One of the Most Expensive Restaurants in America is Hiding in Boise

When it comes to picking a fine dining restaurant for a big celebration like a birthday, anniversary or promotion, there’s no shortage of choices in the Boise area.

There are tried and true local mainstays like Barbacoa, the Brickyard, Owhyee Tavern and Cottonwood Grille. Ruth’s Chris Steak House is always in the conversation, even though it’s a chain. Plus, people are discovering some of the newer kids on the block like Coa de Jima, a sister to Barbacoa, Stardust, which replaced Asiago’s earlier this year, and The Avery, a concept created by the owners of Little Pearl Oyster Bar that recently opened in Boise’s vacant “Blues Bouquet.” 

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The one thing that all of them have in common? They’re not cheap and that’s why for many folks, visits there are reserved for special occasions. However, none of these restaurants took the title of “Idaho’s Most Expensive” restaurant when Lovefood put together a list of the most expensive restaurant in every state. The restaurant they chose for the Gem State IS one located in Downtown Boise. It’s been there since 2007 and is known for its selection of corn-fed Midwest beef, all-natural-grass beef and Northwest American Wagyu steaks.

While steaks might be the main draw, it’s not the only thing they have a great reputation for. This restaurant’s seafood is flown in fresh from Alaska and Hawaii. Their bartenders serve up some killer martinis, including their famous Ten Minute Martini. Sound familiar? Then you’ve probably already guessed that Idaho’s most expensive restaurant is Chandlers.

Located inside Hotel 43, Chandlers has been one of the top-rated restaurants in Boise for as long as we can remember. It’s also home to one of the most expensive steaks in the country. That no doubt helped solidify its place on Lovefood’s list of the priciest restaurants in America. 

The 10 oz Bull’s Eye Ribeye will cost you a base price of $110. Chandlers steaks are served with broiled tomato provencal, haricot verts, red pepper coulis, sauce bearnaise, cognac peppercorn sauce and fresh chimichurri, but if you want to dress them up you can choose to add on one of their “over the top” creations. The most expensive one is the “a la rossini” which is foie gras, wild mushrooms and port reduction. It costs an additional $37. 

There may be even more expensive items on the menu, depending on what “market price” for the dish happens to be that day. Quite a few of the seafood dishes like the crab cakes, Maine lobster tail and wild Mexican abalone steaks are listed as “mp.” So is the certified A5 Japanese Wagyu Filet mignon. According to Business Insider, Japanese Wagyu steaks are some of the rarest in the world. It's not uncommon for a pound of certified A5 grade Japanese Wagyu to sell for more than $200 a pound.

Planning to celebrate a special occasion at Chandlers and are curious how much the most expensive items on the menu cost? Here are the 15 most expensive items with an actual price listed on the menu.