The Getaway Cafe: An Excellent Breakfast Option Near South Lake Tahoe
Disclaimer: I am not a professional restaurant critic and I paid for my meal out of pocket. This restaurant hasn’t offered me any incentive to write this post. My opinions are my own and are based on my personal experience only.
Located about 18 minutes (drive) from the Heavenly Village area of South Lake Tahoe, in the tiny community of Meyers, sits the charming Getaway Cafe. Getaway Cafe offers an array of breakfast and lunch classics, always made fresh to order.
Restauranteur Diane Guth states on the website that she’s “always dreamed of owning a restaurant where my friends and family would feel at home and where strangers would soon become friends”. Based on my experience, she surely made that dream a reality.
I love dining at Getaway Cafe. Each time I go I’m treated to delicious food, along with fantastic and attentive service. Sure, it’s a bit out of the way from South Lake proper, but it’s worth the small effort to get there. Let’s get into it!
Getaway Cafe Location
Despite popular belief, Getaway Cafe isn’t located in South Lake Tahoe proper. It’s located nearby in the tiny El Dorado County community of Meyers. Despite this, it’s an easy, relatively quick drive from South Lake. Below is its distance from more popular areas of Lake Tahoe proper:
Heavenly Village: 9 miles
Stateline: 10 miles
Emerald Bay: 11 miles
Tahoe East Shore: 32 miles
North Lake area: 32 miles*
You may be inclined to skip it due to its distance from the lake but I implore you to reconsider. There’s only one or two turns, as it’s mostly a straight shot (depending where you’re driving from).
Parking is usually easy to come by in the large dirt/gravel lot out front. It does get busier throughout the day, so be prepared to have to park elsewhere nearby and walk over (this isn’t a common occurrence, though).
Seating is both indoor and outdoor (mostly covered). The inside is small, so I recommend opting for a seat outside if given the choice. There, you’ll be dining under shade provided from a combination of umbrellas and towering pines.
The Getaway Cafe Menu Items I Tried
Getaway Cafe’s menu consists of common American and Mexican fare, some with a creative twist and at affordable/fair prices. The “Best of the Best” section of their menu lists many of the house favorites.
A few of these include Maple Bacon Glazed French Toast (amazing, by the way), Chorizo Quesadilla, Deluxe Eggs Benedict, and Banana Nut Pancakes dishes. For lunch, you’ll find an array of burgers, wraps, and salad offerings.
On our most recent visit, my wife and I ordered from the regular menu. Additionally, we split a plate of their current special, which was a lemon-blueberry french toast dish. Yes, it was as delicious as it sounds and looks.
It was a serving of their signature french toast bread topped with lemon slices, blueberry compote, a lemon-blueberry meringue (for transparency, I’m not 100% sure that it’s a meringue), and finished with a dusting of powdered sugar.
It was possibly the most delicious french toast I’ve ever had. The lemon and blueberry flavors were balanced perfectly, and the nutty richness from the sourdough toast was a nice contrast to the sweetness of the blueberry.
From the regular menu, my wife ordered the classic eggs benedict dish and I selected an egg omelet with pepper-jack cheese. Both dishes came with a side of hashbrowns (there are other options) and mine came with slices of sourdough.
While simple in terms of presentation, the hashbrowns here are my favorite of any restaurant. There isn’t anything inherently special about them, but the chefs at Getaway always seem to get the exterior perfectly crisp, which is where others often fail.
The eggs benedict was rich, creamy, and had a nice balance of soft texture and savory flavor. My omelet was…an omelet. I ordered it mainly for the protein as the real star of the meal was that decadent french toast.
All told, The Getaway Cafe is an excellent option for breakfast or lunch while in South Lake Tahoe. Sure, there are a few other, much closer options, such as Red Hut Cafe and Driftwood Cafe, that are also great.
However, Getaway Cafe is the clear stand-out for my wife and I. The owner and staff, with their friendliness and attentive service, is what sets it apart from the others. I highly recommend paying them a visit.
If you’re planning to visit Lake Tahoe, I have blog post guides about many of the most popular destinations. Be sure to read about Emerald Bay, the Tahoe East Shore Trail, and Glen Alpine Falls.
If you’re wanting to spend a day at the beach, read about Sand Harbor’s reservation requirements here, or consider spending the day at Round Hill Pines Beach Resort. You can’t go wrong with either one.
LUKE 4:10
