River City Coffee and Cafe — Restaurant in Idaho

Highly disappointed. Don’t put coffee in the business name if the efforts aren’t there to make a decent cup. Then charge $4!! Even a Starbucks would be better (not an invitation).

The best thing this place can do is close up and make way for a vendor who cares for travelers, not just try to make a buck off them.

When a traveler flies through PDX, SeaTac, SFO, SLC there are good to great options for coffee, food and beverages. Few to none reside in Boise airport, save for perhaps local purveyor, Bardenay. At least we have that! This informs the traveler to question, “where am I,” and “where else would I rather be?”

Not at Boise airport. The security is slow, the coffee is abysmal, yet expensive; the food is uninspired. The vendor owners’ lack of passion and innovation is evident. At least the exits and entries are fairly quick, save for the gangbusters TSA. The rental car set up is perhaps the easiest and quickest experience among most airport. And still most of all, what do the largest number of air travelers need? A wake up call.

So please, for the love of Juan Valdez, get us some good coffee! The kind you can smell a terminal away like in PDX or SeaTac. Aroma that marks the investment in a great product and experience. A coffee that makes you feel like Boise Airport made it to the next level.

iflyboise.com and City of Boise Airport Commission please take note. I’ve seen a list of incoming proposed vendors by Oct 2025. It cannot be too soon. Take us into the future (present)! No one is going to miss River City Coffee and Cafe. More importantly, we yearn for a good value and memorable experience at the Boise Airport.

But wait, there’s more. While lamenting over this coffee water, I thought it unfair to write such a critical review without having tried more than just the coffee. Boy, was that a mistake. I approached the counter with trepidation, knowing full well, what was in store, “which of these breakfast items are the best you have to offer?” Don’t think about the coffee. One may not reflect the quality of the other. “Um, they’re all pretty basic,” the counter attendant offering help and a lifeline. “So you’re telling me I shouldn’t even bother.” A quizzical look, “hmmmmm.” It was a lifeline, and I elected to guess. She could’ve saved me $9. Instead, of common sense, I went for adventure.

The Bacon Breakfast Burrito from the glass case was hard enough that when I bit into it, immediately I thought about my next dental appointment. Honestly, I wanted a refund. It was THAT bad. I can’t remember the last time I asked for a refund. Her warning echoed in my head, ‘they’re all pretty basic.” She was right about the flavor—basic. The condition of the tortilla was offensive. I swallowed my criticism with every cracking, tough bite. Momma said never to waste.

The silver lining of the experiment is that there is no remorse for this review. It’s accurate. Bye bye River City Coffee and Cafe, hello to the vendor that cares about coffee and...

The official Boise Airport website states River City Cafe opens at 4am. Twice in the last month I’ve had early morning flights, and I can tell you they DO NOT open at 4am.

They opened their gate halfway around 4:15-ish the first time I stopped. I asked how long they would be and was told 10 minutes, so I waited until 4:35 and got breakfast and coffee.

For my second flight on Nov. 5, 2023, no one would even acknowledge I (and three other potential customers) were waiting, so at 4:43 I asked if they would open soon. One of the women rudely responded they were going to open soon - I asked if they were aware of the posted 4am opening.. ?

She said they’d had issues, and further advised that Cross Grain had a coffee station open; I thanked her for her rudeness and all 4 of us who’d been waiting backtracked to Cross Grain, as their coffee station had been out since 4:30.

River City either needs to change posted hours to avoid false advertising or hire employees who are on time and represent good customer service. At this point the folks behind the counter do neither. I guarantee I am not alone in...

Review not about River City Coffee (although cashier was very kind), but about some customers there. I needed a drink for the plane to take medicine. With the line so long, I grabbed an iced tea ($3.49 + tax) and went to the couple at the register and offered $6.00 to them to add the iced tea to their bill due to my flight already boarding.

They said okay, the employee rang it up right away and the couple handed it to me. They also gave me my money back, and said the tea was on them, to just pass on the good deed forward.

You see....I was boarding a flight to go home after finding out my mom has just passed away. The couple have no idea how moved I was by their simple gesture!

I cried all the way to my gate knowing that there are still really great and caring people left in this world. There kindness came at a time I needed it most!

I thanked them several times, and I hope that they might see this. But basically.....Boise has the most kind & caring people that I continue to meet (even for directions), after living there for 15 months now!

Will definitely be passing the good...