Murphy’s Seafood Bar & Grill

Very sad to learn Murphy’s is closing. Today, May 23, 2013 is the last day of business. Boise is losing a fine restaurant. Sad news.

In Boise, ID for work and asked around the office for a good spot to eat meat/​seafood, everyone seemed to suggest Murphy’s — good call.
I went with a work colleague on my way to the airport. We sat in the bar which had several televisions and also served the full menu. I’m not sure what the hours are, but their happy hour is solid, 2 for 1.
As an appetizer I had the oysters (B-​), tasty, but very small. I was also a little disappointed in the assortment of condiments that they served with them, no crackers? The person I was with had the poke appetizer (B), which had plenty of fish and a good taste, but they drowned it in the seasoning.
The absolute highlight was the entrees, the Opaka (A), which I had, had a fantastic taste, and it was really light, yet had plenty of of fish. It was served on a bed of Idaho mashed potatoes, and had 5 asparagus spears. The person I was with had the 15oz rib-​eye steak, and he said it was cooked to perfection, and delicious (A).
Our server, Lisa B., was on her game with recommendations and keeping our glasses full. I’ll be back.

I am happy to give 5 stars to Murphy’s because I appreciate this local business which continues to strive to be relevant, tasty, friendly, clean, and comfortable.
The brunch on Sundays is terrific. It is well presented with a lot of variety including a complimentary mimosa or orange juice.
The seafood selections have never let me down. They are always delicious and well prepared. Also, I do really like the calamari steaks as a meal even though they are offered as an appetizer.
The service has been 110% wonderful. There have been a few occasions when I have had less than stellar service but noticed that those people were no longer working there on my return visits.
I love taking friends and family to Murphy’s. Two thumbs up.

Went for an early Mother’s Day dinner about 4:30 on May 13^th 2012. The only good thing I can say is that the french onion soup was served in a partly hollowed out onion, which I thought was cool. The soup it self tasted canned. Another in our party had to send back her salad twice due to very black, very wilted lettuce (even had a bad smell) and even then just picked around the third one. All of the entrees came out cold, which makes sense for the hour plus wait we had to get them. Two people had steaks, one ordered medium rare and the other medium, neither came out with any pink at all in them. One of them was so bad I had to ask what cut it was suppose to be as it appeared to be a hamburger patty. It appeared the waitress was trying, but the food was horrid and very expensive. I have been to Murphy’s before and do not remember it this bad. Kinda sucks as Boise doesn’t have enough fine dining and impostors like this just make things worse. To make this experience even better, both my mother and I have had very upset stomachs with frequent trips to the bathroom the following day which we believe was caused by the «Israel couscous», the only item we had in common.

I always have had a great meal at Murphy’s and the happy hour is wonderful, a great value! Service is always great whether we are seated in the bar or restaurant. There is often music in the bar as well and that is always fun!

Not to bash you locals.
But for what you pay.
This place has great food and a great happy hour.
I’d be here more often if i was in Boise.
Once again, I have not tried any steaks.
But have tried numerous fish/​seafood dishes.
Trout, Halibut, Salmon and steamers — enjoyed them all.
Service was good.
Deal is good and Bar is nice.
Drinks/​Beer/​Wine selection is on point.

Went here before a concert at Taco Bell Arena. We ordered steaks and our steaks were chewy and old tasting. I’m talking about a filet and the rest of the entrée was old and tired just like the atmosphere and concept. $ 90.00 and ninety minutes later we parted with less money and less time off our life that we will never get back. Could have eaten at Barbaco, Chandlers or any upscale place that is much better than this place. I will never eat here again!

We’ve eaten here a lot of time and they have some of the best dinners in the Boise area. However, it’s been a few years since we’ve been to their brunch because we weren’t pleased with our last few visits. However, we tried their brunch again and found it to be a great value with freshly prepared food and a very good selection.

We ate dinner there before the Michael Jackson Immortal Tour. If you want a real steak go to a real steak house. The steak had no real taste to it. My wife and I thought it was cardboard. I ordered the lobster bisque (tomato juice) and it was no good.
Please do not waste your money here. The wait for our order was horrendous. If you are a manger there send your family there and see how long they have to wait for their meal… Better yet! Send them to Texas Roadhouse or Dave’s BBQ Grill for a real taste of steak…

Murphy’s was much better than expected based on the mediocre reviews. We had a large group, which is often difficult for waiters to manage, but ours did a fine job. The appetizers, entrees, salads were all excellent. We tried calamari, oysters, chicken quesadillas, and chicken wing appetizers, and were happy with all. I had the cedar plank salmon and it was done perfectly. Moist, flavorful, smokey. Murphy’s has a full bar, and a large, clean, and stylish dining area. Service was friendly from beginning to end. I would certainly recommend Murphy’s.

Abit quite for a sunday but then again after being on planes all day I sort of like it. Nice upscale place with a very frendly staff (Julles). Lots of good beers on tap, I got the heff after a few testers (a good imperial stout would round out the menu).
I got the clam chowder and the clams chorizo, but I wanted the flank steak and the ribeye and the coho salmon and… wow what a menu… chowder was tops, good flavor not a lot potato or fillers just good tasting flavor, the Chorizo Clams had a creamy sauce, nice treat as most are butter and oil but the clams where on the small side, use um for bait and substitute mussels when they come in small but overaul a great dish.
And then to top it all off Jules brought me a bread pudding made for a foursome on a sizzling fajita pan with hot carmel and 2 scoops of ice chream… Roll me to me car…
Thanks Murphys, I will be back soon…

Great happy hour appetizers and drinks Sunday thru Friday 4pm to 6:30pm and Saturday Noon to 7pm
Drinks are 2 – 1 meaning you order one, and the waitress surprises you with 2.
The flatbread was more like a seafood pizza. Delicious, full of carbs and one of my favorites.
Stuffed mushrooms were also good – a cheesy concoction with small mushrooms you spread on crostini.
Calamari came in a smallish portion, but also tasted ok (try Cheesecake Factory during happy hour for a giant plate of calamari for $ 5).
Nachos were ok
My roommate cautions against trying the hummus. He describes it as greyish goop… Heard negative things about the steamed clams too.

Murphy’s was recomended to me by the hotel Concierege. In town to acclimate my son to Boise State we wanted to end our day with a great steak.
As this is my first review let me explain on what criteria l rate things,
1. visuals, you eat with your eyes first
2. Service, great service can make up for alot of other ills. Great service is seamless, almost invisable and nearly extinct
3. Value for $$ spent, l have no problem spending $ 75 on a steak, but it had better be a $ 75 steak, not something off the Wal-​Mart truck.
Visualy Murphys looks like something you would have seen in Taho in the 80’s or that Steakhouse in Chicago thats been there for 50 years and is trying to get by on its past Reputation.
The Service is ‘frat boy’ annoying, l haven’t been called dude or hey man in years. Here’s a hint gentlemen, if you are serving $ 30 + steaks and are in search of a $ 15 tip you might want to have a clue as to what a steak cooked to order looks like, or when l tell you l am looking for a good steak dont suggest the Beef Wellington. If l want a pot pie l will order one.
After being properly ‘duded’ thru the salad and bread my Medium N.Y. Strip showed up at my table still Mooing. I cut 1 bite off the end to check doneness and saw that it was med rare, l cut the steak in half to find that the center was rare (red with a cold center) l called the server back and explained the problem recieved the ‘sorry man’ response and off he went only to return 10 minutes later with a half a steak and a cold baked potatoe, «where’s the rest of my steak» l asked, insert confused look on servers face here… «l dont want to complain here but first you brought me a rare steak and now you bring me a half a steak, off he goes back to the broiler cook. Murphys has what is called a presentation kitchen, where you can watch the chef perform his (her) magic. I watched the two arguee about where the rest of my meal was, to the point where l saw him look in the trash. «dont do it» l said to myself, at that point the manager came over to them and said cook it all over again.
Long review short… it took them 3 trys to cook a medium steak and it was not worth the wait.
Value for money spent? Poor, a huge no go

One of the best happy hour menus in Boise. 2 for 1 on most drinks and full appetizer menu until 7… in the bar only. Ladies and gentleman looking for a slightly «older» companion might be able to find themselves a sugar mama (or dad) from the higher end customers on the restaurant side. Don’t leave without ordering the edamame hummus. Sounds weird yes… but is amazing!

I’ve been here twice. When I went for lunch, a couple of years ago, I had a really yummy salad with steak in it, and a great dessert. I like that their desserts are small (served in oversized shot glasses) and they have lots of dessert options.
I went again last night for a friend’s birthday. The service was pretty lousy. Took about 10 minutes to get checked on upon being seated and other 10 to get my beer. The food took approximately 100 years [45 minutes or so] to come out, long enough that the waitress should have stopped by to apologize and give us more bread. The waitress didn’t stop in to check on us enough overall.
The food was mixed. Great beer. Great sourdough bread. Ceasar salad was good, but nothing special (the croutons, for instance, weren’t super crunchy and the parma was just shredded from a bag, not shaved parmaseano reggiano). I had one of my friend’s coconut shrimp, and that was really good.
I noticed, though, that my friend’s steak was WAY undercooked (she ordered it medium well, it was rare). The prawn fettucine that I ordered was pretty good, but it was swimming in oil, didn’t have a complex flavor, and the shrimp were a little rubbery (overcooked). My dessert (a chocolate peanut butter parfait thing) was good, but not world class — the chocolate wasn’t high quality dark chocolate, just super sweet gooey stuff.
I enjoyed my meal, and would go again, but it wasn’t the caliber I expected.

2^nd visit here and both times have been satisfied with our meal. Excellent service both times.

We split an excellent sirloin steak with excellent garlic mashed potatoes. The wine was a bit expensive but they told us to buy a half price bottle and so it came out ok. Service was good. We would eat here again if in Boise.

I like Murphy’s, but then again we also have a card where if you buy one meal you get one free (Although we do not live in Boise, we visit there for work at least 2 – 3 times a month. One of the hotels we were at sold us a card for $ 25 dollars and you get three dinners, and two lunches of buy one entrée get another one free. Plus two desserts or appetizers of the same deal. So if you go during happy hour, we get buy one cocktail, get one free, plus we use our card so we are able to walk out of there with two meals, four cocktails for under $ 40 bucks, great deal). That being said, I think their food is hit or miss. I have had wonderful meals there, my favorite is the steelhead with crab oscar topping, and I have had terrible meals. Would I recommend the restaurant, yes. Would I say it was the best dinner I have ever had, no.

Happy hour is 4 to 6 PM weekdays, with two-​for-​one well drinks and appetizers (in the bar only). Good stuff, but only because it’s half of the usual price, which is too high.
Sunday brunch is spectacular, if a little pricey at $ 18/​each.

Three star restaurant — but a four star on Mondays due to half off bottles of wine!
The «classic» filet was okay, but mine was a bit overcooked for a med rare. I really liked their shrimp bisque, though. And go for their ice cream potato dessert — it’s good!
Went here for a business dinner — so of course we got some appetizers. The oysters Rockefeller were pretty good… calamari was decent… I missed the other appetizers going for the wine. I liked the Phelps. We also got bottles of Mt Veeder… which was okay, but definitely enjoyed the Phelps Cab… and I don’t even like wine that much.
Worth another visit… I’d try another entrée, but get the shrimp bisque again =)