Freshies Ohana Restaurant & Bar

The location and setting aren’t much, but the food and service have consistently MORE than made up for the (lack of) ambiance! It has been two years since our last visit, and they continue to create wonderful dishes. Plus, they have Pliny on tap!

Loved everything about this place. Felt welcomed from the moment we walked in even though it was nearing closing time. Service was great, and they were great about offering accommodations for dietary needs. Plenty of vegetarian options and very wholesome vibe. Food was fantastic- perfect to warm you up after a day out on the lake.

Recommended by local artist Owen White @roodpart. Food was excellent, and the music was a good retro sound reminiscent of island life. Service was a bit slow during a not too crowded Friday night. We dove on the Buffalo Cauliflower appetizer, then Freshie's Island Plate, Spicy Jerk Chicken, Fish Tacos with a side Caesar Salad, and the famous Peanut Butter and Chocolate Mousse silky tofu pie resting on a Medjool date and pecan crust. Sorry, the Buffalo Cauliflower appetizer photo is after we had already started eating it.

We ordered ribs dinner and jerk chicken burger. The ribs are 10/10 and jerk chicken is 6/10 because it’s a little over cook and dry. The server is friendly. Good spot for Hawaiian food

Great vibes and great for celiac! Majority of their menu is gluten free and they have a gluten free fryer. We had the Croquettes, Calamari Steak, Ahi Taco plate and fish and chips - all were incredible! Don’t skip the coconut limeade!

SCAM!! Do not order from this place especially with door dash! We have ordered and dined out with 100’s of restaurants, FRESHIES RESTAURANT & BAR HAS BEEN THE WORST FOOD EVER!!!! $48.68 is a robbery for this!,( see pics) It seems like False Advertising and marketing scheme they have going!! In the decades we have traveled not only the USA, but other countries, we have never experienced such a scam regarding the super expensive food. The photos do not represent the actual food delivered. Do your family a great service and save your self from being scammed. The TINY remnant of food that was delivered, didn’t even taste good. HORRIBLE IS NOT STRONG ENOUGH!!! RUN RUN RUN RUN FROM THIS PLACE!!! Please spread the word!!! Never go here…….

This place is pretty okay. Not the best thing I’ve had nor the worse. The fries we got (tri fries) were a bit over cooked and a bit too crunchy but well seasoned none the less. The fish tacos were good and probably the best thing we ate from here. The coconut shrimp was good as well and I liked them well. Also the food did take quite a bit of time to come out so that sucked a bit (about 3 water refills before we received the food) I will be honest however and this place was recommended to us and hyped up quite a bit so it was a let down from that. This place is good, nothing crazy nor anything uncrazy. The lady that helped us was super sweet however I don’t know if I would come here again if I was in the area because the price is a bit much for what I’d consider worth it.

I had an excellent experience at Freshies. The fish tacos were outstanding—fresh, flavorful, and perfectly prepared. The staff was not only friendly but also very attentive, making sure all my needs were met. The restaurant itself was spotless, with a welcoming atmosphere, good music, and an overall great vibe. If you’re in the South Lake Tahoe area, this is a must-visit spot to grab a meal. Highly recommend!

First, the view of Lake Tahoe from rooftop is amazing! Jerk halibut and a chicken breast were so delicious with just enough portion and balance of protein, carbs, and veggies. It was hard to choose because the menu has so many tasty things. Service was quick and friendly. We will be back.

Freshies absolutely knocked it out of the park. Every bite was vibrant, flavorful, and clearly made with care. As a vegan, it's rare to find a spot with so many creative and genuinely tasty plant-based options--but Freshies delivered and then some. The vegan tacos were out of this world--bursting with flavor and perfectly seasoned. And the vegan fish and chips? Mind-blowing. Crispy, satisfying, and so convincing we had to double-check it was actually vegan! My wife and I shared both dishes and couldn't stop raving the entire meal. The ingredients were fresh, the vibe was warm and laid-back, and everything felt made with intention. This place is an absolute gem for vegans and non-vegans alike. Can't wait to come back.

We came here for dinner. The restaurant is on the second floor, and there is limited tables, so come here a little early. The food was excellent and tasty. I ordered a cup of coffee, and it was steaming hot! Too hot and no cup sleeve, so I had to use napkins to hold the cup. They filled the coffee to the top, meaning no room for cream or milk...wished they put a little less. Overall, great place for dinner.

We love coming for tacos and the crunch salad! Can't beat the deck at sunset. Super friendly service.

Awesome made fresh food. Blacken chicken Tacos, BBQ Chicken tenders (not on the menu!!) awesome! Fridnedly and tentative services!

Spotted this place while at a restaurant across the street I was hungry and didn't want anything there so I walked over they had a much better selection of dishes. They have vegan, vegetarian, seafood and lots of salads. It was actually hard to choose because everything sounded good. I ordered fish and chips it had an Asian slaw that was very good the fish was in small nugget shapes that were good as was the tater sauce the fries were just ok. All the staff were very nice and all checked on me while I waited. The prices are more than reasonable 16 dollars for the order of fish and chips. It is a small place upstairs, no elevator. Tha aloha spirit is alive and well here.

Came here on Valentines as they did a cross promotion with Tahoe Rising Yoga Studio. I was recommended the Tempeh Tacos and tried the Blackened style upon our server's suggestion. The flavors were great (had a little kick!) and everything was fresh and well prepared. There wasn't a ton on the menu I'd want to try, but definitely a good spot for vegan and omnivore options alike!

Service was fine, food was just ok. I went because my partner is vegetarian and we liked all the options offered in their menu so thats a plus.

Just had supper at Freshies Ohana. It is located in an arcade which houses several other restaurants and businesses. The food is delicious. We had the Mana Meal and the Sweet Potato Cake meal. Both were delicious. They chef was very creative with ingredients to make these mains. The Sweet Potato cakes come with a Mango-Vinagrette sauce which is delicious. The place was quite crowded on a WednesdY in Ocotber when we arrived. But there is plenty of seating. The service was quick. The staff friendly and polite. We ordered the peanut butter chocolate mousse pie for dessert. What a way to top off a wonderful meal.

Always good food. Great deck on top brings the ambiance. Worth the wait since it can be long. The service was average but good.

What happened!?! This spot has gone downhill. Crunch salad is more like crap salad. They added Pho to the menu? Why? It's not even Hawaiian and was nothing close to Pho. Dark soup and so ill-prepared. The worst dish was their tempura - the batter was more like fish batter. Heavy, dark, and overly fried. No longer fresh; no longer authentic - and overly priced.

Went feeling iffy about trying this place based on the reviews. But we were very satisfied with the food! We were the only people in there, at least what we could see but our server was nice. We ordered the Freeshies platter (vegan) with blackened tofu, sesame slaw, and black beans. And my partner got the vegan tacos. He did order the blackened tempeh, however they came out buffalo style. Honestly it was a great surprise tho and tasted great. We also got the mango habanero tempeh wings and they were delicious. Very happy that most of their food is gluten free and can be made vegan!

EXCELLENT VEGAN OPTIONS!!!!! Thank you! Seating on the top deck gives a great view of the lake and great for sunsets. The service was fast and friendly. Bummer they were out of the vegan dessert but we were already so full from the food. I got the vegan curry with tofu. Holy moly was it ever good. Huge portion - I could not eat it all. My husband got the bbq tofu with rice and veggies. So good! And the Buffalo cauliflower app was one of the best I have ever had. The manager circled around a bit checking in tables and making sure everyone was happy. Nice to see that in restaurants. Thank you for having great vegan food in Tahoe!

WOW! Best vegan food in Tahoe. My partner and I spotted by on our way out of Tahoe and I'm so glad we did. The service was great, the prices were good, and the food was excellent. We definitely come by again and recommend to other vegan & nonvegan friends.

If I were just reviewing the Tofu & Chips, this would be 5 star. This is actually a 3.5 star review because of my husband's order. He had the regular fish and chips - he said he wouldn't come back unless I wanted to because it wasn't standout? He said it was meh. But the Tofu & Chips was SO YUMMY. The texture of the tofu and the crunch was perfection. The sauce was delicious as was the slaw. I finished my plate, which I don't normally do. I could not stop eating because it really hit the spot. We were in the middle of a shift change which usually drops the service down but ours actually improved with the new waitress. If you're looking for good vegan options, definitely listen to the reviews and try Freshies.

A local recommended this restaurant since we were on the hunt for vegan options for my partner. Restaurant is diner like. They had a cool collection of salt and pepper shakers on each table. Lighting is pretty dim inside. Waitress was friendly and quick with service.

Incredible food, staff, and atmosphere! We had a remarkable dinner with the added bonus of sunset on rooftop. Thank you!

Love the setting and service. I had the fish tacos and they were the best I have had! Really a high recommendation and can't wait to come back!

What in the world happened ... But Freshies doesn't exist anymore. The new owners are so bad it's not even recognizable. I came the other day for the last time. It just keeps getting worse and worse. I don't even understand how something that was once so good can be so bad. I will never return to this once beloved restaurant unless the owners contact me and tell me how they're going to make a concerted effort to be as good as it used to be. This crap might work with tourist... But the people who have been coming here for decades know that the quality from back in the day is gone. Ask any local... I know there aren't many left... but ask anybody who knows and they will tell you this place has gone entirely downhill. If you're looking for some worthless slop with zero care or quality... This is your place.

After driving past Freshies and seeing how busy this place is in the evening, we had to check this out for a late lunch and especially a salad. Arrival was easy and the wait was just a few minutes before we were called to go upstairs. Our wait person checked on us a couple of times as it took awhile to decide what we wanted. The menu options all read great. We landed on the coconut shrimp as the appetizer, a small kombucha, half crunchy salad with fish and the stir fry with tofu, tempeh and added chicken. I'm not impressed unfortunately. The salad is very small and the fish didn't taste as if it had any seasoning. However, the fish is fresh. My daughter's salad wasn't as expected either. The stir fry veggies were all chopped up and not that tasty. I guess we failed to go with the best option which is fish and chips. The kombucha was light and refreshing for $5.95 and the coconut shrimp was okay. No coconut that I could tell on the shrimp. More coconut in the sauce. So to top off my experience, the bill came with a 3.25% service charge. I asked the wait person what that was and they said it was for using a credit card. After my original post, management pointed out that this fee is posted and is in my picture of the specials. It would be nice if the waitress pointed this out when I handed over my card. Because we had to leave, I didn't ask to have the bill re-run for cash. This is sneaky IMO. I'm glad to have tried this place as the view of the lake is nice albeit obstructed.

Excellent food and excellent service, highly recommended. Come and enjoy the view from the deck.

Lots of vegan options. Delicious food. I always get the Jamaican jerk with tofu. Generous portions.

We came here a couple years ago because we received a gift certificate and now we've been back several times. I always get the taco platter. It comes with 2 tacos with protein of choice prepared how you want..grilled. blackened, etc, chips,salsa, beans, rice and like an asian slaw. The tacos have never disappointed and I love the chipotle sauce on them. Yum! My husband also gets the seafood crab sandwich sometimes that he likes too. We always come in the Summer and sit on the upstairs patio. Don't forget to get the Big Kahuna pie. So good! In the past we've had some issues with service being slow. The last two times the service has been great (one of those was on 4th of July weekend too!)

I love Freshies. Eating upstairs with a view of the lake is beautiful. There sesame chicken salad it's excellent as well as the potato croquettes. Staff is always cheery , professional and friendly. I highly recommend.

Where do I begin... this place is Phenomenal!!! Best tacos in South Lake. The family that runs it are incredibly professional, incredibly hospitable and made the whole experience from ordering to checking on me great! First time in the son of the owner expressed that if I liked tacos, I had to try one here, so I did, and ended up trying half the taco list after haha next time I came in, Owner even came out and talked to me and asked how everything was, I don't know about you, but as a customer and business owner myself, I couldn't be more happy with the service AND the food! Wait till you try this place! I'll be here often now!

Very yum! A Hawaiian cuisine place enter through the little mall across from the pirate store. I had a delicious coconut limeade. Lunch was the organic BBQ chicken sandwich, Hawaiian Style with coleslaw on the sandwich and a side of fries. Request lots of napkins for any BBQ. Service was attentive and friendly. Will return.

Great service Laid back Low key dining Old small building Bathroom situation is a lil strange It's down the hall around corner and key is required Lots of vegan options ! Staff is hilarious! You can see how happy they are . Food was wonderful ! Food was prepared pretty quickly we had a huge order and they started bringing food after about 20 min or so

After 25 years it's time to say aloha to Freshies. But like the goodbye kind. And with a middle finger instead of a wave. Freshies goodbye present to me was a violent... and I mean VIOLENT... case of food poisoning. I got to experience about 10 hours of every large orifice evacuating every last piece of Freshies ribs and salad... and then refusing to stop even when there was no more. My body literally levitating with every convulsion. The smell... I'll never be able to forget the smell. All this after ridiculous prices for the poor quality of the food... on the way in the ribs were tough like shoe leather... $1-$2 up charges for the "good" sides like tri-fries... all an obvious signal that they are not doing well financially. And so they sacrificed the food prep... likely E-coli on the salad although perhaps bacteria laden ribs. Freshies has achieved janky status, and never shall I return. I suggest you do not even try.

Just ok! Went here the other night for dinner and was a bit underwhelmed. I got one mushroom taco and one rock cod taco. There was way too much tar tar sauce and the rock cod taco smelled wayyyyy too fishy. The mushroom taco was cooked nicely and I enjoyed the tortillas, but everything else was pretty mediocre for the price. The service was okay! One girl at the front was very nice and the other one couldn't remember our order and had to ask 5 times for it. I probably wouldn't go back the next time in Tahoe! Good views of the lake though!

Inviting little spot, friendly staff, good food. We had a noodle bowl, which was very good, and three tacos: halibut, shrimp & chicken. The tacos came with cheese some sort of saucy coleslaw concoction that I did not like because I'm not in to heavy sauce. The fish in the tacos was really tasty though, so I picked it out. We also each had a Pliney, so we were full, warm, and feeling no pain when we left.

Great food and really nice view!!! I had the rock fish tacos and the view was amazing! Bring a jacket and make an appointment for the corner table at sunset!

Great friendly service and super fresh fish tacos, with a view of the lake from the terrace! A local treat.

Service was okay, food was good, and the view was awesome. They need to update their umbrellas and the servers need to brush up on their service. You know, checking in on waiting guests every once in a while and dialing back the snark.

The ambience was great, the service could be a tad bit better and attentive, the food was all right, considering it was almost fast food-ish. The cost for the quantity is a tad bit overpriced.

You come here for the view. Period. The food is edible and very expensive for what you get. Get an appetizer and a drink then go somewhere else for dinner. You've been warned.

Such an amazing find! Our daughter is gluten free with celiac disease. She has never been able to experience fish and chips and tempura because no where that we have found has gluten free batter. Until now!! And it tasted better than regular!! Highly recommend!!

Amazing spot for anyone looking for gluten free options in South Lake Tahoe! So many options to choose from! During a four day trip we ate here twice. The coconut prawns are great, sauce is delicious!! Had the island plate with blackened halibut, fries, and black beans...phenomenal. Others in the party had shrimp tacos with the slaw and loved it all. Second trip I had the ribs (1 lb) based on someone's recommendation. They fall off the bone and the Hawaiian sauce is deliciously sweet! Most of the desserts are not gluten free, however, we ordered both the GF flourless dark chocolate brownie cake AND the GF peanut butter and chocolate mousse pie. They are BOTH worth eating here by themselves!!! Just a great spot. Friendly staff, delicious food.

Delicious, fresh food. Great view on deck. Many young waiters, attentive. The ambiance inside is also pretty groovy

The food is amazing....staff is friendly and helpful...definitely will return !! Next time I will try their Shrimp tacos!!!

My boyfriend and I had dinner here last night and unfortunately it was a terrible experience. We got seated and it took 10 minutes for a server to come over and give us water. After that we ordered, and when our food came, we still had no silverware. We asked twice for utensils when the servers came by, and by the third time I finally went to the counter to get them. By the time we got them, our food was cold. I ordered tomato soup that never came, and after asking twice about it, the server told me she forgot they ran out. The service was horrible and the food is mediocre. I would not go back.

My husband and I came here today for lunch. We each ordered 2 shrimp tacos. Our server gave us each two fish tacos. I hate returning food, but we told her we ordered shrimp tacos, not fish, so she took them back and brought us each back one fish one shrimp. She later asked how our food was, and we told her they gave us fish again, she said "I thought you said fish". (Without apologies or trying to give us what we ordered..)Which was confusing cuz why would we return fish tacos if we ordered that. I only ate the shrimp taco, didn't want the fish, but my husband ate the fish tacos cuz he didn't want them to go to waste. When the bill came she charged us for the full amount, I told her she should've taken the fish off since we never ordered fish, she said"well, you ate it." Then we just stared at each other until she finally gave in and took it off... she then redid the bill, slammed it down in front of us and walked away. So disappointing cuz we used to love eating here. It was way better before the new owners bought the place. Doubt we'll be back ever again.

Fish tacos!! Whenever in south lake Tahoe, Freshies is a must. Always for fish tacos Buffalo style. I've tried some other items over the years but for me it's all about the fish tacos. Service can sometimes be slow when they're crowded but you can call ahead for pick up. Still haven't found a place with tacos as good. Next Tahoe trip, you know where I'll be.

Freshies Ohana is located in a small strip mall area above & next to Aloha Ice Cream in SLT. This tiny strip mall houses different businesses that share restroom facilities and you must get a key. Weird but ok. You sign yourself in to this family owned restaurant at the host stand that is unmanned & they call you when a table is ready. You can wait in the parking lot or the cute waiting area they have tucked past the host stand. They serve upstairs on the deck patio or inside. We choose upstairs. The stairs are a trek so this isn't good for the elderly, disabled or the baby stroller crowd. Once you are seated there are so many food options to peruse. The thing about Freshies Ohana is that people love it or hate it. They have a good experience or bad and strangely this can happen at the exact same time. We had a good experience but we're seated next to those that had a terrible one. We were seated on the upper deck patio. Luckily 3 of us were in the shade and one who likes sun was in the full sunshine because had we been seated in the sun with their no change rule it would have been misery! The staff did not come around for quite awhile but we enjoyed the view and the company. A young woman took our order. We ordered our food and drinks. The drinks were slow to come out (and were never refilled). The food was divine! I got the Crunch Salad which I heard is a local fav and it was delicious. I also tried their Mac salad. It too was tasty. It was the perfect lunch, filling but not too heavy. The wait staff serve the tables but not in the traditional one server to one table kind of way. All of them bring items to you or answer a question but no one serves you on their own so things get missed. No refills, no one notices if you are unhappy, things get brought inaccurately, the bill takes awhile to arrive, the young people hang out chatting in the service area so you can't find one to help. Add to that the " no changing tables " rule and it can be a recipe for disaster. Such was the experience of the table next to us. They came in hungry and three of four were sat in the sun. Soon three were huddled in the shade fuming and another sweating in the sun. They waited a long time, drinks were not refilled, they asked to move & it was declined, the food had some error etc. The customer went to the service area asked for the water pitcher & served his family and returned it. He was mad but the young people serving didn't notice. No one really was assigned to them so they left angry. Back to us. We had a nice lunch. We got served adequately by all the servers at different times. There were long waits but we were in no hurry. We got lucky on a table and didn't need to move. There was a surcharge for credit but we read the sign at the sign in table so we were aware. No refills but we weren't too thirsty. You can't linger past 90 minutes so luckily we had places to be within an hour so no problem. So two tables had two different experiences at the same time. That is why other reviews are so either high or low. The restaurant has a good location and an ever changing tourist crowd so they likely don't have to worry about bad reviews or filling tables. That said they could be a little more attentive and buy a few more umbrellas for the patio. But their food is good and the view of part of the beautiful lake makes this place. Overall it is a solid spot for lunch or dinner if you are in no hurry and can roll with what comes

Had a great lunch here and it was FRESH! They also had just cleaned their fryer. You could tell! So yummy. Great service. Highly recommend buffalo cauliflower.

Summer 2023 review: HH as advertised was not actually happening. false advertising conveniently left posted. This was the reason we came in at this specific time. It was not honored. A common courtesy and professional customer & industry expectation is to keep your website up-to-date. They put packaged shredded cheese on tacos. Cheese on tacos? Not authentic nor a good move, regardless. Plus, there was mayonnaise in the tacos. WT? Also, the two people that ordered the Ahi tacos both had extended evening visits in the hotel restroom. They said the meat was fatty and chewy likely the rejects of the full fish. A few of us heard the staff giggling & talking about us at the workstation on the top of the roof as we'd walk down the stairs to go to the restrooms. It was pretty shocking as they were being very playful and such to our faces but then turning around to roll their eyes and mock us. Basically, we were asking simple questions about the menu and asking for water, but I guess that was stretching the threshold of their limits ! We still gave them a huge tip because that's how we roll. But as frequent local (ish) visitors to the area, we will skip this place, because of this treatment & lacking guest experience. Plus guest experience is volumes better at the multitude of other spots in the area. 1star for view from roof.

Amazing food and service, beautiful view Every dish was perfect and will most definitely be returning!

Fish sandwich was great, but everything else was ok. We had lots of ants and spiders climbing around. Staff was not friendly - NO Hawaii Ohana vibe from anyone. We have heard wonderful things about this place but our experience unfortunately does not have us considering a visit back at this time.

Another amazing gluten free spot!!! Usually menu items are marked gluten free but here menu items are marked which have gluten. Almost everything is gluten free. My husband and I usually get the same things when we go. Fried calamari, potatoes balls or "croquettes", coconut shrimp and fried fish tacos. Basically everything fried because I can't usually eat fried food at restaurants because it's not a gluten free fryer. We definitely indulge here. It is a little pricey but it's worth it in my opinion.

A local recommended this spot to us for Friday night dinner. We were in Tahoe for the weekend so we were open to trying anything and am glad that we did! I ordered the cauliflower and crunch salad with jerk chicken and tried their peanut butter chocolate pie for dessert. Everything that I ate and tried from my friends was delicious. I was a huge fan of their food that we stopped by on Sunday right before leaving Tahoe to order the crunch salad and cauliflower. The cauliflower was perfect because it was nicely cooked and had crunchy parts due to the batter. They also put the perfect amount of wing sauce. Will definitely go back!