Elmer’s Restaurant

I ate breakfast at Elmer’s before I left Boise to head back to AZ last week. I ordered the Crab Benedict. The English muffins were nicely grilled, the eggs perfectly cooked, sauce was creamy and there was enough crab that you could actually taste it The coffee was hot, fresh and delicious. Although the service was very good, my only complaint was my server was wearing so much perfume, it took my breath away each time she came to my table. Otherwise I could have given 5 stars instead of just 4.

German pancakes?! What the? Yes, go here just for the German pancakes! Cheat day, gain day, sweets day, any day (-: Fluffy and unlike any other pancake you’ve ever had, don’t miss out!

Your typical 60’s and 70’s restaurant. The food is very good. I had the «looking for the sun» omelet. They cook the hash browns on both sides just like you are supposed to. A little spendy but I would eat here again. On a side note they serve Pepsi products and no diet mt dew.

Fantastic breakfast, very friendly staff and homey décor. Coffee cup was always full. I highly recommend a visit.

We only go for breakfast, which is served all day. The lunch and dinner dishes we tried are so-​so but we haven’t tried much so we can’t really say. The service is really fantastic and we are regulars. The coffee is good & strong (no espresso drinks) and the breakfast options are plentiful — omelets, pancakes (including German pancakes), benedicts, and of course the standards. We haven’t disliked anything we’ve tried!

Newbie in area and this places lives up to the reviews… food and service amazing! The German pancakes & potato cakes as well. Katie was super friendly and the manager. Welcomed us to Boise with a Welcome Packet… this deserves all the praises! Nice to have found it & experienced such a loving & friendly environment.

Well Elmer’s is a slam dunk for me. It’s never super packed, the service is excellent, and the menu is big!
Food: What puts Elmer’s on the map and over the top for me is their triple berry crêpe plate. OH MY GOSH! The crepes are always made perfectly, their filled to perfection with triple berry bliss, and topped with whipped cream. I go big or go home with these babies, always getting the biggest portion possible. No singles for this girl! Their oatmeal is also always really good, a nice big portion… the Harvest flavor is the best!
Drinks: Bottomless & hot coffee refills. Love it.
Atmosphere: It’s a great little old fashioned breakfast spot. It’s like a step up from a Denny’s, similar to a Marie Callendar’s. I love the fire place and always ask to sit by it! It’s cozy and like taking a trip to Grandma’s house.
Service: Always fast and friendly. They have super nice servers.
Happy Hour Offerings: n/​a
Healthy Hack: Classic oats & egg whites! Easy!
Tips: TRY THE TRIPLE BERRY CREPES!

Elmer’s Restaurant; a Boise institution. Our Meetup group meets there. Lots of parking, great servers, accommodating for our group size, simple food cooked simply. Warm fire burning in the winter.
Thank you, Elmer’s!

I love Elmer’s. Service has been consistently friendly and attentive (thank you Cindy), which is a rare treat in this town. Whether I’m there with my family or attending a business meeting with colleagues, my tea, water and coffee have always been topped off.
I can only comment on breakfast and lunch. Breakfasts feature generous portions and Elmer’s offers a range of healthy and simply decadent options. My favorites are the potato pancakes, regular pancakes and the garden vegetable omelet.
For lunch, the BLTA sandwich is tops. I also enjoy the Dungeness crab BLT salad. The blue cheese dressing is rich and chunky.
P. S.–Not sure about Moises E.‘s comments about the coffee. In his photo, it appears that he really likes creamer shots ;-)

I have been wanting to try this place for a while and so today was the day. Loved the feeling that you get as soon as you walk in, warm and cozy. I was greeted and taken to my booth which I was asked if i wanted a booth or table which I really appreciate.
Food: I ordered the omelette that was called something sun. It was very well prepared and the bacon bites gave it great texture. It came with pancakes which were also pretty good. Overall I will give food 4 stars.
The not so good! My server did not bring me the coffee nor did she refill my coffee. I get it, I was alone and the other party’s around me were ordering mimosa. But my server did not make me feel welcome or took care of me as she should have. I been server and I was very disappointed on the service.
I gave 10% because she did take my order, and gave the other 10% to the other server who kept checking in on me!
Ps: the only thing she said was «do you need a box to go» (again no feeling the love)

Great ambiance, very friendly staff but food is very ordinary. We got a German pancake and egg and meat combo. Nothing was tasty. Hot chocolate was too sweet. Would not recommend breakfast here.

The german pancake is an experience. Just try it once. There are no words to describe it. Service is wonderful and food was good. I think my comparison would be a wonderful greasy spoon. You can always count on getting a delicious meal. The place is a bit dated but maybe that makes it more fun!

I love the Capitol location. I’ve been coming to this place regularly since last fall, and have always had a nice experience. The service is always on point and breakfast is always filling and delicious!
I’m a huge fan of their hashbrowns and pancakes. The bacon is also good. And when I ask for my eggs overeasy, they are!
Weekends are super busy, so plan ahead if you’ve got a schedule. It’s to be expected since the location is close to downtown and the university.

Great service and great food.
We tried the German pancake with berries and it was great. My mom tried the farmers omelet and she said she loved it.
Don’t know about lunch and dinner but they are fantastic for breakfast!
Wish they were closer to home.

We tried Elmer’s based on Unilocal reviews, and we were not disappointed. The French toast sticks have an awesome caramel sauce, the chicken apple sausage was great, and the potato cakes were some of the best I’ve had.
Our waitress was a lovely woman who took the time to talk with us, make recommendation, and point us in the direction of our next adventure in Boise, and my 4 year old struck up a friendship with one of the good runners (college age). The food isn’t anything out of the ordinary, but it’s very good, and they use several local Northwest products. They are willing to accommodate special requests, restaurant is very clean, staff is wonderful. Great breakfast all around!

I go to Elmer’s at least a few times every week. My favorite dish is the potato cakes with sour cream and bacon. They normally come with eggs, but I always ask for a side salad instead, and they always try to make you happy by accommodating special requests. They also have great onion rings. I think they are homemade, because they are better than any I’ve had anywhere else. The service is normally really good here.
There are three reasons why I didn’t give them 5 stars: while the breakfast menu is great, the lunch and dinner menus feel a bit limited; it’s always too hot in the main dining area, because they run the gas fireplace even when it’s 75 degrees outside (I think the elderly people request it); and finally, this place just seems like the type of place that should have a nice selection of pies, but they don’t. They offer one type of pie every season, and sometimes their pie of the season isn’t even pie. Right now, it’s cheesecake.
In sum, this is one of my favorite places in Boise, but there is room for improvement.

It’s my go-​to breakfast place in Boise when I want delicious breakfast at a reasonable price and without a long wait.
I have not been disappointed with my breakfast here. I usually order eggs, biscuit and gravy, and a hash brown. It’s enough for me to share with my significant other if I ask for two biscuits.
The hash browns are what impressed me and keeps me coming back. The potato is shredded in thicker slices to make the texture of the hash brown right in between soft and crunchy.
I’m new to biscuits and gravy, but so far Elmer’s has my favorite biscuits and gravy.
The décor and fireplace remind me of winter cabin resorts in Lake Tahoe or Yosemite.
Overall, the atmosphere, service, and food make for a pleasant dining experience.

Definitely NOT the best first impression of Boise’s dining scene. AT. ALL.
Elmer’s was the first eatery I tried when I finally survived the 15 hour journey from Los Angeles, CA to the university. The first «real» food since leaving SoCal at 3am. And, the first time encountering a 9PM sunset. The restaurant is located at the entrance of a hotel cul-​de-​sac, like Residence Inn and Townplace Marriott. It’s like any other American diner serving breakfast fare all day, sandwiches and burgers, and hot food plates with a mild touch of fancehh.
There’s an older woman running the show, she’s very friendly, but she didn’t talk much and a group of young’uns serving the folks. The servers are interesting, one of them, Justin looks like he could be a GQ model or something, not an apron wearing type guy. Heck, he’s not very good serving, he forgot straws three times (there were only 2 tables, us included). Though, servers are friendly and very glad they kept a smile on their faces till the end.
The place is rundown and old, it’s outdated, dusty, sticky, and ughh. The booths are the worst, your thigh skin/​calf skin will stick to the seat and don’t touch the window sill or anything by the booths, they don’t wipe it down or remove the dead flies. The carpet is like late 70s flower pattern and it’s nasty, nasty enough I don’t even want it to touch my shoes, heh. The wall decorations are nice, they add that cozy factor along with their dustmiteous wall drapes. Other than whatever is going on in there, it’s a pleasant restaurant with semi-​decent edible food.
My group ordered:
Pot Roast w/​Broccolini and Mash Potatoes — SALTY. VERY SALTY. Mashed potatoes were wonderful, but the Pot Roast ruined it with so much salt. I felt like a cow licking a salt block. The broccolini was served as the «seasonal vegetables,» and I find this to be somewhat fancehh for a place like this, but nonetheless, it was fresh and tender.
Hazelnut-​Crusted Alaskan Cod w/​Pilaf and Broccolini — Probably the smallest portion of fish and pilaf I’ve ever seen on a big empty plate. It was tasty enough though, and Granny somewhat enjoyed it so it’s A-​Okay.
Farmer’s Omelet w/​Hash Browns and Biscuit — Thee best value out of all. The omelet wasn’t cooked very well, it’s like they ran out of eggs so the omelet itself was mostly a flat egg tortilla, but it was loaded! The country gravy isn’t my thing, so I just took it off. Overall, this was a good choice and it lasted for 2 meals! Oh, and ask for hash browns well done, it will taste better.
Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs — My brother is obsessed with Chicken Fried Steak and will order it just about anywhere. He said this was just ok, he said IHOP had better… I don’t know what that says about Elmer’s but, I think it’s weird he compares it to IHOP LOL. Anyway, funny story. The older woman came around to check on us and refill drinks, she tried to do the «pour over someone’s meal» serving technique and it FAILED miserably. The water pooled all over my bro’s meal and on the table and his shorts. Yup. She came and got him a new, dry plate, but not a new meal…
Saturday Market Skillet — My bf’s dad ordered this and was slightly disappointed because it didn’t come in a skillet. The picture showed a cast iron skillet that would perhaps keep his food warm for awhile, it didn’t happen.
Breakfast Sandwich — typical sandwich. Bf enjoyed it, he took out the bacon because he thought there was too many slices (only 2 slices) LOL. Oh well, more for me!
Short Stack — PANCAKES! JUST COME HERE FOR PANCAKES! Pretty much the best edible thing here. Hot, fluffy, buttery pancakes with warm maple syrup. Made me happy for sure. GOOD JOB ON PANCAKES!
So, our server Justin gives us the bill, we split the check, give him money, and only to find out that the bill didn’t include the pancakes and he awkwardly hands us the new bill with the correct total. Really?!
Overall, for semi-​decent, semi-​warm food, a solid 3.2 stars. Menu pictures look way better than in real life. Menu pictures also taste a bit better than in real life too, haha jk. Not that wonderful but for the convenience (it’s across from Boise U and by Residence Inn) it’s ok. No one got potty problems, so that was wonderful. Happy eating Boise!

This place is meticulously clean and well cared for and my Cobb salad was super fresh and huge!
But I arrived at 8:30 (they close at 9) and my wife texted me at 8:45 asking me to bring home a BLT. When the server put my order in I could hear the cook complaining he had just put bacon on my salad and now he’d have to make more. And on it went. I shouldn’t have to hear that.
Then a couple came in explaining they just got in from Arizona and they were exhausted (there are two adjacent Marriott hotels so I’m guessing that’s why they came to Elmers) the waitress made sure to point out they were closing in five minutes. The customers pleaded to get food to go…
Seems to me if you determine your business closes at 9, it should close at 9. They are free to change their hours to 8:30.
I get being a cook or server are on-​your-​feet hard jobs with long hours. But the guests that keep the lights on shouldn’t feel unwelcome.

Great breakfast in downtown Boise. I love that Elmer’s uses so many northwest favorites in their menu items, Tillamook cheese, Snoqualmie Falls oatmeal, etc.
I hadn’t eaten at an Elmer’s in years, and happy to see that they are still as good as ever, maybe better! On the recommendation of our server, I went with the potato pancakes this morning, which were amazing!
Nothing fancy about this place, but if it’s a legit breakfast, good coffee and friendly service you’re after, you can’t go wrong with Elmer’s!