Rubicon Pizza — Restaurant in Truckee

Imagine you are on a very expensive family vacation......which in Northstar is a given. You expect resort pricing on EVERYTHING and mediocre service. Nothing could be truer at Rubicon, expect beyond mediocre the service is just terrible. I have often gone in and wondered how any of them still work there, but never reviewed the place. I understand that this restaurant sees hundreds of people in a day; but at the very basic levels of customer service, they fail epically. I will not bring out the multiple times I have sat down at a table or at the bar and had to always for refills. Or after ordering remind the server I need my drink. I want to touch on the overall terrible experience that I had on the most basic of orders: the to-go order. Oh and the absolute lack of managerial tact exhibited by the MOD. Saturday, Christmas Eve, after a long day my husband and I decided to just order take out instead of cooking. I totally understand the plight of the resort worker, but the bottom line is that is your job and you should at least attempt. Upon arriving to the restaurant we went directly to the bar to pick up our order. Don't worry about the hostess at the front door, she won't greet you, she will just stand at the podium chatting with who I found later to be the manager. So then we stood awkwardly at the bar, three bartenders... maybe servers scurried around. No eye contact, no acknowledgment. The one lone gentleman at the bar, who I would assume was one of the employee's spouse, only because after one of the employees talked to him did they seem to realize we were there. We said we have a to-go, my husband asked ranch. The bartender gave them to us, then took a pen and the receipt and placed it on the bar. Now if I could paint how little effort she put in, the receipts were barely over the rim and we had to reach for them. No "have a nice night" no "do you need utensils?". I mean why would we want utensils, pasta is perfectly ok to eat with your fingers. Don't bother with a bag either. The bartending after dropping the receipt swiftly walked away as I even said "well there goes her tip". I was a little stunned, and watched her, Anna was the name on the receipt, go to the other end of the bar and start talking again to another employee. Straight up - I was pissed. I was so in awe of the blatant snub that I couldn't really formulate the words. I walked over and asked another server if we could get utensils, he stared blankly at me. He was obviously swamped and apparently words did not come out. Then Anna awoke at the sudden and asked "do you need silverware?" Yes I said, and maybe a bag? I really was so upset that I didn't want to take it out on her, but I went to the podium to get a comment card. I filled it out while the hostess and a gentleman continued to chatter. I gave it to them and said "I would like a manager to call me". To which the gentleman replied "I'm the manager" Verbatim I said "I understand you see hundreds of people in a day, but their is no excuse for the service. I have been coming her for over 6 years and this was by far the worst experience ever". I did not receive an apology or explanation, just another blank stare. I have no idea what good this rant will do, as I know that they will see droves of people regardless. There is no stop to the business available to them from the resort. The food is decent, and the person who answer the phones is always nice, but be prepared if you ever actually order food or dine in- you may need to light yourself on fire for them to actually see you as a customer that they provide a service to. But maybe, just maybe, the employees and the manager can take a basic component of their customer service job and actually provide customer service!!??? Maybe this review MIGHT help awareness that they get paid to work there, and if they don't like the service industry that they should find a new job. It was a great Christmas Eve,...

Nestled next to the ice rink at Northstar — that frozen carousel of affluent chaos and rental-boot blisters — Rubicon Pizza is the kind of place that reminds you why you love food in the first place: because it’s there when nothing else is. Like a good bartender or a reliable ex, it never lets you down. Even in the off-season, when the resort feels like a ghost town for rich people, Rubicon's lights are still on.

Now, let’s not get delusional — this isn’t Naples. You’re not sitting under a fig tree while Nonna flings dough in the air with a cigarette dangling from her lip. The pizza is a little pricey… but so is breathing at a ski resort. In this context, it’s a damn bargain. And more importantly, it's good. Especially the Thai chicken pizza, which sounds like something you’d scoff at at first glance — chicken, lemon, and white sauce? Sounds like a food court mistake. But it works. It’s weird in all the right ways. Like David Bowie in the '70s.

And let’s talk wings. I don't know what deal they made with the devil, but those things are crispy, spicy perfection. The kind of wings you order with full knowledge that you're going to destroy a napkin, your dignity, and still lick your fingers afterward. The salads? They have no business being that fresh or creative. Who comes to a pizza joint at a ski resort and says, “You know what? I’ll have the salad”? Well, at Rubicon, you wouldn’t be wrong. Somehow, they pull it off.

But the real story here is the people. The staff doesn't treat you like a customer; they treat you like that cousin who always brings a good bottle of wine to the party. They remember your name, your drink, and whether you bombed it on Lookout or cruised the greens. That kind of hospitality? You can’t fake it. It’s the kind of warmth that makes a cold beer even colder and a hot pizza even better.

Rubicon isn’t just a pizza place. It’s a refuge. A lodge for the hungry, the tired, the half-frozen. And it’s always there when the rest of the resort has packed up and peaced out. Come for the wings, stay for the people, and for God’s sake — try the Thai chicken pizza. You’ll...

Weirdest experience yet... Some young couple sat on both sides of me, asked if I wanted to take a shot, I ordered one for myself, but only drank half of it, and decided not to drink the rest as I had a nearly full beer, got up to excuse myself to the bathroom and was told by the staff I couldn't take my beer to the bathroom...? Since when and where? I wasn't with friends and wasn't going to leave my drink next to strangers that seemed more interested in me than they should be... So I obviously scoffed at the notion, laughed and took my beer to the bathroom, because it had to be a joke. I came back to the bar from the bathroom and they asked me to leave "because I didn't listen when asked not to take my beer to the bathroom!!!!" What kind of hell hole is this... But they didn't want me to pay my $80 tab before I left.... So weird... Thanks for the free food and beers, I guess? Still wondering what in the sam hill happened 😅 The wings are really good though 😁 Cheesy garlic bread was only good to sop up wing sauce, a little over toasted and crunchy. Heard the pizza is good, but I was there for the wings and they didn't disappoint. Just don't take your beer to the bathroom or you'll get a...