Truckee Restaurants

The short answer: the best eating in Truckee is downtown, on and around Donner Pass Road (the old Commercial Row). For dinner, book Pianeta for Italian, Moody's Bistro for live music in the 1873 Truckee Hotel, Bar of America for the classic downtown night, Truckee Tavern & Grill for steak, or Tangerine for French bistro food. For breakfast, it's Squeeze In or Coffeebar. For an easy night, go to DOPO and FiftyFifty Brewing at the new Old Lumberyard. Cottonwood sits on the hill above Brickelltown, Great Gold is in the Pioneer Center, and Northstar Village has its own cluster.

We should say who we are. MG Vacation Rentals manages 41 homes on Lake Tahoe's North and West Shores. We have no homes in Truckee. Our closest are in Kings Beach and Tahoe Vista, about 20 to 25 minutes away over Highway 267, and in Incline Village, about half an hour. Our guests come up to Truckee for dinner, a ski day at Northstar, or a meal on the way in from I-80. We checked every address, phone number and posted hour below against each restaurant's own website, or a 2025–2026 news report where noted, on October 1, 2026. Hours change with the season, so call before you drive.

Truckee restaurants at a glance

Dinner in downtown Truckee

Downtown Truckee is a few blocks of 1800s brick and wood buildings facing the railroad tracks. Donner Pass Road through the middle of it is what older guides call Commercial Row, and Jibboom Street runs behind it. Park once and walk; most of the places in this section are within five minutes of each other.

1. Pianeta

Pianeta is the downtown Italian restaurant that people search for by name, and yes, it is still open in October 2026. It is a dinner house in a brick-walled room on the main street, serving Italian food with house-made pasta and a full bar. It is a good first dinner if you have driven up from the Bay Area and want to sit down somewhere warm.

• Address: 10096 Donner Pass Rd, Truckee, CA 96161
• Phone: (530) 587-4694
• Hours: dinner from 5 to 9 pm. Its online listing shows Monday to Saturday and closed Sunday, while other listings show seven nights. Call to check before you plan a Sunday around it.
• Reservations: online for parties of 2 to 8 through pianetarestauranttruckee.com; call for groups of up to 12. The bar seats are kept for walk-ins and serve the full dinner menu.

If you can't get a table, show up at 5 pm and take a bar seat.

2. Moody's Bistro Bar & Beats

Moody's has been in the Truckee Hotel since 2002. The hotel was built in 1873 as the American House, and the restaurant is named after its builder, John F. Moody. The menu is regional mountain food in a supper-club style: wood-fired pizza, ahi poke, braised lamb, wild game. Live music (jazz, Americana, soul and R&B) is free and usually runs Thursday to Saturday.

• Address: 10007 Bridge St, Truckee, CA 96161
• Phone: (530) 587-8688
• Posted hours: daily from 11:30 am to close
• Reservations: online at moodysbistro.com

Its events calendar was empty when we checked on October 1, so look at it before you count on music on a particular night.

3. Bar of America

Bar of America opened in 1974 in a building on the main street that held a stove and tinware shop before 1891 and later a Victorian hotel. It is the busiest room downtown: a full restaurant serving American food, from sandwiches to steak and seafood, with a long bar that stays open later than the kitchen. Weekend brunch runs from 10 am to 1 pm.

• Address: 10040 Donner Pass Rd, Truckee, CA 96161
• Phone: (530) 587-2626
• Posted hours: Monday to Thursday 11 am–9:30 pm (bar to 11:30 pm); Friday 11 am–10 pm (bar to 12:30 am); Saturday 10 am–10 pm (bar to 12:30 am); Sunday 10 am–9:30 pm (bar to 11:30 pm)
• Reservations: recommended, by phone or OpenTable, through barofamerica.com

This is also the safest late dinner in town, because the kitchen runs to 9:30 or 10 pm every night.

4. Truckee Tavern & Grill

Truckee Tavern & Grill is a modern mountain steakhouse a few doors from Pianeta. It cooks over an open fire and serves prime steaks and seasonal plates, with a large whiskey collection behind the bar. It is run by West River Hospitality, the same group that owns Cottonwood.

• Address: 10118 Donner Pass Rd, Truckee, CA 96161
• Phone: (530) 587-3766
• Hours: not posted on its website when we checked. Call, or look at the booking page.
• Reservations: through SevenRooms on truckeetavern.com or by phone

5. Tangerine

Tangerine is a French bistro at the west end of downtown, in the building that once held Philosophy. It opened in late 2023 and comes from Brandon Kirksey, the chef behind Great Gold. The menu is classic bistro cooking with local ingredients: French onion soup, cassoulet, rainbow trout, frites and charcuterie. Tables are hard to get, so book early.

• Address: 10412 Donner Pass Rd, Truckee, CA 96161
• Posted hours: daily 5–9 pm; happy hour 5–6 pm at the bar only
• Reservations: Resy, through tangerinetahoe.com

We could not confirm a phone number on Tangerine's own website, so book online or email hello@tangerinetahoe.com.

Dinner outside downtown: Hilltop, Pioneer Center and Brockway Road

6. Cottonwood (Hilltop, above Brickelltown)

Cottonwood is in a ski lodge hand-built in 1928 on Hilltop, on the south side of the Truckee River, just up from Brickelltown and West River Street. The walls carry photos of Sierra ski history going back to the early 1900s. The lodge looks down over the town. West River Hospitality, founded by two former Cottonwood bartenders, bought it in 2021. It serves dinner every night and brunch on weekends, with happy hour and live music.

• Address: 10142 Rue Hilltop Rd, Truckee, CA 96161
• Phone: (530) 587-5711
• Posted hours: dinner Sunday to Thursday 4–9 pm, Friday and Saturday 4–9:30 pm; brunch Saturday and Sunday 11 am–4 pm
• Reservations: SevenRooms, through cottonwoodrestaurant.com

7. Great Gold (Pioneer Center)

Great Gold is a modern Italian restaurant in the Pioneer Center shopping area, east of downtown on Pioneer Trail. It makes its own pasta, artisan pizza and grilled meats from local ingredients. It is a good dinner if you are coming from Kings Beach, because you don't have to fight for downtown parking.

• Address: 11025 Pioneer Trail, Truckee, CA 96161
• Posted hours: daily 5–9 pm
• Reservations: Resy; takeout online. See greatgoldrestaurants.com.

8. Stella at Gravity Haus (Brockway Road)

Stella is the restaurant inside Gravity Haus, a hotel on Brockway Road, the old road between downtown and Highway 267. It has an open kitchen and serves a seasonal, farm-to-table menu, with breakfast every day and dinner most nights. From Kings Beach it is the closest of these dinner spots: you pass it before you reach downtown.

• Address: 10918 Brockway Rd, Truckee, CA 96161
• Phone: (530) 562-4670
• Hours: breakfast Monday to Friday 7–11 am and weekends 7 am–noon; dinner Wednesday to Sunday 5–9 pm. These come from its booking listings, as the hours page on stellatruckee.com didn't show times when we checked, so call to confirm.
• Reservations: OpenTable

Casual meals and families

9. DOPO and FiftyFifty Brewing at the Old Lumberyard

The Old Lumberyard is the new development on Church Street at the east end of downtown, on the site of the Truckee Tahoe Lumber Co., which ran there from 1931 to 2020. It has public plazas and fire pits, and it held its grand opening on May 23, 2026, according to the Sierra Sun. Two of its tenants are the easiest family dinner in town.

DOPO Pizza & Pasta opened in December 2025. It is from the owner of Coffeebar, who already ran two DOPOs in Reno. It serves wood-fired pizza, fresh pasta cut daily, small plates, beer and wine, and the owner told the Sierra Sun he wants it to be a place for pizza and a beer that doesn't cost a fortune.

• Address: 10242 Church St, Unit 101, Truckee, CA 96161
• Phone: (530) 887-4992 (530-88-PIZZA)
• Posted hours: daily 10 am–9:30 pm, per Coffeebar's locations page

FiftyFifty Brewing Co. moved its Truckee pub here from its old spot. It brews its own beer, serves a pub menu, and does weekend breakfast from 9 am.

• Address: 10242 Church St, Ste 100, Truckee, CA 96161
• Hours and phone: not posted on fiftyfiftybrewing.com when we checked. Email info@fiftyfiftybrewing.com or just walk over from DOPO.

10. Jax at the Tracks (Brickelltown)

Jax is a diner on West River Street, across the tracks from downtown in Brickelltown. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner every day: burgers, meatloaf, chicken and waffles, breakfast burritos and milkshakes. It has appeared on Food Network. It is the easy answer when a family can't agree on anything.

• Address: 10144 W River St, Truckee, CA 96161
• Phone: (530) 550-7450
• Posted hours: daily 7 am–8 pm on jaxatthetracks.com (some listings show later closing on weekends)

11. Burger Me (west end)

Burger Me is a casual burger counter at the west end of town, a few doors from Tangerine. It serves beef and bison burgers, hot dogs and fries, and it's kid-friendly.

• Address: 10418 Donner Pass Rd, Truckee, CA 96161
• Phone: (530) 587-8852
• Listed hours: daily 11 am–9 pm. We could not find its own website, so these hours come from its ordering page; call to confirm.

12. Rakkan Ramen and Buoy & Trap

Two good lunches sit near the Raley's and Pioneer Center end of town, on the way in from Highway 267.

• Rakkan Ramen is a ramen chain from Japan. 10001 Soaring Way, Unit 160; (530) 214-8612; Sunday to Thursday 11:30 am–8 pm, Friday and Saturday to 9 pm (rakkanramen.com). A bowl of ramen after a cold ski day is hard to beat.
• Buoy & Trap Seafood is a seafood market with a small dining side, two doors from Full Belly Deli in the Pioneer Center. 10825 Pioneer Trail, Suite 100; (530) 536-5031; Monday to Saturday 11:30 am–7 pm, closed Sunday; happy hour Monday to Thursday 3–5 pm, dine-in only (buoyandtrap.com). Buy fish here to cook back at the house.

Breakfast and coffee

13. Squeeze In

Squeeze In has served breakfast downtown since 1974. It got its name because the original room was just over 10 feet wide with 39 seats. It is known for its omelets, and it has been owned by the same family since 2003. Expect a wait on weekends and holidays.

• Address: 10060 Donner Pass Rd, Ste B, Truckee, CA 96161
• Phone: (530) 587-9814
• Listed hours: breakfast and lunch from 7 or 7:30 am to 2 pm. Its Chamber listing and other listings differ on the opening time, and its own site wouldn't load for us, so call.

14. Coffeebar

Coffeebar started in Truckee and now has cafés across Northern California and Reno. It is an Italian-style café with espresso, pastries and breakfast and lunch. There are three near Truckee:

• Downtown Truckee: 10120 Jibboom St; (530) 587-2000; Monday to Friday 6 am–6 pm, weekends 7 am–6 pm
• Truckee Bakery: 12047 Donner Pass Rd, on the west side toward Donner Lake; (530) 587-7707; daily 6 am–5 pm
• Northstar: 3001 Northstar Dr; daily 7 am–2 pm

Hours are from coffeebar.com. The Northstar café is the one to stop at on the way to the lifts from Kings Beach.

Bar of America and Cottonwood also do weekend brunch, and Stella serves breakfast every day; see their entries above.

After skiing: Northstar Village and Tahoe Donner

Northstar Village

Northstar sits on Highway 267 between Truckee and Kings Beach, so it is on the way home for most of our guests. Its Village dining page lists these as open year round:

• Rubicon Pizza, by the skating rink, with pizza, pasta and room for big groups
• Biggest Little Steakhouse, for steak and comfort food
• Petra, for Mediterranean food and wine
• Inclined Burger, for fast-casual burgers and local beer
• Euro Snack, for sandwiches, sweets and gelato
• VOUS and Coffeebar, for coffee
• Copper Lane Provisions, a small general store

In winter Northstar adds Wild Pine Kitchen & Bar over the rink, Zephyr Lodge (Asian fusion, on the mountain), Summit Smokehouse (barbecue at 8,610 feet), The Lodge at Big Springs and several bars. Those open only with the ski season, and Northstar doesn't post individual hours on that page, so check its hours page before you go. In the shoulder season (October and November) expect shorter hours in the Village.

The Lodge at Tahoe Donner

On the north side of Truckee, the Lodge Restaurant & Pub at Tahoe Donner is open to the public, with dinner Wednesday to Sunday as of late September 2026. It is the après stop if you ski or cross-country ski at Tahoe Donner. We cover it in detail in our Lodge at Tahoe Donner guide.

Taste of Truckee: October 2026

October is a good month to eat in Truckee. Taste of Truckee runs from October 1 to 31, 2026, organized by Visit Truckee Tahoe and the Truckee Chamber, according to the Sierra Sun. Participating restaurants offer a fixed-price three-course menu, a signature value item, or a drink paired with a dish. A digital passport lets you check in for weekly $100 gift card drawings. Organizers were aiming for about 30 restaurants. The list is at visittruckeetahoe.com/taste-of-truckee, and the Chamber's number is (530) 587-2757.

Getting to Truckee from our homes

Highway 267 runs 12.69 miles from Kings Beach over Brockway Summit and past Northstar into Truckee. Plan on:

• From Kings Beach or Tahoe Vista: about 20 to 25 minutes to downtown, a little less to Brockway Road, the Pioneer Center or Northstar.
• From Carnelian Bay: about 25 minutes via Kings Beach and 267.
• From Incline Village: about half an hour or a bit more, through Crystal Bay to Kings Beach and up 267.
• From Tahoe City: Highway 89 follows the Truckee River north to town. Allow about half an hour.

In a snowstorm, 267 can get chain controls and the drive can double. Check Caltrans QuickMap before you leave; our guide to driving up from the Bay Area explains chain controls. If anyone in your group is drinking, choose one driver before dinner. It is a mountain road at night.

Practical tips

• Book the weekend dinner. Tangerine, Pianeta, Bar of America and Cottonwood fill on Friday and Saturday nights, and on every night during holidays. If you get shut out, Pianeta and Tangerine keep bar seats for walk-ins.
• Park once downtown. Pianeta, Truckee Tavern, Bar of America, Squeeze In, Moody's, Coffeebar and the Old Lumberyard are all a short walk from each other. Jax is just across the tracks.
• Shoulder season means short weeks. October and November are when Truckee restaurants cut days and close for staff vacations. Call ahead, especially early in the week.
• Eat on the way in. If you are driving up I-80 and staying on the North Shore, Truckee is your last town before the lake. A late lunch at Jax or Rakkan, or dinner downtown, saves a hungry arrival.
• Cook some nights. A 25-minute drive each way adds up. Buy fish at Buoy & Trap or pick up pizza at DOPO and eat at the house.

Where to stay for Truckee and Northstar

Our nearest homes are at the bottom of Highway 267. In Kings Beach, Lakeside Luxe Retreat is our only lakefront home and Hastings Hideaway Cabin sleeps 6. In Tahoe Vista, Sierra Woodlands Getaway sleeps 10 and Grand Regency Retreat sleeps 8. All are an easy drive to Northstar's lifts and Truckee's restaurants. None of our homes are ski-in/ski-out, and none take pets. See our ski cabin rentals, rentals for large groups, or all MG homes.

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 Truckee's restaurants

For the rest of the day, see our guides to Truckee River rafting, Tahoe National Forest, Martis Camp and The Lodge at Tahoe Donner. If you are visiting in winter, read Lake Tahoe in winter, and for the lake towns themselves, start with North Lake Tahoe.