This place really needs a new and updated review. So here it is. I enjoyed the food quite a bit, but it's real easy to compare it to Texas bbq and let me tell you, it doesn't come close. The loaded fries are really good because it has alot of flavors on there. But when you take the brisket and eat it by itself, it's extremely dry. It needs bbq sauce bad. When you have to put bbq sauce on brisket, you know it's not very good. It's definitely a great place to eat at for lunch when you're staying at the Ritz or when you're just coming off the mountain from skiing. Keeping mind this place is outside, so there's nowhere to sit inside. Unless you're staying at the resort, then you can take it inside or to your room. They do however have heat lamps for the tables. read more

See all

This place is a great spot to pop in for a quick bite from the slopes. But be forewarned of the prices. Keep in mind you're on the mountain and at The Ritz - so the prices are STEEP. The food tastes great though! Only outdoor seating here but they have plenty of umbrellas. Very quick to find seating as people usually pop in / out here for a quick bite. They also have a full bar. read more

Backyard Bar & BBQ - Loaded Brisket French Fries - $36 - Barbeque Near Me - Truckee, California

Great spot to stop for lunch if you are skiing at northstar. You don't have to be staying at the Ritz-Carlton to eat here. The bbq didn't blow me away, but it is better than 90% of the food you find in the mountain at a typical ski resort and it's much less crowded. They have plenty big of tables for seating and often have a dj playing music. read more

Backyard Bar & BBQ - Ribs, beans, curly fries. - Barbeque Near Me - Truckee, California

Really nice and knowledgeable staff. Thomas was excellent. The food was amazing! We had the brisket, brisket poutine waffle fries, more fries and slaw. I would order all of it again! The location is great for an afternoon snack by the pool or a quick pit stop during a day of skiing, snowboarding or riding mountain bikes at North Star. Will be back for more! read more

Backyard Bar & BBQ - a table full of food - Barbeque Near Me - Truckee, California

Bottom line: it's a good place for a mid-afternoon snack or lunch/dinner. The venue is easily accessible within the ski area and the service is relatively quick. The brisket was a bit dry and the poutine really didn't have much flavor. The presentation/aesthetic of both dishes were pleasing but just wish the taste followed. The price is a bit steep but you're probably on vacation anyway so be prepared to splurge a little bit. For reference on drinks- one non-specialty cocktail ("jack and coke") ran me about $24. The entrees ran me about $80. All-in-all, not bad; 3-stars for the service and presentation. read more

See all

All and all we really liked this place. It's the restaurant near the pool at the ritz. I loved that it was outside and we can enjoy live music while eating dinner by the fire. The Beef Brisket Sandwich was very good! I definitely will be getting it agin the next time we're in Tahoe. The meat was very tender and smoked perfectly! The beans were really good too, but they were a bit on the salty side. We also had waffle fries which I don't have a picture of but they were cooked well. Very crispy and not too salted. read more

Backyard Bar & BBQ - Beef Brisket sandwich - Barbeque Near Me - Truckee, California

See all

Can't beat the location - mid-mountain, slopeside, next to the pool. You can enjoy your food and beverage at a sunny picnic table on the deck, shady picnic table under the trees, or on a red Adirondack chair next to the runs. The food is pretty pricey, as you might expect, $20 for a BBQ sandwich, plus an extra $9 for a side. But, the drinks were fairly reasonably priced -- $10 for a craft beer, or $13-14 for a cocktail. I opted for the Hannah Teater w/ Ketel Citroen, brewed iced tea, lemon and orange liquer - like a spiked Arnold Palmer. Very refreshing on a sunny, warm spring skiing day. read more

Backyard Bar & BBQ - Hannah Teater - like a spiked Arnold Palmer; very refreshing on a sunny spring day! - Barbeque Near Me - Truckee, California

See all

The food was ok and the food took over 30 minutes to come and after about 30 minutes they came with the wrong order and we had to wait even more. And the food was really overpriced. Overall it wasn't worth the money spent. read more

Bbq and Ritz Carlton were not things id think of in the same sentence as i asked one of the managers what she liked. Fiving me the rundown of the evolution of the resto and how owners bere were changing the culture a bit. On the deck near the pool outside, theyve built a permanent structure to house the smoking of meats and libations to match. It's a smoker shack with a tall fume hood, next to a bar and some copious outside seating. Considering it's late december and 55 degrees F, i guess it made sense to get some BBQ. We got the brisket, pulled pork, kettle chops, and pork baked beans. There are 4 different bbq sauces to match up with your sandos. I loked the quality of the meats, not fatty or dry, like a lottery you often get with bbq in cali. The sauces are decent though the voodoo was my favorite. I just wished the meats were served hotter. Because it's the Ritz you can be sure the service and hospitality is top notch even if pulled pork is what youre stuffing in your gullet. I compare them to The French Laundry in their level of service, here or any of their branches/locales. So again, it's weird to say, but you can get a good bbq style meal at The Ritz! read more

See all

This is a nice BBQ / wood burning pizza oven place on the deck of the Ritz. Great for sunny weather. The 1/2 rack of ribs is pricey ($21 + 15% service charge) but it easily feeds two people: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/backyard-bar-and-bbq-truckee?select=zTC7g2OWtjfWTcrd3s1Nlw#JdSLeLdsImY2CnfQ9VCHag The ribs are *very* tender from the 4 hours of smoking They have just the right amount of fat. Nice rub. If it had just a bit more smokey flavor, it would be awesome. House made kettle chips and tater salad are good. They run out of BBQ early (like before noon) on some days. They add a 15% service charge to everything, which kind of makes sense: in addition to bringing the food out to you, they are constantly buzzing around, making sure everything is perfect. read more

See all

It is your typical resort poolside bar that makes good drinks but over priced. The lava flows were great and sangria was decent. It's right next to the pool so easy to order and chill at the pool. Nothing special but convenient. read more

Backyard Bar & BBQ - Sangria drink outside the pool - Barbeque Near Me - Truckee, California

See all

The food is really good! I tried the waffle fries, brisket, and coleslaw. Ate the food togo at pool side so unsure of the service. read more

Food is good, once you make it through the horrendous ordering process. Staff is generally pleasant but getting an order placed (regardless of food or drinks) is so painful! The Ritz Carlton overall should be the highest echelon of service and quality but not at this location! Literally the only thing this resort has going for it appears to be the location! read more

We pretended we were rich like paris hilton and nicole richie while we were here. It's located in the beauuuutiful Ritz at the top of the mountain. The host was wonderful. The sun was shining and the temp hovered around 60 degrees so we could actually sit outside by the 85 degree controlled temp pool on the last day of 2017.... but at the end of the day it is just over-priced with mediocre food. We split a pizza and TWO drinks and the total was $72.... Let me paint you a picture of what most stood out while we were there: Me: Can we just do the meat pizza please and two beers? Bartender: oh, you must related to Dahmer. Me: What? Bartender: never mind (my friend got the joke and later explained. Meat pizza... Jeffrey Dahmer. ummmmmm wut hahaha) read more

The Ritz-Carlton has taken a tremendous fall from grace with the Backyard Barbecue which has declined quite drastically over time. The sanitized portion sizes and the lack of quality and flavor has turned out to be a real disappointment. Barbecue is serious business, this is not it. I remember in the beginning when they had their first Backyard BBQ buffet everything was perfect. The meat was tender and had great flavor. All the entrees were perfect. What a let-down down to see what it has become. This is an important message to the management of Ritz-Carlton. I know you can do better than this, please revise your menu and put out the quality food that I've seen you present in the past. read more

I don't usually leave reviews but holy crap, I ordered the pulled chicken sandwich and it was the worst thing Ive ever had in my life. It was so dry and over smoked that it tasted like smoked salmon! It had our table roaring as I passed around pieces of it and presented it as salmon. Can't complain about the price at the ritz but this place is a joke. read more

I know this is the Ritz-Carlton and it is OK to pay $30 for lunch, but they should maintain quality and probably quantity too. Rip-off! read more

See all

Hmmmm my verdict is mixed here. The rub on bbq is outstanding, meats cooked perfectly. But my daughter's pull pork was half fat. Meat part was excellent. Sides are great with healthy options such as cucumber salad and slaw. Overall great food. So why would they shortcut desserts? "Banana cream pie" should be called "no banana, banana flavored cream pie ". Then there was cool whip or something similar on top. Weird. 15% gratuity added in but you order at counter then they bring out your food. Not sure what the gratuity is for. Literally, server came to me once after food was served, and that because I stayed for so long. Very expensive. You pay for the view more than the imitation flavored banana cream pie. Has much potential with a couple tweaks. Ritz would be wise to not shortcut on whipped cream in any of their eateries. I expect it at ihop, not ritz. read more

Considering the location and view, prices weren't bad. The food however was so bad we couldn't even eat it. A pulled pork sandwich. The bread was hard, and it tasted like it was microwaved multiple times. No flavor whatsoever. If you're going to brag you're serving BBQ, make sure it actually has some flavor and taste to it. No wonder you have so much sauce on the table. Can't eat it without it. read more

We ordered a couple of brisket sandwiches, fries and waters. Let me tell you, the waters were spot on the best part. Fries were cold and hard, and the brisket was dry. I normally don't leave reviews, but this place deserved one. read more

Great atmosphere and very friendly and attentive staff! We shared the rack of ribs and a bottle of wine and enjoyed playing cornhole while our dogs relaxed in the shade! Highly recommended for a fun and delicious afternoon! read more

Backyard Bar & BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Truckee, California

See all

Best bbq on north shore. Santa Maria trip tip with pico de Gallo was awesome and yes I've been to Sideways and Shaw's near Santa Maria. No sauce required. Chicken and ribs were seasoned just right. This is no knock on Moss but they don't serve tri tip or brisket. read more

I ordered the brisket sandwich but was disappointed at the size and quality. The buns are cheap and there isn't a lot of meat on the sandwich. Comes with a very small salad and about 9 bbq chips. Service was poor and uninviting. Go to the coffee bar and order a sandwich there for half the cost! read more

All I can say is what a ripoff. The menu is so overpriced it's not even funny. $20 for a cheeseburger...fine I'll pay it. I go to pay and they tell me there's a 15% "BBQ service charge" Uhhh... Seriously? Burger was mediocre, I will definitely not be returning. No wonder this place is already in financial trouble. The portions were good sized, but I think a more affordable menu would be much more successful. $7 bottled beers and $8 drafts, I feel like I'm at the airport! read more

We had a disappointing experience here this evening. After taking a seat, we waited 15 minutes before a waiter acknowledged us, even after asking a bus boy for help. Our food came before our drinks arrived. Despite the $15 price of cocktails one was watery and the other tasted like it had no alcohol. BBQ was bland and overpriced. read more

I think this deserves about 2.5 stars overall. There is a limited number of choices for sides. We tried four sides between us and two main courses. The sides were not impressive at all. The slaw was strange and overly vinegary with a lack of other favors. The chips were well seasoned but soggy, not crisp as kettle chips should be (especially as a pricey side). The tomato cucumber salad lacked seasoning and flavor. It was watery. The melons in the three melon salad were also flavorless. For the price, the ingredients were not flavorful or fresh. The ribs seemed to have excessive fat, so much of it was inedible. The parts that were edible were good. The burger was over cooked, dry, and uninspired on a cheap potato bun. For much less than $20, I could get a comparable burger at a fast food restaurant. Also, there is a 15% service charge for service despite a lack of service as you order yourself at the counter. Another con is the plastic cutlery. Definitely not worth the price at all. Go to Manzanita instead. This is a nice concept that could be executed much better. read more

Backyard Bar & BBQ - Half rack ribs melon salad a d tomato cucumber - Barbeque Near Me - Truckee, California

See all

For a Ritz-Carlton restaurant, this is worse than a regular roadside diner when it comes to food. The veggie burger is made from a 'morning star' Black bean burger, the cheese on it is a few sprinkles of shredded mozzarella not even a full slice! The bun was stale and it looked like it's just pre-made days before and warmed up right before serving! Surely they can do better than that! Very very disappointed with the $20 burger. read more

We ordered twice, waited 45 minutes and never received our drinks. It would make sense if it were crowded, but there was only one group, who did receive their drinks. And when confronted a third time, no offer of compensation was given. Terrible customer service. read more

Super slow service. Not up to Ritz Carlton standards by far. Beef brisket sandwich was very fatty - wouldn't recommend this place. Better off at The Living Room or Manzanita. Did I mention the food delivery was extremely slow? It was. Completely unacceptable. read more

A group of us rented a house in Northstar over July 4 and decided to come here for dinner one night before heading into Tahoe. It was a pretty awful experience. First, it took about 30 minutes to get our drinks despite seeing them sitting at the bar warming up for about half that time. When we finally received them it was underwhelming. For $13 you expect a decent cocktail. They were watered down and super sweet with no discernible taste of alcohol. They were returned for beer. The food arrived shortly after the drinks. That's how long it took to get them. The food was actually decent. Good sized portions and tasty enough for $15-$20 meals. BBQ sauce wasn't particularly good. Service was awful. Saw our waitress when we ordered drinks/food and that was it. Someone else brought the food. Had to hunt her down for the check. Took forever to arrive. Ages, really. When we got the check the drinks that were returned were still on there and had to send the check back. So painful because it was almost worth paying $30 extra to not have to deal with their servers anymore. Although the food was ok, the service was SO AWFUL no one in their right mind would recommend this place. Spend your money elsewhere. *Edit: The drinks were actually physically walked up to the bar and handed back to them. How I described it it sounds as if someone came by and asked how they were and took them back. Also, modified my review from 1 star to 2 stars because after speaking to the manager and complaining they took care of the bill. That's the only thing that factored into the increased rating. read more

Food was okay, service was horrible. Our waitress came in the beginning to take our drink order and bring waters, then after that there was no service. We never got one water refill, the two hours we sat there. We had to get up out of our seats several times to get someone to take our food order. Mind you, we were one of THREE tables there, so it was not busy. Trying to get our bill was a joke. They made it confusing for everyone and we had to get out of our seats AGAIN several times to get it figured out. It would have been a better experience if we actually had service like any other restaurant at Ritz Carlton would do. read more

On Saturday we felt like having some good food and a Friend looked up the BBQ close to Northstar and found this place. I wanted to see the Ritz in any case since my wife and I are invited to a wedding later in the summer. The long and short of it is that we drove up the the hotel and parked with Valet as there is no other option. That's understandable since it is mid mountain and parking is premium. We get ourselves out to the restaurant, find a table, get in line, try to place the order. Guess what? NO BBQ chicken, NO Ribs, NO brisket!! It was only 1:30pm!! What gives?? LOL.. A BBQ place with no BBQ!! OK no problem. Lets order some burgers and a pulled pork. Food good. Table side service good. OK let's try the next day since we liked the atmosphere. Get there at 12PM.. place our order for 1/2 slab ribs, 1 burger, 1 pizza. Burger and Pizza arrive...No Ribs!! where are the ribs.. Manager.. "sorry the ribs take 4 hours to cook and they are not ready yet." LOL.. are you serious? You couldn't have told me that at time of order so I don't have to watch everyone else eat for 40 minutes? Now my party has all eaten except for my 4 year old and I. We order some french fries to hold him over. The ribs finally arrive. Neither my son nor my self are hungry any more. I call manager over. Takes two rounds of complaining before I get some attention. I tell her the situation. She asks me what she could do for me? I tell her I don't want a thing from her. I just wanted to tell her that 3 meals at $75 should have come with the "Ritz" experience. It failed miserably. The setting is great. The overall experience is poor. The worse part is that they pull 15% resort fee on top as a mandatory gratuity. Then you get poor service and you have no recourse on the situation. Shame on Ritz. I will not be staying here for the wedding. Too bad. Looked like a nice place. read more

Great service great atmosphere by the food was not good for being at the ritz this is a big disappointment