The 12 Best Restaurants in Bozeman, According to a Local

Bozeman’s restaurant scene has no business being this good for a town of 60,000 people. The combination of MSU students, ski-town transplants, ranching money, and a steady stream of Yellowstone-bound tourists has created a dining culture that punches well above its weight. You can eat world-class sushi, Argentine-inspired grilled meats, and handmade pasta within a four-block radius of Main Street. You can also waste $45 on a mediocre elk burger at a place coasting on its mountain-lodge decor. This list is designed to prevent the latter.

If you’re staying downtown, most of these restaurants are within walking distance. That matters here, because parking on Main Street in summer is a blood sport.

How reservations actually work here

Before the specific picks, a note on reservations — because Bozeman does this differently than most places.

Most restaurants in town do not take reservations for small parties. Blackbird, Plonk, Revelry, and Mountains Walking are all walk-in only unless your group is six or more. The system is simple: show up, put your name in, wait at the bar or walk the block. In summer and during ski weekends, that wait can stretch past an hour at the popular spots. Show up at 5:15 or after 8:30 and you’ll cut it in half.

The sit-down spots that do take reservations — South 9th Bistro, Feast Raw Bar, Copper Whiskey Bar — use a mix of OpenTable and phone calls. South 9th books up a full week ahead for Friday and Saturday nights in July and August. Feast is easier to get into midweek but tough on weekends. Book both at least three days out in peak season. In winter months, you can usually walk into anywhere on a Tuesday without a wait.

The top tier

Blackbird Kitchen remains the single best restaurant in Bozeman, and it is not particularly close. The wood-fired oven turns out the best pizza in Montana — thin, blistered, topped with restraint — and the seasonal vegetable dishes are the kind that make you forget you ordered them as sides. The wine list is thoughtful without being pretentious. Order the wood-fired mushroom pizza ($18) or whatever vegetable dish is on the seasonal rotation. The Brussels sprouts, when they’re available, are worth building a meal around. Expect to spend $35-50 per person with a glass of wine. Go early or expect a 45-minute wait; they do not take reservations for parties under six.

Plonk is the other essential stop on Main Street, leaning more wine-bar than restaurant but with a kitchen that takes food seriously. The charcuterie boards are excellent, and the late-night menu is the best option in town after 10 PM. For a date night, sit at the bar, order the cheese board and a bottle of something from their by-the-glass list, and plan on $50-70 per person. This is also the spot for a group dinner — the back room handles larger parties well and the shareable format makes ordering easy.

The reliable workhorses

Feast Raw Bar does things with oysters and crudo that should not be possible 1,500 miles from the nearest ocean. Their sourcing is meticulous, and the cocktail program matches it. Start with a half-dozen oysters ($18) and the tuna crudo, then move to whatever whole fish they’re running as a special. Dinner runs $50-75 per person depending on how deep you go on the raw bar. This is the one restaurant where I’d call for a reservation every time, especially in summer.

South 9th Bistro is where locals go for a nice dinner without the Main Street crowds. The menu is French-leaning bistro fare, the portions are honest, and the patio in summer is one of the best outdoor dining experiences in the Gallatin Valley. The duck confit and the steak frites are the two orders that never disappoint. Plan on $45-65 per person. It’s a 10-minute walk from downtown, which is just far enough to thin out the tourist traffic.

Dave’s Sushi sounds like a strip-mall afterthought but has been turning out legitimately excellent sushi since 2006. The Treasure State roll is a local institution. Skip the cooked rolls and trust the nigiri — the quality of fish Dave sources for a landlocked mountain town is genuinely impressive. Dinner for two with a couple of rolls and nigiri runs about $60-80 total. No reservations, but the wait is rarely more than 20 minutes.

The casual essentials

Do not leave Bozeman without eating at La Tinga. It is a taco window on North 7th with a tiny patio, and the al pastor is the best single dish in town, full stop. Three tacos and a Mexican Coke will run you $14. That’s the best dollar-for-dollar meal in the Gallatin Valley. They close when they sell out, which on weekends can happen by 1 PM. Get there before noon.

Roost Fried Chicken does exactly one thing and does it perfectly — buttermilk brined, double-dredged, served with slaw and biscuits that would make a Southerner pause. A two-piece combo with two sides runs $16. The mac and cheese is the right side order. Skip the coleslaw unless you really love vinegar-forward slaw. This is the best post-ski food in Bozeman if you’re coming back from the mountain hungry and don’t want to wait for a table anywhere.

Jam! handles breakfast better than anyone else, with lines out the door on weekends for good reason. Get the Berkshire pork hash ($16) and skip the pancakes. The hash is savory, filling, and genuinely distinctive. The pancakes are fine but not what they’re best at. Weekday mornings before 8 AM, you can walk right in. Saturday at 10? Budget 30-40 minutes in line.

The spots worth knowing about

Mountains Walking Brewery doubles as one of the best lunch spots in town, with a food program that takes its sandwiches as seriously as its IPAs. The smoked brisket sandwich and the brewery burger are both well above average pub food. Lunch for two with beers runs about $40. If you’re doing a brewery crawl, eat here — the food outpaces every other taproom kitchen in town by a wide margin.

Revelry is the newer kid on Main Street, doing upscale comfort food with a cocktail-forward approach. The smash burger ($17) is the best burger in Bozeman. The fried chicken sandwich is a close second. Dinner runs $30-45 per person with a cocktail. The bar seating fills first, so grab a seat there if you’re a party of two.

Feed Cafe on East Main is the under-the-radar breakfast spot locals guard jealously, serving farm-to-table morning food without the twee affectation. It’s smaller and quieter than Jam!, which is either a selling point or a problem depending on your morning timeline. If you’re trying to get on the road to Yellowstone early, Feed opens at 7 AM and you can be in and out in 40 minutes. Grab a coffee on the way out.

Copper Whiskey Bar is where you go when you want a great bourbon pour and a steak that does not require a second mortgage. The 12-ounce ribeye is $42, which sounds steep until you remember that the resort steakhouses at Big Sky charge $65+ for the same cut. This is the date-night-without-the-fuss pick.

Breakfast for early Yellowstone departures

If you’re heading to Yellowstone and want to be at the West Entrance by 8 AM, your breakfast options narrow fast. Most sit-down spots don’t open until 7 or 7:30, and a full-service breakfast takes 45 minutes minimum. Here’s what actually works.

Wild Crumb Bakery opens at 7 AM and does pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and strong coffee in a grab-and-go format. The ham and gruyere croissant is excellent. You can be in and out in 10 minutes and eating on I-90 by 7:15. The Nova Cafe opens at 7 AM on weekends and has a faster turnaround than Jam! — expect 20-25 minutes for a full breakfast. The huevos rancheros are the order. If you just need coffee and something portable, Treeline Coffee downtown opens at 6:30 AM and does excellent drip pour-overs and a small pastry case.

Big Sky dining: setting expectations

Here’s the uncomfortable truth about eating at Big Sky Resort: the options are limited, the prices are inflated, and nothing up there touches the best restaurants in Bozeman. That said, after a full day of skiing, the last thing you want is an hour drive back to town before you eat.

Everett’s 8800 at the summit is the closest thing to a fine dining experience at the resort, and it’s genuinely solid for a mountain restaurant. The views justify the markup. Expect $70-100 per person. The Cabin Bar and Grill in Mountain Village does burgers and pub food at resort prices ($18 burgers, $9 beers) and is the path-of-least-resistance option after a ski day. Olive B’s Bistro in the Town Center is the best actual restaurant in the Big Sky area — reserve ahead. For everything else, you’re looking at standard resort food-court fare.

If you’re staying at the resort, budget an extra $30-50 per day for food compared to eating in Bozeman. Or do what locals do: pack sandwiches for the hill and save the restaurant money for town.

Family-friendly vs. date night vs. group dinner

Taking kids? Roost, La Tinga, Mountains Walking, and Bridger Brewing are your best bets. All four have casual vibes, food kids actually eat, and nobody cares if your toddler drops fries on the floor. Bridger’s pizza is the easy family crowd-pleaser.

Date night? Plonk, South 9th Bistro, or Feast Raw Bar. All three have the right combination of good food, good drinks, and a room that feels like you put in effort. South 9th’s patio in summer is the most romantic setting in town.

Group of six or more? Blackbird (which actually takes reservations for large parties), Plonk’s back room, or Copper Whiskey Bar’s long tables. Avoid Dave’s Sushi with a big group — the space is too tight and the ordering dynamic gets complicated with more than four people.

Quick price guide

Here’s roughly what dinner for two costs, including drinks and tip, at each spot:

• Under $40: La Tinga, Roost Fried Chicken
• $60-90: Mountains Walking, Revelry, Dave’s Sushi, Copper Whiskey Bar
• $90-130: Blackbird Kitchen, Plonk, South 9th Bistro
• $130+: Feast Raw Bar (if you go deep on the raw bar)

These numbers assume two drinks each and 20% tip. Adjust accordingly if your group orders three rounds of cocktails at Plonk — that tab moves fast.

What I’d do with three nights in Bozeman

Night one: Blackbird Kitchen. Get there at 5:15, put your name in, have a drink at the bar while you wait. Order the pizza, a seasonal vegetable dish, and split a dessert.

Night two: La Tinga for a late lunch (before 1 PM), then South 9th Bistro for dinner with a reservation. This covers the best casual meal and the best proper dinner in town in the same day.

Night three: Feast Raw Bar if you like seafood, Revelry if you want something more casual. Either way, end the night at Plonk for a last glass of wine and whatever is on the late-night menu.

Your mornings: Jam! once (go on a weekday), Wild Crumb for the early Yellowstone day, and Feed Cafe for the third. Three breakfasts, three different speeds, all good.