Outstanding store. Gifts, wine, taste testing vingers and oils. Had a fun time. Professional…read moresalespeople.

Cute shop unfortunately could not enjoy and look at all the wines due to the older man working…read morethere . He made me and my family feel very awkward. He was literally following us around the store . I caught him "pretending" to fix wine on a shelf just so he could look my husband up and down and even looking at the bottom of the stroller as if we were there to steal bottles of wine ? There were two other couples in the store that he did not follow around like us. Maybe because we aren't white not sure but there are so many better wine stores with friendly staff and environment I'd rather spend my money on .

Nice, cozy restaurant in Basque Block area of Boise! This is my first time trying Basque style…read moretapas, which for those that have been to Spain or had tapas, is quite adjacent to Catalonian style tapas (Barcelona) but with different types of ingredients. We tried the pintxos of the day (3 for $10) - seafood and chorizo gratin, goat cheese and zucchini compote, and sardine bollo with lemon aioli; Basque meatballs with Sheepherder's bread, and braised lamb and potatoes. We also shared a frozen sangria which is a white wine slush with a splash of red wine float. All the food is amazing - the Basque meatballs is a bit on the saltier side but the Sheepherder's bread is so crispy and buttery! Among the pintxos, I loved the seafood and chorizo gratin the most, but all are delicious. The braised lamb and potatoes are good - the lamb is juicy while the potatoes were flavorful and slightly crispy. Service is good for an order at the counter style establishment - servers still walk around and check up on customers, even though the rest of the experience (filling water, etc) is more self-serve.

Absolutely loved this place, will definitely be back!!! I took a minute before going to read about…read morethe Basque People. They are fascinating and Boise, ID has the largest population of Basque People in the US. I was introduced to Paella. So delicious that I'm going to make it for my husband this weekend. We sat outside and the weather was perfect 70° although a little bit windy. The restaurant had Basque people dancing their traditional dance. I would highly recommend this restaurant and their people!

This is a must do if you're visiting Boise, Idaho! We had the best tour guide, her name is…read moreKayshauna. She took us to 4 very different and amazing local spots. It's an easy stroll with stops for local history. Kayshauna was fun, informative and friendly. First stop was beef tallow fries with bison burger and build your own seasonings. It definitely sets the mood for the tour. We moved to one of the most infectiously delicious spots - Ansots!! Ellie and her staff make you feel like family. The food sampling was varied and oh so yummy. We had to indulge in the Basque cheesecake and bought pieces to take back to enjoy later at the hotel. There are two more delicious stops. You will not go hungry! You can also opt to add alcohol to your food tour but there is water and mocktails if you didn't. It was one of the best things we did on our trip. Book it and you won't regret it.

I want to give a 4.5 stars. Only taking away a star for paying for alcohol up charge and only…read morereceiving a strawberry mimosa and a cider drink of the 4 places we went. Olive- our host- 10/10. She's warm, welcoming, inviting and so damn smart. A wealth of knowledge. I want to be her friend. Stop one- lemon tree 5/5- will be back and recommended to friends and family. I tried a sandwich that I would never order on my own. And it was delicious. Sausage, pear, jam, figs, goat cheese and amazing local bread. Strawberry basil mimosa- so good. Stop two: bacon! Wow!! Incredible. Atmosphere, service. Awesome. The bacon shot jar tasting of their flavored bacons hit the spot. A piping hot bowl of their bacon Mac n cheese was the show stopper. Hot, ooey gooey, bacon, mushrooms, pasta, cheese and tomatoes hello! Finished with a beignet. No alcohol. Def coming back. Third stop: Sid's garage. Fun. Super Smokey smell- fire alarm was going off when we walked in. We had the flashed fried deviled eggs. To.die.for. I will say there was an issue with our order, and it was handled in front of us instead of taking it to the side. Ace pineapple cider provided. Finished at guru donuts- not a sweet fan but that salted caramel donut. Yum! Olive made the experience. Expected more drinks for the up charge.

We had a great date night at Tavolata this evening. Matt C was our server and gave us the BEST…read morerecommendations on cocktails and wine. He gave us the perfect recommendations for food as well. The ambiance is great inside this restaurant. It has a busy happy feel, cute decor for the holidays, and the staff is all extremely friendly. The food was delicious, although we are leaving in a food coma. We ordered one appetizer and two pastas, all 10/10. We will be returning!

I really wanted to like Tavolàta, especially given the reputation for handmade pasta, but the…read moreexperience fell short of expectations. We walked in around 7 pm and it seems like a slow night. So I expect everything should be good but it wasn't. We ordered food and drinks and start right off with food even came earlier than drink. Obviously server doesn't care. The food came , salad and pasta all together and the ravioli was not even warm. The pasta itself was decent, but nothing memorable. Flavors felt a bit flat, and for the price point, I was expecting something more refined or at least more balanced. Service was also inconsistent. Our server seemed friendly but stretched thin, It didn't feel like anyone was really paying attention to the table. They seems to be paying attention on the phone than the table. And they seem really rush us out when they were only 8.30 pm when they close at 10 pm not sure why they keep asking if we need a box and put down the check right after we got our food. Overall, not a terrible experience, but definitely not one I'd rush back for, especially with other great dining options in Boise.

Fledgling specialty food business making fantastic salsa macha (two varieties right now - cranberry…read moreand peanut) using top quality ingredients and in 6.35 oz jars at a limited number of local retailers including the Boise Farmers Market (drive through service at least, not sure about the walk about) on Saturdays. The price point ($16.50 at Farmers Market) may seem a bit 'ouch' at first but these creations are worth every penny for the quality and flavor. See photo posted for the label of the cranberry salsa macha for ingredients list (olive oil, nuts, seeds, chiles, cranberries). Three first generation Mexican American sisters are the little engine that can behind this brand, leveraging their knowledge from their family's successful salsa business of twenty years standing in Mexico. If you know a home cook who is 'into' new trends for condiments you'll likely find salsa macha is on their radar and this top quality product would be a perfect host / hostess gift to take along as thank you. Of the salsa machas I have tried this brand is at the top of the list. The uses are many as in to top eggs, to use in rice or noodles, to add to salad dressings, to dress roasted sweet potatoes and at our house tonight some of the cranberry salsa will be dolloped on a braised pork shoulder and squash Mexican stew. I am so glad to have discovered this salsa macha and now you have too! They sell online it seems. https://www.chicanafoods.com/shop PS - More good news about this good business is some of the profits made by this company are used to support worthwhile causes like stay-in-school non profits.

I took my friend out to lunch today for his birthday. He wanted to come to Luciano's so of course I…read moresaid yes. The last time I ate here, I really enjoyed our meal so I knew I was in store for a good lunch. I arrived first. I hung out for a bit. Raylyn (sp) greeted me and asked me if I wanted anything to drink. I had a flavored water so I content for the moment. My friend finally showed up shortly after. We got started on the foccacia bread and olive oil/balsamic dip. The bread was good but it wasn't warm like the previous time. It was nicely seasoned and buttery on top. The olive oil/balsamic dip is so good with it! We breezed over the menu while we were enjoying the bread. Raylyn came and took our order. We ordered some fried mozzarella to share. For lunch I got a side of meatballs and my friend got the chicken parm on pasta with a side salad. The fried mozzarella was so good! The piece of mozzarella that was fried was so thick! I had a fourth of one of the cheesesticks. I didn't want to get too full when I still had meatballs coming. My meatballs were so good! It was generously covered in their marinara sauce. It was rich in tomato with a slight heat to it, so good! My friend's chicken parm pasta was a generous portion! I probably could have made 3 meals off of his plate. He enjoyed the chicken of course and had some of the pasta. We couldn't end lunch without some birthday dessert so my friend got some cannolis started. This is my first time trying a cannoli and woooooow! It was so good! The cream in the middle had a orange flavor to it with some chocolate chips. The exterior of the cannoli was crunchy and sweet. The ends were dipped in semi sweet chocolate and was so good! I probably could have polished 2 more but I was so full from lunch. Next time I'm going to just have the bread and cannolis. That dessert was perfection. Lunch was fabulous today. Our food and dessert were divine. Raylyn did a marvelous job taking care of us! She was kind, attentive and is great at customer service. I can't stop thinking of those cannolis and I look forward to coming back soon to have some more!

Man.. I wish I had better things to say. We came here with no reservations (no biggie) and waited…read more45 mins (cool) but when we got seated we waited 15 mins before anybody even recognized we were there. We understand it was busy but at some point you have to manage your tables better.... We got to order our within 15 mins for our appetizers but had to wait another 30 minutes to order our main meal. an Hour later we were able to order our entree and that is unacceptable. We waited so long, we asked for our boxes and meals to go before it was even served to us. I really wanted to get this place more stars but at this point it's probably a three star if not a 2 1/2. I can't judge the food or anything else based on the lack of consideration or Manning in the place since we came..

Great food and better people. Food is authentic priced great and the service is better.read more

The name remains but owner chef Vincenzo and his wife who managed (I use the verb loosely) front of…read morehouse and who could be abrasive to staff and customers have left the building. That is a good thing for the new young owners who bought this business. Whether the former owners are still involved in any way, I do not know except to say they were seen dining in there on at least one occasion since the change happened. Since there are enough of us who had all around miserable experiences with the previous owners and said "never again", this comment is for others know that now is the time to come back. The ownership transition seems to have happened sometime after November of last year. If you check the website you'll see the "about" part of it is still about Vincenzo. I recommend the new owners change that to indicate this young couple is now at the helm. The menu, largely pasta, is about the same and with price points running from roughly $23 to $27 for them. Antipasti (cold and hot) start at about $13 for a salad to $23 for fried calamari and shrimp. The owner mentions that they plan to put the pizza oven in the space (see my long ago taken photo) to work as a pizza oven. (To now in the old ownership days it was used to finish bread.) Additions are also planned for for the menu. You will still need a reservation. The access problems from before are the same now. But the entire vibe of the place under the new ownership clearly including a skilled chef, will refresh your appetite to eat at this trattoria if it was ruined by the previous owners.

Just love this place. The whole vibe inside is amazing with all the black and red. Reminds me of a…read moreclassic dinner club. Just needs a band with a crooner in the corner ;-) Service is always on point sitting at the bar, in a booth or at a table. Menu has a lot of choices and not just meat. I particularly enjoy the Wedge salad and seafood dishes. Love the open kitchen in the main dinning area. They have an excellent Happy Hour as well. Check them out!

The food was quite good and several things on the menu you don't see in Boise. I started with the…read moreshrimp and calamari Fritto Misto. It's fried seafood with some deep fried onions and red peppers. It was good, but not really much for $18. (Come during happy hour when it's 12.). Then I had a steak sandwich with Parmesan fries. It says it's hanger steak. Was very tender meat with pesto sauce on the ciabatta bread. Not much else on the sandwich and not enough sauce. Thin, shoestring type fries covered with garlic parsley, and lots of shredded Parmesan cheese. The service was outstanding. Even though Emma was busy, she helped me and explained the menu to me. This has got to be at least the fifth or sixth time this building has changed. It's quite fancy looking yet dark inside. And prices seem to go up every time. But it's a very good food and happy hour deals look good. I was there at the wrong time though.

Rigatoni Braised local beef + black garlic-truffle butter + roasted local mushrooms + spinach +…read morepickled red onion + lemon crema. That is the description of what I ordered for their handmade fresh pasta rigatoni that I got. Let me just say that all these flavors that they put into one dish were absolutely amazing. I really did not think they needed to have the spinach and mushrooms. Because the lemon crema and the Gorgonzola cheese were absolute phenomenal the braze beef was just to die for. This is a very small restaurant and there's only so many tables to get. I was able to sit at the bar which Aisha was the bartender. He did an amazing job and really helped lead me to my order of ordering the rigatoni. I had a beer with dinner and I did not order dessert. If you need to go to the bathroom, there is a door that leads outside the restaurant to the bathroom the weight was a little bit long for it, and luckily a neighboring coworker was able to lead me to their bathroom. I highly recommend checking out this place just because of the handmade pasta, which was something of a unique taste because it was well worth the price

Alavita is one of the more reliable Italian spots in downtown Boise, and overall it delivers a…read morereally enjoyable dining experience. The highlight here is definitely the fresh, house-made pasta--it's clear they put a lot of care into it. Dishes are generally well-executed with good flavor, and you can taste the quality of the ingredients. The menu is fairly focused, which helps keep things consistent, though a few dishes can feel slightly hot or miss The atmosphere is cozy and lively, making it a great spot for date night or a nice dinner out. Service is usually friendly and knowledgeable, with staff who can guide you through the menu and wine list. Timing can slow down during peak hours, but nothing too frustrating. Prices are on the higher side for Boise, but the overall quality and experience mostly justify it--it feels like a place you go to enjoy a proper sit-down meal rather than a quick bite. Overall, Great pasta, solid atmosphere, and definitely worth visiting if you're craving Italian in Boise.

Stop. Read this. If you are in a hurry and want fast, cheap food, go somewhere else. If you want to…read morehave a meal that is delicious, slow, and fun...go here. The beers of Germany are perfect. Today's special was AMAZING. not good, it was great. 3 of us ate and drank and it was $75. I will take that all day. The food so darn good. Silly to miss this.

great food. whenever we work up here we always stop by…read more Definitely recommend-- Safer Chimney