We dined in for dinner and ordered a french fry appetizer, a panzanella salad and 2 entries (spaghetti and pizza). After about 10-15 minutes our waiter brought out all our food at the same time. I asked him if he could please space out our entrees so we could enjoy our appetizer and salad, he rudely said he can just bring the entrees downstairs and leave them under the heat warmers until we wanted them. He then continued to give us attitude throughout the meal until a different server substituted in halfway through our meal.
Onto the food. The fry appetizer was good, however about 2/3 of the fries were 1/2 inch shards. The panzanella salad was nothing more than a terrible side salad with Italian dressing. Panzanella means soaked bread in Italian but this had just sad hard as a rock croutons. I guess calling in panzanella allows them to charge $18.
The spaghetti was ok but for $28 you would expect higher quality food and it not being cold (by the time we got to eating it after salad and app). The menu said fresh linguini was the pasta but we were served what tasted like Winco brand spaghetti noodles. The pizza was ok but tasted no better than a generic chain pizza place in a strip mall.
Overall we were excited to try Rustica as we love their other 2 restaurants but we will not be going back. There are so much better restaurants in Boise that are less expensive.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Stephen Pecor
I have been sorely disappointed with the Italian restaurants in Boise and their lack of authentism. Rustica was extremely disappointing. I was there for my birthday on Thursday with my parents my sister and my wife. I ordered the shrimp scampi and the shrimp was overcooked, the pasta undercooked, no butter very little garlic and it looked and tasted like it set in the window under a hot lamp for over 30 minutes. My father ordered the braves beef but it was more like your grandma's pot roast. Overcooked and lacking in flavor. My mother ordered the barramundi and it was a disgusting display. It look like somebody vomited on the fish. The burrata appetizer was sorely lacking in presentation. The only good entree there was the porchetta and my wife ordered that. My sister ordered the mushroom ravioli and it wasn't up to par.
Now to the server that served us. You should not be a server. You lack enthusiasm and professionalism in the workplace. I will definitely not be returning and I am spreading the word about this restaurant and how horrible my experience was.
Also, turn down the music. Whatever happened to going to a quiet restaurant. I could barely hear anything that might family was saying that night.
This is the second time in 2 months that I have been disappointed by an Italian restaurant in Boise. It truly is sad. I gave it one star on here because you can't give zero stars but I am giving it zero stars. I really hope you turn everything around. This is not a good restaurant.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Perzad Avari
I’ve been to Rustica twice with friends and family. I haven’t eaten anything that I didn’t enjoy. The chorizo burger and porchetta are my favorite. The food ambience and service are great.
Terry Evans
Rustica reminds me of eating my first authentic Italian meal but in a room I’d want to hang out in for hours. The atmosphere is inviting, comfortable and you can actually have a conversation without shouting. I am addicted to the olive oil cake and beef ragout. If you want a great place for dinner this is it but be careful you will start comparing the other Italian restaurants to Rustica and find them lacking.
? WOW! First visit to Boise & my favorite restaurant and meal of all! I sure wish there was a Rustica in Sonoma County! The massive meatball dinner was perfectly cooked, delicious & enough for two!! Literally everyone who walked by said “ I know what I’m ordering for dinner”! Can’t wait to eat at Rustica again ?❣️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bradlee Frazer
Our first visit, and the food and service were both incredible. We will be back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chip Lang
I can't speak for all the food, but the carbonara pasta I had was simply not good. If you can imagine watery carbonara, that was it. No flavor, no bacon, no parmesan, no pepper and I'm sure there was no egg, in short, no carbonara. My friend ordered a meat dish which he enjoyed. Also, our waitress wasn't good either, but I don't hold that against the restaurant.
andy salisbury
I had the spicy Italian pasta - very good. My wife had the porchetta -amazing. Our waiter, Tyler, also amazing. Vey attentive and helpful
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
lisha south
Edit: The owner sent a very caddy response because it was my first review. Shows a lot about the character of management. I would first like to point out that All the 1-3 star reviews speak directly to the food so I guess I am not the only one that has issues with this "chief". The pasta I had was the carbonara (hard noodles, barely any sauce and one tiny lump of the pork). My husband ordered the ravioletta as a starter which was a sheet of cardboard. all the 5 star reviews appear to say the same thing almost like friends and family would write it. waste your money if you want by only go for drinks is my recommendation.
The only redeeming value of this place is the alcoholic drinks and you need to have a lot of them to stomach the food. The pasta is hard And bland. The head chef is way out of his league and and has the audacity to charge so much for a plate of inedible food. Please don’t waste your money.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
R Winnie
Absolutely looking forward to coming back. Appetizers, Cocktails, Entrees all delicious. Sophia provided wonderful service. Had a great time.
I simply have not found better food in Boise! I absolutely love this place. The drinks are amazing and the food is unreal! The Spanish Steak is one of our favorites!! Plus I love that it’s locally owned and operated! ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Grilled Peach Salad
Manny Freitas
It's a new favorite for us!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jennifer
Fabulous, flavorful entrees
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marissa Alden
Great new addition to Boise’s 8th Street food scene!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Matt Cooley
My wife and I have dined at Rustica a couple of times and each time we were blown away by the food. Every dish was first class, unique, and beautifully presented. The staff was friendly and attentive. We highly recommend checking it out!
We dined in for dinner and ordered a french fry appetizer, a panzanella salad and 2 entries (spaghetti and pizza). After about 10-15 minutes our waiter brought out all our food at the same time. I asked him if he could please space out our entrees so we could enjoy our appetizer and salad, he rudely said he can just bring the entrees downstairs and leave them under the heat warmers until we wanted them. He then continued to give us attitude throughout the meal until a different server substituted in halfway through our meal.
Onto the food. The fry appetizer was good, however about 2/3 of the fries were 1/2 inch shards. The panzanella salad was nothing more than a terrible side salad with Italian dressing. Panzanella means soaked bread in Italian but this had just sad hard as a rock croutons. I guess calling in panzanella allows them to charge $18.
The spaghetti was ok but for $28 you would expect higher quality food and it not being cold (by the time we got to eating it after salad and app). The menu said fresh linguini was the pasta but we were served what tasted like Winco brand spaghetti noodles. The pizza was ok but tasted no better than a generic chain pizza place in a strip mall.
Overall we were excited to try Rustica as we love their other 2 restaurants but we will not be going back. There are so much better restaurants in Boise that are less expensive.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
I have been sorely disappointed with the Italian restaurants in Boise and their lack of authentism.
Rustica was extremely disappointing.
I was there for my birthday on Thursday with my parents my sister and my wife. I ordered the shrimp scampi and the shrimp was overcooked, the pasta undercooked, no butter very little garlic and it looked and tasted like it set in the window under a hot lamp for over 30 minutes.
My father ordered the braves beef but it was more like your grandma's pot roast.
Overcooked and lacking in flavor.
My mother ordered the barramundi and it was a disgusting display. It look like somebody vomited on the fish.
The burrata appetizer was sorely lacking in presentation.
The only good entree there was the porchetta and my wife ordered that.
My sister ordered the mushroom ravioli and it wasn't up to par.
Now to the server that served us.
You should not be a server. You lack enthusiasm and professionalism in the workplace.
I will definitely not be returning and I am spreading the word about this restaurant and how horrible my experience was.
Also, turn down the music. Whatever happened to going to a quiet restaurant. I could barely hear anything that might family was saying that night.
This is the second time in 2 months that I have been disappointed by an Italian restaurant in Boise. It truly is sad.
I gave it one star on here because you can't give zero stars but I am giving it zero stars.
I really hope you turn everything around. This is not a good restaurant.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
I’ve been to Rustica twice with friends and family. I haven’t eaten anything that I didn’t enjoy. The chorizo burger and porchetta are my favorite. The food ambience and service are great.
Rustica reminds me of eating my first authentic Italian meal but in a room I’d want to hang out in for hours. The atmosphere is inviting, comfortable and you can actually have a conversation without shouting. I am addicted to the olive oil cake and beef ragout. If you want a great place for dinner this is it but be careful you will start comparing the other Italian restaurants to Rustica and find them lacking.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Ragout, Olive Oil Cake, Pork Shank
? WOW! First visit to Boise & my favorite restaurant and meal of all! I sure wish there was a Rustica in Sonoma County!
The massive meatball dinner was perfectly cooked, delicious & enough for two!! Literally everyone who walked by said “ I know what I’m ordering for dinner”! Can’t wait to eat at Rustica again ?❣️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Our first visit, and the food and service were both incredible. We will be back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
I can't speak for all the food, but the carbonara pasta I had was simply not good. If you can imagine watery carbonara, that was it. No flavor, no bacon, no parmesan, no pepper and I'm sure there was no egg, in short, no carbonara. My friend ordered a meat dish which he enjoyed. Also, our waitress wasn't good either, but I don't hold that against the restaurant.
I had the spicy Italian pasta - very good. My wife had the porchetta -amazing. Our waiter, Tyler, also amazing. Vey attentive and helpful
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Edit: The owner sent a very caddy response because it was my first review. Shows a lot about the character of management. I would first like to point out that All the 1-3 star reviews speak directly to the food so I guess I am not the only one that has issues with this "chief". The pasta I had was the carbonara (hard noodles, barely any sauce and one tiny lump of the pork). My husband ordered the ravioletta as a starter which was a sheet of cardboard. all the 5 star reviews appear to say the same thing almost like friends and family would write it. waste your money if you want by only go for drinks is my recommendation.
The only redeeming value of this place is the alcoholic drinks and you need to have a lot of them to stomach the food. The pasta is hard And bland. The head chef is way out of his league and and has the audacity to charge so much for a plate of inedible food. Please don’t waste your money.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
Absolutely looking forward to coming back. Appetizers, Cocktails, Entrees all delicious. Sophia provided wonderful service. Had a great time.
Restaurantji Recommends
I simply have not found better food in Boise! I absolutely love this place. The drinks are amazing and the food is unreal! The Spanish Steak is one of our favorites!! Plus I love that it’s locally owned and operated! ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Grilled Peach Salad
It's a new favorite for us!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fabulous, flavorful entrees
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great new addition to Boise’s 8th Street food scene!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My wife and I have dined at Rustica a couple of times and each time we were blown away by the food. Every dish was first class, unique, and beautifully presented. The staff was friendly and attentive. We highly recommend checking it out!
Loading...