House of the Little Pig — Restaurant in Boise

Let me start with the good—the interior design is EPIC. Truly breathtaking. But unfortunately, that’s where the experience peaked.

We ordered about 12 dishes (even though our server recommended 8) and still left hungry. The charcuterie board came with zero cheese because “Chef Kevin believes the meat stands alone.” Sure, that works in parts of Europe—when the meat is exceptional. One of the cuts was so unpleasant all four of us couldn’t eat it. And the portions? Laughably small—even for someone like me who prefers smaller plates. Cocktails were served in martini glasses the size of shot glasses—visually fun, but practically sips.

The wine list was fine but painfully limited. I didn’t fall in love with a single bottle. And for a restaurant trying to emulate a European vibe, better wine and proper stemware is non-negotiable. The stemless wine glasses they serve in are what casual drinkers might use on their patio—never in fine dining.

As for the menu—3 to 4 meat options total. When we asked what part of the pig we were eating, the server told us only Chef Kevin knows. So yes, you could be eating tongue, eyeball, or brain, and they won’t tell you. That’s not mysterious or refined—it’s just off-putting.

We also ordered the chicken, described as “various parts.” What we got: only drumsticks. No issue with drumsticks—but don’t advertise variety and then serve just one cut. Call it what it is.

Chef Kevin also refuses to accommodate any dietary restrictions—and he’ll make that very clear. This wasn’t an issue for me personally, but a friend in our group has food allergies, and the staff wouldn’t even help guide us toward safe options. The attitude was very much “Nope, we don’t want to hear it.” Not thoughtful, not flexible—just dismissive.

Now, an ode to Chef Kevin (who, by the way, is not a world-renowned chef—but you’d think otherwise). His name was mentioned dozens of times, yet he never once appeared. The entire experience felt like a shrine to someone we never met. I’ve eaten in Michelin-starred restaurants around the world and with private chefs, and I’ve never encountered this level of ego from someone so absent and so undeserving.

This restaurant is all style, no substance. I LOVE The Lively and had high hopes—but unless the menu and attitude get a total reset, this is not somewhere I’d return, let alone recommend.

If you do want to check out the exceptional interior design, I’d recommend grabbing a glass of wine in their subpar stemware, maybe a salad as an appetizer, and then heading somewhere...

I had not read any reviews prior to our Father’s Day brunch today. The space was beautiful. Upon being seated there was an entire row of tables for 2-4 people. The end tables of the row were taken and we were seated directly next to a table of 4 even though there were 5-6? tables between. I asked if we could move down a bit as to not be right on top of the other diners. If the restaurant had been full I would not have requested this. Once seated water was brought to us. It was another 10-15 minutes before anyone else addressed us. There were four employees folding napkins at the bar one of which was our server. He went into a description of the restaurant and how they focused on family-style serving. Rather than saying thank you for joining us he immediately told us we needed to come for dinner within the first 30 seconds of talking to us.

At his recommendation we decided we needed to order an additional plate. We orders steak and eggs, the pasta and the potatoes. When my husband’s mimosa came we were surprised. It was as if he was being served a drink that someone had almost finished. It wasn’t even enough to fill a champagne glass~ served in a wine glass. Serving family-style generally means bringing all of the dishes out at the same time for everyone to share. We weren’t surprised when the potatoes came first as they were presented as an appetizer. When my husband’s pasta came with without the steak and eggs I asked the server if we could have our meals at the same time. He said “Now that I’ve set it down do you really want me to take it back?” I told him it was fine and we would wait for my meal.

I do like salty food, but this was over the top even for me. My husband who rarely drinks water while dining drank three glasses.

We have dined at the Lively countless times and purchased numerous gift cards for friends and colleagues.

I had higher hopes for The House of...

First, we were surprised by the restaurant name, "House of the Little Pig." This sounds like a BBQ or Pork Specialty restaurant. It's near our house so we were interested in trying House of the Little Pig. (There is no pork on the menu.) We called for reservations but all the new interest had filled the restaurant, that's understandable for a new restaurant. The next week I tried to make a reservation on Open Table two days in advance. Nothing available before 5:00 p.m. We assumed that the Happy Hour (ends at 5:00) crowd had made all the reservations. When we arrived at 4:40 for our 5 p.m. reservation the place was nearly empty. Oh well, no big deal. Our server greeted us "good afternoon my friends." Still okay, although we had never met this person. But the server got pushier from that point on throughout our dinner. We felt the interruptions to "up-sell" us menu items was over the top. And when we completed our meal the server came to warn us that our table was reserved - even though there were other tables available. We found the portions small that had been promoted as "family style portions." Still we liked some of the vegetable dishes enough that we had to reorder so that each of us could get more than a "bite." Our order of chicken was mediocre. The skin and dark meat was good but the breast was tough and very salty. When I explained this to the server the answer I got was "I'll tell the kitchen." All said and done, we felt the meal was expensive. Service was a bit impolite. And the...