The Tower Grill — Restaurant in Nampa

The Tower Grill, at105 Municipal Drive, Nampa can be hard to find. If you are on Garrity Blvd, turn south at the light on 39th and it’s behind the Warhawk Museum, follow the green signs to the Nampa Municipal airport. Located on the second floor, so there are steps. You can also take a small elevator. It is not a large dining area, with about 40 plus seats and so may have a wait if busy. During warm months there is an outside deck, great for viewing planes taking off and landing, sometimes catching the historic planes visiting the Warhawk. I never saw the 2021 article when it came out from 107.9 Lite on seven Boise area ‘hole in the wall’ restaurants that serve exceptional food, which included The Tower Grill. However, I did have two friends who kept on pushing for our lunch classic car group to try this place, so my first visit was Spring 2022. We sat outside on a small, elevated patio and heard and watched planes during conversations. It’s part of the charm along with the signage related to flight and folksy décor. Nothing fancy, just good solid place to enjoy without dressing up. Been back almost a dozen times and that’s because I love the food choices - twists on comfort breakfasts, hearty sandwiches, tall, layered burgers and flavorful tacos. But most people also enjoy it because they treat you like family. Maybe that’s because, with six kids and the desire to lift everyone up that works there, Chef owner Nate and Heidi have instilled an ethic. The wait staff are always hustling to get everybody served, refilled with decent coffee and making sure everybody is happy. No Yelp reviews saying, “I waited forty minutes to get noticed.” Even if I haven’t been a regular since it opened in the fall of 2016, I feel just as welcome. By the way, the ordering system is like a fast/casual place. Grab a seat, read the printed menu, maybe get a fresh-brewed coffee, a beer or “?” Check out the blackboard for daily specials, then order at the cash register, pay, and it’s delivered promptly. If paying by cc and you want to wait to tip an amount, I’d suggest bringing cash. I’m always surprised when breakfast places have weak coffee, or coffee that’s made in such large quantities that it turns bitter. Not expecting Starbuck’s but do like a full-bodied blend. The Tower Grill coffee is very good and frequently refilled. Not done automatically, the server asked each time if it was ok to top off, a nice touch. The Giant Cinnamon Roll may not be as famous as the Big City Coffee version, but it’s good and I’d recommend sharing. You can have it without the frosting, but it wouldn’t be as indulgent.

Breakfast can be busy on Fridays and Saturdays. My wife either has the “F-111” one egg breakfast with one piece of toast, two slices of bacon instead of ham steak or one sausage. If experimenting, she has the avocado toast with tomato, scrambled eggs and bacon bits. It usually has Everything Seasoning, she opted to not have added. The server also suggested having it on the side, a nice option. A good size portion, so I got a taste too. Loved that the bread was crisp so not soggy, chunks of avocado in the spread and meaty bits of bacon. There’s Huckleberry Crunch French toast with granola, topped with whipped cream or just order traditional, but you are missing out. I change it up each time, may indulge in the biscuit and gravy dish with two eggs over easy and added a side of bacon. Good balanced flavor of the sausage gravy which doesn’t have a floury aftertaste some places do, some sausage bits but topped with chunks of bacon. The biscuit was not overly dense, the combination had a nice balance. Really hungry? Order a half pound chicken fried steak with sausage gravy, eggs, skillet potatoes (with peppers) or an ample amount of hash browns. Really really hungry? a DC-3 has three meats...

We came on a Friday about 1:15 pm for lunch. I chose Tower Grill based on the reviews. I thought it would be fun to sit and watch the planes take off and land. I didn't know where exactly the restaurant was located but we were headed from Star to Nampa for errands so I thought, let's give it a try.

It is located within the grounds of the Nampa Municipal Airport, almost next to the Warhawk Air Museum. It is a small building and the restaurant is upstairs. I don't know what I was expecting but it is a very small and plain indoor dining area with outdoor seating as well. On a warm day the outdoor seating would be very cool. We grabbed a window table.

One plane, most likely a student, was practicing take offs and landings. From our table we only saw the take offs. We saw a few other planes taxiing, otherwise the airport was pretty quiet.

The servers were nice young women. One got us our drinks and took our food order. Another delivered the food. After the food was delivered, no one came back to check on us.

My wife had the fish and chips and I had the grilled chicken sandwich. I had the fries and my wife the sweet potato fries. We liked the fries but my sandwich and the fish were just OK.

I'm glad we tried the Tower Grill but I don't think...

Until today, when a friend suggested the Tower Grill, I didn't know it existed. I didn't know there was a restaurant at the airport - I didn't even know the building they're in was out there. Surprise surprise!

The Tower Grill serves really good food. I had a grilled chicken burger and fries. The chicken is served on a ciabatta bun (I think that's what it is but I'm not a chef, unlike Nate who is a great chef), with all the toppings and avocado. It was delicious! The fries were crispy and although I'm a big guy who likes fries, I didn't eat them all. The burger was more than filling. I'm thinking it also had some garlic sort-of sauce on it - a perfect addition to the flavors.

The atmosphere is fun - an aviation theme (of course). It was quiet even though there were 12 or 15 people there. And the servers are really friendly, and helpful.

I would highly recommend The Tower Grill. Support your local restaurateur.

There's just one thing they could use: an elevator. I would love to bring my mom, but there's no way she could do the stairs. And the only reason I didn't give them 5 stars is because I never believe 5 star reviews. I figure they're made up, or inflated. So my 4 star review means this is a...