Ram Restaurant & Brewery

Ram Restaurant & BreweryRam Restaurant & Brewery
Ram Restaurant & BreweryRam Restaurant & Brewery
Brewery, Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

709 E Park Blvd
Boise, Idaho, 83712-7715
United States

(208) 345-2929 | map
theram.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.47
Beers:
45
Ratings:
102
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.58
Reviews:
16
Ratings:
24
pDev:
15.36%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by JoelClark:
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Rated by JoelClark from Idaho

3.5/5  rDev -2.2%

Aug 03, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.75/5  rDev +4.7%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3.75
my first visit to one of these, although i guess they are all over the place in the northwest. it does have a bit of a chain feel to it, but its also cooler than a lot of these are, vast inside, sports bar sort of feel, and at this location at least, pretty solid beer and food. i sat at the bar, interacted with a friendly bartender, and had two beers and a burger, all of which hit the mark for me. the food was a big portion at a fair price, and the beers, a strong saison and a light kolsch, were both solid, if unexceptional. i like this kind of vibe from time to time, a good place to go watch a game, try some different beers, and get a bite to eat. seems like they have a pretty strong group of regulars here, which sustains any business, and also a lot of out of towners with the hotels near by, but i thought it had a good vibe, and the beer was better than i had heard they were in these ram spots. i may not come here all the time, but its nice to have this spot right in town when the mood strikes. their beer was good enough to get me back in to try a handful more of them, so thats a win. cant vouch for any other locations yet though...
Apr 16, 2019
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Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.58/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.25 | food: 3.5
Nice place for a brew and a sporting event. All brewed on site, and many screens with all of the sports being broadcast. Reasonable prices. Burgers dominate the menu, nice patio in warmer weather right on the river.
Jan 15, 2016
 
Rated: 3.79 by SCW from New York

Jul 29, 2015
 
Rated: 3.84 by Brandonparrent from Michigan

Jan 03, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by Squ1D

Nov 10, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by MikeDAdams from Idaho

Aug 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Juno_Malone from Idaho

Apr 10, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by RonJeezy from Virginia

Mar 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by Recless7 from Idaho

Feb 10, 2014
Photo of TIsherwood
Reviewed by TIsherwood from Maine

3.43/5  rDev -4.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
Went here the other night with my wife after a craving for hot wings. Took a quick look on urbanspoon and boom the closest place with hot wings is the Ram. Heard they had a few of their own brews going on so decided to make the 5 minute trip over. We sat outside, trying to enjoy the last few warm evenings of fall here in Boise. But going through the inside looked pretty nice. Big and open, wood booths, big flatscreen tv's. No problem there.

Seated quickly and I put in an order for the beer flight sampler, came in a ram-head shaped platter. Kinda cool. Honestly nothing stood out to me in terms of flavor, I guess they are well known for the blonde, medals at the GABF?? Anyways IMHO it didn't stand out to me at all. But then again I am not super experience with my palate. It was cool to go through all their beers and go from hoppy to malty, light to dark...points for that I guess.

As for the food, it was alright. Wife got the actual hot wings and I got the hot wing tenders...simply breaded chicken strips dunked in hot wing sauce. Both plates were decent and did the job. Dessert was really what stood out. Got the ice cream cupcakes...amazing...scoops of ice cream in solid chocolate "cups" went really well with their porter.

I also got their seasonal tap oktoberfest...my only gripe with it was that the glass it came in was pretty much encased in ice...and after a few minutes I had chunks of ice in my beer. Obviously a no no...didnt ruin the evening, but that's what stood out.

Service was good overall, we were one of two couples sitting outside and we still had our waiter out there every 5 minutes checking on us.

Overall, not a bad place. Am I going to make it a point to go here every week to eat? No. Will I visit this place again? Sure, eventually.
Oct 18, 2012
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Reviewed by Scotchboy from Idaho

3.88/5  rDev +8.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Updated 1/27/11: This place is going up in my opinion, after do a few special events, meeting the brewers, and becoming a 'Mug Club' member, I've liked this place a lot recently. Service always tends to be good. I've got knock on their selection a little, as I believe they have to many light/blonde options and not enough heartier beers.

Upgrading their score.

Been 10-15 times.

Atmosphere: Pretty good at the Boise location. The Meridian location feels more like an Applebees though. There is a good feel a the Boise location, big bar, lots of tvs, brick, good table and booth selection.

Quality is ok by me. Service is usually just fine, averaging out the really good trips and a couple less-than-memorable visits.

Selection is always pretty good in my opinion, there are three-four seasonals on taps right not plus the regulars.

Food is above average but still nothing special. I like the pub-style nachos but you pay for them. Burgers are ok but there are never a ton of sides.

Ok place. $5.50 growler fills on Sunday, which is cool.
Dec 13, 2010
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Reviewed by djbreezy from Washington

3.68/5  rDev +2.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
During a visit to see my sister and brother-in-law, we met for a family dinner at the Ram. The first thing I noticed was the family friendly atmosphere and the gimmicky beers and t-shirts/merchandise...particularly the Buttface Amber.

The beer was decent. It reminded me of the Rock Pizza or some similar franchise. The food was not very memorable. Standard brewpub fare.

The service was fine. A typical staff of college aged servers and bartenders. The atmosphere was relatively loud but lively. The place was packed out and I had a pretty decent time with my family.
May 19, 2010
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Reviewed by bigkingken from North Carolina

2.9/5  rDev -19%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 2.5
RAM is huge and beautiful. The bar is cavernous with rock walls, lots of televisions and a sky scraping ceiling. Neon lights proudly proclaim "Boise's tallest bar" near the ceiling. I've not been to the actual dining rooms here, or the attached additional restaurant, but I've been impressed by the bar.

The food is your basic chain fare though on the higher end. The onion rings are hand battered and fried. The sandwich I had featured roast beef, pulled pork, pickles, onions and some sort of mayo. It was tasty, but nothing outstanding. The other time I visited, I enjoyed a platter of veggies, pita and hummus. Very good, but very easily duplicated. Likely at Safeway.

The beer is pretty run-of-the-mill. Typical RAM beers. All the lighter colored beers were nowhere near hopped enough. The darker beers were pretty good, I think because they don't need as many hops to be good. So stay dark when you visit. The porter and amber were my favorites.
Jan 27, 2010
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Reviewed by jdense from Oregon

1.8/5  rDev -49.7%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2 | service: 1 | selection: 2 | food: 2
I took my better half here, and a hour after ordering our food still hadn't come. Due to her gluten-free diet we asked to make sure her salad didn't have any bread(stick) on the plate. When the plate came, after people who had arrived after us had finished eating and come and gone, voila, salad with breadsticks!

To be honest, being a regular visitor to Beervana, the beers are unremarkable, the food uninspiring, and the service uncaring. I guess if you are looking for someplace loud and boisterous to lubricate before or after a BSU football game, this place makes some logical sense. In the end, though the weak link in the chain. I wouldn't visit here again if they paid me. And my review is not based on the above unsatisfactory experience-the reality is that it just isn't that good. Wake up, Boise!
Nov 13, 2008
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Reviewed by barleywinefiend from Washington

3.65/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3
Originally visited here years ago. It is almost across the street from the BSU Smurf Turf. On weekends and nights it is a college spot due to its location from campus and its nice bar off the downtown area that is nice. During the weekdays its a little more tame and family friendly. The staff was pretty college girls and some guys. The bar itself has a lrage wooden U shape with lots high tables around it on the floor surrounding the bar. Food was average pub grub, beer was your typical Big Horn beer. Worth a stop in if down by the U or around the park area.
May 15, 2008
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Reviewed by Redrover from Wisconsin

3.73/5  rDev +4.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
This place is a large open space with very high ceilings. The bar has a couple of segments and seats about 30. There are lots of tables in the bar area. There are some nice long skinny tables for larger groups. They offer more booths and tables in dining area. I think they also offer an outdoor area.

For beers they had 6 or 7 regulars and 4 seasonal offerings. These seasonals included a Belgian, a pilsner, a lager and an IPA on nitro. Beers were decent and per style.

I was here twice and each time had a friendly professional bartender. College age wait staff.

The large food menu should have something for just about everyone as they offer a wide variety of salads, appetizers, entrees, etc. Lots of the options employ Ram beers for sauces, marinades, etc. Good to see! I liked my salmon tacos!

As with a lot of Rams, the music is a mishmash of styles and could use a bit of fine-tuning. How do you put the Ramones between Michael Jackson and Anita Baker???
Feb 22, 2008
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Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +18.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
This location was situated just across the Boise River from BSU's famous blue turf stadium. It was an immense place, like so many of its brethren in the chain. I do not consider the designation of "chain" to be a negative, however, and thoroughly enjoyed myself here. The one drawback was something that I had experienced at Pizzeria Uno and not many other places - no interior photography. It is a corporate dictum and one that I do not really comprehend. It is also the reason that I always make it a point to inquire before taking out my camera. Onward!

There was a vestibule leading from the parking lot that opened onto the maitre d' station straight ahead. The bar area was off to the left and the restaurant area to the right. The WoodCompass always orients to "Bar" and this one was a laminated dark wood in an inverted-Omega shape (think of a "U", but squared off and with extended points). A brass rail along its top was held in place by brass elephant heads with their trunks stretched back to the tops of their heads to support the rail. The back bar was equally daunting with a projection screen and three monitors as its centerpiece. On each flank was a falt-screen monitor, each with its own bank of ten taps underneath. The liquor and the growlers were on high shelves that required a movable library ladder to access them. There were also lots of color chalkboards in the overhead detailing specials, "On Tap", "Now Brewing", and especially all of the "Mug Club" membership for this location. In the center of the overhead of the back bar was a stunning Big Horn BC, followed by a huge globe encircled with red and blue neon, and finally, an angled white neon in the peak of the roof, pronouncing the place as "Boise Idaho's Tallest Bar". The bar area had a definite sports theme to it. The brewhouse was in the right corner of the bar area, situated so as to be visible from the parking lot. It was a brew day when I visited, so I not only got to see the brewer, Kevin Bolen, in action but the place was redolent with the smell of cooking mash. There were lots of high tables and islands with the ram's head logo emblazoned into them throughout the bar area. The lavatories were to the left of the m.d.s. with the massive kitchen to the extreme left of the extensive dining room area. A patio deck overlooked the river, but I am more of an indoors Woodman.

Beer: The standards included Big Horn Light; Idaho Blonde; Hefeweizen; Buttface Amber; Big Red IPA; and Total Disorder Porter. The seasonals during my visit in July 2007 included Ole St. Nick's Dry Stout; 71 Pale Ale; Stibnite Brown Ale on nitro; and Caves Right Pilsner. For once, my pick was not the Big Red, but instead, the Pilsner. They were all quite good and I see no reason not to send people here for beer. It is a chain, but so what? Get over it and stop in. Tell Kevin that Woody sent you.
Feb 20, 2008
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Reviewed by Hollenbeck2 from Oregon

3.8/5  rDev +6.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4
the location is away from downtown, but close to the park and the river if you have family and are enjoying the park this is a good stop for all ages.

The space is great high ceilings, they say this is the biggest Ram in the chain, this is only the second I have been to so not sure if that is accurate.

The service was quick the kitchen is exposed which is always cool to me.

The appetizers and main dish were equally good, the place was crowded but in a good way, some restaurants just function better with big crowds, great sports bar section as well.
Jan 05, 2008
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Reviewed by tonistruth from Nevada

3.35/5  rDev -6.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Big wide open spaces in here, TV's everywhere, interesting decor, and very comfy booths. A grain silo sits outside, and the entrance sign above the font door is lit like a movie theater.

no complaints with service, they were perfect just nothing memorable. the souvenir glasses are cool, cause they are cheap for how big they are.

Food is nothing special, but at the same time, is not disappointing.

Beer on the other hand was...the sampler was nice, in the sense that you could sample all the brews they offered. I did have a hard time deciding which to buy a pint of though, and settled on the porter. I just really wanted to review a beer. (I've never been to Boise before)

I'd come here again only cause i love trying new beers, but if you only have a limited amount of time, and are looking intently for beer, skip this place. Its basically a sports bar extended into a restaurant, and they thought brewing would be cool.
Nov 12, 2007
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Reviewed by kaia from Maine

4.15/5  rDev +15.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
I visited the Ram on a Tuesday night.

The bar was huge. Proclaimed to be the tallest bar in Boise!
It was quite "corporate" but the staff was fiendly and attentive. I was the only person at the bar.

The menu was large with lots of glossy pictures, kind of like TGI Fridays.

I ordered a sampler.
Seasonal Kosch was very light but incredibly clean and refreshing. Blonde was also very light but again, clean and refreshing no flaws!
Hefeweizen was dead on for style, hazy and delicious nice flourals. IPA 2 ways, regular and nitro, nice and creamy with lots of lacing. Porter was smooth and amber was fairly "big"

I had a nice Rib eye and baked Idaho potato with the works. Cooked perfectly to rare. Bartender waited to check doneness. Food was prompt and well presented, beers were great and brewhouse was very clean and organized.

The Ram would be a great place to watch football on a sunday. Lots of space for a big party in a booth or a large hightop table. Operations were executed well and brewer is obviously very talented. There were a lot of awards from the GABF hanging on the walls. Solid work people!
Nov 25, 2006
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Reviewed by benito from Oregon

2.66/5  rDev -25.7%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 3
Swung in through here while doing a little craft brew tour of Boise. After Sockeye, Table Rock, and Bitter Creek Ale House, The Ram was like something out of a different world--a loud, very busy and very big brewpub. The building this place is in is cavernous. Everything, including the bar and the televisions, is oversized, and the bar area is flanked by equally gigantic booths that seem to swallow families whole. It's a little intimidating...

Fright notwithstanding, I took a seat at the bar. Near 11 on a Saturday this place was busy enough that I had to settle for fly-by, curt service both when trying to get my drink and my check. Like the other spots in the Big Horn Brewing chain, The Ram offers the standard lineup of flagship brews. I had the Big Horn Hefeweizen and found it nice and refreshing. I would have settled for a half-pint, but of course, they only serve incredibly large (20+ oz) pints. I had to leave mine one-quarter full when I finally decided to hit the sack for the night. I also tried a sampler of their Total Disorder Porter, a brew that I had enjoyed when I visited the Big Horn/CB Potts restaurant in Fort Collins, CO, and here too it was quite tasty.

Overall, The Ram has the feel of a classic 'chain' brewpub--it's big, it's flashy, it's loud, and it's beer is passable though unexceptional. Next time I'm in Boise, I may swing by in for a hefeweizen, but I think I'm much more likely to make my way to one of the other craftbrew bars or pubs in town.
Jun 10, 2006
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Reviewed by briman from Texas

3.5/5  rDev -2.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
I spent 4 months on assignment in Boise, and still travel occasionally there on business. When I'm there, I always pick the hotel right across the street from the Ram. Nice place. good atmosphere....kind of a sports bar, lots of TV's...has always been crowded when I've been there. Food is above average, and I can't remember ever having a bad meal here. Always a regular stop when I'm in town.

Behond that, this place will always be significant for me in that about 9 years ago, when I was on my temporary assignment, I was still slogging around drinking mostly mass produced swill when I happened into the Ram and had my first hefeweizen. That started me on the road to beer appreciation and I've never looked back.
Mar 30, 2006
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Reviewed by HochFliegen from Oregon

3.45/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4
Was in Boise Idaho the other day and was told to check out the Ram Restaurant and Brewery.
Its a cool little place. They have big TVs all over inside so you can watch your favorite sport. They have nice big booths and also a nice outdoor eating patio. The beer was ok. Only had the Buttface amber and Texas Blonde. The service was great. Waiter was very friendly and prompt and the food was good. I had the Lemon Hefe Chicken and it was very good. The menu was rather extensive with everything from appetizers, salads, burgers, steaks and other entrees. Id eat there again.
Apr 27, 2004
Ram Restaurant & Brewery in Boise, ID
Brewery rating: 3.47 out of 5 with 102 ratings