Phil C.
Yelp
Highlights:
* The finest restaurant in Lake Tahoe, by far
* A Michelin quality experience
* World Class technique, presentation and taste
* A Wow with every bite
* $125 to $225+++ per person prix fixe menu and you need to pay in
advance just like French Laundry, Per Se, Alinea and other top
establishments
* You can only get the larger menu by paying in advance but some same day
reservations might be available for the smaller menu without prepaying
We're serious foodies, we travel more for food than anything else. We travelled to Tahoe to try a little skiing after a culinary and wine visit to Napa and San Francisco and tried to find out what's great in the dining scene here. Bottom line, the culinary scene is lacking in Tahoe, with a few exceptions and Trokay is the exception. Our visit was on January 2.
I did not know the pedigree of the owners before dining here, I just read it now and it makes sense. While dining I tried to figure out how did this place which serves world class food wind up in Truckee, which with no disrespect is not Aspen, Vail, Park City or New York. Well, the owners are from New York City, relocating here in 2011. And they're not just ordinary New Yorkers, John is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, the Harvard of Culinary Schools, who went on to work for Daniel Boulud at Daniel, David Bouley and more. His wife Nyna is a cheese expert and culinary creator in her own rite, and their talent shows.
There are two prix fixe menus, we had the smaller one $125 at the time, seems to be $115 on the website today. There is another for $225 per person, plus 20% service charges, tax, beverages, etc. If you are a foodie, it's worth it. The wine list had about 100+ bottles plus dessert wines with about eight choices by the glass. It's a global eclectic list. Wine bottle markups average about three times retail, a little pricy. I don't mind paying anything for great food, it's hard work, artistry, spoilage, etc., the meal here is well worth it. But to pop a cork for three times retail, maybe 3-4 times wholesale, that's a little unfair imho, my only complaint.
Onto the food. There was not one disappointment. We started with fresh baked breads and amazing chili crunch and preserves to spread on them. Then on to an outstanding cauliflower bisque, a salad of radicchio di Treviso with ricotta and kumquat, followed by delicious lobster lettuce wraps, a duo of Tasmanian ocean trout, Bryan and Katie Flannery's 28 day dry aged NY strip with juniper smoked Hollandaise, cabbage and Bordeliase, wild Alaskan halibut, coconut panna cotta with pomegranate and cardamom. If that sounds good to you, its all even better than it sounds.
Servers were professional and knowledgable. The atmosphere is rustic chic casual. If you're on a budget, maybe this is not for you. If you're a serious foodie and have the money to spend, you have to come here.