Idaho Eats guide · honors as of October 2026
Idaho James Beard Award restaurants
James Beard Foundation honors from 2023 to 2026 at 10 Idaho restaurants and bars still serving: 1 America's Classic, 2 winners, 2 nominees and 5 semifinalists. Each listing leads with its highest honor, with the rest beneath it.
Honors, not ratings
Everything on this page comes from the James Beard Foundation's own announcements, matched by hand to each restaurant. The Foundation's restaurant and chef awards narrow in stages: a long semifinalist list each winter, then nominees (what the Foundation calls its finalists), then a single winner per category. America's Classics is a separate honor for long-running, locally owned restaurants with timeless appeal. We call a semifinalist a semifinalist and a nominee a nominee; only a winner is called a winner. For the Best Chef award, Idaho competes in the Mountain region alongside Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.
Idaho has no MICHELIN Guide, so no MICHELIN stars or recommendations appear here. Reader polls, "best of" roundups and review-site stars stay off this page, and a restaurant that closed after its honor is dropped.
James Beard Foundation and James Beard Award are trademarks of the James Beard Foundation. Idaho Eats is not affiliated with the Foundation.
Other guides: Idaho Basque restaurants, Idaho finger steaks & drive-ins, Idaho spud plates, Idaho huckleberry: where to eat it, Idaho trout restaurants, Idaho taquerías, Idaho historic saloons & supper clubs, Idaho's oldest restaurants, Idaho restaurant inspections. City pages: Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Caldwell, Coeur d'Alene, Twin Falls, Post Falls, Lewiston, Rexburg, Eagle, Moscow, Sandpoint, Ketchum, McCall, Hailey. Regions: North Idaho, North Central Idaho, Southwest Idaho, Boise, McCall and Mountain Home, Magic Valley and Wood River, Southeast Idaho, Eastern Idaho.
Jump to a region
Southwest Idaho
1 honored restaurant, by town. The Southwest Idaho page has the region's other lists.
Amano
802 Arthur St, Caldwell
James Beard winner
James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain nominee 2023 (Salvador Alamilla); James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain semifinalist 2024 (Salvador Alamilla); James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain winner 2025 (Salvador Alamilla)
Boise, McCall and Mountain Home
7 honored restaurants, by town. The Boise, McCall and Mountain Home page has the region's other lists.
Ansots Basque Chorizos & Catering
560 W Main St, Boise
James Beard nomineeBasque On the menu: chorizo, croquetas, marinated solomo, txistorra, Basque meatballs, patatas bravas, cod and clams in salsa verde · Since 2020
The Ansotegui family's chorizo maker and lunch counter in the Pioneer Building in Old Boise, a block from the Basque Block.
James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain semifinalist 2023 (Dan Ansotegui); James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain semifinalist 2024 (Dan Ansotegui); James Beard: Outstanding Hospitality nominee 2026
Bar, Please!
620 W Idaho St, Boise
James Beard nominee
James Beard: Best New Bar nominee 2026
Kibrom's Ethiopian & Eritrean Food
3506 W State St, Boise
James Beard semifinalist
James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain semifinalist 2023 (Kibrom Milash)
KIN
999 W Main St, Boise
James Beard winner
James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain winner 2023 (Kris Komori)
Susina
1621 N Orchard St, Boise
James Beard semifinalist
James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain semifinalist 2026 (Alex Cardoza)
Terroir
160 N Eighth, Boise
James Beard semifinalist
James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain semifinalist 2025 (Rémi Courcenet and Nathan Whitley); James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain semifinalist 2026 (Nathan Whitley)
The Avery
1010 W Main St, Boise
James Beard semifinalist
James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain semifinalist 2025 (Cal Elliott); James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain semifinalist 2026 (Cal Elliott)
Magic Valley and Wood River
1 honored restaurant, by town. The Magic Valley and Wood River page has the region's other lists.
The Pioneer Saloon
320 N Main St, Ketchum
America's ClassicSpud plateTroutHistoric saloon On the menu: Jim Spud, Idaho baked potato, Brie and smoked trout · Since 1950
Ketchum saloon and steakhouse named a 2025 James Beard Foundation America's Classics honoree; the citation names its Jim Spud, a baked potato topped with teriyaki beef and cheese, and smoked Idaho trout.
James Beard: America's Classics 2025
Eastern Idaho
1 honored restaurant, by town. The Eastern Idaho page has the region's other lists.
Stanley Supper Club
250 Niece Ave, Stanley
James Beard semifinalistHistoric saloon Season: Seasonal: fall 2026 hours Friday-Monday 5-9 pm, last day of the season Sunday, October 25; reopens early January 2027 for winter.
Dinner restaurant on the ground floor of the Stanley Town Square that serves dishes family style.
James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain semifinalist 2024 (Ben Barlow and Heather Logan); James Beard: Best Chef: Mountain semifinalist 2025 (Benjamin Barlow)