken. There were three huge pieces of tender chicken - very tender - but the ginger and lemongrass flavors just weren't there. The Asian slaw was nothing more than cabbage that was swimming in soy sauce, which was so salty and overwhelming that it wasn't edible. And the potstickers were tiny, flat, burnt and had a funky flavor....not the plump soft potstickers one would normally get. Didn't eat those either. For a $29 entree I expected better preparation.

My guest had the Spindle Shank and said it was good but a bit dry. For $44 this should have been perfection.

My other two guests had the schnitzel. One had ordered pasta but the wrong entree was delivered - she got the schnitzel instead - but graciously accepted the schnitzel and enjoyed it. I tasted it and although the breaded coating wasn't crispy it tasted alright.

We split two baby greens salads among the four of us which was delicious! And the hot bread was very good. I wish I had ordered only the salad as my entree because they are meal size and I would have been satisfied with that and the warm bread.

We had two glasses of wine and a beer as well and our dinner was $200.

We will return because we love the atmosphere and want to support our local restaurants but next time we'll stick with more casual fare for lunch (burgers, eg) as we didn't feel the dinner entrees lived up to their...

The atmosphere was very unwelcoming due to the service. We had a large party for a 40th birthday, so we called in early about 3 days early to see if they took reservations and to make them aware of our party. They did not take reservations, but invited us to come, first come first serve. But on the day we came in, it was clear they were not happy with the large party. There was no effort to make it so our party could stay together and they immediately tried to split us up, even after we offered to move the tables ourselves and then reset them after we were done. For context, the tables were small squares that could easily be moved, and there was enough room in the restaurant for us to do this. Additionally, there were not many people, so that was not an issue either. We sat separately, and we were asked by the apparent manager in an unfriendly tone if we wanted anything else to drink. After ordering two drinks, someone asked for straws for our water, which prompted an annoyed and exaggerated notation on his notepad with a heavy eye roll and disgusted sigh. Seeing this, a member of our party comments thanking him for accommodating our big party, and saying "at least it's good business right?" since we were a party of 15. He irritatingly shrugs with another annoyed breath and continues to look down at his notepad. This is the point where we leave, stacking the menus back up for them as we point out that they obviously don't want our business. And as our upset party is walking out he asks us to please leave. Very disappointed, can't exactly review the food.

Afterwards we went to a place called Bridgetender's, which I would highly recommend over this place. Aside from the amazing food, the service was so friendly and lovely, and they were very accommodating. I think Spindleshanks (at least the manager we met) could learn a lot...

HORRIBLE! Ordered the Schnitzel was swimming in GREASE! Had the waitress call over the manager, the manager spoke to the "COOK" (there is no chef at this restaurant) the "Cook" said it was butter that the meat was swimming in. WHAT? 1. Even an untrained pallet could tell the difference between GREASE and BUTTER! 2. Even if it was BUTTER Schnitzel is not supposed to be swimming in anything! The meat should be cooked well with a light batter. NOT TASTING LIKE A CHICKEN FRIED STEAK! (that is a nasty dish to start with) The worst part was the manager's answer was "Uh huh" "mmmm" "well I will speak to the owner" REALLY???? That's it? There was no offer of let us get you something else, let me take that off your bill, NOTHING! Fine dinning, is not something this restaurant understands! Or serves! If you can't find a decent manager FIRE HIM AS WELL AS THE COOK! This is the third time I have attempted to eat here. NEVER AGAIN! The food is subpar. Do not waste your money. This is a roadside dump, in the woods. If you are looking for something amazing to tantalize your pallet go to Dragonfly! Something always different, and there is a Chef...