Scusa Italian Ristorante — Restaurant in South Lake Tahoe

We had an absolutely fantastic meal on a recent Thursday night at Scusa. We were celebrating a birthday and made reservations. We were a little early but still seated promptly. From the moment we were seated until the end of the meal it seemed like we had our server's undivided attention (I wish I remembered his name) even though he had other tables. The pacing of the meal was just right... The appetizers came out fast and fresh with the perfect amount of time before the entrees and dessert(s). 5 star service all around

As for the food, well everyone cleaned their plates. But let's talk about one of the stars of the meal, the roasted garlic appetizer. Heads of garlic are roasted so that you can spread the cloves onto the crostini that comes with it. So delicious. So simple but perfectly executed, my only complaint is that there wasn't enough crostini (only 4 pieces) for all the roasted garlic. Luckily my youngest wasn't sold on the idea of roasted so she pushed for us to get an order of the garlic cheese bread appetizer. Boom, perfect pairing because no we had extra bread for the roasted garlic. Just as we were polishing off the apps, the entrees arrived. We had ordered veal Parm, chicken Parm, veal saltimbocca and the 14 oz NY Strip. Excellent all around, every entree was delicious and cooked perfectly. The steak was ordered medium and it was served exactly how you'd expect a medium steak topped with garlic butter and just the right amount of char. The star of both parmigiana dishes was the red sauce. It tasted fresh with just the right amount of sweetness. Both the chicken and veal were breaded not too thick and cooked just right. The veal saltimbocca, IMO, was the best plate on the table. Some saltimbocca dishes go too heavy on the sage and don't let the veal and prosciutto stand out. Well in this case the veal was tender and not drowned out by the sage and there was plenty of prosciutto so that it was present in every bite. The waiter then brought the birthday girl a warm brownie with ice cream that was a big hit even amongst the ones who don't like brownies. That pushed us to try other deserts like the canolli and bread pudding, both excellent. Overall it was a fantastic evening with great service and even better food. I highly recommend Scusa if you're looking for an Italian meal in...

If you are looking for an amazing dine-out experience at South Lake Tahoe this is the spot, and I explain why I said so. Excellent dishes!! The food here is made with lots of love, the flavor in each appetizer and entree is yummy big thanks to the chef and the amazing cooks for a delightful dinner. Omg those lobster raviolis were soooo good very nice pasta and the sauce was very tasty, the scampi shrimp amazing as well and the Scusa garlic bread we couldn'stop ordering them we eat like 5 orders lol (thumbs up for the one that came free after yelp check in) Also I was amazed how good the food was and the price was very very reasonable, I wouldn't even mind pay a little more, YES it was that amazing and special!!! The venue: It has a lovely patio seating, lighting and natural decor came to be a romanticized night for all of us. The tables are spread respecting social distancing standards, which I think it was awesome even tho being part of a tourist zone and taking all the precautions for everyone's sake it is something to applaud on these challenging times. (Not forgetting all staff members wore globes, mask, and being very careful about not stay very close to the guest. ) The STAFF: Since the moment I was making a reservation a week before I knew I was going to a nice place, the lady that took my reservation was very friendly and accommodating The day of our dinner, the host Diana and another lady right next to her also super nice, even tho we were a little behind on our reservation they were super friendly and welcoming right when we enter the door. Waiter IAN great service he was super super nice and profesional, he make sure we were happy refilling our waters, given also perfect timing between each course like I said even tho we were there an hour past close time, we didn't feel any kind of rush he recommend amazing specials, took our group pictures which I appreciate so much Brandon and Tom also took care of checking on us all the time and also very friendly service. There you have it I couldn't say even a little bad thing about this place, I can wait to come back to Tahoe and visit Scusa once again and I will tell to all my Bay Area people to do it as well if they are in the area. Grazie infinite Scusa for an...

So my wife and I made reservations for our 18th wedding anniversary. We got there a few minutes early and were sat right away which was nice. We got seated in one of those tables for two but fits like a table for one. There was no ventilation and I requested to be outside which was very nice. We ordered appetizers and our food right away as we already knew what we wanted. We started with their Garlic Bread and Escargot. The good, they came out quickly. Thats about it, the garlic bread was kind of bland and not really leaving a strong flavor, the escargot was not good, it seemed to be drowned in oil and not garlic butter. next we got our food, again very quickly. My wife had the linguine and clams and I had the 14 oz "NY strip steak". I wasn't asked what sides I wanted so I figured it was coming alone or set sides. Firstly my wife's food was so watery and soupy it looked like a soup based entree. My steak was burnt on the outside and blue on the inside. I asked for Medium, knowing most places cook medium rare usually. The steak which frankly I don't think was a NY was tough and overcooked on the ends and rare in the middle. No real flavor, no taste of the garlic herb butter, no salt and pepper. The pasta on the side was the best thing I ate and it was just penne with garlic and cheese. The veggies were overcooked and soggy. Very Disappointing night for our anniversary, which btw no one congratulated us or asked what we were celebrating even though I left it on the notes in our reservation. I was very shocked seeing how the restaurant was pretty busy and people continued to fill up. My waitor did ask if I wanted a replacement steak but honestly didn't trust the chef. Im not sure if I will ever eat here...