The Idle Hour

It was more like an idle 90 minutes for us, which was fabulous.We were in South Lake Tahoe, looking for a lunch that wasn't absurdly expensive. The menu for this place showed delicious options that were cheaper than the casino places up the road, so we stopped in. The front is modest, but the huge picture windows that looked over the lake were gorgeous. We asked for a able near them, with no problem.We ordered brie grilled cheese, cauliflower dip, and seared tuna. I also had an excellent Bella Grace "cracked egg" viognier and then a Legado del Conde Albarino. All of the food was amazing. It was dinner quality (and quantity). The tuna rested on a bed of grains, and had half a sliced avocado on top, adorned with pickled onions that didn't taste strong at all. What wouldn't taste great with this view?

Simply put, yes!We were there on a Sunday evening as a work group celebrating one of our coworkers who is moving on in her career. It was a stormy night and we had a window seat around sunset and you've got to like that as the view of Lake Tahoe was phenomenal. The food that we ordered was very good. We enjoyed the Burrata cheese sandwich, The salmon poke, the wedge salad, the seared tuna, and their version of a pizza.How about the wine? As you would suspect, there was a wine for everybody. I enjoyed the old world, red wine flight, and selected one of the wines to have a glass of after I had finished the tasting. Others in the group had a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay that made them happy.The menu featured a significant number of wines from the nearby wine country, although they only had one Zinfandel. Zin is my go to glass of wine, and so having more choices would've been a good thing for me.One person in our party had the dark chocolate truffle dessert. She did not offer to let me taste it and so I have no idea whether it was good or not. It looked good, had some salt on the top, but I cannot verify the quality and taste of the product . I'm mentioning it here so you know it exists.I will be going back, but I wish they offered reservations to smaller groups. I learned that it's a first come first serve seating situation and that we got lucky to get such a nice table. Enjoy!

I had a disappointing experience at Idle Hour Wine Bar. We spent $25 on an Uber to get there, only to be ignored for ten minutes before anyone even acknowledged us. When someone finally did, we were told to wait another five minutes before being seated. Once at our table, the waitress assured us she'd bring waters, but after another fifteen minutes passed, she was nowhere to be found--despite seeing her actively assisting other tables, including delivering a bottle of wine.At that point, I had to get up and request a carafe of water myself. The waitress with the upper lip piercing responded with a dismissive "give me another second" and handed me the carafe--without any glasses. Frustrated, I took it back to the table, chugged some water, and we decided to leave. On our way out, the waitress seemed irritated with us for being frustrated about the wait, citing that they were short-staffed. VERY RUDE!!! Acting as if it was our fault. I was able to turn away two parties walking up by letting them know I couldn't get water after 30 minutes. To make matters worse, we then had to wait another ten minutes outside for an Uber to take us back, adding another $15 to the cost of an experience that wasn't worth a dime. While I understand staffing challenges, basic hospitality was lacking. A simple solution--such as seating guests at the long table in front and offering a glass of wine while they wait--would have greatly improved the experience. Unfortunately, problem-solving and customer service don't seem to be priorities here. I won't be returning.

Randomly decided that we had to enjoy a lake view dinner before we left Tahoe, and stumbled upon Idle... what a great find! We got there right before the sunset rush and got seats on their patio with a gorgeous view of the lake. We enjoyed a flatbread and bruschetta with were both DELICIOUS! they have a great selection of wine, and wine or champagne flights. Great date spot or a place to gather some friends for wine tasting. Thank you again Idle! We will definitely be back

We had an amazing date day drinking/wine tasting. Having lived in the area for 5 years we weren't aware that this place even existed. Service was friendly and attentive. Food was amazing - large selection of snacks and actual food. The views were amazing - truly water side. In the spring we will definitely return to sit outside.

Idle hour is what it felt like when I first stepped in. It seemed like we were ignored as others were being served first even though they sat after us... it didn't help that I was hungry already... and that's the only reason I will be dinging this down a star...Other than that, this place was great... at first I've always thought it was that tiny shed up in front, but to my surprise, it was a HUGER than I expected... Prices and choices for the flights seemed reasonable... whether you wanted a red, or white, or mixed, or sparkles... they had something for you... food came out not bad, and I definitely got full...But I think the selling point is the view... sitting upstairs at sunset, you just have the lake in front of you... I later realized there was a downstairs also... this would seem like a perfect small event space...I'm definitely coming back..hopefully better served or attended better.. and I can update this then

What a hidden treasure! We are always looking for a spot with marvelous views---and this is the place. The service was exceptional. The wine prices are ok, you are drinking on prime Tahoe real estate...and the fondue that we ordered was good. I will be back for the views and service.

I come to this place as a local all the time. I enjoy it with my friends and it's always a place I take friends visiting Tahoe. I will come at any time during the day but sunset are awesome. Even in the winter you can sit outside with blankets. I normally get the grand reserve flight so I can try all the options. It helps with price bc sometimes bottles are a little expensive. But you get what you pay for. Fun indoor seating and great views. The food is awesome too. I love the cheese boards, the sandwiches and salads! Never really had anything there I didn't like. The service is always great. The girls there are kind, informative and helpful. It's also dog friendly and has a large lower level for food and indoor spaces for weddings and parties!

Lets talk about how amazing the view is from this place. Love the view, love that they have 2 happy hour times. LOVE their staff, so far Kelly and Paul were amazing to us and to our corgo. Last but not less important, how pet friendly they are -- CHEFFS KISS! One of our top favorite places at Lake Tahoe. Will definitely come back.

The best service in all of Lake Tahoe. The food was spectacular and the servers recommendations were on point! If you're lucky enough to be served by Amy, then your experience is bound to be better. Lastly, when it comes to Ambience, it's pretty difficult to beat the sound of waves coming off the lake woth a beautiful sunset.I couldn't recommend any other place over the Idle Hour when visiting.Thank you again for an amazing experience!