Owyhee Tavern — Restaurant in Boise

First time, will not be the last. We went for dinner on Christmas Eve through an Open Table reservation, but a credit card was not required to hold a table. We were impressed with their dining room, menu, service, and prices; all good. This place is levels above & beyond Richard's, which I had previously reviewed on Thanksgiving. (check it out for a laugh) Starting with the team of hostesses that greeted us with their warm & friendly personality, instantly setting the tone for a wonderful evening. The dining room is both classy and relaxed, i.e., comfortable, inviting, and romantic. Our server for the evening was Jerri, and I believe that we lucked out with this relaxed, efficient, friendly, and knowledgeable server. We enjoyed her jaunty Santa's cap and perfected timing for all of our needs. The rest of the staff were seamless, fluid, clean, and professional. We never say a manager walking around, but none was needed, but a friendly holiday greeting would not have been unwelcomed. We opted for the affordable set 3-course menu and were not disappointed. First came the house baked bread and house made butter. Warm and my favorite way to start a meal. We began with the field greens salad and wedge salad, both as beautifully presented as they were delicious and fresh. The house made dressings were outstanding! Next came the perfectly cooked entrees that were a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. Check out our attached photos. My husband had the trout with cherries, asparagus-rice pilaf and that evening's vegetables. Fish was tender and moist, pilaf was flavorful, but lacking in an abundance of asparagus, which was a mild disappointment. The green beans, roasted peppers and onions were average, but not a stand-out star as the vegetable of the night. I had the sirloin with crisp onion rings, blue-cheese peppercorn sauce, loaded Idaho baked potato and the aforementioned vegetables. Steak was cooked a perfect medium rare, but still a bit tough to cut through, however I did devour it completely. Baked potato was sizable and extremely fluffy with the perfect amount of toppings. Dessert was just as exciting and decadent. He had the warm brownie with caramel-salted popcorn and fresh whipped cream and I enjoyed the pumpkin cheesecake, which was Jerri's recommendation. We could not stop saying, "Mmmm"! Rich, but not overwhelming, they were the perfect finish and yes, I was super happy that they were served with a fork instead of a spoon. All of the portions throughout the evening were just right, not too little, but not too much that we couldn't finish. The place was abuzz with holiday cheer, but not overly loud or cramped. We easily held serenely audible conversations without interruption from the restaurant workings, other guests, staff...

While the food was enjoyable, the service and drinks were hit and miss. I ordered an Old Fashioned, which apparently the server mistook as a request for their signature Old Fashioned when I only wanted a regular one. A small detail, but the server didn't bother to clarify. The drinks took a little longer than usual, which the server explained was because the bartender had to go into the basement for something. My dining partner's Manhattan also was not to her liking. The next set of drinks (Worker Bee, Sazerac) were fine. The fresh oysters we ordered came with empty ramikens. The server noticed after she placed the plate on the table, but it was an obvious mistake made only through lack of awareness of detail. The Kung Pao Calamari was quite tasty. I enjoyed my Smoked Prime Rib entree, and my girfriend liked her Sirloin salad. The cuts of meat were cooked as ordered, the mashed potatoes were creamy and the vegetables were crisp and well seasoned. However the entrees arrived before we finished our appetizers, it was clear the server had put the order in as soon as we gave it to her. So the timing was off. Our server also disappeared for a while after we finished our entrees so the finished plate sat at the edge of the table for a while. No one else came to check on us. When she finally came back around she took the plate away without asking if I would like to take the leftovers home. I would have. The last annoying part was we had clarified in advance that they served espresso, and we both ordered double shots after our main course was completed. She came back a few minutes later to explain that for some reason the espresso machine had already been broken down despite their still being open for another 20 minutes and was being run through the dishwasher, so no espresso was possible. We ordered a drip coffee and decided not to stay for dessert. If any of these minor issues had occurred on their own it could have been easily overlooked, but there were just too many compounded on each other to ignore. The food was quite good, but the service left something to be desired. I chose this establishment because the description said upscale and the menu and online photos looked appealing. The kitchen seems to know what they are doing, but the experience suggests a front of house staff that is not adequately trained in...

I emailed asking about reserving the back room. I asked about the size of the room, possibly having an extra table, and if I could bring in some decorations.

The lady I was coordinating with knew my party number when I first reached out. She said they were available. In her response, this is what she stated:

“I hate to turn away business but with the size of your group and all the excitement, I don’t think this is the best space for this type of event. You are welcome to come by and look at it to verify.”

I responded stating I did not plan on bringing too many decorations and I did want a low-key event for this. I stated I would still like to have the event there, but I would go somewhere else if she pleased. I never heard back.

I don’t usually leave reviews, but this conversation really rubbed me the wrong way. First, I didn’t like when I told her about what type of event it was, she said “all the excitement”. I’ve never heard of a business turning away people for “excitement”? I purposefully wanted a simple event, hence why I wanted a dinner style, and not a house party. I did not plan on bringing in a lot of stuff, just a few decorative items. Second, I didn’t appreciate that she never responded. I was offering to bring business of 24 people to the restaurant. People who always tip well and are easy to serve.

There are few fancy restaurants with larger ballrooms for large parties in the valley. I cannot speak on the food here, but I wouldn’t recommend using them for reservations for large spaces based on my experience. Since, I’ve reached out to two other “fancy” restaurants for my event and they have been over the moon helpful and accommodating with all of my questions. It shouldn’t be that hard to work with a customer wanting to use your space for a...