Percy — Restaurant in Boise

I went here for my anniversary this weekend and we had a very good time. It was easy to make a reservation online, which included the option of adding food allergies. Our server and his orientee confirmed this before we ate, which I appreciated. We got seated promptly. The environment is very beautiful and I liked the staff as well. We ordered the Percy Potatoes and were not expecting them to come out with sauce, and they were very strong smelling. It turns out that it is the black garlic, which was delicious, but the sauce part was not super clear on the menu. The aioli did help cut that flavor profile quite a bit. They were rich and great tasting. Our server Bradley was excellent and gave us great advice on what drinks to get as mocktails, and what to avoid. My bf had the Sea Witch cocktail, which was pretty interesting and flavorful. I had the Double Knot and it was decent, but not my thing. Later I had the Lucky Pique mocktail (fine but not exceptional) & he got the Say When mocktail (I regret not ordering 5 of them, so good). The entrees were enjoyable. I had the salmon, and I love salmon... it was perfectly cooked and the couscous was good. I feel like the salmon and the sauce did not have a very complicated flavor profile, and it was kind of tame. I'm not saying it was bad, but the salmon didn't have a ton of spice and neither did the sauce, and I kind of like punchier things with fish. He ordered the skirt steak medium rare, which came closer to rare but was still great. The winner of our entire meal (we both feel like) was the cheesy green chili rice. If you like salsa verde and cheese, it almost tasted like a risotto with spice and cheese... but it was pretty amazing. I could eat that every day and be completely happy. He ordered the brownie cheesecake for dessert with the salted caramel sauce, and I don't really love cheesecake but it was fabulous. I got the coconut cake with lemon curd, and I feel like it didn't even need the lemon curd. The tartness was almost too much, but the coconut frosting is amazing and not super sweet, which I loved. Overall I was happy with the dinner, the service was fabulous, but I do kind of regret my choices. I think anyone should try it, it's a beautiful place and it was great for a date, but your mileage may vary. Everyone has different preferences and likes different flavors, and this was just...

OVERVIEW: Two words: Affordable Upscale. Percy is a masterclass of elevated dining with excellent service and magnificent offerings while keeping prices below competitive equivalents. I highly recommend this place for the friend or date that appreciates finer things.

THE FOOD & DRINK: I have yet to see a place north of the border that can execute on a skirt steak this well. While reminiscent of the upscale translation of carne asada, it out-classes it by the subtle but impactful differences. One, it has a perfect sear, causing a crust that has deep, rich notes hinting at tones of Chaliapin tenderizing method (Japanese onion bath and, often, soy sauce). The steak's texture itself ranges from the crisp crust to medium (some might call medium rare, but technically medium, as no blood is present). The steak is topped with sprouts. The side of chili rice is served in a cast iron mini pot and blends cheese, rice and chili swimmingly (though not spicy). The textures of the burger were outstanding, ranging from the crisp, rich crunch of the bun to the slight crust on the patty. Caramelized onions and sauce top it off well. The burger comes generously hedged in excellent fries.

SERVICE: Incredibly good table service (the kind that re-folds your napkin if you go to the bathroom, and discretely provides all the expected accoutrements you would expect with a subtlety bordering on ninjitsu). Of course, one would be remissed without mentioning how fast the kitchen gets your order out and to you. The burger came out with bun-on-patty, steaming hot yet without a hit of texture loss from the heat. The speed of the service (with reservation) allows for getting in, having drinks, appetizer, and dinner all in an hour. (We went at 5:45 PM on a Friday night.)

ATMOSPHERE: Tasteful presence of the music, loud enough to obscure neighboring conversation, but quiet enough to not require me to speak beyond normal volume. The music itself was not low rent pop or pop remixes, but truly pleasant background music of varying instrumentation I didn't recognize, blending electronic and acoustic notes. (This is important to me, as familiar music can break your focus in conversation on a date.) The bathrooms were unisex with several completely sealed, spacious stalls and a central sink area, dressed in marble, gold and beautiful mirrors akin to the lead...

I ate dinner here with a party of five. That gave us the opportunity to order many dishes.

The atmosphere in the restaurant is really nice. It's a bit loud but not as bad as many other Boise institutions.

Our server Sonja was great. Attentive and patient. She was there when we needed her and was helpful with her suggestions.

Our party had an old fashioned, some kind of herbed gin drink and a margarita. I'm told that the pours are very good. So expect strong drinks.

The highlight of the evening were Ken's Biscuits. Do not visit Percy's without ordering the biscuits. They are crispy and savory and tasty. I think the butter could use a little more maple. But overall these tasty treats were awesome.

Every other dish that we ordered was completely oversalted. Some dishes were so salty that they made your mouth pucker. The Sourdough Pappardelle was particularly salty. It was really so salty it was difficult to taste anything else.

I had the sticky ribs which are accompanied by yams. The ribs were, of course, salty. And they were much less flavorful than I had expected. But overall they weren't a bad choice. Very, very tender. The yams are coated with a miso mustard glaze that is overwhelming and unpleasant. A bit of the flavoring would be interesting. But the yams were completely overwhelmed.

The Percy Burger was cooked perfectly but was, again, extremely salty. As were the Percy Potatoes. Although the Percy Potatoes come with a paste at the bottom of the bowl that is quite interesting. The Baby Gem salad had some interesting flavors but was overdressed and, of course, salty.

The food here might just be terrific if the chefs can learn to dial the salt way back. But this place is worth it just to go and have a drink at the bar and order Ken's Biscuits. Just gorge on those and you'll be a...