13 Best Restaurants in Kalispell, Missoula, and Northwest Montana, Montana

This is the place for the classic small-town café experience. Locals and visitors happily blend in a casual, friendly atmosphere as they dig into well-prepared breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. You can start your day with huckleberry pancakes or biscuits and gravy and come back for a home-cooked dinner of sirloin steak Stroganoff or a hefty helping of Grandma Maetzold's original mac 'n cheese recipe.

This intimate, downtown pizza place is popular for its unusually creative flavor combinations. Locals come for the Caramelized Goat, a piping-hot pie capped with caramelized onions, goat cheese, roasted garlic, mozzarella, and fresh herbs. Other fun combos include the Prosciutto & Fig and the Sweet Potato, Bacon & Maple Chipotle. If you're not feeling that adventurous, you can always create your own.

Craft beer and gourmet burgers are the thing at Hop's, a popular chef-owned eatery in the historic downtown area. Its menu boasts 100 craft beers, regional wines, and more than a dozen burgers, including at least one vegetarian option. Start with crispy duck wings, then try a smokehouse bacon and Brie, wild boar, buffalo, or yak burger. The elk lasagna also is outstanding.

This family-run sit-down restaurant is known for its gourmet Italian cuisine and fresh seafood. A good way to decide what you like best is to try the sampler, which includes handmade pasta stuffed with different fillings, spinach gnocchi, fettuccine Alfredo, shrimp, vegetables, and another side. All meals include soup or salad.

Sample high-quality, locally made gin, vodka, aquavit, and an award-winning single malt whiskey at the beautiful and now-famous distillery. Be warned, however, that there's a two-drink maximum per customer, which will make it difficult to choose from the long list of handcrafted cocktails. Try the Smoke Tones, made from homemade Quick Silver vodka, grapefruit, habanero tincture, and a smoked salt rim; or The Dude Abides, with vodka, coffee, coffee liqueur, and milk. They also make a great riff on the Old Fashioned, with Sudden Wisdom rye and creole bitters. Purchase whole bottles over at Grizzly Liquor, a few blocks away on Spruce Street.

This local favorite is known throughout the Bitteroot Valley as the place with the best burger in the region—and possibly the state. The locally owned family restaurant serves burgers, steaks, and sandwiches, all made with fresh ingredients and Bitterroot Valley beef. For those who want to eat lighter, they serve a fresh Mandarin Orange Salad.

Mountain-Mexican fusion—fine Mexican cuisine with a Rocky Mountain flair—includes handmade tacos, enchiladas, fresh seafood, and a fresh salsa bar. In the summer, enjoy a cold beer or glass of wine on the patio with stunning mountain views.

Sip a Yard Sale Amber or the award-winning Hat Trick Hop IPA in this two-story establishment overlooking the river. The main-floor restaurant offers a casual atmosphere with good views. With a literal wall of bigscreen TVs in the bar downstairs, it's the place to go when a game is on. On weekends, the mimosa and Bloody Mary bar is a big draw, as is the generous beer sampler and the build-your-own-Caesar-salad bar. Everything on the menu comes in ample portions, including fish and bison tacos, smoked bacon mac n' cheese, and a large selection of pizzas, burgers, and sandwiches. This is the brewery's first location outside of its hometown of Lakeside, Montana.

Locals wait in line for the fall-off-the-bone barbecue ribs, broasted chicken, and fry bread served with honey butter. The atmosphere is very casual, with a large main room, several smaller eating areas (great for families), and a spacious patio. A typical combination platter includes your choice of ribs (country-style or spare) and either broasted or rotisserie chicken served with sides of fry bread, baked beans, coleslaw, and red potatoes—or opt for a side salad. They also serve pasta and have excellent pizza with homemade sauce.

Come here for the best bread and soup in the valley. The café's baked goods, including fresh croissants, baguettes, and scones, will entice you in, but it's worth your while to stay for breakfast or lunch—the Reuben sandwiches are sublime, and any one of the salads makes a great lunch. Local artwork adds a warm touch.

Opened in 1949, this cozy café is a longtime Missoula favorite for any meal, especially breakfast. Hardly a shack, this elegant little eatery, in an old auto dealership, offers all kinds of American fare—from an array of salads and sandwiches to huckleberry pancakes and almost 20 omelets, including interesting options like apple, cheddar, nutmeg, and cinnamon; and veggie, cheddar, garlic, and crouton. Swinging doors take you into the saloon, where there's an oak bar that arrived in Montana via steamship up the Missouri River a century ago.