Tahoma Restaurants

The short answer: Tahoma has four places to eat, and three of them share one small shopping center at 7000 West Lake Blvd. The Dog & Bear Tavern is the sit-down dinner spot, Cult Burger does burgers from a walk-up window, Where We Met makes gelato and espresso, and Tahoma Market & Deli a block south does sandwiches, pizza and groceries. Drive five minutes north toward Homewood and you add Chambers Landing on the lake, Swiss Lakewood for Swiss-American dinners, and the Dockside Trading Co. market and grill. Spoon and Fire Sign Cafe in Tahoe Park, about 15 minutes north, round out the list.

We manage five vacation homes on this stretch of the West Shore, three in Homewood and two in Tahoma, so this is the list we give our own guests. We checked every hour, address and phone number below against each business's own website or a 2025–2026 listing in September 2026. Hours here change with the season and with staffing, so call before you drive.

Tahoma and nearby restaurants at a glance

Two more are worth knowing: Dockside Trading Co. in Homewood (market and grill, daily) and Fire Sign Cafe in Tahoe Park (breakfast and lunch, daily). Both are covered further down.

Restaurants in Tahoma

Tahoma is a small place. The whole "downtown" is the center at 7000 West Lake Blvd, which also holds the post office, plus the market a short walk south. In summer, kids ride bikes up from the beach for burgers and gelato. In winter, most of it goes quiet or closes for stretches.

1. The Dog & Bear Tavern

The Dog & Bear is Tahoma's sit-down restaurant and bar. It opened in December 2021 and is named for its founder's dog. The menu changes with the season and leans on local produce: shareable starters, salads, pizzas, entrées and desserts, with a long wine list and draft beer. The patio wraps around the building and looks toward the lake through the trees.

• Address: 7000 W Lake Blvd, Tahoma, CA 96142
• Phone: (530) 525-8138
• Posted fall hours: Thursday to Monday from 4 pm; happy hour 4–5 pm (dine-in only); closed Tuesday and Wednesday
• Takeout: call or order in person
• Dogs: patio only

Hours and menus are on the tavern's website, and reservations go through its Tock page. It is the best bet in Tahoma for a proper dinner out, and it books up on summer weekends.

2. Cult Burger

Cult Burger is a walk-up burger window a few doors from the Dog & Bear. It is its own business, not part of the tavern. Chef Quinten Frye keeps the menu short: flat-top burgers on brioche with the house "cult sauce," hand-cut fries, house pickles, shakes and craft sodas. Order at the window and eat at the outdoor tables or take it back to your rental.

• Address: 7000 W Lake Blvd, Tahoma, CA 96142
• Posted hours: Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 7 pm; closed Monday and Tuesday
• Season: mainly summer. Last winter (2025–26), TK Cafe, a breakfast and bagel shop, sublet the space and served breakfast Friday to Monday, 6 am to 1 pm, according to the Tahoe Daily Tribune. Whether that repeats this winter is not announced, so check before you go.

Current hours are on eatcultburger.com.

3. Where We Met Gelateria & Espresso Bar

Where We Met is a small Italian-style café in the same center. It makes gelato daily and serves espresso drinks, so it works as both the morning coffee stop and the after-beach treat. An affogato (a scoop of gelato under a shot of espresso) covers both. Flavors rotate, and the staff hand out samples.

• Address: 7000 W Lake Blvd, Tahoma, CA 96142
• Hours: it opens around 7:30 am on the days it is open, and closing times vary through the week. It keeps a short-season schedule and has usually closed for part of the winter.

We could not confirm one current phone number, so check the café's Facebook page for the week's hours before you plan around it.

4. Tahoma Market & Deli

Tahoma Market & Deli is a short walk south of the center. It is a small grocery, deli and bottle shop that says it has served the community since 1943. Mornings bring breakfast sandwiches, lunch brings made-to-order sandwiches on bread baked each night, and evenings bring pizza. It also stocks beer, wine and spirits and the basics you forgot to pack. This is where to put together a picnic for Meeks Bay or Sugar Pine Point.

• Address: 6890 W Lake Blvd, Tahoma, CA 96142
• Phone: (530) 525-7411
• Ordering: online ordering on tahomamarketdeli.com

Lines at the sandwich counter get long on summer mornings. Order online or go before 10 am.

Between Tahoma and Homewood

5. Chambers Landing Bar & Grill

Chambers Landing sits on the lake between Tahoma and Homewood. The bar dates to 1875 and bills itself as the oldest bar on the water at Lake Tahoe. It has indoor tables and a patio and pier over the water, and you can arrive by boat or by car. The menu runs from chowder, poke and coconut shrimp to burgers, fish and chips, salmon, filet and cioppino, plus a kids' menu. Chambers Punch is the drink it is known for.

• Address: 6300 Chambers Lodge Rd, Homewood, CA 96141
• Phone: (530) 270-9515
• Posted hours: daily, 11 am to 8:30 pm
• Season: summer only. The last day of the 2026 season is October 4, according to chamberstahoe.com. It usually reopens in late spring.
• Reservations: OpenTable, through its website

The small public beach beside it is covered in our Chambers Landing beach guide.

Homewood

6. Swiss Lakewood

Swiss Lakewood has been on the West Shore since 1920. It started as Cunningham's and took its current name in 1965, when Swiss immigrants took it over. The dinner menu is Swiss-American, with traditional dishes like wienerschnitzel and veal émincé next to newer American plates. The Vodka Garden, added in 2021, is an outdoor dining area where lunch is first come, first served when it is open.

• Address: 5055 W Lake Blvd, Homewood, CA 96141
• Phone: (530) 525-5211
• Posted hours: dinner Tuesday to Sunday, 5 to 8:30 pm. The restaurant's FAQ says it is open year round.
• Reservations: dinner by phone or online
• Dogs: not allowed on the Vodka Garden patio

This is the dressed-up dinner on this part of the shore, and it is the most reliable winter option near our Homewood and Tahoma homes.

Dockside Trading Co.

Dockside Trading Co. took over the historic Obexer's building in Homewood. It is an upscale market and deli with fresh produce, sundries, liquor and deli sandwiches, and a grill that serves turkey tacos, Wagyu burgers and chipotle chicken sandwiches. Mary's organic rotisserie chickens come out every day after 3 pm, and you can call ahead to reserve one. For a rental with a kitchen, that is an easy dinner. It also sells what it calls the original Chambers Punch.

• Address: 5300 W Lake Blvd, Homewood, CA 96141
• Phone: (530) 525-1300
• Posted hours: store 7 am–8 pm, grill 11 am–8 pm, daily (docksidetradingtahoe.com)

West Shore Café: no longer a public restaurant

Older guides, including an earlier version of this page, list the West Shore Café & Inn at 5160 W Lake Blvd as a lakefront dinner spot. As of fall 2026, its website says it is closed for renovation and being reimagined mainly as an amenity for Homewood Mountain and Lake Club homeowners and their guests. The public will be welcome only at select events, and it is not taking dining reservations. Don't plan a dinner around it.

Tahoe Park (south edge of Tahoe City)

7. Spoon

Spoon is a tiny dinner house in a converted cabin in Tahoe Park, about 15 minutes north of Tahoma. The menu is from-scratch comfort food, what the owners call "gourmet comfort cuisine," with gluten-free and vegetarian options and daily specials posted on Instagram.

• Address: 1785 W Lake Blvd #5, Tahoe City, CA 96145. The entrance and parking are on Fir Ave, behind West Shore Sports. GPS often sends you to Fire Sign Cafe on the other side of the block.
• Phone: (530) 581-5400
• Usual hours: Thursday to Monday, 3 to 8:30 pm; closed Tuesday and Wednesday
• Reservations: by phone only, parties of six or fewer, 90-minute tables. See spoontahoe.com.

Takeout is available, but Spoon sometimes stops taking orders on busy nights, so call early to set a pickup time.

Fire Sign Cafe (breakfast)

Fire Sign Cafe has served breakfast and lunch at the same address since 1978. It is the West Shore breakfast institution, with baked goods and much of the menu made in-house. Expect a wait on summer and holiday weekends.

• Address: 1785 W Lake Blvd, Tahoe City, CA 96145
• Phone: (530) 583-0871
• Posted hours: daily, 7:30 am to 2:30 pm (firesigncafe.com)

For more morning options a little farther north, see our list of breakfast places in Tahoe City.

South of Tahoma: Wa She Shu Grille at Meeks Bay

About 2 miles south of Tahoma, Meeks Bay Resort, run by the Washoe Tribe, advertises beach-view dining from its Wa She Shu Grille deck, along with a snack bar and convenience store in its visitor center. It is a summer operation: the resort runs from about Memorial Day to mid-October, and the beach itself charges a day-use fee. We could not find a current official menu or posted hours for 2026, so call the resort at (530) 214-9422 before you plan a meal around it.

What's open when: seasons on the West Shore

The West Shore is much quieter than the North Shore towns, and restaurant hours follow the crowds.

• Summer (mid-June to Labor Day): everything on this list is open. Chambers Landing runs daily, Cult Burger and Where We Met are at full hours, and the Dog & Bear and Spoon are hard to get into on weekends without a reservation.
• Fall (September to mid-October): this is when the cutbacks start. Chambers Landing's 2026 season ends October 4. The Dog & Bear moves to Thursday–Monday. Walk-up spots cut days.
• Winter (November to April): plan on Swiss Lakewood, the Dog & Bear (check hours), Tahoma Market and Dockside for food close to home, and Tahoe City for more choice. Highway 89 south of Meeks Bay can close around Emerald Bay after storms, so from Tahoma you head north to eat. See our Lake Tahoe in winter guide.
• Spring (May to mid-June): seasonal places reopen on their own schedules, often with limited menus the first weekend. Check each website before you drive.

A sample day of eating in Tahoma

1. 8 am: espresso at Where We Met, or breakfast at Fire Sign Cafe if you are heading north.
2. 10 am: sandwiches from Tahoma Market & Deli, then south to Meeks Bay or into Sugar Pine Point State Park for the beach.
3. 3 pm: a burger and fries from Cult Burger's window, or a drink on the pier at Chambers Landing (in season).
4. 6:30 pm: dinner at the Dog & Bear, Swiss Lakewood or Spoon (book ahead), or pick up a rotisserie chicken at Dockside and grill at home.
5. 8:30 pm: back to the rental. Some MG homes have hot tubs; see the hot tub rentals.

Practical tips

• Call before you drive. Most of these places are small and locally owned. Hours shift with staffing and weather, and a closed door means a 20-minute drive to the next option.
• Parking is small. The 7000 W Lake Blvd lot fills on summer evenings. If you are staying in Tahoma, walk or bike.
• Book dinner early in July and August. The Dog & Bear, Swiss Lakewood and Spoon all fill up on summer weekends.
• Stock up on the way in. Tahoma Market and Dockside cover basics. For a full week of groceries, shop in Tahoe City (or Truckee, if you come over from Interstate 80) before heading down the West Shore.
• Cook some nights. Restaurant choice is thin in winter, and a vacation home makes cooking in easy. See our rentals with outdoor grills.

Where to stay near these restaurants

We manage two Tahoma vacation rentals and three Homewood vacation rentals. From any of them, the Tahoma restaurants, Chambers Landing and Swiss Lakewood are a short drive. Tahoe City is about 15–20 minutes north for more choice. Browse all MG homes or search your dates.

If you book on our own site instead of Airbnb, you pay less for the same house. Our nightly prices on Airbnb are set 28% higher than on our own site (17% higher on Vrbo), and every home page shows the dollar saving for your dates. The details are in booking direct vs. Airbnb at Lake Tahoe. Questions about a specific home? Call us at (530) 317-0291 or use the contact page.

Beyond dinner

For the rest of the day, see our guides to Meeks Bay, Chambers Landing, Emerald Bay State Park, and the full list of Lake Tahoe beaches. If you are still deciding where on the lake to stay, North vs. South Lake Tahoe covers the tradeoffs.