Epi's A Basque Restaurant — Restaurant in Meridian

I was torn when writing this, especially since I felt GUILTY of giving this place anything lower than a 5. The service here is remarkable & felt very personal and family like, which I don’t think I’ve yet experienced from any restaurant. This is the biggest perk of this place. From the outside, the place looks small but the exterior is well kept and clean. There is parking behind the place as well as on the street upfront. I parked at the post office across the street.

We ordered 2 appetizers (Calamari & Mushrooms) as well as a bottle of house wine (Merlot). Both were very tasty, the sauce that came with the Calamari was a little spicy but delicious. The mushrooms were fantastic, the sauce that they were served with was great. If I had to pick 1, I’d recommend the mushrooms. I enjoyed dipping the included bread into the mushroom sauce. For entrees, we ordered the Grilled Lamb Loin Chops & the 12oz Rib-Eye Steak. Prior to receiving the entrees, you’re served a small bowl of soup (mushroom or red bean), as well as a small side salad. I’d recommend the mushroom soup over the red bean. For the Lamb Chops, you’re given 3 piece of lamb, however, each piece had a pretty big bone, and a good portion was fat, so out of each of the 3 pieces, you’d have maybe 3-4 bites of real lamb meat per piece which wasn’t what I was expecting. The sides were rice & fries. The rice was good, but for the price you’re paying for these entrees, you should get garlic mashed potatoes or seasoned red potatoes, not fries, regardless what day of the week it is. For dessert we ordered Gateau Basque & Triple Layer Chocolate Mousse. The Gateau Basque was served with this raspberry jam, which tasted good & fresh. The chocolate mousse cake was good as well, but I think the real winner would be if Epi’s served the chocolate mousse cake WITH the raspberry jam from the Gateau Basque cake. That combination would be my top choice.

There are a couple of negatives that when added up resulted in me giving this place a 3. The dining area is small, cramped, & loud, a byproduct when turning a house into a restaurant. I feel like Epi’s is trying to cram as many tables as they can into a very limited floor plan. Trying to sneak in food pictures was very embarrassing since it's so small and personal, especially when you use an actual camera to take them. I don’t agree at all with the categorization of Epi’s as “intimate” and the noise level as “average”. I had a hard time speaking to my party in a regular voice and had to always lean across the table and repeat myself when speaking. There’s no way I’d bring a date here for a romantic dinner, unless we plan on texting each other across the table all night.

The food was good, however I didn’t taste anything special. I’m not a food snob, so maybe I just don’t understand what the real Basque taste should be like & how Epi’s compares, but from an average Joe's perspective, I didn’t come away thinking how different or unique the food was. I thought that after eating here I’d know exactly what Basque food is and how it differentiates from the rest.

The final negative is the price. This place is very expensive, and while the food was good, I didn’t feel like the asking price was fair. For example the mushroom appetizer was around $15, something that I’d feel comfortable paying $8 for. For the amount of lamb you get from the lamb loin chops, I’d feel comfortable paying around $22-24. Same goes for the Cali bottled house wine, which for a 750ml bottle came in at $20. Don’t be surprised if you hit over $100 for a dinner for 2.

In conclusion, there are several factors that reflect the number of stars a place receives: atmosphere, service, pricing, food, and overall vibe. Epi’s hits on some, but not all. If this place renovated / expanded their dining area as well as remodeled their pricing, I think it’d be a step in the right direction. I do not regret coming here and I’m glad I was able to experience what top tier service and hospitality feels like. Overall, it hurts to say it, but as a total package, this...

Five years after the shocking news that Epi's Basque Restaurant owners Chris Ansotegui and Gina Ansotegui Urquidi planned to retire and that the outstanding Meridian restaurant might close, I'm happy to report that seemingly little has changed from the restaurant named after the women's grandmother, who ran a Basque boarding house in Hailey.

Sure, Chris is no longer there to cheerfully greet guests and give them a hug coming and going. Likewise, sister Gina and longtime server Bridget Murphy have also retired. But the current staff is just as good and the food is still wonderful.

Erik McFarland, Chris and Gina's nephew -- and Epi's great-grandson, now owns the restaurant and is head chef. He had already worked at the restaurant for 20 years when he bought it and is a graduate of Boise State's culinary program.

Friends of ours from Reno drove to Boise over the weekend and after treating them to the Greek Festival on Friday, we decided to take them to Epi's A Basque Restaurant the following night.

Early Saturday morning I texted their phone number and asked if they had a table available for that evening. The restaurant doesn't take online reservations, but you can call or text.

Within a few minutes I received a reply back listing their open slots and I was able to confirm our reservation. Upon arrival, Erik greeted us and from memory he knew they had a table for four for us.

We ordered a calamari appetizer along with one ai don't remember from past visits, Brussels sprouts in a sauce with chorizo. They were both excellent.

I ordered the pork chops with pimento for an entree. My companions chose the leg of lamb, beef medallions and roasted garlic chicken.

Dinners come with sliced baguettes (my only complaint is the bread isn't served warm), soup (cream of mushroom and red bean were the choices that night) and salad.

The mushroom soup is one of my favorites and it was just as rich and tasty as ever.

The entrees come with two side dishes that change nightly. Each of us received a serving of a yellow rice with chorizo along with a shared plate of homemade French fries.

While restaurants of different cuisines offer a flavored rice dish, many times it's a throwaway dish lacking a depth of flavor. Epi's rice is really good.

I love Epi's lamb chops, so it's always tough choosing between them, the leg of lamb and the pork chops. I usually switch off and sometimes order one of their fish specials.

The pork chops are flavorful and come with a small laye4 of fat along the edge. So much of the pork chops available in grocery stores have the fat bred out, leaving them dry and tasteless.

When I buy pork chops to cook at home, I get them from Boise's Carniceria Coalcoman. They buy whole hogs from a local farmer and butcher them themselves. The chops are like those available in stores 30 years ago.

Everything we ate that night at Epi's was excellent. Pro tip: If you order the medallions, ask for extra brandy peppercorn cream sauce on the side. It's addicting. I might ask for some next time with the lamb chops...

As a disclaimer, I am not Basque but my family is very proud Basque. Basque food is simple, hearty, and comfortable and this restaurant doesn’t not reflect the Basque cuisine. Our family of 6 went here to celebrate my husband’s birthday. He has been coming to Epi’s for his birthday since it’s opening in 1999. He has so many fond memories of coming here so to say the least he was heartbroken by this experience. This was my first and last time going to Epi’s. The atmosphere was cozy but that’s about the nicest thing I can say. Our waitress was friendly but didn’t do her job. She asked us once during the appetizers how everything was and then never again. Only one member of our party of 6 finished their food and it wasn’t because we were full. It seemed clear to me that our party wasn’t finishing anything including the dessert. We aren’t the type of people to make a scene and tell her how bad the food was unless she asks. I have been a waitress so I know to ask how everything is for each course and that customers are more forgiving than not if the food is bad because they know the wait staff aren’t cooking the food. Most of my quarrel is with the food. My husband got the lamb leg and it looked and tasted like a stoffer TV dinner. The meat was tough and it was such a dull colour. My daughter had the spaghetti and meatballs and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Prego sauce and freezer section meatballs. The sauce was sweet and orange and her meatballs were oddly smooth and perfectly uniform. I was fortunate to have the “best” meal out of all 6 of us. I had the lamb chops. They were cooked decently but the flavour was completely imbalanced. Their “paella” had an aftertaste of dishwater, the whole family agreed on the aftertaste. Dessert was somehow even more disappointing. For reference I have had a lot of Basque cheesecake or “gateau Basque” so I have no idea what they served me when I ordered it for dessert. Before I took the bite I knew it wasn’t going to be right. There was a thick, almost dried out, crust on top. I tried to cut through it but everything in the middle oozed out before I could cut through the top layer. The bottom was like a chewy cookie crust or something and the inside tasted like a cheap lemon bar filling. It also had a “fridge” taste that someone in my party agreed to so maybe they left it uncovered in the fridge? I don’t know. On top of that our party of 6 was charged a mandatory 20% gratuity for the waitress. I completely understand why but the waitress didn’t do her job so I don’t think that’s acceptable. We all paid separately so for 2 adults and 1 child expect to pay $150 on a meal that you eat less than 40% of. I hate leaving poor reviews but I hate seeing my family overcharged and...