Caffe Luciano’s

Reviews

• L B.

  star star star star star_border 7 June 2026

  This is my new favorite spot.  The food I have had has been really good.  I am a big fan of the margherita pizza and the Italian salad.  The crust on the pizza isn't the very best I've ever had, but it is good enough, and I love the garlicky deliciousness that is happening on top.  The red wine our waiter recommended was delicious, and I don't typically like red wine, so for me that is a big deal.
  
  I love, love the patio on the river.  I'm kind of surprised it has taken this long for restaurants to take advantage of the river patio thing, but I welcome it. Maybe I am just not remembering it, but I don't remember even the Chart House having patio seating back in the day.  I suppose that it has a lot to do with all of the recent changes in that area over the last few years, and the demand just wasn't there before.  Anyway, l love Caffe Luciano's, and I look forward to trying more things on their menu.  If I love other things on their menu, I will probably bump it up to five stars.

• Heather S.

  star star star star_border star_border 6 June 2026

  Bopped in here on Sunday morning for a beer (during our race we were running). We thought it would be funny that we were doing a beer crawl while being timed for a race on the greenbelt. Walked into the place, there were two tables taken (outside) and four different people proceeded to say, "We will be right with you," in a span of 5 minutes.
  
  Patiently we waited to be seated in the empty place. Finally, I asked the bar keep if we could just order beers real quick and pay for them (empty bar too) and she said, someone will be with you. We said ok.
  
  I guess I am more perplexed at the situation and I didn't feel like we were welcomed at all. Finally I said something to my friend like, "Is this weird? Do you feel like the whole situation is weird? Do you want to just leave?" I didn't say it to be rude but more to check if she was confused like myself. The bar keep must have heard us and started asking questions. We told her we were in the middle of a foot race and wanted to pop by for a really quick beer only. It was then that everyone was warmer to us.  We got our beer, they brought us water, we paid, and then we left.
  
  After that, the service was fine (all 5 minutes of waiting and 7-10 minutes to drink our beer), they turned EXTRA nice.
  
  The reason I wanted to redo my initial review is because this is the third time (in a row) I haven't felt welcomed in this establishment. I am easy to get along with and really compassionate to/with the service industry so when I feel unwelcome... there is a big question mark.

• Nikki R.

  star star star star_border star_border 3 June 2026

  Well, the view is nothing to be sniffed at, that's for sure! They are perfectly situated on the greenbelt, by the Boise river and there is a nice breeze and a beautiful patio to sit on and enjoy a nice glass of wine.  It is very easy to get to the cafe' from downtown on your bike and you can certainly ride there in a car and park too.
  
  As for the food, well.....it's mezza mezza. It's pretty decent. On a recent visit, I ordered the Caprese Salad. The Buffalo Mozzarella itself was really nice quality. It seemed quite fresh and it was nice and cold. The cherry tomatoes were quickly grilled it seemed and were served warm, which is not my favorite way to include them in a Caprese salad, but at least it was original. The flavors were all around, pleasant (could have used a dash of coarse sea salt in my opinion). The one thing that I would have held back on was the enormous amount of toasted bread that came with the dish. It was too much really....(but then again, if you are sharing, then it was probably sufficient, (but the ratio of tomatoes & cheese to bread was a bit out of balance.  The second item that I recently ordered was an eggplant Parmesan sub. The bread was from Acme as stated on the menu and I always appreciate their product, but although toasted, it wasn't quite fresh.  It tasted like day old bread (which you can certainly rescue with a good smear of olive oil and a proper toasting. The eggplant had it's skin left on, and that would have been fine, had the eggplant been cooked long enough. It was chewy, a bit dry and it was not completely cooked through so it was actually difficult to break down and swallow. They may have baked it I think, and although a healthier option, it would have benefited the eggplants, if they breaded it and deep fried it instead.  The sauce was a slightly, chunky tomato, marinara and it was lacking in seasoning and the acidity was a bit much (probably could benefit from cooking longer). The sandwich was a small sized sub, which was fine (no left overs!) and it sat on a rather scant "bed" of Arugula.  All in all, the food is decent, and with a few adjustments could be even better! (The staff seems nice, and most of them are pretty quick on their feet and attentive too).

• Kelli D.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 23 May 2026

  Was really looking forward to trying out this cute place by the Whitewater Park in Boise but was wholly disappointed.  Came in and requested a table outside and was told the wait would be about 20 min which was fine.  Wait ended out to be about thAt which again was fine.  We were seated and a server came over who we could tell from the start was not happy. She wasn't pleasant or helpful in regard to questions but we ordered anyway.  Salads came out quick and were very good.  We then waited and waited for our main courses.  We waited quite a while and finally asked when they were coming.  Once again her reply was grumpy.  Food finally came and it was just ok.  Got the Tosca.  The filling was tasty but it was just white bread squished into a pocket.  All in all, poor, rude service and ok food.  Was hoping for much more :(

• Amie A.

  star star star star_border star_border 15 May 2026

  I feel a little scandalous giving Caffe Luciano's a 3 star rating as it has a stellar location, is a popular spot among my peers, and because I am a fan of its sister location on Orchard. My main reason for the "A-Ok" rating is the fact that I left cringing at the cost of my meal for what it was.
  
  The Vibe: Super cute! Caffe Luciano's is located off 36th street in Garden City and sits right along the greenbelt and Boise River. The inside has a very casual ambiance that lives up to the "Caffe" portion of its name. Little tables throughout, big windows--one of which is similar to a garage door, I imagine it would be dreamy when it's open in the warmer months. There is also a little bar top with some seating inside. On their patio, they have plenty of seating, that again, I imagine would be wonderful when the weather warms up.
  
  Service: Kind, helpful, regularly checked in on us to see if we needed anything, cleared our plates frequently, filled up our waters, etc. Food and drinks were brought out to our table not too long after ordering.
  
  The Food: My friends shared the Burrata Caprese salad and really enjoyed that. My initial plan was to order one of their pasta dishes with a GF pasta, however they don't offer any sort of pasta substitute. (I thought this was a bit odd--perhaps they make their pasta in house and that's why they don't have a substitute available?) They do however have GF pizza crust, so I went with The Waterfront Combo (Italian sausage, red sauce, red peppers, artichoke hearts & goat cheese) on GF crust. This 12" pizza had the thickest crust I've ever seen for a GF pizza, which had me impressed--you could hardly tell it was different than the typical pizza crust. I will say it was good. But, it was not $22.50 good. If the price wasn't so steep, I think my sentiments towards this whole experience would be more enthusiastic.
  
  Drinks + Closing Thoughts: In addition to my pizza I had a glass of cabernet. This cost $7, bringing my grand total for the evening to $40 with tax and tip. My friends and I agreed that for what it was, our bills were a lot higher than we'd like to pay. I'm sure that a part of the cost is due to it's location driving prices up a bit, but I must say that it made me sad to spend this much money on this meal. Glad I tried it, but it was not my fave. I may come back for an appetizer and glass of wine on the patio in warmer months, but I'll probably skip out on dinner here in the future.