Muse Bistro & Wine Bar

Excellent food and service, not a huge menu, but everything there is done well.

What a pleasant surprise to find this delightful restaurant. The staff were super friendly, the atmosphere is cozy, the guitar player was an unexpected bonus. The wine selection was better than most and offered in reasonable price ranges. Now for the food: We started with the pan fried oysters… the freshest I’ve had in Boise ever! We opted for the prime rib… the wife had her medium rare, mine was medium, both cooked to perfection, very generous portions and the best I’ve had in the past 10 years… fork tender. The creamed spinach… with their house chèvre was delicious. Unfortunately, by the time we finished our meal we were too full to order desert so I can only imagine how that would have tasted. We WILL be going back!

They have a great atmosphere. Linen and China. Flowers on the table. Live guitar playing. There’s a wine bar. The ceiling looks like stamped metal. Delicious Rosemary bread. Caesar dressing was definitely home made. Steak was delicious.

Hands down; the best meal I’ve had all year. Anyone local to or visiting Boise has to put Muse on their MUST list. Absolutely brilliant!

We had a wonderful lunch as our first experience dining at Muse Bistro so we made reservations for Valentines Day and are so happy we did. One of the best meals since moving to Idaho 8 years ago. We usually skip the Valentines restaurant scene as food is usually mediocre and service is rushed. Not at Muse. Excellent and attentive service from all staff. Our server, Bobbie, was very knowledgable of the menu and amazing wine list. All food is chef prepared homemade which made choosing difficult. Bobbie took the time to go over the menu and help us pair with the perfect wine. The asparagus artichoke Brie soup was delicious. My husband choice of the 20 oz. bone in ribeye steak with chefs potatoes and a baked cheese topped tomato Did not disappoint. I had the crusted pork tenderloin with a brandy apple sauce that was delicious. The homemade bread with just a touch of Rosemary is impossible to stop eating which unfortunately left us too full for dessert. I highly recommend this restaurant. We will definitely be back often.

We had a delicious dinner outside on their patio … menu changes every Tues
Appetizer: egg washed panko very tender calamari with a delicious aioli dipping sauce…
My wife’s entrée: caramelized chicken breast with sautéed prosciutto, crimini mushrooms & fresh sage leaves, garlic mash potatoes and olive oil sautéed string beans…
My entrée: secret delicious spice rubbed (2) Idaho Trout filets topped sliced almonds sautéed in butter-​olive oil, DITTO re: starch & veggie … accompanied with delicious garlic — rosemary French bread …
wine: bottle of Cline «cold climate» Sonoma Coast Syrah

First impression was quaint little family bistro with a live guitar player. Grest start as the guitar playing was classic and true. Then we noticed a lady (ended up being an employee) sitting at a table with her friend eating and drinking. That is fine until she got up mid chew and greeted people at the door. Very tacky. After clearing her mouth and getting the guests seated, she quickly sat back down with her friend and started eating, drinking and laughing again. I do not feel employees should be doing such in front of guests.
Now to the food.
Soup and salad were very tasty and seemed very fresh. The table bread was yummy. Entrees. the fish was a little overcooked unfortunately. The chicken dinner was perfect. We did not try any desert.
I must say the wine list is very affordable and our waiter was great.
Recommend!
The only reason I did not give more stars was solely due to the lady employee eating, drinking, laughing and greeting.

Love, love, love this place! Friendly and helpful service, intimate atmosphere with a live instrumental band, yummy wines and absolutely delicious food! A bit on the spendy side so my Love and I go here on special occasions only and have dubbed it «our place».

love my girlfriends brunch on Saturday and Sundays. wish they closed at 3pm instead of 2pm. everything i tried was superb food wise. i enjoy this place a lot!
they need your love. show your support with your bellies. go now and keep them open for us all.

I was really excited to try this place after reading the reviews, but was rather disappointed. The food was not great and the service was so-​so. The ambiance is nice, but probably won’t be back.

Service deserves 5 stars, food 2.
Muse has been on my radar since we relocated from Seattle and we finally decided to give it a shot this week. Based on the glowing reviews we were expecting something good. That isn’t what we received.
Muse is located in a strip mall in Meridian but once you walk through the door the glow of Red Robin’s lights are muted and you feel like you could almost be in a wine bar anywhere but a strip mall. Almost.
The front of the house and our server were excellent but the wheels fell off the bus when it came to the food. We didn’t have reservations for a Tuesday night but we had looked at OpenTable and all of the times we were considering were open so we thought doing a walk-​in would be fine. As other reviewers have mentioned this is a small, intimate restaurant and most of the tables were reserved so we were given the choice of a sub-​par table near the door or seats at the bar. We went with the bar.
We were promptly given menus, explained that the menus change every Tuesday and that everything is made in house. Waters and bread and butter soon followed while JP and I decided on some wine. Their wine list is thoughtful and well-​priced. We ordered the Barbera which was great. My husband commented it was one of the best wines he had had in awhile and we just did a long weekend of wine tasting in Walla Walla. I was also stoked that they serve Pellegrino. I thought it was pretty much a given for a restaurant to have it until I moved to ID.
The menu itself is on the small side which I can appreciate since it’s a small establishment. I would rather see a place doing a few things really well but unfortunately that is not the experience we had. JP ordered the soup du jour which was Creamy Broccoli. The soup was okay-​tended to be on the thinner side but I can appreciate that because creamy soups can tend to be too thick Flavor was decent. For entrees I ordered the prawn risotto while JP ordered the Pork Tenderloin. It took FOREVER for our entrees to come out. JP even saw a table seated after ours receive their food before us. When our dinner was finally delivered we were told the plates were extremely hot. I was cautious since a well done risotto is usually warm so imagine my surprise when I took my first bite only to find it barely room temperature. Next I cut into one of my prawns only to find it rubbery and chewy. Seriously it is one of the worst dishes I have had in a long time and I only took 2 bites. JP’s pork had potential… the flavors were all there but the meat itself was overcooked, to the point that it didn’t cut easily with a knife.
Our server came over to ask how things were and I am a horrible liar so I just fessed up. She said she would be happy to have the risotto remade or replace it with something else. We had already waited such a long time for what we did receive JP asked what she recommended and what could come out quickly. She recommended the petite fillet. When asking how I wanted it cooked I said medium rare since I was concerned if I ordered it medium it would come out overcooked.
To the kitchen’s credit the fillet came out quickly and was tasty, although a bit salty. Since it was our first visit I asked our server what the kitchen’s process was since it did appear our original entrees sat for awhile before being delivered. She said that the chef cooks everything himself and that a bunch of tables were seated at the same time as us since they ran a Groupon or Living Social deal and it was expiring so people were coming in to use them (note…we were not using a coupon). Let’s back up folks… that is Marketing 101… whenever you run a promotion you know that the start and end of the deal will be the busy times. Plan accordingly. Quality and timing shouldn’t have to suffer because you choose to offer a deal.
Our server was extremely gracious and took one of our entrees off (although we said we would gladly pay for everything). She wanted us to have a good experience and come back. I do give every place two tries so I will try Muse again but can’t say I will be rushing back soon.
On a side note… if you are serving $ 20+ entrees perhaps you should forgo the foil wrapped butter packets. They just scream diner or something to me.

First time my husband and I tried muse. We were highly impressed. Apparently their menu changes every Tuesday, which will keep us coming back for sure. Husband had the swordfish ($ 26) and I had rosemary pomegranate chicken ($ 22). His fish melted in your mouth like butter and my chicken was amazing. Never thought to put those ingredients together, but it was amazing. At a cozy 45 (or so) people max seating we loved the intimacy. Ordered salted caramel ice cream over a walnut brownie and a kahlua espresso flourless torte. Both absolutely delicious. Apparently they have the torte consistently because its popular. With entrees, starter salad, husbands beer, two desserts our tab was $ 74+tip, not bad at all. Can’t wait to go back for different entrees. Or try it for lunch!

Small (seats less than 40), very intimate, wonderful décor. Everything from the carpets, ceiling tiles, «art deco» stools at the bar (all facing the same way, I might add for effect), expensive silver and stemware is pretty near perfect.
The food for lunch was absolutely amazing and all but one dish $ 10 or less. Service was great and there were even Lindor chocolates instead of mints on the way out!
I will definitely be taking my best clients to lunch here often. The large booths are a perfect place to «close the deal» in an intensely elegant atmosphere and will definitely impress. Even the background music was perfect.
Do NOT miss this restaurant. I will definitely be going back for dinner.

My girlfriend and I are financially challenged, yet unrepentant, foodies. We both agree this is one of the very best eateries, at any price, in the Treasure Valley. The prices might seem high to folks who can’t tell Applebee’s or Sizzler from fine dining, but you truly get what you pay for. Their menu is typically very limited, but quite eclectic and it changes every week! Many better restaurants claim to have a seasonal menu, but this place actually does, and it really does seem to update weekly. The staff is very kind, I know this is Idaho and we tend to like things rugged and informal, but don’t be put off by the reserved european vibe. The staff like to chat, and sometimes the restaurant gets a good buzz of conversation and merry-​making going. They also have live flamenco music; the guy is maybe not the best guitarist, but he ain’t bad, (also, I’m hypercritical on that subject) and he has an absolutely angelic singing voice. I can’t say enough about the food, I’ve never had anything short of amazing, dishes ranging from fresh crab caprese, to Osso Bucco, espresso-​rubbed flatiron steak, butternut squash ravioli, various duck dishes, you really can’t go wrong.
Overall score, 100% because percents don’t go any higher than that, you silly geese.

This place is fantastic! I met a friend here, and I was impressed with the décor and with the intimacy of the small dining room. The tables had nice linens on them, and the bar was cozy and romantic. We had lunch, and could not decide because there were so many tasty options! We ordered the sliders and the brisket and then shared. Both dishes were awesome but my favorite if I had to choose were the sliders. Our server, Kyle, suggested an amazing wine (out of 30 choices) that went really well with the meal. I could not believe what a gem that we stumbled upon! We both unanimously agreed that we will be coming back every week for lunch! You must go here, you will not be sorry.

The BEST brisket sandwich and duck fat french fries and under $ 10! That’s lunch. Their dinners are great also. They bake their own bread and make all their own desserts including the salted caramel ice cream.

My wife and I tried Muse recently and I have to admit that I personally was not impressed. I ordered the prime rib special and it was probably the most bland piece of prime rib I have ever had. There was just no flavor. My wife had the scallops and I do have to admit they were pretty good. I am not sure I would go back.

We were driving down the main drag through Boise and outlying areas when I did a nearby search for restaurants. Once again, the app did not let me down right near the Red Robin in a small strip mall was Muse.
As soon as I saw Bistro and Wine Bar, i knew we had to try this because most of the other places in the area were fast food and/​or chain restaurants.
We walked in and it was nicely done up with cloth tablecloths and beautifully decorated.
We were quickly seated and ordered an appetizer and a bottle of wine. The wine we order was out so our waitress recommended a local wine a Zhoo Zhoo Syrah Rose which is made by Hells Canyon Winery in Caldwell. It was very tasty and we liked it so much that we are thinking about stopping by the winery before we head out of town.
We ordered the cheese plate as an appetizer, 4 types of cheese, fresh fruit, crackers and candied nuts with honey.
The menu is changed weekly and they have a nice select array of offerings. On this evening I selected the Chicken Marsala. It was quite tasty and well worth the $ 20 a plate. It came with cooked spinach and wild rice.
I picked out a mixed green salad to come out prior to the meal and it was good as well. There was so much of it that I shared it with the YS.
He picked out the pork chop stuffed with crayfish. I tried it and it was quite good as well.
We asked about dessert and they had a tiramisu and a chocolate cake with expresso. I elected to skip both as I don’t like the taste of coffee and both of them would most certainly taste like that. The YS also decided to skip dessert.
It was ok to do that because the portions were a decent size and there was more than enough food to go around.
I noticed outdoor seating for when the weather gets a bit warmer. This is a small place the maximum occupancy of 37 according to the sign put up by the fire marshal.
They have a small bar as you enter for some seating for a drink or two.
The décor, music and general ambiance would make this a great date night place. They take reservations but on this Thursday night as we were in early we didn’t need them. This place did fill up quite a bit as we were getting ready to depart.
I would definitely recommend this to others and come back when in the area again.

What a wonderful dinner last night. Generous portions, great service. Fabulous latte. Small-​ish menu, but that is so they can concentrate of those dishes! However, what just pissed me off is that it was Thursday night, and the place was pretty much EMPTY! Of course the Red Robin chain restaurant was hoping across the parking lot. Seriously, folks, support the small local guy who makes every dish with love and care. I love Red Robin, and it is probably a local who owns it, but these small restaurants CANNOT SURVIVE if people don’t patronize them! They don’t have the advertising budget of the big chains! So do your patriotic duty and get out there and eat out a local restaurant that cooks with heart!

Got a coupon and tried it. What a small romantic place and the food was incredible. Looking forward to going back soon.