Brisket pizza, Boise? This new restaurant and brewery with 43 craft taps is ‘phenomenal’
When Bob and Chris Belmont moved to the Boise area from Las Vegas to open a taproom and be closer to family, everything sort of happened all at once.
“We got the keys to the brewery and the keys to our house Dec. 2,” Chris says.
A blink of an eye later, the Belmonts are making Garden City bargoers feel like family, too.
The couple opened Belmont Brew House on Monday at 3840 W. Chinden Blvd., taking over where Twisted District Brew Co. closed last spring.
Updated with reclaimed barn wood to give the interior a warmer, more rustic feel, Belmont is part taphouse, part restaurant — and all welcoming.
With seating for 100-plus inside, and 43 craft tap handles that rotate, the space is a beer lover’s paradise. But it’s also a legitimate dining destination; the Belmonts recently retired from lengthy careers in the corporate restaurant universe.
“For us, food quality’s huge,” Chris said. “We care an awful lot about the product we put out.”
Belmont isn’t like other breweries in the traditional sense. As was the case at Twisted District, it will use wort shipped from Germany and New Zealand, finishing the beer locally by fermenting and adding hops, Chris said. Belmont isn’t making those beers yet, but a handful of selections will appear eventually, she said.
Beers and ciders on tap at Belmont lean heavily toward local and regional, and the variety is well-curated. Belmont also has two wines on draft (from Proletariat Winery) and four sold by the bottle (from Hells Canyon and Zhoo Zhoo) — all from Idaho. “They’re good. They’re tasty. They’re grown here. And made here,” Chris said.
Hard seltzer fans will discover a fun, customizable drink. Starting with a plain seltzer base, Belmont generates concoctions using an array of fruit purees and syrups — any combination that a customer dreams up. Want a mango seltzer with some ginger? They’ll whip it up in a pint glass for you, then give it a stir. “It’s great,” Chris said. “Some people might say, ‘I don’t like it really sweet.’ We can kind of throttle that back.”
Between them, the Belmonts spent decades working for brands such as TGI Fridays, IHOP and Joe’s Crab Shack. But they also started as line cooks early in their careers, Chris said. So, in Idaho, they dove into Belmont’s tiny kitchen with a combination of enthusiasm, efficiency and life experience.
“We’re not trying to be fancy. We’re not, like, a gastropub,” she said. “We’re just good, solid pizza. Good, solid shareables. A really great scratch meatball I spent many months perfecting. Our pizza sauce is housemade. It really makes a difference, I think. You’ve got to put a little love in it — that’s the extra ingredient.
“These two or three things are scratch-made. Everything else — we bought it. And we’re putting our spin on it but making it ours. We’re just trying to put out really good, craveable bar food, to be honest. We’re not trying to be anything more than that.”
Pizzas run the gamut from a Good Ol’ Cheese ($17) to the scrumptious-sounding “Tejas” BBQ Brisket ($27): zesty barbecue sauce, cheese mix, smoked brisket, caramelized onions and jalapenos.
Belmont also sells sandwiches ranging from a Reuben ($17) and Chicen Bacon Avocado Ranch ($17) to a Classic BLT ($12). All come with tater tots or a side Caesar salad.
Perusing the menu’s appetizer section will make your mouth water. Some of the options include Pretzel Bites with Beer Cheese ($13), Brisket Queso Dip ($14, including tortilla chips), Chris’ Meatball ($14, family-recipe meatballs served with garlic toast) and Totchos ($12, a pound of tots topped with beer cheese, pico de gallo, jalapenos, green onions and a drizzle of barbecue sauce).
Watching your waistline? Belmont sells a few salads, too.
But for most customers, this taphouse and restaurant will be a place to indulge a little.
After a preview event over the weekend and a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, positive feedback is rolling in quickly. Belmont rates 5.0 out of 5.0 stars from 14 Google reviews.
“Venue, staff and food were all equally AMAZING!!” a Local Guide wrote. “Not your typical run-of-the-mill bar food — yummy, unique menu that is to die for!! ... This place is phenomenal!!”
This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 4:00 AM.