"Boise's deepest Basque pedigree on a plate, where Dan Ansotegui's house chorizo and bacalao croquetas make Ansots the Basque Block's best value — stop in."
Dan Ansotegui opened Bar Gernika in 1991 and The Basque Market in 1999; in September 2023 he added Ansots, a chorizo counter and small-plates room on West Main Street. It sits at 560 West Main, in the downtown blocks that hold the densest Basque community in the United States. The cooking is honest and regional: house-made Ansots chorizo, marinated solomo and ham and bacalao croquetas, with Basque and Spanish wines and natural cider. Small plates start around $9.
Ansots is a family operation, run by Dan Ansotegui with his wife Tamara and daughter Ellie, and it carries four decades of Boise Basque cooking behind it. The kitchen's anchor is the chorizo it cures and grills in house, the dish the place is named around and the reason most regulars come. Beyond it, the menu reads like a Basque larder: marinated solomo (pork loin), house Basque bacon, and croquetas in ham and bacalao versions, alongside pintxos and, at times, paella. Small plates start at about $9, which makes a shared table easy to build.
This is not fine dining and does not pretend to be; it is regional cooking done with real pedigree and fair prices. The value is genuine, and the provenance is the draw: few American cities have a Basque kitchen this rooted, and fewer still one run by the person who anchored the local scene with Bar Gernika and The Basque Market. Pair the small plates with a glass of natural Basque cider and you have the most authentic table on the block.
The room is casual and warm, a counter-and-tables space built for sharing rather than ceremony. The sound level is friendly and conversational, the lighting bright enough to read a menu, and the mood is closer to a lively taberna than a hushed dining room. Service is easygoing and knows the Basque references well. There is no dress code; come as you are. It works as comfortably for a quick solo lunch at the counter as for a noisy table of friends over cider and small plates.
Take a team or a group to Ansots because the small-plates format and fair prices make sharing easy, and the Basque-Block provenance gives the meal a story without the cost of a tasting room. The casual, conversational room suits a relaxed work dinner or an easy lunch far better than a formal restaurant would. Order a spread of chorizo, solomo and croquetas with cider for the table. See the global best Spanish and Basque restaurants and our team dinner guide for more.
Not for a formal tasting-menu night or a hushed date — this is a casual small-plates counter built for cider, sharing and a noisy table of friends.
Yes, for value and authenticity. Ansots offers house-made Basque chorizo, solomo and bacalao croquetas at small-plate prices from about $9, in a casual room run by Dan Ansotegui, who has anchored Boise's Basque scene for four decades. It is regional cooking rather than fine dining, so judge it on that: few American cities have a Basque kitchen this rooted, and the prices are fair. Come hungry and order a spread to share.
Easy by fine-dining standards. Ansots is a casual small-plates spot, so weekday lunches and early dinners rarely need a reservation, though weekend evenings and larger groups are worth calling ahead for. It works well for walk-ins at the counter. The restaurant is at 560 West Main Street in downtown Boise, on the city's historic Basque Block.
There is no dress code. Ansots is a relaxed, casual room where jeans are entirely normal and nobody dresses up. Come as you are, whether for a quick counter lunch or a longer table of small plates and cider. The mood is closer to a Basque taberna than a formal restaurant, and the clothing expectations match.
Affordable. Small plates start around $9, and a satisfying meal of shared chorizo, solomo, croquetas and a glass of cider runs roughly $25 to $40 per person. Because the format is small plates, the total depends on how many you order, but it is markedly cheaper than a sit-down fine-dining dinner. It is one of the better-value tables in downtown Boise.
Start with the house Ansots chorizo, the dish the place is built around, then add the bacalao and ham croquetas and the marinated solomo. A glass of natural Basque cider or a Spanish wine rounds it out. Order several small plates to share across the table. See our best spots for eating alone if you are at the counter solo.
Casual · walk-ins welcome, call ahead for groups
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