Bistro on Spruce

Their shrimp and grits are LEGENDARY! A nice mix of sweet spices and as a girl from Louisiana I can vouch for the authentic and delicious Creole flavor that harmonizes perfectly with the cheesy grits and shrimp! Mary is a sweetheart. Very attentive and extremely nice. Can’t beat the customer service and the groovy 80s music. I absolutely recommend this place. Oh and be sure to try the guava mimosas. Delish! The prices are great especially coming from Cali.

Had lunch today @ Bistro on Spruce and it was quite good. Service was on time and friendly with an easy going attitude. Seating on the patio or inside with nice open air décor.

Wonderful food. I had the grilled fish tacos with salad. It all tasted fresh and I like the sauce they had for the fish tacos. The coffee they have at the restaurant is Cravens, which is good.
The waitress seemed like she needs more training. She asked for our order right after seating us down.
I will definitely go back again. Food and atmosphere was great.

The Hubzz was in Coeur d’Alene for the summer, so I decided to come stay a week and visit. Of course, I did my research on Unilocal of what to do and where to go. Bistro on Spruce was on my list. So, when The Hubzz suggested we go there for lunch, I happily agreed.
We were greeted the moment we walked in by a sweet young girl (brown hair, super cute. I wish I got her name because she was a fabulous server). She gave great suggestions and was quite informative of the specials.
I had the Guinness Onion Soup ($ 7?) with a side Caesar salad ($ 4) and The Hubzz had the Red Roux Gumbo ($ 10). The soup was amazing– well seasoned broth, loaded with onions, and topped with crostini and just the perfect amount of melted cheese. The Caesar salad had homemade croutons and made to order dressing with fresh anchovies. DELISHHHH!
The Hubzz Red Roux Gumbo was loaded with Chicken, Prawns, and Chorizo with a spicy cajun broth surrounding rice. Large filling portion for such a small price.
Add to that — a local amber ale for only $ 4.50, making this one of our cheapest lunch dates ever. (In Orange County, CA, this lunch would have been easily $ 25 more). They have a great wine list, a $ 4 Tapas menu, and a very extensive dinner menu. I highly recommend you go to this delight of a restaurant.
TIP: Get on their email list for their weekly awesome specials. Enjoy!

It’s very quaint. It is comfortable. It is inviting. Great menu with wonderful fresh menu items. Great wine selections. Had the onion soup which was perfect. Not as salty as some places. Enjoyed the Cubanio sandwich which was excellent. Tender ham and pork slices with bacon, onion, peppers. Great prices and wonderful service recommend to all

We had a wonderful dinner here last night — not a bit of anything left on our plates. My Shrimp and Grits was one of the best meals I’ve eaten; perfectly seasoned with so much flavor and plenty of shrimp. We also had the clams and linguini, the beef bistro and the fish tacos — everyone was happy. A delicious and reasonably priced Washington Cabernet made us even happier. Look forward to returning the next time we are in CdA, and would love to try the tapas and happy hour.

Sat outside, nice little view but painfully hard wire chairs, I had to use my top shirt for a cushion-​still wasn’t enough. Slow service. Hot day that early evening… still no water yet. We almost heaved up and left after the first 15 minutes, then the waitress finally materialized. Small inside. Were told that nice far booth was reserved but there was no marker on it. Just got an app and some wine. Good enough. But the place is small which is a detractor– can fill up fast and not many booths, maybe only 3. Bar:…eh; not too cozy and too center, non intimate for my own comfort. I don’t want to say ‘divey’ but its a bit dark inside. And again, the iron chairs could have at least had a slight cushion. In summer especially– sweaty? Grill marks.

Ordered take out while sipping a beer at the Slate Creek Brewery. Two magi tacos and the Mediterranean plate. Cost co samples are larger portions. Don’t waste your money. The flavor was okay, but there is better.

Brunch was great and a good price. Got the Crepes which had goat cheese and duck confit with a berry compote. Then we also got huevos rancheros they had Sake Marys too. We didn’t have to wait on a table for brunch. Hopefully more people explore this for Sunday Brunch!

We have been here way too many times to even count (for breakfast, lunch and dinner), but it has gone way down hill in the past year and we don’t know why. The service is painfully slow, the food is flat, dull and usually flavorless and the quality of the ingredients seem to have declined. We kept going back, because we really wanted to love it again, like we used to. But after today’s poor lunch experience… we won’t be back.

How do you muck up reheating precooked quiche and soup from a vat… well, let me tell ya… quiche nuked to point of brick and soup (asparagus-​watery and not strained to a smooth consistency… no cream in sight) ice cold! Served with undressed greens… ugh! Used to love this place… this was unbelievably bad…

We finally went to Bistro on Spruce and sooo glad that we did! Atmosphere warm and inviting,
music not too loud. Friendly staff with the owner, Chris, front and center. He’s paying attention,
hands-​on and funny, to boot! First of all, he has put together the best wine list in town. He knows
what he is doing, sadly, most other restaurants don’t have delicious offerings, then, we don’t go back. Food prepared consciously and with excellence. Again, Chris has chosen something for everyone, including some dinners under $ 20. (has a burger & tacos too), delicious appetizers, entrees, you-​name-​it, he has it. Tried Happy Hour last evening, offers $ 4 bites and ½ price wines by the glass
(they have a Malbec that’s the best I’ve tasted), dinner hour boasts ½ wine bottles on Tuesday, you can’t beat that!
We know a bit about restaurants, having worked in them, but, mainly, as a guest, we know
tasty food and reasonable prices. One doesn’t have to wait for special occasions, go to Bistro on Spruce, anytime, you’ll feel like you’re having a special occasion.
MCH & PBH

Very disappointing late breakfast at Bistro on Spruce this a.m. One other table occupied, two servers apparent. Sub-​par breakfast, Beloved’s Boxty and Bangers were drowning in Demi glacé, my corned beef hash was fatty, not hash, really, my eggs were over cooked. No gluten free bread options available. Not a good day for breakfast in CDA.

Very good place. We regularly stop in Coeur d’Alene for lunch on the way to Hayden Lake from Pullman. Usually go to Capone’s. Switched it up today and glad we did. Very nice spot on 4^th street. I had the shrimp and grits and hubby had French onion soup and a Cuban panini. The sandwich was 5 star. Hubby said one of the best Cubans ever with a twist. Usually Cubans made with pickles but this had peppercinis. We both loved it. As for the soup, he would give it a 5 but I say 4, a titch bland for me. I enjoyed my shrimp and grits. Grits slightly thick (I prefer then a bit thinner and served liked mashed potatoes) but flavor spot on. Shrimp cooked perfectly. We would both order these dishes again.
We were greeted promptly and sat in a cozy booth. Ambiance is relaxing and nice.
We will be back!

At first glance, this place is beautiful. nicely appointed and comfortable. Nice wine selection and food that sounds appealing. On vacation to visit family in Coeur d’Alene we chose the Bistro for lunch. 3pm shouldn’t be busy so sounded like a great idea.
Well, we were absolutely wrong. Service was terrible. While we were one of 3 tables being served it took well over 45 minutes for our food. now this is not the worst part, after waiting… when we received our food my Mother’s food was never delivered to our table. When we inquired we were informed that in fact, they were out of what she had ordered and she would need to pick something else. Really? During the 45 minutes they could not let us know of this. My mother did not want to make any of us wait any longer and chose not to order anything else.
Now in my book, how you recover form a bad situation is what defines your business, not the mistake itself. Can I tell you, not even a simple apology was offered to my mother or any of us. As my Mom had picked the Bistro as our destination and has other experiences here that were not bad, she did not say anything to the Proprietor directly, even though he was there and aware of our situation.(no apology offered by him either) After leaving, riding in the car, I decided I really needed to let them know how terrible they handled the situation and provide feedback about how they could have salvaged this experience for all of us. I called and asked to speak to Chris M., Proprietor. (we had grabbed his card on our way out)
Now this is where it gets really good, or I guess BAD would be a better description. After expressing my concern for the out and out lack of regard for our situation, he simply stated they were far busier than usual and he could not explain the reason we were not informed of the outage before our food was delivered. He made excuses and continued to blame the overcrowding for the horrible service. I nearly laughed! 3 tables…3 tables?
As we know, attitude reflects leadership and if this is how he chooses to lead, his staff will follow suit. Simply a HORRIBLE excuse for a Bistro. Food was okay, but the total disregard for the patrons and their experience leaves you wanting more, and in most cases, still hungry.

Cons:
Not impressed. I’m a total foodie and expected way more for price. Can’t believe how much $$ we spent while leaving hungry. This was our annual taxes treat for the family and were all dissatisfied and now broke
–Ordered 4-​$ 4 happy hour apps. All this is is less food for lower price. A few bites per appetiser and they sounded better than they tasted :(
– no salad or soup with your meal??? Maybe bread?
–very small portions, I mean come on, potatoes aren’t expensive.
–Steak and red potatoes, had to use table salt!
–Caesar salad, where’s the dressing?
Pros:
Love the happy hour wine!
Great atmosphere.
I’d love to try other dishes to complete my review as the menus is very interesting however I have to get full when I go out to eat for this money.

Amazing food and happy hour here. I was very impressed with the quality of food, the service and the price. Wine list wasn’t long, but decent varieties for not too much money. I don’t know about the rest of the menu, but it sounded delicious and I would definitely return! Yum!

We wandered on into town in a whim and after a stroll near the lake, found ourselves ready for lunch. Bistro on Spruce was a lucky find. You’ll find great big windows to let in the afternoon sunshine and the staff is just as warm. They really do cater to every need you may have, as you’ll find a pair (or two) of reading glasses just to help you peep at the menu, if necessary. I happen to wear contact lenses but I did note the hospitality.
We had some salads and a meatless ruben sandwich. It was an overall success as far as lunch was concerned. When in Idaho next, I’m sure we’ll return.

Nice atmosphere, with a fair steak. The help is great.

We went here to break up our tour of hitting up Coeur d’Alene’s breweries. It was time to sober up some!
We were not too terribly hungry but we did want something to eat. Not enough to get our own entrees though. The service here was good. No doubt about that at all.
The food? It was disappointing. We ordered two appetizers. They had several flat bread appetizers but we went with their special that night. This was a flatbread spread with fig jam, some greens with duck breast on top. I don’t often eat duck because it is rich and sweeter. A little bit goes a long ways. The appetizer was fantastic though! The fig jam and the duck complimented each other perfectly! No complaints on that appetizer at all. They should post this one regularly in their menu.
We also ordered skewers from the appetizer menu. One skewer a piece for each of us. Steve had no problem with his skewer which was composed of two pieces of beef and a mushroom. The flavor was good but one whole piece of meat on my skewer was gristle and was not palatable at all. Cutting it with a knife bore no desirable results. Overall I considered that appetizer a failure.
We ordered desserts as well. Steve got something chocolate with ice cream. It was good. I have been wanting carrot cake for a while and got theirs. It was just ok. I will give it high marks on freshness but overall it was bland. They had the sweet frosting that comes with the carrot cake. Sweeter than many but it did not win me over. I love my carrot cake where I can taste the carrot, ginger and nuts all in one fantastic bite but that magic simply was not there on this one.
It seems clear that this restaurant makes some dishes quite well and others need some work. I would consider going back but the place is on the higher end side and is a bit more pricey. With what looks like like a hit and miss phenomenon going on here makes me reluctant.