A’Tavola

Newly arrived in Boise and was seeking an Italian specialty shop… from my research, this was the place… Well, nothing Italian about it… several items by the ‘deli’ area that had Italian sounding names and not one Italian pastry in the pastry counter, although there was a lovely chocolate cake for $ 35??? Was there around 2PM… could it be the ‘Italian items’ were sold out… I think not… Change the name to something less ethnic… say…Cutesy Café… yes that would do…

The sandwich and cake I got were both delicious but the 3 salad combo I got was very lack luster to put it nicely… Comes with two deli case style salads of your choice and a mixed greens salad for $ 11.95 the salads are similar to the co-​op but not nearly as good and so much more expensive! Also the quality of the salads was certainly lower than I had expected, my potato salad was dry and my kale Greek salad had been soaking up the dressing for far too many hours… Disappointed to say the least. I do not recommend coming here, I should have gone with my original first choice for lunch.

I love this place. I had a espresso con panna with two macaroons. Delicious. I have also had lunch there and it was fantastic as well. Only four stars due to a little odd on the set up with coffee and pastries being separate from the deli items.

This place is super cute and has all of the specialty grocery store items you would expect. I was stunned to find out they carry Harney and Sons teas! I fell in love with this tea years ago and was able to get them at 1 restaurant back home, but could not find it elsewhere (except online) until I came here.
My husband and I tried a couple things from their cold case. I tried their pesto pasta and thought it was amazing! My husband had their polenta lasagna. He loved his dish as well! Finished the whole thing and it was a generous portion!
We will be returning often to browse their selection, eat a nibble, and of course buy some of that tea!

I’m a fan of their fresh, imaginative food offerings. One of their best offerings is being able to order 3 salads from their deli case. I like their patio seating, weather permitting, better than eating inside (feels too much like a cafeteria). It’s also nice that the desserts are ordered and served from a separate counter, so if you just have a sweet tooth you can skip the line at the deli counter.

Unique dining spot – like eating in a boutique – the salads were excellent, very unique! Wonderful adaptive reuse of their space. If I lived in Boise, I’d eat there often!

WILL NEVER GO BACK. I went here once and will never return. I ordered a sandwich out of the deli. The guy who was helping me grabbed the sandwich with his BARE HANDS. No gloves or use of tongs. Total health hazard and poor employee training. Where is the health inspector when you need him? Needless to say, I will not be going back, ever.

This place was fun. We met a friend here for lunch. Very good food and I want to go back when the patio is open. It can be a little loud because of the floors but other than that a very nice experiance. The fine foods were pretty spendy but the food wasn’t over the top spendy.

Came to Boise for Thanksgiving week. I had been hearing about this place so I had to come check it out. WOW what a classy place. I had to spend a few minutes looking around at the items for sale before I placed my lunch order. I will definitely be back here again.

Very classy!
Great selection of salads, sandwiches, and deli foods. I’m having a difficult time fighting off the overwhelming need to go into the bakery and coffee shop section.
Service is very quick, and the staff is very courteous and friendly. Prices are very reasonable considering the service and quality of food.

Came here for a business meeting over coffee.
What it has going for it:
+ Parking is great. For this location in the Linen District (in such close proximity to downtown), the fact that it has a full, private lot is wonderful.
+ The patio is wonderful. We were able to sit under an umbrella enjoying the pleasant spring morning weather during our meeting, which is fabulous!
+ The gift shop looks absolutely adorable. I didn’t have time to peruse – but I will come back to do so as it looked darling.
What’s less than grand:
— The coffee was meh. I ordered a Mexican mocha and the espresso was weak and the usual flavorful spiced chocolate one expects in a Mexican mocha tasted all but absent.
— They have a minimum purchase on debit cards. So, if you’re there to buy a mocha – you’re going to have to purchase something else to put you over the $ 5 minimum. A minor annoyance – but this girl never has cash – debit carding it all the time – so, again, a bit annoying.
— The patio is gorgeous but the seating is really tight – to the point that if someone is sitting at the table behind you, it’s darn near impossible to sit there. The table behind us complained about it and we struggled with it as well.
I didn’t try any of their eats but my dining companion had a chocolate cake that looked pretty amazing. I would definitely be willing to give their cuisine a try – but strictly for coffee? Nope.

Had the Breakfast Sandwich, it’s so good highly recommend!

I stopped by in late afternoon to browse the gift shop. The only thing I ended up purchasing was a chocolate shortbread cookie from the coffee/​pastry counter. It was thoroughly dried out and stale, and as best I could tell, would have had a disgusting flavor even had it been fresh. I choked down a couple of bites and then threw out the rest.
I had asked the man at the counter whether the baked good are freshly made every day, and he said that most are not. That being the case, they should consider that this is a semi-​desert climate and take measures to keep things from drying out too badly (not displaying them in the open air, for one thing!)
This place did have some intriguing items that I might be back to try (polenta lasagna, for example!), but the prices are pretty steep.

Salads are excellent but with a little too much dressing, and the food in general is better than average but way overpriced. You can get a much better meal for example at 36^th Street Bistro and Whole Foods for almost half the price and a better view.

I used to live about a block away from this place in LA it was called Joan’s on 3^rd. This place is almost exactly like it but with far less options. In addition to their gourmet take on the food it’s not as gourmet in my opinion. I have tried just about everything in this place because my Mother loves it. I think it’s because I forgot to take her to Joan’s when I lived in LA.
I’m giving this place 3 stars because of all 5 – 6 times I’ve been here I haven’t been impressed with the food. It’s an average place for lunch but I will say if pastries are your thing you’ll enjoy the other side of the restaurant.

I want to love A’Tavola. I want to. With all of my local loving heart. But alas — anyplace that I can order two tiny things and be at a THIRTY DOLLAR ($ 30) pre-​tax, pre-​tip lunch, I just struggle to love.
There is something mystical about trying to order from their deli cases. Order their 3 salad lunch, it’s $ 13.00. Try to get that to go and you find yourself holding tiny containers and going «wait…wait…how are these $ 13 each?»
While the wait staff tried to unconfuse me, I just wish they’d heard «I just want lunch to-go…that’s all… at the same price of the lunch I could eat here.»
Perhaps if they used local ingredients… I’d feel a little differently (although for a $ 30 lunch, shouldn’t there be a handmade table of reclaimed lumber sitting in a field adorned with fresh, locally sourced flowers?).
Neat concept. Wish it was slightly more approachable for their more common faire.

Just arrived off the road to stop and enjoy some good food. Guess what? No power plugs for wifi, a business catering to make money from clients, but not providing wifi and plugs is a FAIL. It is a selfish arrogant position. The food looked great. But seeing plated wall plugs made me loose my appetite.

This is one of my go-​to restaurants for lunch. The food is always good (I recommend the Tomato and Brie Sandwich with side salad) and fast. I have been here with my family as well as solo. Fun atmosphere!

This place is as good as it gets in Boise Idaho. The staff are excellent! Very friendly and helpful. The food is great too. The baguette sandwiches are tasty and fresh. The Wi-​fi is strong and there are lots of free outlets to use.
It is one of the few upscale spots for breakfast in town. A’Tavola is without a doubt the best coffee and food café in Boise.

My husband and I had a great experience all around at A Tavola during our stop in there on a trip through Boise. The location, the vibe, the food, the service, the gourmet and home gift options, we loved it all. Were this in our neighborhood, it would be a favorite for us.
LOCATION /​PARKING
Just outside the downtown core at 15^th and Grove, this is convenient. In particular since it has its’ own parking lot.
VIBE
Looks like this building may have been re-​purposed from a garage with big doors rolled up in nice weather. Open interior with lots of seating at communal and individual standard height (hooray) tables and chairs throughout. More seats on the patio in the front.
Part café, part deli, part gourmet market, part bakery and espresso bar, part cookbook library, part home and kitchen gifts and accessories, in a high ceiling open concept space divided up with seating and displays. In sum, all wonderful.
I’ve read criticism focused, no kidding, on the fact that most of the clientele are female and of a certain age. That may be true but on the day of our visit, I’d say the people enjoying the patio and inside were about evenly split between men and women and across age groups. Not that the gender or age of people there should be a thing at all. But since it has been a thing for critics, thought I’d offer my observation.
SERVICE
From the moment we walked in the door and were greeted by the young woman at the bakery /​coffee bar counter through our ordering of breakfast and coffee to our ordering of take out to take home, service was friendly and efficient. The routine is order at the deli counter, including your coffee order, take a number and they’ll deliver to your table. They also clear for you after you’re done so no need to bus your own. Normally not a fan of counter ordering, here it fits. It was also very nice of them to provide us with a zip loc bag of ice to use in our cooler so we could order deli take out items to go with us for the several hour drive home.
FOOD
So many good choices on the menu at the counter and in the deli case. For breakfast we shared (it is big enough for sure) a chile relleno baked dish ($ 6.95). Delicious. Since I’m a person who likes veggies at all meals, I ordered a small side of the broccoli, red grapes and almond salad to go with my breakfast. (Seriously.) It was tasty.
The bold roast coffee was great, served piping hot in 12 oz mugs ($ 1.95).
All of our take out items to have for an easy meal when we got home later that day after a long drive we also good. The picante tuna salad in particular. Deli items rotate frequently so it seems that there would always be standard favorites and new things to enjoy. I hear they make some wicked good homemade soups too.
The bakery case looked tempting but at the tail end of a long vacation we decided to let temptation pass us by. Next time in we’d definitely indulge.
PRICES
Noting some have referenced this as break the bank pricing, I’ll offer counterpoint that for my husband and me the deli food prices seemed reasonable for portion sizes and quality. Maybe visitors who live elsewhere have a different frame of reference for pricing than locals. But comparing this to Oakville Grocery or Dean and Deluca, as analogs, in some of our old stomping grounds of SF area or NYC area or even food to go from food trucks in our current home in Bend, the prices here seemed good to us.
GO SLOW SHOPPING
All kinds of great items for personal care, like soaps and lotions, or home, kitchen and gift items like candles, trivets, books, cookware, linens… the list goes on and on. A friend of mine calls this kind of store a «go slow shop» since you can see a new treasure tucked everywhere. I nod along with folks who say the gift items can be a tad spendy, still I purchased gifts here that I didn’t find elsewhere.
ACCESSIBILITY
Universally accessible design from parking (ADA spots in the lot), to level in and throughout and standard table height seating.
HOURS
Mon — Fri 7 — 6. Sat 7 — 5.