First time in Boise, Idaho, visiting for the Boise Half Marathon. I ended up dining at Alavita…read moretwice -- once to carbo-load the night before my race, and again the day after as a recovery dinner.
Alavita is an upscale Italian restaurant, and I'd recommend making reservations, especially for dinner. My first visit was with a reservation for one, while my second was a walk-in where I managed to snag patio seating.
On my first visit, I started with the House-Baked Focaccia, which came with truffle-honey butter. The focaccia was light, fresh, and served pre-sliced. The honey and butter combination was absolutely divine and paired wonderfully with the bread. It honestly made me wonder why more Italian restaurants don't serve something similar.
For my entrée, I ordered the daily special, which I believe was a cheese tortellini with shrimp and corn in a lemon garlic sauce. It was flavorful, deceptively filling, and paired well with the focaccia. While it wasn't the best pasta I've ever had, it was a satisfying and enjoyable pre-race meal.
On my second visit, I started with the fennel and arugula salad, which featured fennel-apple slaw, pistachios, rehydrated cherries, lemon, olive oil, and shaved Parmesan. I particularly enjoyed the cherries and pistachios, which added nice sweetness and crunch. Not mind-blowing, but certainly good.
For my entrée, I had to try the Rigatoni: braised local beef, black garlic-truffle butter, roasted local mushrooms, spinach, pickled red onion, lemon crema, and Grana Padano. I ordered it because so many reviews mentioned it.
I don't eat beef very often, so this was a bit of a treat for me. The braised beef was tender and flavorful. Interestingly, my opinion of the dish changed as I ate it. Initially, I had it around a 3.5/5, but by the end it had climbed to a 4.5/5. This might sound strange, but I found that when I slowed down, closed my eyes for a bite or two, and really focused on the flavors, the dish came together much better. The richness of the braised beef, the garlic-truffle butter, and the mushrooms became much more noticeable, and I found myself appreciating the combination more and more with each bite. For me, it was one of those dishes that rewards slowing down and savoring it.
Overall, I highly recommend Alavita for Italian food in Boise. The service was friendly, the food was thoughtfully prepared, and both meals left me satisfied. The lemon garlic shrimp tortellini special made for excellent pre-race fuel, and the rigatoni was a memorable post-race meal. I went on to finish 10th overall in the Boise Half Marathon despite rainy conditions and the challenges of running at a higher elevation than I'm used to, so I was certainly grateful for the quality food beforehand.
Hope to be back the next time I'm in the Boise area.
Visited June 2026.