Wild Root cafe - Seasonal Food & Craft Cocktails in Boise — Restaurant in Boise

I remember visiting Wild Root several years ago and leaving as a fan. Their menu has changed a little over the years. I wanted to try their dinner selections so I made reservations online for two. My expectations were high. Unfortunately, Wild Root didn’t quite live up to the hype.

My husband and I started with a Chamomille Julep (Bulleit rye, muddled mint, chamomille honey, crushed ice and angostura bitters, $16.00) and Lavender Daydream (Empress 1908 gin, house lavender syrup, lavender bitters, Lillet Blanc, aquafaba, lemon juice and lavender flowers, $15.00), respectively. My husband’s drink was nothing but a splash of rye engulfed in a pile of ice. It didn’t taste like anything special, it might as well have been on the rocks (more like boulders). He was unimpressed as I was with my lavender concoction. Not only was it super sour, but it hardly tasted like lavender which was a shock considering how much of it went into the drink according to the menu. I didn’t even want to finish it.

After the disappointing drinks I was really hoping the food would come in clutch. However, it fell way short of what I expected. My husband ordered the Garden Pasta (zucchini noodles, garlic, sautéed seasonal vegetables, micro greens and toast, $18.00). He didn’t mind his dish too much but found it unimpressive. It was rather bland and the portion size was extremely tiny. I had a couple bites and liked the tenderness of the noodles but other than that the dish doesn’t really have much going for it.

My dish was the Summer Risotto (creamy risotto, asparagus, artichoke hearts, parmesan, confit garlic, kale, blueberries, lemon zest, smoked salt and micro greens, $20.00) with a salmon filet (+$10.00). It started out okay, but as I ate my way through I found way too many artichoke hearts for my liking. Like it was full of them. Additionally, the more I ate, the more I found myself disliking the flavor more and more. I just don’t think the ingredients blended well together. The blueberries were a great, unique addition but overall I was just not a fan. I don’t think it’s a bad dish, just not for my palate.

Service was insanely slow but I think that just had to do with them being short staffed. There were just three servers that evening. Ours seemed uninterested in answering any of our questions about the drinks and menu but I get it. It’s...

Update to review: I want to thank Dan for reaching out to me regarding this unfortunate situation. Thank you, Dan, for going through the trouble to email me and my friend with a very generous Gift Certificate to Wild Root and for apologizing and taking the steps to make sure no one is ever treated badly again.

We look forward to many visits to Wild Root to try again! You definitely went out of your way to right the situation by refunding my purchase and offering me the Gift Certificates. You should not be punished due to poor judgment by a worker.

Thank you so much. You made our day!

Friends who always come here recommended I dine here. On my way to meeting friends during Parent’s Weekend at Boise, I stopped here for dinner last night's hostess, long brown hair, white crocheted dress, was cold and rude from the minute I stepped in to be seated. She told me she would bring me water asap but warned me they were busy and I might have to wait for service.

I was ok with that as long as I had water. Twenty minutes later, and after watch her serve EVERYONE on the patio while ignoring me- even guests who came after me-I said, “Excuse me, can I please have a water? I’ve waited 20 minutes.” She said,” I don’t have a glass.” “I questioned her while looking at all of the empty tables, "I said, well can I have a beer, please?” She said rudely, “I’m not your server. Stop yelling at me or go eat somewhere else!"

I was NOT yelling and waited while every other table got service and NO ONE even acknowledged me after 20 minutes! Who wouldn’t be upset?!

I finally had another waitress wait on me. She was EXCELLENT. The French dip was tough and grisly. But the fries were good.

Ordered the sour beer. Yummy! I tipped my waitress well. I hope she doesn’t have to share with the hostess who also waited on other tables.

My situation was not unique. I watched four other groups walk out due to lack of service.

My friends, the regulars, will not return.

I suggest your hostess get a review course on proper etiquette. I will...

The idea is awesome. The meal pictures are looking really delicious. I was very happy to find this place, since food looked really healthy and homie for me. Let me explain why I give three stars. Zero stars for coffee: I had drip and it was really diluted. It was hard to say if they used freshly grinned coffee beans or older, even though I did ask that before ordering. You could hardly taste coffee in it. I wouldn't call it coffee, it's warm water with coffee flavor. 5 stars for service: I had Anika, she was great. 4 stars for Wild skillet: ingredients get 5 stars from me. I would serve it on a plate rather than skillet. I expected the meal be filling and feeling healthy and light, but it was rather heavy due to all the ingredients being fried and left soaking in access oil in the skillet. Frying healthy ingredients in a lot of oil crosses out all the good intention of using fresh veggies. I would suggest not to fry greens plus tomatoes, but serve it fresh with a dash of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I loves oyster mushrooms in it. All in all, the dish was missing freshness and coffee needs to be much stronger. I am planning to go back and try other dishes, I cannot quit on this place. Again, I...