SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – There’s one word to describe the dining experience at Ciera Steak + Chophouse in MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa – sumptuous.

From the glowing wood paneling to the cozy, curtained booths that line the intimate restaurant’s walls, each detail is meant to invite and entice diners, said Tommy Walker, the restaurant’s long-standing maître d’.

“Our goal is to make people kind of feel like they are being entertained in a home instead of a restaurant,” Walker said.

Walker is a 27-year veteran who served as the maître d’ when the restaurant was called the Broiler Room and MontBleu was Caesars Tahoe.

“It’s been a great run,” Walker said. “I love the job.”

Throughout the meal, diners will be served by a number of staff – from the person who brings out the restaurant’s daily varieties of fresh-baked bread to another who brings out a final course of chocolate-dipped strawberries on dry ice.

“We have layers of service with a lot of people taking care of you through the course of the evening,” Walker said. “We take a lot of pride in our service.”

That service is part of what helped Ciera win another year as an AAA Four Diamond Award winning restaurant, Walker said.

According to www.

AAA.com, a Four Diamond restaurant is “geared toward individuals in search of fine-dining orchestrated by an executive chef and an accomplished staff.”

Winning the award for four years is the result of vigilance and innovation, said Executive Chef Jon LaRue.

“Ciera it is closely monitored by myself on a daily basis to make sure the consistency and the freshest products available are always there,” LaRue said.

Menu items include Ciera’s signature steak the Cowboy Rib Eye, 24 oz. certified angus beef, bone-in, well marbled, juicy and full of flavor; Organic Pork Rib Chop, 16 oz. pan seared, caramelized sweet Maui onions and calvados-apple demi-glace; and Steak ‘Au Poivre’ 14 oz. of black pepper crusted certified angus beef strip loin, served with brandy-green peppercorn demi-glace.

All steaks & chops include roasted garlic Yukon gold mashed potatoes and mandolin vegetables.

Starters include freshly shucked Malpeque Oysters of the Half Shell; Escargot; Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna along with variety of soups and salads. Side dishes range from Blistered Asparagus – shaved parmesan cheese, hollandaise; Creamed Fresh Sauteed Spinach; White Cheddar Scallop Potatoes and the crowd favorite: White Truffle Macaroni and Cheese.

Diners can finish off the meal with a delectable desert including a rich chocolate lava cake or cheesecake topped with mango salsa.

“We aim to combine flavors that are unique and that most people don’t have the opportunity to use,” LaRue said. “It gives us an edge on putting together a plate presentation that is extremely spectacular.”

The dining room is open for dinner 5:30-10 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.