Basquenese — Restaurant in Boise

We got to hit up Basquenese today at the Warehouse. After hearing about them opening a store front, of course we had to try it out.

It's neat that they have Basque options and Vietnamese options to pick from. You can smell the garlic that they were cooking with for the Vietnamese options. It smelled heavenly! The menu looked really good but we decided to try Vietnamese food today. We grabbed the Mama's Chicken with noodles and the char sui banh mi.

They did not hold back on portions! The noodles were piling out of the bowl and the char sui was falling out of the bread. The bread for the char sui was fresh! The exterior was crunchy and the middle was so soft it was stuffed with char sui, pickled carrots, cilantro, cucumber and jalapenos. It's a beautiful piece of art looking at it. I appreciated all the flavors and textures of the banh mi. The heat, the savory and the bread all married well together. Unfortunately, the char sui for me didn't work. I was expecting traditional char sui and it didn't taste anything like it. With that being the main character of the sandwich and having a different expectation of the char sui, I just couldn't like the sandwich. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good sandwich but it didn't hit for me. The Mama's chicken was tasty! The chicken was so tender and savory. The noodles were stir fried in garlic and other seasonings as well. Since they use udon noodles, it is a lot of noodles that they give you. They are chewy and such a good base for the sauce that they use cause it soaks up all the goodness.

The staff is 50/50. The gal that helped us and I'm assuming the owner were nice. They gentleman that helped me with my food when it was ready could work on his customer service. They had 8 to 9 trays out with 3 of them with food on them. Trying to not grab the wrong tray I simply asked if this was my tray. Clearly that was the wrong question to ask cause he was rude with his response. I know you're busy but I wasn't trying to not to grab the wrong tray since they were similar. I guess I should have known better.

Overall, it was an ok experience. It will be a while before I would try them again. After that kind of encounter, it has left a bitter taste in my mouth. It's the whole experience for me, food and customer service. I don't want to be treated...

We love Basquenese!!! The food, the employees, the chill atmosphere- it’s allllllll good! We have visited Basquenese a few times now and, I hate to say this, but each visit has been even better than the last! I cringe at myself for saying that because our first experience at Basquenese truly was an awesome one, but every time we go back, we are in shock all over again at how crazy good the food is and how great the service is, too. The employees are soooo, so kind, they are very knowledgeable of the menu, and they are very helpful when it comes to deciding what to order. Option overload is real, even when the menu is on the smaller side- we just want everything every time like it might be our last meal. Big shoutout to Joseph and Chef Mick, who both have helped us on numerous occasions. Their politeness, enthusiasm, and optimism will be remembered.

• I have noticed that all of the employees are incredibly apologetic over wait times, and, honestly, that breaks my heart. I know that they have been screamed at by customers. I do not understand it. Your food is being made fresh for you. The employees cook and assemble your food after your order has been placed. The food has not been sitting under heat lamps all day. There are no microwaves back there re-heating things. Personally, I do not mind the wait. Waiting allows us time to slow down, to sip our drinks, to connect with each other at the table (because once that food is ready, we will be way too busy shoveling that mess into our mouths like wild animals to be able to hold a decent conversation). Everyone is in such a rush all the time. I don’t get it. Regardless, if you want fast food, hit a drive-thru. You have no business being inside the food hall.

Basquenese is located inside The...

We enjoy going to The Warehouse downtown occasionally. There is always something happening and new opportunities for foodsplorations. We tried Basqueneese for the first time. Sweet family/business history shared in their signage. We ordered Banhmi sandwiches. I meed to forward you that my significant other is well versed in making these delicious morsels. He has trained my pallette, so I've now become picky (thank you, babe!). Needless to say, these Banhmi were tasty! He ordered the THE HANGRY BANH MI (half pork belly on a toasted baguette with soy mayo, cucumbers, jalapenos, pickled onions & carrots, and cilantro.). HE LOVED IT. I ordered CRISPY PORK BELLY BANH MI (Deep-fried pork belly bites, soy mayo, cucumbers, jalapenos, pickled onions and carrots, cilantro on a toasted 8" demi baguette). I was pleased with the flavors. The pork belly was definitely crispy and flavorful. I think I'd prefer less crispy, but I just made that discovery. We also had the croquettes These were delicious and orepared percectly IMHO. I'd highly...