Welcome to Pianeta,

We are a cozy restaurant located in the heart of historic downtown Truckee, specializing in creating delicious Italian foods, homemade pastas, and stellar dining service since 1998. We feature an extensive menu with nightly specials inspired by the delicious cuisine of the Mediterranean. We also feature an impressive rotating wine list with numerous options from California and Italy, and a full bar featuring classic cocktails and aperitifs. We are defined by our welcoming friendly staff, remarkable consistent food, and warm eclectic old world ambiance.

Thanks for stopping by and we hope to see you soon.

BILL ARNOFF
Pianeta Ristorante Executive Chef

Bill Arnoff first realized his culinary potential in high school when he got the opportunity to participate in a work observation program at the French restaurant Chez Louis in Palo Alto, California. Under the tutelage of Louis Borel and Michel Veron, Arnoff’s high school program quickly turned into an apprenticeship. “I was working for free,” said Arnoff, “but I learned in one year what would have taken two years to learn in the culinary academies.” From there he continued his training at the eclectic Christopher’s Café, which featured California cuisine with dashes of Chinese, Thai and Southwestern influences and a pinch of French thrown in for good measure.

In pursuit of greater knowledge and experience he tried his hand at resort dining, cooking at the beautiful Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley. Then, in an effort to expand his expertise with large volume food preparation, he dabbled in corporate catering in Silicon Valley serving up to 1,500 guests at a time.

Arnoff missed the ambiance of restaurant dining, however, and found his way to Venezia, the popular Italian restaurant in Berkeley, as the lead line cook. From there he worked as a sous chef in the kitchen of Chef Michael Wilde at the world-renowned Bay Wolf in Oakland, where his dishes highlighted fresh ingredients from small, local purveyors. “I never saw any produce delivered by truck – we picked it all up at the Berkeley Bowl and Monterey Market,” recalled Arnoff.

The lure of the mountains soon had Arnoff pursuing culinary opportunities in Lake Tahoe, and in April of 1999 he moved to downtown Truckee to become the sous chef at the Truckee fine dining restaurant, Pacific Crest Grill – one of the best Truckee restaurants or Tahoe restaurants. It wasn’t long before his love and talent for Italian cooking lead him over to Pianeta Ristorante, the sister restaurant to Pacific Crest. “The beauty of rustic Italian is that the different flavors stand on their own,” said Arnoff. “Italian at its best is fresh, intense and well-balanced.”

As executive chef, Arnoff produces healthy, Italian/Mediterranean dishes from the kitchen of Pianeta’s downtown Truckee restaurant, making all of the rolled pastas onsite each day and using the freshest ingredients in dishes like his crispy duck with balsamic and basil infused demi-glaze or his grilled wild king salmon topped with a lemon garlic aioli. When he’s not in the kitchen, you’ll find Arnoff outdoors biking or skiing, enjoying all the recreation Tahoe has to offer.