Sierra Gourmet Grill & Wine Bar

We live here in town and have driven by this place often… we thought it odd because there were never any cars in front of the restaurant, no people going in or out. One day we decided to try it and stopped in for dinner. There was one guy sitting over by the piano, who was clearly an employee… he ignored us and kept reading his newspaper. There wasn’t another soul in the place. While we waited for someone else to appear and maybe seat us, we looked over the menu, discussing different selections… still no one. We started to wonder if we had gotten there while the place was closed, checked the posted hours… nope, the place was supposedly open. After the three of us stood around for more than 5 minutes, wondering aloud to each other if anyone was working today, we decided to find a real restaurant and left. Very strange experience, won’t go back. Don’t see this place lasting long.
Copied for posterity!:
Business owner’s response: 11÷6÷2015 Yes I am sure this really happened…
Edit: Wow, judging by the OWNER’S snotty response, I’m now SURE this place won’t last. Way to address a valid customer review. FYI, this review was not a lie – this did, in fact, happen.
Edit #2: …and NOW the owner (the owner, folks!) is engaging in childish name-​calling and demanding to know why WE didn’t ask the EMPLOYEE to serve us? Really? Hilarious… you DO realize that in every other restaurant on Earth, this works the other way around, right? This gets more bizarre and sad by the minute. Also: (1) I’m not ‘hiding my identity’ as you so oddly claim, (2) Unilocal is a very accepted and commonly used forum to review businesses (and after my first experience, I doubted that setting foot inside your building again would get anyone’s attention, and why would I make a special trip down there to ‘speak to you’???), (3) and I blocked you from contacting me after seeing your less-​than-​professional response to my valid review. You seem to only respond fawningly and with self-​preening to positive reviews, and judging by the tantrum you threw, obviously aren’t professional enough to deal with someone daring to critique your restaurant. I won’t be responding to this person’s poison posts any more as I DO have more constructive things to do with my time – gonna go to the *real* restaurants in Minden/​Gardnerville!

— tasty and fresh brewed ice tea
— lavender salad is excellent
— BLAT with extra avocado… Yummmm!

First visit to Sierra Gourmet Grill last night for dinner with friends.
Food was delicious, creative & beautifully presented.
Nice wine selection & wonderful dessert!
The service was friendly & I can’t wait to share this «find» with others & to go back!

Third time there last night. Excellent food, best BBQ I’ve had since leaving CA. FRESH! everything is very very fresh, I like that they support local. Pulled pork sandwich was great, piled high with pork and their wonderful cabbage/​slaw. Love that extra sauce is on the side. The chicken breast dinner with ‘smashed’ potatoes, vegetables and salad is also excellent. Large portions and priced very well. I support local business when I can, and this place has my vote. Excellent staff, chef, service. Don’t just drive by, stop in and enjoy a wonderful meal in great ambiance.

Ok, so I have passed this place a thousand time and always just stared from afar. Tonight I decided to try a place I had never been before and Sierra Gourmet Grill was the place. I was unaware that they had outside seating so we opted for that since it was a warm night. Our service was great. We even had the bartender and chef come out and check on us a few times. My husband and I decided we both wanted to try the Tri Tip Sandwich. I choose the chips for my side, while my husband did the salad with Ranch. I tried to convince him to try the Lavender Cesaer dressing but he was being a mule. Once he looked at my daughter’s salad and he tried the lavender dressing on hers, he kicked himself for not ordering it. My homemade chips were sooo yummy! The Tri Tip Sandwichs had a ton of meat on them, nothing skimpy at all. It was amazing. We didn’t try the burger or pulled pork yet… We just loved this place and now will definitely be going back. Don’t drive by like I did in the past, stop and give it a try.

I ate here tonight. It was very good. We ate outside on the patio. My lavender Caesar salad was amazing. The garlic salmon was delicious. We talked with not only our waitress, but the bar tender and chef who were constantly checking in on us to make sure everything was to our liking. I would highly recommend giving this place a try.

We happened to find this little place by accident. From the road it looks like a tiny house but once we got inside, saw their large back patio that offers horseshoes, and a vast amazing menu of fresh and humane ingredients we were set!
We ordered several items and had great friendly service. The made from scratch margarita pizza that they grill was great. Their burgers were cooked perfectly. Chicken breast sandwich was a big favorite as well.
We will definitely be coming back here when we are in town. The business is very health conscious for vegetarians and those who prefer gluten free. Also it supports local veterans who own and run the business.

Sierra Gourmet Grill catered our large family bbq with pulled pork, grilled chicken, and homemade bbq sauce, and everyone went home with happy and full bellies! The food was delicious, and my husband and I enjoyed spending time with our guests rather than slaving over a grill. Thank you, Larry!

Awesome pulled pork sandwich! Fast and attentive service. The tri tip and BBQ sauce were great. Beef was grass fed, locally raised! Friendly atmosphere, highly recommend!

My mom and I decided to give this place a try for the 1^st time yesterday. Kevin, our waiter, told us everything was made in house and that they bought from local places. Really like that.
We both ordered the tri-​tip sandwich. The sandwich was very well made and had a good taste. Their BBQ sauce is the best I have had on the west coast.
2 things I do not like. The outside feel is not up to par with what is inside. This could be a great place, spruce it up! The other thing is I did see ants on the floor.
I will be coming back with my wife, especially for one of Kevin’s margaritas. Thanks to both Kevin and Larry Rice for being concerned about my comfort, as I had a broken knee

Not the best store front, still working on everything but worth the time. Tri-​tip was excellent, salad was fresh and cold and excepting of criticism. Excited to go back to see the development.

Food is expensive and not worthy of the price. The tri tip was overdone and dry. The tacos for 15 dollars 5.00 each had barely any meat inside. Service was bad and very slow. Everything is served on paper plates or at least that night. Do not waste your time or money.

Has been closed since beginning of December. They say it’s a water line but really? What’s going on?

Had an Awesome dinner last night!!! Love the food and the service :) I had the shrimp and my boyfriend had the bar tacos. Both of us were very happy with our meals and will definitely go back again!!!

Delish lunch today! Mango salsa n chips and portobello sandwich with avocado and this dreamy lavender infused caeser salad. Chicken wrap too. All portions just right! Larry (owner, chef) came out to say hi and visit. There were good numbers of patrons and the atmosphere was upbeat. Just keep that music playing!

My wife and I went ther last night for the first time. The restaurant was hot, if they have AC or a swamp cooler, it wasn’t running. This place is small with only a few tables and a good sized bar. Taking up enough room for two more tables was a grand piano. Why? Someone actually played the piano and sang a few songs which casued the ambient noise level to increase to unconfortable levels. Conversation was impossible even though we were in the main dining area, as far from the piano as you can get. At one point, the owner/​chef opened the garage door (this property was a used car lot) for air which promptly allowed numerous flies to enter the dining area. Yuk!
The food — the reason we go to restaurants… Not good. I had the bacon cheeseburger ordered mid-​rare. Arrived well done. Asked for the potato salad and was told they were out. The chef had cooked the potatoes but hadn’t bothered to make the potato salad yet. Ordered the macaroni salad instead. It was dry and full of diced red onion. After two bites, all I could taste was red onion. The «House made chips» are nothing more than fried tortilla wedges which were greasy and soggy. Asked (twice) for a side of mayonnaise for my dry burger which arrived eight minutes and two requests later.
My wife ordered the grilled chicken sandwich which arrived sans any sauce, dressing or vegetation. After two bites, she asked the waitress for some balsamic vinaigrette which she poured on the sandwich for flavor. She also poured the salsa we had ordered as an appetizer (not worth $ 5.00) on her macaroni salad.
The recurring theme I see in previous reviews is, «They are still working out the kinks.» This is a very small restaurant and has been open for several months now. If they havn’t worked out the kinks yet, then maybe they should close the restaurant and concentrate on the bar business.

I ordered the Barbecue Chicken Sandwich and my husband ordered the Caesar Chicken Wrap. Both were delicious. The lavender salad and homemade tortilla chips that it came with as a side were both fantastic too. We each ordered a glass of a red wine blend and were pleased with our choices. Our waitress gave her recommendations at our request, and they were good pairings with what we ordered.
The place is clean, nicely decorated, with some Sergio Mendez playing in the background. The owner was a really friendly time who took the time to come over to chat with us. I would recommend this place to travelers passing through.

Decided to try this place on a Saturday afternoon for lunch with my wife. It’s a small place and I was surprised by the prices on the menu. I had the bacon guacamole burger and it was excellent. I was surprised that the patty was seasoned so well and the barbecue sauce on the table was vary tasty. The quality of the meal made up for the price however I was surprised that lunch was served on paper plates. We will be back to try it again.

Now I’ve been in three times, and there are still some kinks to be worked out.
On my last visit I thoroughly enjoyed my bacon cheeseburger. The mushroom open faced sandwich was confusing, came with no bread and seemed to lack any kind of seasoning.
The service is a bit spotty, food arriving at different times, no bbq sauce on the table, among other minor issues.
So, still a nice addition to the landscape in Gardnerville, but their are some attention to detail issues to be worked out.

Good food, friendly atmosphere. I was in here when they were just opening, still a few bugs to work out but will definitely be back!!! Make sure you try their homemade chips!!!