Blue Dog Pizza | Tahoe Stateline — Restaurant in South Lake Tahoe

Saturday, 8/12/2023 - We went to eat dinner at Blue Dog Pizza. Address is 4000 Lake Tahoe Blvd A1, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150. We were on our way back to our car when we saw this restaurant. We saw there were people eating outside on the tables there. We also saw there were still some people eating inside the restaurant. So we went in. We walked in at 9:50pm. They close at 10pm. We didn't know they close at 10pm. Their hours of operation sign was turned off. But I thought maybe it wasn't working. 😆. Upon arrival....

Pros

1. the cashier guy was so nice. He let us know they were closing in 10 mins. That's when I notice the staffs were cleaning up. Lol. We told him we will leave. But he said it was ok and to go ahead and order. So we ordered. He also said we can sit in the restaurant and gave me a pitcher of ice water.
2. I ordered a cob salad with dressing on the side. They brought me one with dressing all over it. But the waitress was so sweet. She asked me if I wanted that salad or they could make me a new one. I really didn't want dressing on my salad. So they made me a new one. The gave us the incorrect salad.
3. our fresh pizza didn't take long to come out. We got a large, thin crust pizza. We ment to get the personal pizza. But that's ok. Pizza was good.
4. they put their pepper jar, parmesan cheese jar and napkins on the table. Their napkins are the roll napkins. Not the rinky dink cheap little ones.
5. staffs were all very nice.
6. restaurant was clean. As they were cleaning everything up ready to close shop.
7. water tasted good. No funky or metal taste.

Cons

1. none

Conclusion This restaurant was good. Staffs were very nice. They were nice enough to take our order and make it, even tho they were closing in 10 mins. I'm not much of a pizza person. But their pizza was good and salad was good. No dry, wilted salad. Water was good. Restaurant clean. Lots of tables inside. There is seating...

The pizza indeed did not disappoint, showcasing a delightful medley of flavors on a perfectly crisp crust, while the salad, although leaning more towards greens than the advertised protein, was acceptable. However, the service, particularly from one waiter, severely dampened the overall experience.

This waiter, rather than welcoming us with the customary warmth you'd expect, bluntly instructed us in Spanish to put away our phones. This unexpected directive, coupled with the language barrier, left us bewildered. When we sought clarification, he reiterated, "No phones, there's a sign outside," in a tone that was anything but joking. The lack of any visible signage to support this rule, along with his abrupt and dismissive demeanor, was perplexing.

Throughout our meal, the waiter's presence loomed over us, his earlier rudeness casting a pall. His approach lacked the basic tenets of hospitality and seemed unnecessarily authoritarian, especially given the absence of any posted policy to justify such a request. Intrigued and somewhat irked by this odd rule, we made it a point to look for this alleged sign upon leaving. As we suspected, no such sign existed. This not only confirmed our initial confusion but also highlighted the unnecessary strictness and falsehood of the waiter's claim.

This encounter was the defining moment of our visit to Blue Dog Pizza. While the food might have been a draw, the unwarranted and ill-mannered behavior of the staff, particularly this waiter, left a lasting negative impression. It's disheartening to see good food overshadowed by poor service, and even more so when it involves being misled. Despite the culinary appeal, the prospect of returning is marred by the memory of this...

We came while on a ski trip about 4 years ago and I told myself to write a review because how great the pizza was but I never got around to it. We went back just a few weeks ago and decided to stop by again. It was that good that I remembered. After this experience I promised I would write a review this time. We actually went twice this time. Being from Chicago, growing up around Italians and working in their restaurants my husband is super picky about his pizza and he really enjoys the pizza here!! We got a sausage and green pepper pizza. The first night was a calm night. Everything was great and delicious. The second night after searching for a place to eat we just decided to go back to Blue dog since it was close to the hotel. It was slammed, super busy and no open seats. I never seen it that busy. Since the pizza was going to be a while we decided to wait. I have to say how amazing the staff was and how hard they were working all as a team. As someone who used to work in the industry I was very pleased and impressed. It makes it so much better. All I could say is maybe have a better system for seating people when its that busy because people came in after us and were beat us to tables because as soon as they saw people finishing up they were right on top of them even after we told them there were two parties that were waiting before them but they didn't care. I couldn't do that because I feel its rude and would hate it if someone did that to us. It was upsetting but it is what it is we just waited. The staff were trying to do their best. Over all we were very pleased with the food and service. We wish there was a pizza spot like that near us now that we live in texas. We really...