Dirty wine glasses at table setting/no hand soap in upstairs restroom/watered-down hand soap in downstairs restroom/sticky substance on bottom of chair/dead plant in dining room/cheesy outside lounge. Ambiance can ruin your dining experience and it did for me and others in our party. So not worth the price and I cannot recommend this establishment to others.
Danielle
From the reviews, we thought this was going to be a sophisticated, classy, high dining experience, but the location which was a former steak restaurant in a former house smelled of a combination of must and a fragrance to cover up the must. The decor was tacky, confused, and looked like an old lady and frat boy had teamed up and thrown it together last minute. Upon entry, we were served something that was supposed to be sangria, but tasted like watered down fruit punch (assuming it was pre-bottled and not freshly made) and sent upstairs to play pub games. Worst of all, the host/ chef used the dinner service time as his own personal stand up comedy show with us as his captive audience for 4 hours. Some of the jokes even seemed to be rehearsed with the other staff setting him up. On top of all this, when they pushed our chairs in at the table, we were told to put our hands up and say, “Weeeee!!!” as they slid us in.... like children. For the price we were paying, there should have been a trained Sommelier on the premises making wine selections. The food and wine pairings were average at best and not worth the awkward encounter. Food was presented cold and the dessert was melted. And if you are going to serve us sangria and Bellinis, they had better not be from pre-mixed bottles. They were nice people, but altogether one of the strangest evenings I have yet to experience.
Annette
Amazing one-of-a-kind dining experience! Do yourself a favor and book your reservation. It is worth it!
msusprtn1 sparty
A very unique dining experience and format. Small bite dining is a lot of fun, especially with wine pairings for each course. What makes it unique is the setting and the interaction with the owner and staff. The restaurant has recently changed hands and has been passed down to the original owner’s son. The quality of the food and attention to detail in the food in my most recent visit has declined a step or two in my opinion. The son tries to give the same hosting experience as his father did but in doing so, at times, lacked authenticity to me.
Lynzee Hewett
Absolutely recommend Candle in the Woods!! The menu was outstanding! Their attention to detail was impressive. Between timing all of the courses, the drinks, and the place settings, they worked like a well oiled machine! Connor and his staff were so much fun & I can’t wait to come back!
Michele
This was the third time my husband and I dined at Candle in the Woods. I was a little nervous about what it would be like since Connor has now taken over the restaurant from his father. I can enthusiastically state that the experience was at least as good as our first two times, if not better. Connor kept us entertained the whole evening. His introductions to each of the 13 courses was helpful and interesting. Each and every course was amazing. The steak was awesome and the Ahi Tuna Tartar was sooo delicious! And the wines paired perfectly. (My favorite wine was the NV Blanc Pescador White). We truly enjoyed sitting at the big table with 8 other diners who were all friendly and interesting as well. We will certainly be back again!!
Deborah Lynch
This was the perfect way to celebrate the end of treatment! Connor, Echo and the rest of the staff prepared a meal that ranks in my top ten best! Portions were good, presentation was phenomenal, and the food and wine pairings exceptional! Rivaura wine was the featured wine and they could not have represented Idaho better. To have access to an evening of this caliber is worth the drive to Athol! Bravo!
Jillian Metzger
Such a fun and unique experience. We loved it.
Hailey E
Probably one of the best nights of my life related to great food and people… and most of my best nights always include those 2 things.
Jill
Food was just ok. A few good and few not so good dishes. Room temp white wines and mostly cheap wine as well. The owner talks waaay too much and makes really inappropriate jokes. You are barely even allowed to chat with whom you came. I didn't finish a bite and was shamed about it. He put his hand out and told me to give it too him, so I handed him my plate and he took the bite with his hand and pocketed it! The decor inside was all old, very dated, circa 2003. Our table and chairs were wobbly and then when something fell off of it we were made fun of like we were the issue. For over $200 per person this was very much an underwhelming experience! Not sure why the hype still. Must have been much different when the dad was still running it.
We thoroughly enjoyed our evening! The food was delicious, there was nothing I would improve except that I would remember to take pictures of ourselves and all the food which I didn't because I was too busy concentrating on eating. It was the best dinner we have ever had in our 35 years of marriage. I hope we can go again someday soon.
Eric
The tasting menu was very well designed and executed. The wine pairings were on point. The interaction of the staff with each other and the chef/owner made it super fun. We sat together at a large table and interaction among the guests was encouraged and made it a memorable experience. We will definitely do this again. And now they do a Sunday brunch. Gonna have to try that next!
Opentable Diner
Our experience was absolutely wonderful. It was for our anniversary and we couldn't be more happy about the experience. We knew what the per person cost would be. I was not disappointed at all. The folks that joined us were strangers when we met but became first name acquaintances during the meal. That made it all the more enjoyable. The meal was a multi-course experience we could not find anywhere else. The closest comparison might be Cafe Juanita in Kirkland, WA. Been to both and give the nod to Candle.
Crystal Billings
We had the best time celebrating my birthday here. Food and service was so great
Tricia
This is a very unique experience! I love the staff and stories! I highly recommend this experience! Food was amazingly delicious!
Dirty wine glasses at table setting/no hand soap in upstairs restroom/watered-down hand soap in downstairs restroom/sticky substance on bottom of chair/dead plant in dining room/cheesy outside lounge. Ambiance can ruin your dining experience and it did for me and others in our party. So not worth the price and I cannot recommend this establishment to others.
From the reviews, we thought this was going to be a sophisticated, classy, high dining experience, but the location which was a former steak restaurant in a former house smelled of a combination of must and a fragrance to cover up the must. The decor was tacky, confused, and looked like an old lady and frat boy had teamed up and thrown it together last minute. Upon entry, we were served something that was supposed to be sangria, but tasted like watered down fruit punch (assuming it was pre-bottled and not freshly made) and sent upstairs to play pub games. Worst of all, the host/ chef used the dinner service time as his own personal stand up comedy show with us as his captive audience for 4 hours. Some of the jokes even seemed to be rehearsed with the other staff setting him up. On top of all this, when they pushed our chairs in at the table, we were told to put our hands up and say, “Weeeee!!!” as they slid us in.... like children. For the price we were paying, there should have been a trained Sommelier on the premises making wine selections. The food and wine pairings were average at best and not worth the awkward encounter. Food was presented cold and the dessert was melted. And if you are going to serve us sangria and Bellinis, they had better not be from pre-mixed bottles. They were nice people, but altogether one of the strangest evenings I have yet to experience.
Amazing one-of-a-kind dining experience! Do yourself a favor and book your reservation. It is worth it!
A very unique dining experience and format. Small bite dining is a lot of fun, especially with wine pairings for each course. What makes it unique is the setting and the interaction with the owner and staff. The restaurant has recently changed hands and has been passed down to the original owner’s son. The quality of the food and attention to detail in the food in my most recent visit has declined a step or two in my opinion. The son tries to give the same hosting experience as his father did but in doing so, at times, lacked authenticity to me.
Absolutely recommend Candle in the Woods!! The menu was outstanding! Their attention to detail was impressive. Between timing all of the courses, the drinks, and the place settings, they worked like a well oiled machine! Connor and his staff were so much fun & I can’t wait to come back!
This was the third time my husband and I dined at Candle in the Woods. I was a little nervous about what it would be like since Connor has now taken over the restaurant from his father. I can enthusiastically state that the experience was at least as good as our first two times, if not better. Connor kept us entertained the whole evening. His introductions to each of the 13 courses was helpful and interesting. Each and every course was amazing. The steak was awesome and the Ahi Tuna Tartar was sooo delicious! And the wines paired perfectly. (My favorite wine was the NV Blanc Pescador White). We truly enjoyed sitting at the big table with 8 other diners who were all friendly and interesting as well. We will certainly be back again!!
This was the perfect way to celebrate the end of treatment! Connor, Echo and the rest of the staff prepared a meal that ranks in my top ten best! Portions were good, presentation was phenomenal, and the food and wine pairings exceptional! Rivaura wine was the featured wine and they could not have represented Idaho better. To have access to an evening of this caliber is worth the drive to Athol! Bravo!
Such a fun and unique experience. We loved it.
Probably one of the best nights of my life related to great food and people… and most of my best nights always include those 2 things.
Food was just ok. A few good and few not so good dishes. Room temp white wines and mostly cheap wine as well. The owner talks waaay too much and makes really inappropriate jokes. You are barely even allowed to chat with whom you came. I didn't finish a bite and was shamed about it. He put his hand out and told me to give it too him, so I handed him my plate and he took the bite with his hand and pocketed it! The decor inside was all old, very dated, circa 2003. Our table and chairs were wobbly and then when something fell off of it we were made fun of like we were the issue. For over $200 per person this was very much an underwhelming experience! Not sure why the hype still. Must have been much different when the dad was still running it.
Restaurantji Recommends
We thoroughly enjoyed our evening! The food was delicious, there was nothing I would improve except that I would remember to take pictures of ourselves and all the food which I didn't because I was too busy concentrating on eating. It was the best dinner we have ever had in our 35 years of marriage. I hope we can go again someday soon.
The tasting menu was very well designed and executed. The wine pairings were on point. The interaction of the staff with each other and the chef/owner made it super fun. We sat together at a large table and interaction among the guests was encouraged and made it a memorable experience. We will definitely do this again. And now they do a Sunday brunch. Gonna have to try that next!
Our experience was absolutely wonderful. It was for our anniversary and we couldn't be more happy about the experience. We knew what the per person cost would be. I was not disappointed at all. The folks that joined us were strangers when we met but became first name acquaintances during the meal. That made it all the more enjoyable. The meal was a multi-course experience we could not find anywhere else. The closest comparison might be Cafe Juanita in Kirkland, WA. Been to both and give the nod to Candle.
We had the best time celebrating my birthday here. Food and service was so great
This is a very unique experience! I love the staff and stories! I highly recommend this experience! Food was amazingly delicious!
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