Matador Boise — Restaurant in Boise

It's been years since I have been to Matador so when my friend wanted to come here for her birthday dinner, it was an easy automatic yes. I was running a little behind so my group was sat, got some goodies and drinks started before I showed up. By the time I arrived, they had started a guac and salsa flight with a couple drinks. What they ordered looked fabulous.

I have always loved the setting of this joint. The decor, the big decorative mirrors, the rich colored tones, the little candles lit up and placed around the restaurant. It's such a romantic vibe. Regardless if you're there on a date or with a big group, the vibe is so chill and intimate.

Our server finally came back around to us. I asked her for their non alcoholic options. I appreciate that they have stars by some of the drinks to let you know that they can be made alcohol free. They also have alcohol free tequila! As good as that sounds, I just ordered the strawberry mangonada without the extras. While she got my drink started we looked over the menu and figured out what kind of goodies we wanted for dinner. I was still gonna full from a big lunch so I decided on the carne asada quesadilla from their starter menu.

Orders were taken and my drink was dropped off. It was pretty. I love the little dainty strawberry on the side. I love me a good mangonada. The sweet of the mango, the salty of the tajin/chamoy. It had to be that much better with strawberry added to it. Well, I anticipated it to taste sweet and salty but unfortunately it was just too salty. It wasn't balanced and the tajin over powered everything. I had asked Heidi, our server for a glass of sparkling water. She could tell by my facial expression I wasn't too fond of my drink. She was so sweet about it and suggest another mocktail for me. I went with her suggestion and got the traditional strawberry mango margarita mocktail. So much better!

My quesadilla was the perfect size! It had a nice amount of carne asada and pico in it. The tortilla was crispy and nicely charred. It was paired with a lime crema and guac. Both with such a great addition to the carne asada. I had a little over half and was so full! Well, I was so full until dessert came. Birthday girl got some dessert and she needed help with it! As a true friend I had the take one for the team and help her eat the sweets. Mannnnn the brownie with ice cream was delicious! The brownie was chocolatety and rich. The ice cream had caramel drizzled all over it and was so good with the brownie. There was also fried ice cream. The cereal flakes with the coconut rolled into the ice cream ball was tasty! I love how chewy the crust gets when it soaks up the vanilla ice cream. After several bites of both desserts, I had to tap out. I was so full from it all!

Matador is hands down one of the best local restaurants in the valley. The venue is stunning, the setting is chill, our server, Heidi was fantastic and the meal was great! I need to frequent this joint more often! I have forgotten how amazing this place is! I look forward to coming back for another...

It was almost a good meal. My Smokey margarita with Mezcal was delicious, made to order, with sugar instead of salt. The dip flight was delightful. Everything was heavy on cilantro which suits my palate just fine. Fish tacos were a perfect balance of savory with a touch of sweet in the sauce. Soft yet fried fish with the crunch of radish. Food was fabulous. No complaints. Approximately 3 bites into my first fish taco, my server impatiently approaches the table and says, "Sorry but I need to ask you to pay your bill because my shift is over. Don't worry, someone will continue to take care of you". SO. AWKWARD. I quickly attempted to chew and swallow my current bite of food, fiddle my wallet and credit card out of my purse and hurriedly pay the bill. As she loomed over me, waiting for me to punch the tip in, in front of her, I bashfully entered the customary 20%, contrary to my feelings on service. There is something so awkward and intimidating about a server STARING at you as you enter their tip right in front of you. When I'm mid-bite and being forced to pay, I don't feel you've seen this meal, start to finish to expect a 20% tip...yet here we are. So, I tipped it anyway to appease her. Clearly her time was more important than mine, regardless if I was paying for it. I asked for to go boxes. I was over this meal. Nothing sours an enjoyable experience faster than feeling rushed or unwelcomed. I boxed all of my food up with haste. And then I waited. I had about 2/3 of my margarita left. So I sat and drank it while I stared at my dirty dishes. No one approached my table, cleared it or asked if I needed anything. The promise of "continued service" was lip service at best. I mentioned my displeasure to the hostess with no further action being taken. My dishes were cleared and I left, disenchanted at my experience. The only reason 3 stars were earned was for the quality of the food. The service was downright rude. I'm a travel nurse now, but a l former server and bartender for many years. I dine out all over the US while working and have no sympathy for the plight of a server at the end of the shift. If you want and care about your tip, stay. If you dont, transfer the ticket. Anything else is just plain crass and greedy. You don't deserve the pay without the work. When I dine out, if the experience is fabulous and memorable, I write a review. Equally so, if it is a disservice to the service industry, I feel I am equally obligated to review it. The managers should take this practice of rushed pay at shift change, into consideration as bad business practice. There are too many options available to the public when it comes to dining. This level of service does not set one's establishment apart and certainly does not secure repeat customers. I have 3 months left in Idaho and plenty of other...

Updated Review 2019: I'm updating my review because after dining quite a few times now, I think my initial impression was simply being excited there was decent Mexican food in Boise after moving here. The food is good, but average. The salsa is good but incredibly salty and taste is inconsistent. I would not describe the food as "very fresh" as I did in my original review. The chips can be stale at times. They can be overloaded with chunks and clusters of salt. They can taste oily and burnt a lot. You can definitely tell when the oil is old or dirty. The drinks are sometimes watered down and kinda taste funky like maybe a bad tap or moldy lines. The service can be spotty, but one server named Jordan (guy) is fantatsic and very nice. The bartenders are not friendly, kinda stale face and seem like they hate their job. Management is poor and if you ever have an issue, they likley will not fix the problem - unless your server advocates for you.

Hands down the best thing here is their ribeye steak. I don't know how or why, but it is really good. They seriously nail that. Not a bad problem to have, just they aren't really marketed as a steakhouse so I'm sure it's just a best kept secret about this place. I love their street tacos, but again those are just average street tacos. The recipe is inconsistent and sometimes I get a great set and sometimes they are bland.

I'm sorry to have to go back on my original 5 stars, but I just feel I have a better impression of the restaurant and overall experience now and felt it should be updated.

Original Review 2018: Really good food. Great service. Fantastic environment. Not trashy. Fresh. Organic. Nice menu. Street tacos we're great. Salsa is perfect. Perfect location downtown. Plenty of seating. Outdoor seating available. Happy hour. Favorite place on our vacation. Trendy at...