Cafe Tuscano — Restaurant in Pocatello

This place seems to be really polarizing. I think I've figured it out. The quality is very inconsistent. The first time I ate here I was skeptical because it is in the back of a gas station, but as my crawfish bisque came out, all my worries left. It was maybe the best bisque I've had. Absolutely delicious and full of crawfish, with full tails being the norm.

Same with the second time I came back. Service was great, everything I tried was good, and the service was on par. The third time I came I brought someone who had never been, trying to share this hidden gem and get this wonderful place a new patron.

This time everything was flipped. The bisque was more of a sauce than a soup. If there was any crawfish in it, it was blended so small that it blended with the background. It was so greasy that if you did not constantly stir it, it would seperate and you would have oil covering the surface. I don't mean the way that things will seperate eventually if left unattended. I mean within ten seconds the oil was pooling on the surface.

I also ordered the tri tip gorgonzola fettuccine. It was the same story. The fettuccine was far overdone. The tri tip was so hard and overdone, it had the consistency of jerky and the taste of charcoal. And the gorgonzola was hard little nuggets.

After that I gave it a break, probably four months. Then I felt it needed another chance. This time it was very good. Not as good as that magic first impression but good enough that I would try it again soon.

Two weeks down the road I show up for some lunch and order a quick bisque and caesar salad. The salad came out and half of it was brown and slimy. The bisque came out and had those same issues as before. The service matched the quality of the food. We ordered our drinks they left. They came back for our orders and apologized for forgetting the drinks, they would be right out. Came back with the salads and once again apologized. Came out with the bisque and apologized another time. Half way through our bisque we got them. The thing was, they weren't busy. Maybe three small groups.

So, you can see why this place has such significant sway in ratings. When they're on, they are amazing. When they aren't they are bottom of the barrel. Bottom line is, if you want to take a chance, by all means try them. But, be warned it could...

Congratulations are in order. You found the best place to eat in Pocatello, ID. The food is AMAZING! I've been to Italy and this food takes me back there each time. The drinks are great. The Caprese is wonderful. The bar is a nice place to hang out. A game is usually on. The service is wonderful. My man Brock and Rockstar Lisa are always a pleasure to see. They won't steer you wrong on the best dish of the night and are always welcoming... the atmosphere here is just delightful and you sometimes run into a celebrity or two here. But you would be amazed at how affordable the food is for the superior quality you receive. I recently spent the same amount of money at Costa Vida a really terrible fast food mexican chain on the other side of town that just needs to die and go out of business... it was awful and I had to eat out of a pie tin. Taco Bell has better food wrapped in paper and that's not a compliment to Costa Vida. So imagine my surprise when I found out I could eat here at Cafe Tuscano, have the Tri-Tip fettucine and a nice drink pictured in the photo below... and share a nice meal with my lovely wife, who ordered the chicken caesar salad, for the exact same price!! Do you want to drive the Ferrari or the Geo Metro? What if you could buy the Ferrari for the price of the Metro? Cafe Tuscano is that Formula 1 Ferrari of the Italian Cafe's. Not for speed, but for over all quality and craftsmanship. I would bring my family or large groups here any time. I know everyone will have a wonderful meal and a good time. We live just up the street within walking distance. It's kind of our neighborhood fine dining. Please help us keep it classy when you visit. And it's ok to hold your wife's hand at dinner and lean in a little closer. That's a common sight here. It's got that romantic atmosphere. And its relatively easy on the wallet. You'll pay the same or more at other places in town, but the food, service and atmosphere won't even come close to the quality of Cafe Tuscano's.

now... how do we keep...

What a disappointment. Let me tell you that we first gave the restaurant itself an opportunity to respond to our below-five-star-experience when we contacted them directly and NO ONE bothered to respond to us...so now we go public with our review. First of all, we moved here from southern California and have had the pleasure of experiencing some amazing food while there and were open minded and hopeful when we found Cafe Tuscano online. On paper it sounds great, we were even willing to look past the weird convienence store entrance (which is easily avoidable for a restaurant that wants to charge $15 average plate). But there was no excusing the bowl of oil and grease that was presented to my husband upon ordering the fettucini and the questionable dish that was presented to me upon ordering the pork medallions. What was given to me was something that represented a burrito cut in half, dried out and crispy, no pork or medallion to be found, dried out mashed potatoes with a hair on top for good measure (I kid you not, and no, didn't bother to complain). My dish was so disgusting that I took a picture to prove to management that it looked nothing like it's discription; I took 2 bites and gave up. I literally did not want to feed it to my dog. My husband, who will eat anything, ate his entire bowl of separated, chunky, disgusting grease and ended up paying for it with 4 trips to the bathroom overnight. As mentioned previously, we emailed the restaurant directly and have heard nothing back from them. THIS PLACE IS A JOKE OF ITALIAN COOKING AND BEYOND A RIP OFF. Don't waste your time or money!!! It was a $60 lesson we learned. The only redeeming quality was our server, Jake, who was very friendly but should take his services elsewhere. Please don't make the same mistake as we did and as a Sicilian/Italian girl raised back East, I KNOW good Italian food and...