Diablo & Sons Saloon — Restaurant in Boise

My wife, kids (even grandkids) and I have been long-time devotees of Red Feather and Bittercreek. We have very regularly been going to Bittercreek for 20 years and for the last decade, Red Feather has been our go-to brunch spot on the weekend. We've even done multiple private parties in the RF cellar.

We have not been super big fans of Diablo and Sons, but figured this weekend we would give it another chance since RF is no longer doing brunch.

I know that almost all restaurants in Boise are having staffing issues, but BC, RF and D&S always have servers that treat customers pretty poorly. Not long ago at RF, we watched a server VERY openly and loudly complain that the previous table didn't leave a tip that he felt he deserved, it was a longer haired fella early to mid-30's. The D&S experience was no better this time. We stood in the scorching sun (only people waiting for a table), for a solid 5 minutes before my wife finally walked up to one of the 3x hostesses that were openly ignoring us. We were told we needed a reservation, my wife asked, "really, there is no room at the bar?" The hostess grudgingly went and checked and surprise surprise, there was literally nobody sitting at the bar either inside or outside. We were seated inside. (FWIW, there were probably 20ish open tables, not counting the seats at the bar, this was 1pm on July 3, 2021.)

The ONLY thing that saved this experience from being a frustrating wash was the excellent and very friendly bartender that was working the bar during brunch on Saturday the 3rd of July. He was great, attentive and surprisingly nice given the quality of servers that we normally get at any of the 3x restaurants. He was a 5+ no doubt.

We ordered Beignets, 2x extra biscuits, a few 2 egg breakfasts and the D&G take on Huevos Rancheros. The Rancheros might be my new favorite downtown Boise brunch item. We had soda, beers, multiple cocktails and coffee.

Food was all good and every bit as tasty as when RF was doing brunch.

So... To recap, the service and the servers at the 3x restaurants all need to be nicer and not act like the customers are an inconvenience; seriously, I don't remember the last time we went there and weren't treated poorly just because we aren't besties with the server. But I will say the bartenders are almost always excellent, especially the shaved head fella that was working last weekend. The food was good to very good. Cocktails are always great and the 3x restaurants have certainly the best and most curated beer selection for a restaurant in Boise.

We will be back, but are not looking to keep going back if the service doesn't improve significantly from a consistency standpoint.

1 star for service, 4 stars for food/drinks, 5+ stars for...

We arrived around 5:20 p.m. on a Friday and were told there were be a 20 minute to an hour wait. They did have a wait list and got our number so they could text us when our table was ready.

It was a short wait, 15 minutes or so, and we were seated in the fun rabbit room. So far so good. I asked about non-alcoholic beverages. He recommended the house-made pink lemonade. I got one for me and one for my three-year-old. He did not like it. It was extremely sour and also not pink. We let it be as he was happy with the water that was given to us earlier. My husband then ordered a beer and onion ring appetizer. I ordered two grilled cheese kid's sandwiches with fries for the kids, and then the three taco plate.

Fifteen minutes later, my husband still didn't get his beer. The server came by to top off our waters and I asked if there was a delay on the beer. He mildly apologized and got the beer on the house. A long wait later, we finally got our food, the onion ring appetizer came out with the entrees instead of before but it was fine because my husband was the only one eating them. I work in a restaurant so I know it's easy for appetizer orders to get delayed.

I'm not especially picky but I was super disappointed in the tacos, the meat was bland and sauces were funky. I had the crispy pork, barbacoa, and smashed potato tacos. The side salsa with the chips wasn't good either. My daughter didn't eat her grilled cheese but my son did so it must have been ok.

So in all, the only decent thing I ate was some of my kids' fries and chips. Good drink selection and a couple ok things (in my husband's opinion) but mostly just a waste of money. I kind of wish I had asked for a refund on my food but have never been brave enough to do it, and I know COVID is hurting a lot of restaurants. I hope they are taking into account these reviews because they could be so...

On 06.20.2021 today at approximately 12:15 PM my wife and I wanted to try Diablo & Son's for lunch. We entered the restaurant and went to the podium where we were greeted by a young, shorter, blonde receptionist. We were told there was a 15-minute wait and they would text us when the outdoor seating became available. I respectfully asked about 3 empty tables near the right side of the podium and 1 empty table on the left and was told they were for people who were on their way to the restaurant.

We went shopping and received a text which we came back within approximately 1 minute. We were once again greeted by the same receptionist who announced they now had a table available inside. I reminded her that we had requested a table outside and inquired again about the same 4 empty tables? She said they were for other people and took off for approximately 3 minutes as I assume she knew I was getting a bit annoyed by her lack of attention to the details of our previous conversation, and the fact that it is now 20 minutes and the restaurant was not in fact busy enough to not be able to accommodate our request. The same girl re-appeared and very unprofessionally offered us a table around the corner in the hot sun (Her word not mine) or there was a table inside. The 4 empty tables were still available and were still not being filled, nor being offered to us?

Please do not play the covid card, or she was new if you respond to this review, her behavior was unprofessional and it was apparent that she had no intentions of offering us the open tables we had requested. We decided to leave and you have lost a customer solely because of this employee’s actions. I will tag the restaurant as I continue to post this on the social media all over Idaho so other potential customers do not waste their time waiting for the table that...