Le Bistro

This was a pleasant surprise, since the store front is a store back (it faces a courtyard, rather than the street). A stone’s throw from the Hyatt.
My father and I ate here with the menu items recommended by the wait staff.
Must be the top restaurant in Incline Village, or possibly Tahoe overall.
The service is a bit cheeky, but it’s a resort town, not Manhattan.

Was there on Nov. 20, a slow night, which, in this case, meant we were spoiled by the waitress. I had the leg of lamb and had my meal paired with 4 wines. One of the best culinary experiences in Northern Nevada. The chef’s credentials are enough to make me believe that I was in for a treat. My meal was a 5 course meal which included appetizer (duck pâté), soup (potato celery root), salad (escargot), main entrée, and dessert (a sampler of different pastries. The emphasis on the meal is French and the chef was nothing short of brilliant in preparation of the meal.

First we had trouble finding it. We asked the guy in the liquor store it was behind and he sent us down the street. Anyway the place is very comfortable and cozy. Only a fixed price menu of 4 courses is available at $ 56. For another $ 45 you can chose 4 glasses of wine, one for each course. The food was from interesting to very good. The chef has been here 24 years if I’m not mistaken and while he seems to try some new things, some seem a little dated today. In Incline this is one of the two best places to eat (the other is across the street). It would never survive in SF or even Walnut Creek. The service was excellent as were the wine selections. Take a look at the interesting oil painting in the side booth. Recommended.

Wonderful evening. Had the tasting menu and it was perfect in taste and size. Great for a date night. Best part was the duck mousse. Service was very attentive and friendly. Our server saw I was trying to figure out how fold the napkin, he came up and showed me, that’s service.

This was our first visit to Le Bistro — we’re going back next week with more friends, before our trip home on the 12^th. I’m only sorry we hadn’t found this gem before — we come each year to Incline. We chose their «prix-fix“menu — which is a must — many choices for each course — each plate artistically served — and each bite amazing ! I would go on, but I think you catch my meaning — don’t miss Le Bistro if your travels take you Incline.

We’ve been vacationing in Incline Village for over 30 years and didn’t know about this hidden gem (literally located on the back side of a multi-​use building complex across the street from the Hyatt Hotel). So when I checked out Unilocal and found such favorable reviews and an enticing 5 course fixed-​price French food escape we immediately made reservations for our upcoming trip to Tahoe.
Servers our very conversational, happy to explain any food item to you if needed. Looking around as diners arrived there were some tourists, but many tables were taken by locals enjoying a nice dinner out. Ambiance is like a small french bistro (though a little dated).
Food didn’t disappoint including entrees like filet in a delicious reduction sauce and venison. Interesting salads like watercress with pears and a crab & lobster appetizer. The ahi tower was the only item that was a little underwhelming given it is a signature appetizer. Love the desert sampler. Finally, reasonably priced wine list. The entire 5 course menu was $ 56 and that my friends for a 2 hour dining trip to Paris is an excellent value!
Keep in mind they’re are’t many really great restaurants in North Tahoe so this is a nice addition that we already recommended to family visiting family cabin this coming week to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

Poor service, food was good, slow dining experience, and I repeat POOR SERVICE.
Our experience was similar to Rachel C.
The serving staff was incredibly rude. We had a group of 8 so their 20% gratuity was certain. We watched them chat up many other tables yet they couldn’t manage to pour our wine that we paid $ 20 corkage on, refill our water promptly when asked, or take our order quickly.
Right after we arrived and before we ordered, one of the servers reached over my husband’s shoulder and took one of our menus w/​o asking and with no explanation and handed it off to a different patron.
They brought my husband a duplicate course (ahi that he had just finished in a previous course). When we told the server it wasn’t his, the kid said nothing, looked pissed off, and turned around and got the head server. She came back and served it to him again. He patiently repeated himself and she said, «you ordered this.» He explained that she was correct but he had already received and eaten his Ahi. She finally acknowledged their mistake but she ended it with a «the chef is always right.» So crazy!
They brought my father-​in-​law the wrong entrée.
The food is good and the presentation is lovely, but they give you no explanation of the food. Just a drop and go.
We never received an apology, no change to the bill. They never even offered to adjust the gratuity. I will NEVER recommend this place, no matter how novel the food may be or how quaint the setting may seem inside. I was horribly disappointed.

Second or third time visiting Le Bistro. We are locals and try to make the rounds to sample the local eateries. Took visiting family with us who were not quite into food as my wife and I.
Overall the food was great — but it should be at $ 55/​person. Menu was somewhat similar to the visit a year before (especially the starters). Had tomato bisque, seared ahi, watercress salad (skip this), venison, and cheese dessert. The venison was particularly good. My other had the lamb and that was also delicious. I would say their forte is the meats — delicate, tender, seasoned and cooked to perfection.
The missing star is for environment. If you have not been here — the restaurant is homey but not fancy. Don’t dress to the 9s. There were two families with children and teens (not the restaurant’s fault) that were obnoxiously loud and even arm wrestling on the table. Who brings kids to a $ 55 plate dinner? They acted like they were on a road trip at taco bell. Video the wrestling escapade on their ipad…
I do think the waiter or staff should have asked them politely to stop. I don’t think that is the ambiance they are going for.
If you are in town — give this place a shot.

Ate here yesterday with the in-​laws and had a great meal! This was our 2^nd visit and I would go back for a special occasion. It’s about $ 55 per person but it’s a 5 course prix fixe meal, and everything is fresh. Plan on spending several hours as fresh food takes time & there are 5 courses. This is not really the place to take kids, but there were a few there (probably b.c. it’s spring break) & 1 was pretty loud & annoying by the end of our meal. I wish the waiters would have asked them to keep it down. The Le Grand dessert was delicious & a great way to end a nice meal.

A classic french restaurant with the cuisine to match. A must visit when in incline village.

This place is a gem. The husband and wife team that took care of us were wonderful, fun, and professional.
2 people in our party of 5 had a gluten allergy and they accommodated it seamlessly.
The food is wonderful.
Very generous portions which i did not expect being it’s a pre-​fix meal for $ 55.
It was all cooked to order and cooked to perfect. The chef is quite adorable too, come into kitchen if you are there later in the evening and say Hi.
it was a very fun and wonderful experience.

My wife and I were in Lake Tahoe over New Years. We made a reservation for New Years Eve.
The place is cute… Small place with a nice family feel (cozy). We were a little surprised when we were seated to find a prefixed menu as we weren’t informed there would be one when we made our reservation (we were excited because we like to avoid prefixed menus). We decided to give it a shot although we were a bit disappointed to miss some of the menu options we had read about.
The first 3 courses were good but we’re definitely missing spark (the soup was an onion broth, french onion without onion or cheese. The crab and lobster was good… Fresh and nice chunks of both meat but there was a sauce alongside of it that I didn’t quite understand or like. The salad I had was asparagus and this is were I got a little disappointed… It was simply steamed baby asparagus with the same sauce that came alongside the crab and lobster dish. For a 98 $ per person menu I’d expect a little more than «steamed asparagus» for an appetizer salad.
The main course and the dessert saved the meal. I had the venison which was cooked well and the dessert tasting was perfect.
Lastly we weren’t really sure who are main server was… Someone took our order but never came back till the end to give us our check. We asked her to take a photo of us and she said she’d be right back to take it but never returned.
Had high expectation and thought we’d give a prefixed menu a chance but we will stick without guy next time.

Our New Years Eve meal was awesome!
We were a bit surprised at the New Years Eve prices.($ 98 per person) At the time I made reservations there was no mention of this and on the website only an example of a typical prix fixe menu.
I agree with Brandon the soup and salads were good but not great, the lobster/​crab was very nice. Everyone in our party ended up ordering the venison and were glad we did. It was the highlight of the meal. And the desserts were fantastic! Our son and his friend enjoyed trying some new foods including foie gras and truffles.
My wife and I shared the wine pairing which was excellent and the wait staff was attentive.
Great ambiance as well for a intimate New Years.

Oops, I don’t think the food was good like they said” The top 100 restaurants in the US.” But we still paid more than $ 30 for the tips.

A hidden gem! Literally, as it turns out… Consult the posted map of the complex because this place is a bit hard to find and there’s no sign in front.
But what a great experience! A five-​course meal for $ 55 and not a flaw in it. Authentically prepared French food with beautiful presentation and amazing attention to detail.
I ordered the creamy onion-​potato-​pumpkin soup, truffled gnocchi, hearts of palm salad, beef with blue cheese & red wine reduction, and the «grand dessert» which was an assortment of four delicious bites. Subtle, complex favors that don’t hit you over the head and make you want to take your time. Such a great antidote to our American way of piling it on.
Service was lovely. Ambiance very French country. Only complaint: the wine was overpriced. But the food was terrifically underpriced for what you get, so all in all fantastic. Go when you are anywhere near north Tahoe!

DISCLAIMER: I would really give Le Bistro 4.5 stars but, seeing as I can’t do that, I dropped it down to 4 because of service. The food was fantastic, don’t get me wrong, but with the price I paid here ($ 170 with tip), I expected fabulous service throughout the meal, which I did not get.
I made reservations for 6:30 last Saturday for an early birthday dinner for my boyfriend. We arrived about 15 minutes early but were seated almost right away. At the time, the restaurant only had a few other groups dining, maybe 3 – 4, and there are a total of about 12 or so tables, so it wasn’t too busy. Service at this time was good; various waiters or waitresses checked on us frequently, asking us if we had questions about the menu or drinks. One waiter in particular stuck around for about 5 – 7 minutes, chatting with us, talking about the menu, and giving suggestions. My boyfriend asked quite a few questions about the menu and the waiter only seemed half-​informed. I understand that the menu changes frequently, but he had to grab a menu to remind himself of what was on for the night; kind of tacky. When my boyfriend also asked for more information on certain dishes, he basically just regurgitated what was written on the menu: no new information was given. We are both capable of reading the menu, tell us something new. This waiter did however make a fantastic wine recommendation for me: I asked for a white wine that wasn’t too sweet, but that wasn’t dry. He gave me a Riesling that was spot on. The boy asked for a robust flavored red and also found his to be perfect.
By the time we ordered drinks, made our dinner choices, and were given hors d’oeuvres (compliments of the chef), it was about 7:00 and the restaurant began to fill up. This is when service went downhill. As soon as larger parties (mostly 4, and a bigger table of 6) came in, all the waiters and waitresses spent most of their time on them. I totally understand they need more attention because there are more people, but come on. My water glass became empty twice and I couldn’t even get someone’s attention to fill it. I’m not complaining just because it was empty for 10 seconds or something ridiculous like that, no, it was empty for at least 7 – 8 minutes. The restaurant isn’t big by any means and there were at least 4 – 5 servers who could have just checked on us periodically. It didn’t happen because the larger groups, and even the older, more distinguished couples got the attention. I felt like because we were young (23 and 25) and people assume we won’t tip well, the servers focused on the groups that they knew would pay. Ugh. Anyways.
We both decided on the «prix fixe» menu, which was $ 55 per person. We both ordered the roasted onion, potato, and pumpkin soup for the first course. It was warm, had a nice fall flavor, and was just a great first course. I think it tasted more like potato than anything else, but, like I said, still fantastic. For the appetizer, I got the potato gnocchi and the boy got the lobster and maryland blue crab meat. The gnocchi was so fresh and was to die for with that truffle oil. The seafood appetizer was delicious and fresh as well. For the salad course, I got the organic mixed baby lettuce and the boy opted for the squab quenelle (extra $ 3.50). That squab was totally worth the extra money. We tried to put our finger on the taste, but couldn’t quite do it. The texture is almost like spam, but the taste is just, wow. Nothing like spam, I promise! It came in an almost meatball-​like presentation and it was fabulous. Glad a waiter (different from before) recommend this. The salad was just eh, nothing special.
For entrees, I ordered the lamb and the boy ordered the veal. Both dishes were absolutely mouthwatering. Both meats were cooked perfectly and presented so well (as were all the other dishes). For dessert, we both opted for the «grand» dessert which had 4 small desserts. All of them were SO, so, so good. I literally cleaned that plate.
The whole experience took about 2 hours, so be sure to enjoy it and give yourself at least that much time. With the 5 course meal and the acme bread (that’s organic!) that they provide, we left feeling content and not stuffed. Perfect amount of food. Also, just as we finished our dessert, the lights mysteriously shut off, and stayed off. Apparently something went wrong on the entire street and everything in the area was left without power. Food still continued to come out as they cook on gas and no one really seemed too bothered; we definitely weren’t. We did get two small free truffles out of it which was appreciated. The staff seemed to handle it well.
So overall, I definitely think I would come back to Le Bistro because the food was definitely outstanding, but they need to work on their service. As I said, the restaurant isn’t big and there should be no reason that we aren’t checked on every once in awhile. We had servers pass us multiple times without even saying anything. Step it up Le Bistro!

Saturday night with a friend from Bay area, last minute reservation. Wanted to stay local and not drive and I’ve heard good things about Le Bistro from friends.
Prix fixe: 55.00 per person. Seemed not unreasonable, given the scope of the menu and five courses.
Service: Dismissive; rude, until the end of the meal directly before the check was dropped. Then service became obsequiously friendly. Ugh.
Food: disappointing, with the exception of the main course which was a delicious piece of tenderloin.
Tomato bisque en croute was too sharply acidic. Dropped in a spoonful of the delicious soft butter on the table which rounded out the taste a bit. Should have had cream to make it more «bisque-​like».
Gnocchi: good, but only 5 small pieces.
Hearts of palm «salad»: strange presentation, vinaigrette too heavy, hearts of palm ok but one tiny, thin piece was the only thing on the plate.
Entrée: perfectly cooked smallish piece of beef with small bit of whipped potato, great red wine demi– excellent.
Dessert: had the full plate dessert sampler– not bad. Some items were better than others.
Friend had escargot and only tasted it– said it was gritty and not good.
Asparagus/​potato soup: off-​putting. Also too acidic but with an unpleasant aftertaste. Leftovers?
I still feel that an underwhelming meal can be salvaged by outstanding service. And unfortunately, the service here was sorely lacking.
The one bright spot was the young lady who was taking reservations and bussing tables– she was extremely sweet and helpful. It’s a shame that our two servers possessed none of her charm.

The highlight was the squab quenelle; like a quiche, but better. It comes with a super-​additive truffle sauce:
Also great was the mussel and clam bisque en croûte:
You get a potato soufflé amuse bouche
which is really outstanding: It’s an air pocket with a super thin crust; it seems light enough to float away.
The duck confit was OK:
If the skin were a little crispier, and the meat a little more tender, it would be great. The sauce was super good, tho.
For the «Le Grand Dessert» plate, everything was well executed:
The highlights were the raspberry/​almond sandwich, and the macaron.
The room is very cozy, old world French
David sets the perfect tone for the evening.

Outstanding value and true craftsmanship at this super cozy local eatery. Prefix menu is the way to go to enjoy the dinner to the fullest. Small, intimate restaurant which cannot be missed if you are at the North Shore area.
I come from Carnelian Bay each year for some special event.
It’s awesome! Good wine selection as well.
Service is superb and the quality of food is superlative.
Go there without fear.
Fantastic, solid, restaurant destination at Incline Village.

I’m sorry, but this is pretentious food prepared badly. And with Keystone Cops service. Your 85-​year old grandmother who has never left Nebraska might think this is special, but beyond that I ‘m lost as to who could even think it is good.
You kinda get sucked into their $ 55 per person 5-​course thing, because nothing else makes sense. First off, I personally hate getting forced into that kind of thing. I rarely want five courses, and I hardly ever eat dessert, and that should be my choice.
However, we did it, and by the third course we were laughing at how bad the food was. Everything was mushy and soft, and cold. And then they put these horrible sauces on the mushy, cold food. Food doesn’t get this bad by accident. You have to have no earthly idea of what you are doing in the kitchen to make it this outstandingly bad.
The service was very nice, but just plain bumbling. We got handed menus while food was sitting on the table, having obviously been ordered and served. It took three people to get our wine order straight. And the wine didn’t finally arrive until we were into our second course. We had servers picking up plates that we were eating, and then putting them back in front of the wrong person. Again, it was comical.
But, all in all, when you’ve wasted an evening and $ 300+ dollars it really isn’t so funny. Eat at Burger King before eating here.