What a blast! We needed to go to California to buy lotto tickets, so decided to have a bite at Lanza's while we were there. This is old school Italian. Fiascos of wine, Chianti, red sauce, all the reasons why we love old school Italian. They were BUSY but we lucked out getting a two top near the window where we could just make out the lake. Started with an appetizer and cocktail - appetizer was the baked artichoke hearts. Simple ingredients done VERY well - classic Italian. Classic cocktails - Manhattan and Martini - for us. The bread was warm and the butter was soft and fluffy. The dinner salads (included or get the soup) were so good. Some magic herby vinaigrette - yum. Is that Taragon? Very nice. I enjoyed the Eggplant Parm (apparently a best seller) and DH had the Veal Marsala. We couldn't finish them and will be enjoying them for lunch later today. I really recommend this place if you're in the area. Or, take a drive to buy lotto tickets and stop in! The smell of pine trees really let you know you're in Tahoe, or King's Beach at least. read more

The food was absolutely delicious! We ordered the mozzarella sticks, lasagna, and my wife had the chicken Alfredo -- everything was full of flavor and cooked perfectly. The service was excellent as well. The staff was attentive, refilling our drinks without us having to ask and creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere. We'll definitely be back! read more

This place is so comfy. Coming in out of the cold to the smell of Italian food can't be beat. Love the red sauce, I don't know what it is different about it but it's delicious. read more

Nice local place for great Italian food. Casual lake ambiance with classic style Italian food made with traditional recipes. Servers were quick to serve, had cheerful attitudes which makes you feel welcome and at home. No complaints, great place for any occasion, no need to get fancy. read more

Lanza's Restaurant - Shells! - Italian Near Me - Kings Beach, California

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Delicious!!!! Every time we are in the Tahoe area we have dinner here. The quantity of food is massive. The food is delicious every time. My favorite is the eggplant parmigiana. Plus you get fresh bread and salad. Husband order chicken. Delicious!!!! read more

Great service and food! I sat at the bar for dinner since I was dining alone. Bar staf was fantastic and attentive. They immediately brought bread out and poured a glass water. I had a glass of their house Pinot noir, it was good. For dinner I had the chicken parm and spaghetti. Great atmosphere, highly recommend. read more

Lanza's Restaurant - Chicken Parmigiana - Italian Near Me - Kings Beach, California

Being raised by a first generation Italian family nothing comes closer than Lanza's! Best pasta ever!

We happened to find this place after getting the boot from a steak house down the way. Yes we got the boot for an employee misunderstanding what was said by one in our party. No worries. We were recommended this place by a local and lucky for us, this turned out to be a great recommendation. We were quickly seated. The menu was perfect. Not too busy and plenty of choices. I went with the chicken Marsala. This was the first time I have ever tried chicken Marsala. Our waiter was super cool and attentive to our needs. They brought out delicious bread and soft butter. Our food on a Friday came out fast. I loved how they piled on the button mushrooms all over the chicken. If you love mushrooms, I totally recommend this plate. I took my first bite. Wow! This dish was delicious. I loved how soft the chicken was. I went to town on my chicken and mushrooms. I didn't even touch my spaghetti side dish because I was focused on my main dish. That's how good this plate was. Would I return to Lanza's. Darn skippy I will be back. This was a great experience and great food. read more

Lanza's Restaurant - Chicken Marsala. Look at them mushrooms. Deliciouso - Italian Near Me - Kings Beach, California

I can't say enough about the food and service at Lanzas! 10 stars in my book! My friend and I had a gift certificate to try Lanza's while in town. I grew up in an Italian home where my dad and grandmother cooked Italian food to die for every night. I don't usually have high hopes for Italian food outside of the northeast where I'm from. At Lanza's I felt like I was eating dinner at home for the first time in 25 years since my dad passed away. The service was super fast, the bread and whipped butter came out quick, followed by each course at exactly the right time. Great! The food that followed was epic! We had the calamari steak strips app served with warm marinara. Tender and delicious! The house salad was perfect with a house dressing that I could use everyday. We both got the house special stuffed lumaconi- baked large pasta shells stuffed with seasoned beef topped with cheese. A good sized portion and Omg- so delicious! We finished it off with a cappuccino and shared a giant piece of Tiramisu. The cappuccino was the real deal and the perfect accompaniment to the desert- so delicious my friend and I were laugh/crying. A meal so good restores faith in humanity! I asked to meet the owner in order to shake his hand. I can't wait to return! read more

This is an old school Italian restaurant from back in the day. The food was decent but not much flavor. The servers were friendly and our food came fairly quickly but not sure this is a place I would come back to. read more

Delicious food. Friendly staff. Great service. Friendly customers. Outdoor dining. Allows dogs at outdoor dining. Huge portions of food. Ample parking. I really like this place. 5 stars! read more

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The restaurant has a great environment. Old Tahoe to a Tee. The service started out slow but got better as the evening wore on. The food was good but not great. I love the dinner salad and the house dressing is great. I had the calamari steak and it was good but a little bland. Still worth the visit. read more

I come up to north Lake Tahoe a few times a year. Lanzas makes the best minestrone soup I've ever had. I love it here. The neighborhood charm. The old school style classic Italian American food. I got Easy kind service, from a family owned small business. read more

We visited from out-of-state for a birthday weekend in July 2023. This is some delicious Italian food, made and served by people that care about good food and good service. It's crowded and busy for a reason... because it's worth the wait! We were seated outside on the patio under the covering and patio lights. It was a beautiful, cool, summer evening. Perfect for a birthday date. We were ready to load up on comfort carbs after a long day at emerald bay and a nap! They served warm sourdough bread as soon as we were seated. We enjoyed the fried ravioli with marinara as an appetizer. This is a large appetizer, so if it's only for two, you might hold back or you'll be full when the meal arrives. My salad was fresh and my hubby enjoyed the soup. My husband loved his chicken parm and I had the sampler so I could have a little taste of a lot of dishes. They are prepared in a hot pasta dish and when they arrive table side, the server transfers the pasta to a pasta plate. It was all good! And of course we had plenty of leftovers, which made for a good second meal on the following day. We tried the cheesecake... the layer of sour cream is a perfect touch! I wish we lived in town so we could visit again. The reviews about weird hours is peculiar to me. The sign is clear that dinner begins at 5:00pm, so anyone leaving a one-star review because they were confused on hours of operation... that's really not fair to the establishment. They welcome and seat patrons up until 9:00pm. If you like delicious Italian food and generous portions, this is the place! Highly recommend. read more

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Service was good, dinner salad good, steak was NO GOOD tough and no flavor. Ravioli's were not cook as they stuck together and had NO FLAVOR on the sauce! Very unpleasant experience read more

Great, old school Italian! My husband grew up going there before soccer games (sometime in the 90's I'd say). He said it looks exactly the same so this probably my gives you an idea as to what style to expect. Great food and service! read more

Favorite place for Italian food. Tonight Chicken Parmesan and for dessert Tiramisu . Sooo good. Portions are big so we shared read more

Lanza's Restaurant - Tiramisu - Italian Near Me - Kings Beach, California

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Crap! Embarrassing food Service was fine and friendly, but the food is TERRIBLE! The Linguini was like a huge pile of cheap dried box pasta from Costco, the clam white sauce was junk, no elevation it was like someone went to Safeway and bought a bunch of bottles of canned/bottled claims. Almost zero fresh garlic, not a hit of white wine, just an oversized pile of crummy, non-al dente dry pasta. Pizza is a disaster - very "American" like a Topino Party Pizza from the frozen section except far to think. Nothing like a Neapolitan pizza which is the gold standard in Italy. The "Margherita" was a joke. This is not the Queen Margherita version it is the 7-11 version. Never EVER go here. If you want Pizza go to Jiffy. Oh or make a Red Barron Pizza ( #1 in frozen pizza ) it will far surpass this junk. Seriously I make way better Italian than this place. With my little Atlas 150 and other home made things using Sierra Gold seafood it makes this place look sorry. Maybe they should watch Lidia Bastianich and take some notes. For this price-point it is a total FAIL! Tutti a tavola a mangiare - NEVER EVER! Non mangiare mai qui! read more

Imagine a traditional, quaint, cozy Italian restaurant that smells like heaven. This is it. The service and ambiance were astounding. My dinner was so delicious, the soup and salad, appetizer...I could only taste the main course before I was done. I wrapped it up to go and it was just as good the following night after a long day of hiking. I can't wait to return. read more

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Holy moly the portions and amount of food you get is incredible!!! We love ordering pick up from Lanza's after a long day of skiing. The eggplant parmigiana is my fave but the kids love all the pasta dishes especially the stuffed shells. The house salad dressing is phenomenal and I'd buy it bottled if they offered it read more

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A fairly large group of us came here and they made it super easy for our group to have dinner- very accommodating! When we got to the table there was already water on the table and they immediately brought bread. The bread was interesting.. it almost tasted like sourdough which was odd for an Italian place. Or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about? I'm not Italian so... Anyway... it's an interesting place. The prices make you think you're at a better-than-decent Italian restaurant. But you're sitting at tables and chairs that look like a 50's diner. And the food it just decent. It was after eating here, when we really didn't like our dinner. A majority of us got sick in one form or another. It was not enjoyable. Not the best place. Not the worst place. When in Tahoe, the options are limited though. If there was another place nearby, we'd try that other place next time. read more

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Was expecting so much more. Great atmosphere but typical blah Italian food. Nothing spectacular. Pizza, meatballs, pasta, chicken picatta, salad and bread were all just "ok". Great service!! And it was absolutely packed!! Just wish the food had dazzled, and it didn't. Oh well we still had a really good time read more

Visited from out of state and heard good things about Lanza's! I do agree that the food was very good. Ate the ravioli's, chicken parmesan and spaghetti/meat sauce, everything was delicious. Only disappointment was level of service we had at restaurant. Not sure if it was location of where we were sat or wait staff serving area, but had a hard time keeping drinks filled and just being attentive. We did notice one table got lions share of service while the other tables in the same space got neglected. One table even got up and just left after waiting for an hour at their table. Hopefully this is not common, but service is an area we have noticed that has changed and gotten worse at restaurants lately. Would recommend the food 100% every time and hope that the service was just off that night. read more

A great local Italian find. We went with a group of 7 and surprisingly got a table right away (they don't take reservations). Right as you walk in you can tell the history and authenticity you are going to experience. It is dark inside and the tables are covered in red and white checkered linens. The appetizers were so filling we didn't need to even order entrees (but we did anyways, not knowing). Not pictured is the calamari steak (we devoured it) sub piccata sauce for the marinara. Mmmm.... We also had the cheesecake and tiramisu. The service was amazing and the portions are huge. We did also get the minestrone soup that came out a little cooler than room temperature but from what I could taste the flavor was awesome. We will definitely be going back next time we are in town. read more

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Had another great dinner here a few days ago. Try to eat here once a year in the summer. Food, Staff, Atmosphere, price always super good. Juan our server was fantastic. Look forward to coming next summer. The Best Italian food around. read more

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I am stunned about how long it's taken me to finally eat here. One experience was takeout, another in the dining room, the other was in the bar area. Take out (during covid): - calamari appetizer, fried with marina on top. It's good, but I prefer it not breaded. This one is breaded. Appetizer portion is plenty for a meal. - meatballs- $5.50. Yummy! You get two and it's delish - eggplant Parm- wonderful, not too cheesy - side garlic for bread. Lots if oil, lots of garlic. - side of mushrooms- yum Dining experience: - average 30 minute wait, no reservations. First come first serve. They are busy! - server was a bit frazzled, but it was a hectic Friday night. - order the house specialty lumiconi (sp?) shells stuffed with ground meat, eggs, spinach, spices. There's five in a whole plate with meat sauce on top. You can totally share this. Will for we be my go to. - eggplant parm - was cheesier than the first time we ordered. Way cheesier. - soup- a bit oily on top for minestrone, but so excited to see garbanzo instead of red or black beans. I'm not a bean fan but it's a great soup for vegans. - $5 house burgundy wine. I was either really thirsty but I think it's a great table wine. $15 for 1/2 liter. Other wines start at $6. Great pricing. Bar experience: - Trey knows his beverages as the bartender. Been there for 17 years and loves what he does. You can tell. - salad- there's only one, and it's incredibly simple and delicious. It reminds me of a Caesar, and they call it a creamy Italian. It's garlicky, and I loved it. Order it with a side of Gorgonzola. Treys suggestion. - soup- less oily this time! - side sausage- two medium sized Italian sausages in meat sauce. So good and filled me up! - trey knows his wine, but he also created the delicious strawberry jalapeño margarita. Perfectly light and refreshing with perfect hint of spice. Don't forget the tajin it comes with. Happy hour: Sunday-Thursday 4:30-6pm. Will for sure be back, likely in the bar! read more

This was one of the most uncomfortable dining experiences we had while in Tahoe. We had spent the day kayaking at sand harbor and were looking for a nice place to grab dinner on our way back to our resort in Olympic Valley. Our family had a craving for Italian, so we looked on Yelp and came across this place. Hours said they opened at 4:30. It was 3:30 when we left the incline village area and we were all starving. Even though we had to wait an hour before this place opened, we decided to head there anyways because it was the only option that looked available for a good Italian dinner, and surprisingly, had decent reviews. We arrived in the parking lot at 4:10 and decided to run to grocery store next door while we waited for the restaurant to open at 4:30. At 4:30, we went inside and were "greeted" by the host. He asked if we were there for dinner and we said yes and he took down our names (weird since they had just opened and nobody else was waiting). He rudely said, "ok we will let you know when your table is ready after dinner starts at 5:00". I said, "oh I thought you opened at 4:30?".He said extremely rudely, "no", with no further explanation. I wouldn't have minded if he politely explained to us that only the bar area is open at 4:30 and dinner doesn't start until 5, but instead, he was soooo incredibly rude my husband and even my easy going son wanted to leave immediately because they were so offended by how rude this guy was and didn't even want to eat there even though we were all starving. My explanation of the situation is not painting a picture of just how uncomfortable his interactions were to us. We had two teenagers with us, so we were not sure if sitting in the bar for an appetizer or drink was even an option, but a very nice bartender could tell how hungry we were and brought us some bread and allowed the boys in the bar area while we waited for dinner to open at 5:00. We ordered an app and two glasses of wine. The bartender was the only normal and pleasant thing about this restaurant. The sign on the hostess stand that read something along the lines of "come as a stranger and leave as a friend/family" (I am paraphrasing), Our experience could not have been anything further from the truth from what we experienced here. More like "if you come in here we are going to treat you as if you are a complete nuisance and we would rather you leave than bother us with your presence" would have been a more appropriate sign to post. Finally, 5:00 came around and we were seated at our table. The server was extremely odd. Not a single employee here knew the concept of eye contact. He talked with his back to us while doing other things while yelling across his shoulder to take our order. He recited a rapid, rehearsed review of the menu that he obviously says to every single customer like a memorized speech in his head. All of our food was mediocre. Price was what you would expect for Tahoe. This was by far one of the worst dining experiences we have ever had in our life and we would not recommend this place to anyone. Run far far away. Whoever owns this place obviously can care less about his/ her business, the service they provide to customers or the people they hire to represent their business. I am not one to write negative reviews often and give credit where credit is due, but this place was awful. read more

Super packed place especially for a Monday night and they don't take reservations. I wasn't disappointed but I also wasn't impressed. Service was good but the food was just cheese and pasta. I ordered the sampler hoping to try a little bit of everything but it all sort of melted together and I couldn't tell one thing from the next. We did get their tiramisu afterwards though and that was pretty delicious! If you're looking for a super fancy Italian dinner this isn't it but if you're just craving some good spaghetti I would come here read more

Lanza's Restaurant - Lanza 's Sampler - Italian Near Me - Kings Beach, California

Very good food! Very friendly staff! Cozy place. We love their salad with the special dressing, it is really the best and I crave for it! We also got angel hair pasta with clam sauce... yummy! I love that they put a lot of clams. My son loved their chicken fettuccine and hubby enjoyed their chicken Parmesan. Will come back again! read more

TL;DR: OK Italian fare in cozy place with not so friendly service. Would skip and opt for another place in the future. Ambiance is a highlight! Well located in the heart of Kings Beach. Really cozy and warm interior. Food was just OK. Here's a breakdown: -Lanzas special pizza (large was a good portion and we had leftovers) - this was fairly tasty -Half and half ravioli + fettuccine with meat sauce wasn't anything special - pasta quality just Ok and the sauce itself lacked taste and structure -Angel hair pasta with white clam sauce a bit better but not amazing -Kids pastas were a good deal with appetizer (4 of 5 from kids rating) - they cleaned the plates Service was unfriendly and not attentive - server walked away when we paused for a min to discuss drinks, and he was pretty curt with all other interactions. read more

Popped in on vacation at 7p on a Wednesday with 5, had about a 10 minute wait! Bread is fluffy, the minestrone was hearty and that was all just before our meal. Salad dressing was also delish and can be purchased. TONS of food, the signature lumaconi was a must try (we've already googled the recipe to make it at home). Also had classic spaghetti and meatballs, veal Parmesan, shells with meat sauce and the sampler and there were no complaints! Would recommend for a cozy night when you're starving, you will have no shortage of food and will have to take a nap after, but so worth it. Would highly recommend! read more

The food was delicious, but there was so much we could have split a meal! The service was fast and the staff was very friendly and it was a cozy atmosphere. read more

The food and salad was amazing. We ordered to go to avoid the crowd. The staff was nice and friendly.

Wow, what a dump. These crappy restaurants that prey on the visitors to the lake. Seriously over priced for crap service and crap food. The ambience was that of a family that no longer cares about what their grandma started and silver spooned the children with it. Good luck and enjoy your bill. read more

We eat here every summer while on vacation. It's our favorite. The food is delicious every time.

Classic, vintage ambience. Attentive and rapid service. Huge servings, both the included salad and the lasagna. Prices reasonable, particularly in light of the huge servings. Two normal people could have split what I had and been satisfied. $8 Sangiovese, totally acceptable. Only one problem: The food was tasteless. Bland. Tasted of nothing. It wasn't terrible... It just wasn't anything. I liked this place. I wanted to like it more. Three stars unfortunately is generous. read more

Lanzas is an awesome family business with excellent fair. They are quick to serve and very friendly. My go to in North Shore.

Lanza's is where you can experience the East Coast of America in its food and service. The Eggplant Parmesan is heavenly and savory and reminiscent of a time when the flavor of the dish was king. Thank you Lanza's. read more

A solid traditional red checked table cloth Italian American place. Our party loved the chicken parm. Chicken Marsala and Piccata solid. Generous portions. Cozy and homey atmosphere. read more

We came to Lanza's twice for happy hour during our visit to Tahoe. Great atmosphere and friendly staff. We had the garlic cheesy bread roma style and the baked artichoke. We also had the house salad and soup. Everything was delicious! read more