Saltbrush - Food Place | Restaurant in Boise — Restaurant in Idaho

UPdate-- food still great. Service issues dealt with. Been back 3 times and so happy this restaurant is in Boise

Truly stunning food. Without a doubt one of the best meals available in Boise today. The Saltbrush kitchen immediately steps into a realm of quality, innovation and delecitibility that is only topped by Kin in this valley. The front of the house is a far different story. 15 minutes from being seated to being greeted. Almost 20 more for a cocktail. The bar was far from busy. The restaurant was maybe 3/4 full. It wasn't an overwhelmed staff. The house cocktails were reasonably tasty but not a strong suit. Certainly presentation of them is second rate. Did I mention the food is remarkable. The waiter belongs at a chain restaurant. When perusing the menu inquiries were made about descriptions that received answers that were dismissive and even ignorant. A very nice wine list, but wanting to understand the food so as to pair appropriately with the meals was an exercise in futility. Have I said anything about how good the food is? The tagliatelle was a perfectly made pasta with pea ragu that was a bright expressive preparation with acid and citrus tones. A perfect meal for a spring evening, The Calabria pepper sauce with the perfectly cooked and lovingly presented pork chop created a perfect balance with maybe the creamiest polenta the planet has ever seen. The spread with the masa was said to be lentil but it came across as some of the tastiest hummus ever. I would have just identified it as garbanzos. So tasty though. But the incredible food was served before the waiter returned to get a wine order. The expediter took a by the glass order after delivering the meals and that too took some time as we picked at the meals. Neither server, manager nor greeter made even a perfunctory "how was everything" query which one might expect in a newer establishment. A random chat with another couple we did not know as they left confirmed that our experience that the service was laughable while the food was magical had been theirs as well. we will be back. often. But will be aggressive about managing the flow of our meal. And if seated with this server will ask...

Disappointing for the price point.

My girlfriend and I came in to celebrate a special day and were excited to try this restaurant. The first thing we noticed was how loud it was. I think the dining area just needs some thicker curtains to absorb the sound but that wasn't a huge deal. We ordered the cured meats plate and it was pretty good but very small portions of the meats you want the most like the prosciutto.

Then came the Saltbrush salad... this was not good. it could have been good but the vegetables were old, soft, and warm like the dressing had been mixed into the salad 12+ hours before serving and then left at room temperature. This was the first time I've has sliced radish that was soft with almost no crunch. Unfortunately, I had to ask for silverware after waiting for 5 minutes or so because our waitress took my fist set with our plates after the cured meats.

Drinks can be very subjective but both our drinks were a bit on the sweet side, but they looked nice.

For our main entrées my girlfriend got the Thai Snapper, and it was delicious, and at a price of $34 there was no complaining! I, on the other hand, got the New York Strip, medium rare. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. Immediately, I believed it was a bit on the rare side of medium rare which is usually no big deal, you just ask them to throw it on the grill for a little longer, but that wasn't an option because the entire steak was already sliced. The quality was of the meat was nice but what really upset me was that I was having to trim or chew through thick connective tissue with almost every bite. That's totally acceptable at a place like Texas Roadhouse but not when you want to charge $65 for a steak. It showed a major lack of attention to detail that is required if you want to be considered fine dining and not just overpriced. The steak came with mushrooms and small halved potato's. The mushrooms were fantastic but the potatoes were soft and chewy on the outside, and dry on the inside, like they had been cooked hours before and then microwaved to serve.

I wish I could say more good stuff about this place but I would pick quite a few other restaurants over Saltbrush to spend your $200+ on...

We dined on a Monday evening to celebrate a friend's birthday, hoping for an elevated dining experience. While there are some positives, there are significant areas for improvement.

Positives:

The restaurant's design is beautiful, with an intimate, slightly romantic, art deco feel. They did a great job on its aesthetics. Our server was sweet and kind, though it was clear he lacked training in elevated service.

Service:

Our server was well-intentioned but unprepared for a finer dining experience. For example, when we mentioned it was a birthday celebration, he awkwardly started singing "Happy Birthday," which felt unprofessional. He often couldn't answer questions about the dishes, and his lack of knowledge was evident. The timing was off; he brought a scoop of ice cream to celebrate the birthday while the birthday girl was away from the table, and he even tried to light the candle in her absence.

Food:

The steak we ordered didn't match the photos shared on their social media. It appeared as if it had been sitting too long, with hardly any chimichurri and thinly smeared potatoes. The steak was rare instead of the medium-rare we ordered. The pork chop meal had good flavors, especially the polenta, but the presentation was lacking, and the main dish was outshone by its side. The duck fried potatoes were disappointing; they were mushy inside and not crisp on the outside. The crudo didn’t match the social media representations and fell short of expectations. For dessert, they were out of the chocolate cake, the only appealing option, which led us to go next door for dessert.

Overall:

While the restaurant has potential, it needs to align its service and food quality with the elevated dining experience it aims to provide. The prices are too high for the current quality, and they should consider adjusting them while they work on perfecting their menu and training their staff.

Until improvements are made, I can't recommend it for dinner, though I might return for happy hour or appetizers. I hope they can turn things around because the place has a lot...