Lucky 13 — Restaurant in Idaho

Came here on a Sunday right around noon, and my overall impressions were positive. The pizza here definitely isn't the best in town, but the atmosphere was what influenced me to give this place such a high rating. I thought the overall vibe inside was fantastic.

The weather was beautiful when we came, so the outdoor seating was more crowded than their inside dining area. There's a smaller outdoor area on the side of the building that was empty, however, it was in the shade and could've been a little chilly, especially now in the fall. The interior dining area actually has 2 stories, but the 2nd story isn't as big as the first, and only has 1 TV (there were at least 6 on the 1st story). There are a lot of neat decorations inside, and the overall lighting was great (lots of windows, but not a lot of direct sunlight coming in, making it naturally lit but not blinding you). Combined with the lighter colored wooden interior, and the cool decorations, I think I personally liked it more than the outdoor seating. Both the tables, floors, and bathrooms were clean.

You order the food at the counter, and pay right at the time of ordering. You'll get a block of wood with a letter on it to place at your table. I actually think I prefer this type of ordering vs having a waiter and paying at the end, mainly for the fact that once you're done eating, you can leave right there and then instead of having to wait for your waiter. Napkins, plastic utensils, pepper, and other little things are available on the counter by the staircase (self serve). I liked the fact that once you order and eventually get your food (which was fairly quick, maybe because they weren't too busy?), you're not being bothered by anyone, leaving you to peacefully enjoy your time there. This ties into my next point, I thought the atmosphere here was super laid back. I was surprised at how empty the inside dining area was during a football Sunday. There were only a handful of people inside, all minding their own business (either watching a particular football game or simply working on their laptop). If this is the norm here, I think this would be a fantastic place to get a couple of beers and enjoy some games (unless you're a Steelers / Browns fan, then you HAVE to go to Players Pub and Grill).

We ordered a medium Moon Pie pizza, and this was the biggest overall letdown of the place. The pizza wasn't bad, but being right around the same overall pricing tier as Flying Pie Pizza, I couldn't stop thinking about how much bigger / better / tastier the pizza was at Flying Pie. If I was ordering carryout pizza to take home, OR was only concerned about the most bang for buck, I'd go with Flying Pie Pizza, since their interior is very uninspired, dark, crowded, and loud BUT they do pile on the toppings there. On the other hand, since Lucky 13 has such a fantastic atmosphere inside (unique decor, great lighting, LAID BAAACK), along with the really crisp HDTVs, if you're planning on eating in and not carrying out then I'd go with Lucky 13.

I only read other people's reviews right before finishing mine, and I'm left thinking maybe I'm missing something here, due to the high number of negative reviews, ESPECIALLY one of the individuals that straight up roasted this place (which is totally fine, I understand everyone has different tastes and expectations). Based off my first visit here, I thought this was a really good overall package. I think the high rating for me is heavily based off how much I liked the laid back and not so crowded atmosphere. If this is how little traffic they get on a Sunday afternoon, this is a GREAT place to watch football. Overall, solid 4 from me.

P.S. The neighborhood Lucky 13 is in is beautiful. After eating here, I walked around and looked at all the nice houses and landscaping. If you enjoy that kind of stuff, then this place would be a great stop before or...

Update to my original 2023 review: June 2024 - went by to see if my favorite Boise OG staple restaurant still sucks under the ‘new’ ownership. Yes, my original review below is still very much valid. So sad, this is squarely on the owners’ hands.

Original 2023 review: To start, I do not want to leave a negative google review, I would prefer to reach out to new owners directly, but there is no known way to contact them, so I am writing a bit of a detailed review here, in hopes this feedback makes it back to them, not as negative, but as constructive in hopes these topics may be addressed.

Lucky 13 has been a Boise institution, dating back to its time in Hyde Park. The new owners have implemented a few changes I would like to suggest be rethought and things that have not changed be considered for refinement. I have been a Lucky 13 customer for decades and would like to continue to enjoy the amazing patio, but after a number of recent visits, we do not intend to quickly return, but do want to if improvements can be made.

Food Quality - I don't know what the heck is going on, but the changes to the pizza are significantly negative. I'm sorry, but I have to say, the pizza has devolved to amongst the worst in Boise. Let's put it this way, our family eats a lot of pizza and no leftover pizza lasts in our fridge - with Lucky 13's current pizza, there is more leftover and the leftovers do not get eaten. It's that every part of the pizza is low quality, especially the crust, which is exceptionally poor.

Warm Beer - when I sit on the awesome patio in the warm weather, I would very much like to enjoy a quite cold beer. For me, colder the better, but at minimum cold and refresing. last time there, this past weekend, the beer was barely cooler than room temperature. I have to say, as a patio establishment, if you are not able to successfully accomplish making sure all your beers are served refreshingly cold, you're going to have a hard go of it - thank goodness you have the prime location and not much competition in a hugely growing area.

Point of Sale - This is less critical, but still something that warrants comment. When I'm sitting on the beautiful patio, trying to enjoy my gas station quality pizza and warm beer, I would at least like to pay the tab at my own pace. Not the process at new Lucky 13. Normally, a check is dropped off at your table, or in the old days you paid at counter on your preferred timeline - both work. The problem with the new system is, as a customer, I am rushed to be on the servers schedule for when they want to collect payment - the server comes to the table with a tablet - you have to stop what you are doing, or stop what conversation you are having, and right then and there get your form of payment out and pay the tab. Sorry, but this can be quite intrusive to the patio experience when you are trying to enjoy the company of friends and family - recommend moving away from this POS process to one that enhances the customer experience, rather than degrade it.

Again, I've loved Lucky 13 for decades, I have no problem with change (good change), but please, guys, please, get it together because, right now, from me and my family's perspective, it's sucking. Hope this helps and do not mean anything negative, just want to have great experiences on a great patio...

We have gone to Lucky 13 several times in the past; from when they were in the north end/hyde park area to when they moved to Harris Ranch and every time was great, great pizza, great service and great atmosphere. My wife and I went this time after spending a wonderful time in Idaho City and thought we would end a great day with a great pizza at Lucky 13. We pulled in and they weren’t very busy and were able to walk right up and order. Here’s where things fell apart in a hurry. The hostess/waitress stood in front of the cash register and just stared at me like, “umm you’re in the wrong spot to order”. My thoughts and maybe I have better manners or care more about service than she does, but I would have said,” If you’d like to come over here I can take your order” and say it with a smile. After she took our order and gave us a piece of wood to put on our table, then we sat for over 30 minutes. Now you may be saying to yourself you’ve waited longer or that’s average but we were the only ones ordering. There was a table of people inside that were enjoying their meal and outside a few tables of people enjoying their meal; which lead me to believe they were making our pizza right away. After our waitress/hostess (same one who took our order) came out with our order and started to walk away and I had to say, “hey can we get a to go box so we don’t have to wait later?” “ medium or large box?” She very dryly spoke to us. I told her large and off she went. In the past, here and at other eateries, the waitress or waiter usually says something like,” is there anything else I can help you with?” Or “I hope you enjoy your meal and please let us know if you need anything else “. Now for the pizza, very runny, veggies barely cooked and just not a lot of flavor. Unfortunately that was the last straw for us and will be the last time we ever go. It’s a shame because we have such fond memories of this place. It’s not the same place or...