Kalani's — Restaurant in South Lake Tahoe

Used to be good not anymore. I used to come here all the time for family events and such so we decided to go here for my birthday. Because it was my birthday we deicide to go all in and order some started witch we don't normal do because of the price. Honestly big mistake, I got the margarita pizza thinking it would be light and fresh but couldn't be more wrong. Iv had better frozen pizza than this. This pizza was so oily that it was dripping off of the wooden plate that it was served on without me even touching it. The tomatoes where old or just not good quality and there was way to much cheese on the pizza. My party had gotten the fried fish and it was over cooked. The server just told us "that's how it normally looks" but gave us a new one that was cooked properly. I don't blame the server for any of this she was nice but didn't seem to know what the food was supposed to be like. Now the entrees where just as subpar. My steak was the only thing they had put salt on my plate. The broccoli was just cooked with nothing on it, not even salt, and the potatoes where just as badly seasoned. My party had gotten the Mahi Mahi and was extremely disappointed. It was clear to see that they had just put two pieces of fish on the plate instead of one and both where cooked differently. The weird combo of the veg and starch just added to the disappointment. Had to go home early because we both ended up feeling sick. Overall the place used to be way better something has changed...

Stopped in for some brunch expecting some elevated local Hawaii food. Instead we got some uninspired bland cafeteria level cuisine.

French toast was simple and very good. Not loaded with sauces and fruits. Just some whipped cream, shredded coconut, and syrup. The best dish of the experience.

Kalbi was your average Kalbi. Cooked perfectly, but marinade tasted like it was out of a bottle and was lacking the sweet, salty, spice balance. Almost like a low sodium teriyaki marinade.

Loco moco looked sad from the get go. Gravy too thick with too much flour. Tasted like they used beef bouillon as a base which doesn’t exist in a local style gravy. Beef patty was dense and too lean with very plain seasoning. Rice was mushy.

Chicken katsu was the worst I’ve ever had. It was overcooked and dry which is hard to do with dark meat. Very bland, didn’t taste like they seasoned it at all. Katsu sauce had a strong weird spice that was out of bounce. Rice again was mushy. Mac salad was bland.

Overall, it seems like the executive chef needs to take a business trip to Hawaii or Vegas for some inspiration. Local flavors are lacking in the food. Service was average, doesn’t really matter to me if food is on point.

People must like the food, because they’ve been in business for a while. If you know local Hawaii food, stay away and cook at home. If you’re into Mai Tai’s and want that Duke’s Waikiki vibe, this is...

We went to this restaurant on a recommendation from the concierge at the hotel we were staying at, and it was within walking distance and there are a lot of other choices. The restaurant was packed on a Thursday night, but had a high-top table in the bar, so we went with that. Caleb our waiter/bartender, was super. He was professional and friendly and knew his stuff. So was the young man that brought out the food (forgot his name, picture included in the review). We ordered different drinks; I had the Hawaiian Margaritta (Just average) and then the Maui Sunset (Excellent), my wife had the White Linen and the Maui Sunset and loved both of them. The drinks were well done and looked impressive. We decided to order soups and appetizers for dinner. So we had a bowl of the Clam Chowder and the Lobster Bisque, and they were both excellent, tasted fresh and delicious. And we had an order of their award-winning Wing, the wings did not disappoint. They we had an order of Fried Ahi, Heavenly Roll, and Veggie Roll. The food looked and tasted very fresh and we enjoyed it all. I ordered a Hawaiian Bread Pudding, and that was just average, but I still enjoyed it. We will...