The Dish

What a wonderful night! I had a long time childhood friend in town and I wanted to take her somewhere absolutely mouthwatering. We walked straight to The Dish. That was the first of many great choices for the night. Tuesday is the night to hit up The DISH! No wait and we didn’t feel rushed (self-​inflicted).
My friend and I ended up splitting two dishes because there is always so much food and we wanted to try everything! Trying two dishes would have to do! We ended up getting the delectable Brie Burger with a HUGE ½ Pound Double R Ranch Burger, Brie Cheese, Truffle Aioli, Arugula, Tomato, Balsamic Onion Marmalade, Brioche Bun with traditional french fries. Along with the fries came a family of dips, an aioli dip, camp fire sauce, and ketchup. The dream team!
With the burger, we also split the Summer Citrus Salad. The combo of Butter Lettuce, Sherry Vinaigrette, Navel Orange, Dates, Candied Pecans, Feta Cheese, mint made our mouths sing. It was a fresh and interestingly lip-​smacking combo. Another salad I have tried before was the grilled salmon salad. I loved that salad too but I was glad I went with the citrus salad choice. I think it fits better with the burger scene. The salmon salad has its own meat, so I would order that as a meal, not a side.
We had a server that was being trained so we were spoiled this visit with double the service. Both of our servers were friendly, attentive and fun! I was impressed with the seasoned server on his knowledge of the wines at the Dish. My friend asked several pointed questions about the wines that were being served and he didn’t skip a beat in answering.
I always talk about coming to The Dish more often but dang it, I mean it this time! I am going to be a new Dish groupie.

Great lamb shank (probably one of the best I’ve ever had) but weird sides… Coozcooz (spelling?) was good but seriously we are in Idaho I don’t want beets I want potatoes. Overall a great dinner and their Canadian cider beer was great. Eclectic would be a good word to describe this place

The Chef Jared Couch is classically trained at the Culinary Institute of America which means that this guy knows what he is doing.
The apps include a couple of delicious cheeses.
The salads are great. Try something with beets.
One time he had pork belly cups on the menu which were awesome!
The beef cheek was delicious especially the fries.
The menu is changing all the time. Just ask the wait staff. They know their food. They are trained well.
Heads up that there is no liquor, only beer/​wine.

This is not one of my favorite restaurants in Boise. When you eat here, prepare to have flavors that seem like they don’t make sense but then experience the best flavors you can find in the valley! And don’t get me started on the presentation. The chef may come and check in on you which I think is a wonderful touch. Next time I will save room for dessert. I have received great food and service each time I have gone.

Went here for dinner, and like always they never disappoint the food was great and always enjoy the atmosphere.

A Great Place with great food. The bacon wrapped bananna appt. was a special and I hope they keep this on their main menu, wonderful. Pork belly wraps are my favorite, Kimchi frys are to die for, califlower as an appt. is great too. I guess I have a lot of favorites. The only thing I wish they had was a full bar. Wine list could have better selections. Still, the best place in town.

The food here is unique, the flavors are fantastic, and the wine selection is exceptional. This is a very cool, trendy place to eat in Boise. Everything about it is funky and the vibe is fun. It is a loud, boisterous eatery with big windows and views and an upstairs that is great for groups.
I’ve had many items on the menu, it is worth coming just for the fry selection alone! The Quinoa burger is made in house and fantastic, the Brie burger will blow you away. The salads are incredible, they do a thing with a dried, spicy apple and pecans that you’ll never forget.
My only complaint about The Dish is the service, it isn’t bad, the people are exceptionally friendly, it is just very slow. There are plenty of staff for the number of tables but they seem to be on some other dimension when it comes to understanding quick service. The last two times I’ve gone they’ve forgotten something we ordered (appetizers both times) and by the time they got back around to the table they were coming with entrees. I hope that they’ll work a little with their staff. It is bothersome to see the hostess take someone inside the restaurant and stop and talk to a couple people on the way back out for a few minutes leaving you standing in the foyer.
All that said, this is a definite must eat at restaurant in Boise, bring an appetite for the interesting and unique, just be prepared to stay a while.

Update: We decided to give The Dish another shot after Jared, the owner, contacted us after I posted the previous review. He seemed genuinely concerned about the experience and invited us to try it again via a gift card that he sent. We went on a Friday with a couple of friends and without letting the owner know in the interest of an impartial experience.
We were seated immediately and our waiter was at our table within a minute, maybe two. He was friendly and available throughout the entire meal. The food was all good; I had the fried chicken with faro risotto and the people we were with had burgers and Mac and cheese. We also got an appetizer of cheese curds. We were a little skeptical of these at first; cheese curds didn’t really seem to jive with the rest of the menu but they were pretty amazing.
Overall it was a really nice experience, and it would seem that the previous one we had was a fluke. I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to try them again.
Previous review: I have to say I was pretty excited to try this placed based on the previous reviews. My wife made us reservations for a Friday at 6:30pm. We arrived a couple of minutes early and were seated right away. So far, so good. Then we waited; and waited; and waited. No acknowledgement that we were there, no water, not even eye contact. And it wasn’t like they were short staffed either. There were plenty of people around; enough so that around minute 10 of waiting my wife started saying hello to them. They’d say ‘hi’ and then keep walking. None of them actually stopped though.
After waiting for over 15 minutes we left. The icing on the non-​existent cake was that the two hostesses that had seated us just 15 minutes earlier told us to have a good night and thanks for coming.

Stumbled on this by accident and was pleasantly surprised from the moment we approached the door and one of the waiters ran to open it for us. Upon seating we fell in love with the eclectic menu items and decided to take the servers recommendation. It did not disappoint in presentation or taste. I highly recommend this restaurant for both food and service. We did go on a weekenight after 8 and it was just the two of us. Still, probably one of my favorite restaurants in Boise now!

Kiss my Shrimp and Grits! This must be a signature dish because they nailed it! Had our kids with us and they as they always do ordered the Mac & Cheese and were blown away. This was our first time and not our last. Staff was very pleasant and ensured we had a great meal and a great time. I am impressed, way to go «The Dish».

It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a macaroni and cheese aficionado (no secret to me, anyway).
And, by aficionado, I don’t necessarily mean an expert of some kind – more that I have an enthusiasm for pasta paired with piquant cheddar that borders on the preposterous.
I’m ok with this.
So, when The Dish placed their parmesan crusted mac and cheese before me – my expectations were high. With such an American classic comes much responsibility. The Dish’s interpretation of my favorite concoction of comfort exceeded my expectations. It was, in short, the most magnificent bowl of mac and cheese I’ve had the pleasure of consuming in our fair city. It was the trifecta of pasta deliciousness, ie: Cheesy, saucy, and flavorful. I ordered it topped with their grilled salmon, which was amazing.
We also enjoyed an order of their brussels sprouts which come tossed in herbs (basil, mint, and cilantro); mixed with pickled onions, candied jalapeño, and shredded cabbage; and topped with a sweet chile dressing. Divine!
And, for dessert? Saweeeet potato beignets. They were a bit different than your usual beignet. The consistency was denser. The flavor, with the addition of the sweet potato, was magnificent-​sweet spiced goodness. They come sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and caramel sauce for dipping.
Appetizer, main dish, and dessert – all delicious.
Long and short?
The Dish offers the ultimate in versatility. Come for happy hour beverages and appetizers, or for a full blown dinner, or for an exemplary dessert – you’ll leave happy.
Get to it!

If you are in Boise just to visit, work related, or even live in Boise, this is the place to go to. Overall, the food, friendly service, and atmosphere is phenomenal.
It is great to experience a great restaurant within downtown Boise. Let’s start off with the food. The food is very spot on. Their salad and specials are on point. Not cover too much with sauce and doesn’t feel like you’ve eaten something overly greasy. They have a creative way to blend the flavored onto the fish which makes me want to come here repeatedly.
Service is also a great way of them greeting you. From the front door the hostess already greets you with a smile and creates a good vibe. The service at the tables are also fast as well for having few waiters at the restaurant.
Atmosphere is great as well with the tables and chairs set up with enough space from other people. Very modern and Boise level is not very loud with a higher roof top.
This is a great choice of many. I would say great job to this wonderful restaurant and will keep coming to their creative new taste!

Darn good, even though I was there as part of a big party, never the best way to judge a place. The apps were very good, shoe string potatoes very good, hey you had to have some taters in Idaho. The skirt steak I had was good, not amazing but good. The others at my table all had organic salmon and the sauce for that looked very good, they were all raving about it. They had a lemon pie for desert that was outstanding.
Overall this is a great place.

I came here solo, and sat at the bar. Jeffery, the bartender, was super warm and welcoming! The Brie Burger was probably one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. It was cooked perfectly, and the flavors were subtle and delicious. The atmosphere was lovely– lots of people, an open patio and just overall super positive. It’s a happy place! I would love to come back here again!

«Slap your Mamma» good food here. It’s definitely ‘fancy’ food in a comfortable setting. We brought an out of town guest, and our two year old daughter. Both left full and happy. Ling cod, braised beef cheeks, sous vide pork tenderloin, along with oyster and lamb belly starters off the special sheet. It was damn fine cooking, and really great service. Our server brought over an Idaho potato Spuddy Buddy stuffed toy for my daughter as soon as we sat down… a power move to appease a hungry toddler.
Oh, and dessert. Order dessert. Lavender pound cake french toast topped with honey ice cream? Yeah. You’ll want to elbow people to get them to back off your dessert. May or may not have happened with me… can’t really comment on that what with the protection order and all.
All in all, nothing negative to say about this place. We’ll be bringing out of town guests here to prove that Boise can hold it’s own in the world of New American cuisine without being pretentious.

I came here for a dinner with friends for the first time and it was Aaaaaaaaaamazing. Our waitress was superb! There was ten of us and she was great, totally on point.
I ordered the bahn mi fries and my sister ordered the kimchee fries for appetizers. Holy heaven in my mouth!!!
The kobe beef was fantastic! I ordered the salmon salad, it was ok. It was a salad!
We enjoyed ourselves so much that the mediocre salad didn’t even matter. Every single person loved their meals! Wish I could have remembered our waitresses name. She had short hair with grey highlights.
Can’t wait to come back!

This place was pretty good. We started with the pork belly lettuce wraps. They were very good. We ordered their beef cheek special which was very tender and tasty, the macaroni and cheese was perfect and we also ordered the lamb burger and cubano sandwich. If you like lamb, you would love the burger. We were not a fan but we don’t particularly enjoy lamb but we really want to so we seem to try it at many places. Just a little gamy for our taste.
I think for what you get the prices seem to be a little high. For the four of us the meal came to over $ 100. Seemed steep for what we ordered. Atmosphere was fun. Hostesses out front were very immature and unprofessional but our waiter was very helpful and friendly.

Our reservation was at 7:30. After ordering around 8:00, our food finally came out at 9:15 to a table full of grumbling stomachs. When one girl at the table didn’t receive the titled dairy product of the Brie burger, she was asked «would you like the cheese on the side, or taken back.» Normally this would be the correct response from a server, but not this time. The burger came back with a cold slice of Brie on top of the burger, as opposed to the melted Brie that the girl next to her seemed to enjoy.
Unfortunately, the lack of attention to detail did not stop there. For a restaurant that I spent as much as I did at, I was not expecting such a casual experience. The wait staff was very disorganized with getting the tickets to the correct individuals. I started writing this review about ten minutes ago, and it has just barely been organized to the point where I’m getting cashed out. Silverware and napkins were not individually placed at the settings, instead there was a communal tray to grab from. It was just incredibly disorganized.
As far as the food goes, it seemed hit or miss. My fiancé ordered the New York strip ordered medium. The steak came out medium rare, which to my taste was fantastic, but was not at all what she ordered. The whipped potatoes were a great velvety texture, but lacking any flavor or depth. I ordered the Duck Po Boy, and it was surprisingly sweet. It had some great flavors, but was drown out by the amount of mustard aioli spread. There were some wonderful house made pickle slices that I was able to put on the second half of my sandwich after I realized they had been hidden underneath the pile of fries, while delicious, were in more abundance than if we had asked for the super sized portion.
Overall, I would like to think this was a poor experience, but I’m hoping a one off. We were a large group and that puts a strain on wait staff, but this was not at all within the expectation of the reputation that the dish has created for themselves. I’ll be going to Fork next time.

Ill have to say my experience of The Dish wasn’t that great the first time I dined. The service was slow, food was sub-​par and there was no liquor! The second time was much different and I always give a place a couple times before I give them a review.
Almost our entire party ordered the Beef Cheeks and we weren’t disappointed. They melted in our mouth. The demi glaze covering them was delicious and the accompaniments were just as rewarding. The butternut squash soup was buttery and warm for my belly. Everything was great the service was delightfully fast.
I’m only giving 4 stars because the beers were extremely over priced. A Stella was 7 dollars.

A recipe for DISH-​licious dining:
1. Start with one part ‘the diner-​eclectic’ vibe.
2. Add a generous dash of welcoming greeting together with friendly and menu-​savvy table service.
3. Stir in one part creative menu of push the envelope flavor combinations leveraging local ingredients.
4. Whisk in two parts professional kitchen for crafting and plating the food as feast for eyes and tummy.
5. Finish with fair prices.
Watch happy dinners savor every bite, tell friends, write «fan» reviews and come back again.
SERVICE
A «guest’s note» to ensure recipe evolves to 5 star outcome; Owners might monitor the service floor as the Dish simmers along to prevent loooonnnnggg delays between food delivery and ‘how is it’ check in and again at plate pick up at finish of meals and again at delivery of check and again at pick up of payment. Server warm welcome and enthusiasm about the food are both top notch here. But if not managed well, guests can get indigestion by meals’ end due to disappearing server.
MENU & PRICES
Unarguably among the most creative in Boise, menus have choices for omniores, vegetarians, vegans and gluten free diners. Menu changes based on what is fresh and there is a daily specials addition. Many dishes are designed for sharing at the table or small plates dining. Some overlap in lunch and dinner menus. Prices range from @ $ 6 — $ 15 at lunch and to $ 23 at dinner. Good value for the quality.
FOOD
Always consider the specials because they are wonderful.
On recent lunch visit the special of crispy Bucksnort rootbeer BBQ Chicken Sandwich with grilled pineapple, and hot pepper slaw on a toasted brioche bun was excellent. (Although I vote for the end of the fad for brioche buns as the container for hearty sandwiches like this as they are almost always too delicate to hold up.) I can count on the fingers of one hand with room left over how many times a year I order chicken in a restaurant. Some of that has to do with animal husbandry concerns unless I know from where the kitchen sources their poultry and some that restaurant chicken is often tasteless. But this sandwich called my name and it was excellent
This kitchen also does wonderful things with vegetables. Roasted Brussels sprouts with pickled onions, candied jalapeño and cilantro in a tart sweet SE Asian dressing were remarkable and the dish was sized to share.
I am less a fan of the house coriander vinaigrette on the house salad. Although I love the curly endive mixed in the salad (more restaurants should use this great textured green) and also a big fan of coriander, it gave the dressing a ‘muddy’ taste. Also, the greens were far overdressed and the too big slices of raw beet didn’t work either. I love salads but not this one.
LIVING THE VIDA LOCAL
The young chef is a local guy who goes out of his way to source local food. As related aside, note reference to The Dish in recent Forbes article on buying local.
LIBATIONS
Full bar, soft drinks included Bucksnort root beer (hooray), great local coffee.
LOCATION
On the main floor level of one of Boise’s great old downtown buildings with lots of windows on two sides.
VIBE & SEATING
The Dish reads as part urban-​diner with upholstered booths down the center and along sides of room (great for traffic flow to avoid sardine can seating otherwise created with tables back to back). It is also part rustic dinner with some metal tables at the back and on window side and trim elements like rough wood siding on some walls. Bar is right at entry with seating at several high perch bar stools. More seating at outside tables at the sidewalk.
Diner vibe is continued with the music mix of pop rock classics from as far back as the 50’s through the ’80’s. Offering constructive criticism, I suggest they turn the volume down. Paul McCartney leading a live concert audience in multiple choruses of «Hey Jude» was so loud as our server was explaining the specials that we could barely hear her. That kind of volume continued as we listened to performers like Frankie Vallie, the Beatles and Aretha. Music systems ought to be background to support conversations not compete with them.
THIS N THAT:
1) PARKING: On street downtown Boise. Good luck with that.
2) ACCESSIBILITY: Level in at main entry and throughout and out to patio. Booth seating is «step up» at all. Standard table seating in front may be too tight for wheelchair users. Standard table seating at back should work.
3) THE LOO: Bathrooms are on lower floor of building, access by exiting to lobby and then via stairs or elevator.
4) HOURS & «Linner» tip: Not open straight through. Lunch 11 — 2. Happy Hour starts at 4. Dinner service begins at 5p. If you’re looking for «linner» between 2 and 5, consider Juniper which is open straight through with lunch menu to 5.