Best Burgers in Boise: Idaho Fries and More

The best burgers in Boise are found downtown and in BoDo, in the North End around Hyde Park, at Bown Crossing in southeast Boise and in neighboring Garden City. In Idaho the fries count as much as the patty, so ask whether the potatoes are cut in-house, and ask for fry sauce on the side.

Boise burger menus carry two state signatures. The first is the potato, Idaho’s best-known crop, which arrives as hand-cut fries, tots or wedges. The second is the finger steak: strips of beef battered and deep-fried, a dish generally traced to a Boise lounge in the late 1950s, though other Idaho towns dispute the claim. Downtown, the Basque Block on Grove Street recalls one of the largest Basque communities in the United States, and its chorizo and lamb appear on menus a few streets from the burger bars.

Burgers in Boise: key facts

• Neighborhoods to explore: downtown and BoDo, the North End and Hyde Park, Bown Crossing, Garden City and the streets around Boise State University.
• Local specialty: finger steaks, Idaho’s battered and fried beef strips.
• On the side: Idaho potatoes as fries, with fry sauce, the ketchup-and-mayonnaise dip shared by Idaho and Utah.
• Getting around: the Boise River Greenbelt path links downtown, Garden City and the university by bike or on foot.
• Currency: US dollar (USD); Idaho sales tax is added at checkout.
• What our guides check: whether fries are cut in-house, the source of the beef and a dated price for each pick.

Every guide we publish on Boise is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. For other cities, browse all our burger restaurant guides.