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Buffalo Cafe
Category: Restaurants American (Traditional) American (Traditional) [Edit]
514 3rd StWhitefish, MT 59937
(406) 862-2833
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner, Breakfast
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
21 reviews for Buffalo Cafe
Review Highlights
"...ordering the ham shoulder with French toast for breakfast."
(in 4 reviews)
"...can't miss having the Huckleberry pancakes, which the place..."
(in 3 reviews)
"...place for a consistent breakfast or lunch and am a new fan..."
(in 3 reviews)
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21 reviews in English
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Review from Steve V.
Vancouver, WA
8/29/2011
Great feel and atmosphere inside - a mix of Montana mountain feel with a good 'ol American restaurant. Solid burger selection.
Our family ate and shared/split...
Double Bacon Burger - special $10.
Chicken Wings
Wild Salmon Caesar Salad
Salmon Tacos
Reuben Sandwich
Mac and Cheese
The Double Bacon Burger was amazing. A burger (loaded) with three kinds of bacon. If you're not 'bacon averse' this is a must have. French Fries were my type of perfect. Lots of surface area, crispy and full of flavor.
Wild Salmon Salad was pretty good. I wouldn't rave about it, but good.
Salmon Tacos were better than average. They provided two different sauces that allowed for a variety of tastes.
Reuben was a solid, quality sandwich. Not too fatty corned beef with a true dark Rye Bread with Sauerkraut.
The Mac and Cheese was a very, very rich creamy cheese - almost too rich!...but there's no such thing :)
Awesome draft selection with a focus on local brews labeling the distance of each brewery. A variety of malted hops that would rival most microbrews from my hometown of Portland, OR.
Service was average. They were pretty busy, but our server still managed to stay on top of our needs. She was great.
We really enjoyed Buffalo Cafe - we might go back tomorrow! -
Review from Shannon S.
Houston, TX
1/14/2012
Dinner here with my dad on a weeknight. We showed up at 8 and were one of 2 tables. Our waitress, Heidi, was delightful. The food, however, was just mediocre. I had the spinach salad, subbing salmon on top instead of chicken. The house balsamic was a bit thick, and some other veggies tossed in would not have hurt as the salad was a bit plain (maybe mushrooms or artichoke hearts?). The candied pecans on top were yummy though.
Buffalo wings were solid. Wished they came with a bit of celery.
My dad's salmon tacos left something to be desired. The salmon was very plain tasting, and could be improved by having it really blackened with some hot sauce on the side. As it were they were just kind of drab. Also the mayo sauce was drizzled all across the 3 tacos which gave them a tacky bar-food kind of look. The sauce would be better on the side. Also, i agree with the other reviewers that the purple cabbage dressing is utterly flavorless. They should add either garlic, lemon, or ginger to it to give it zing and make it worth the calories!
I liked the decor, just wished the food wasnt so bland. -
Review from D B.
Kalispell, MT
1/28/2012
i am a huge fan of this place. for lunch, the burgers are amazing, but always look at the daily specials as well. i have never had a bad meal here. some of the best drip coffee i have had in a restaurant.
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Review from Jeffry R.
Seattle, WA
6/29/2011
Great bleakest place! If you want a great out of town eatery, this is the place!
Also... Greasy Breakfast and I loved it!!! Would recommend this to everyone! -
Review from Melanie J.
San Antonio, TX
While looking for a good morning meal, this place was recommended and so our group couldn't resist from eating here.....twice.
Lots of varieties of breakfast food. When you go in, check out the specials for the day on the chalkboard. I was particularly looking for huckleberry pancakes, but they were out of huckleberries :-(
Our second visit didn't go as well as our first simply because of the service. Food was great, but waitress must've gotten out on the wrong side of the bed. I felt sorry for her as she annoyed the majority of our group with impatient looks and exasperated eye rolling and in return got more demanding customers. I just sat and let them handle their issues. Maybe it was just a busy morning, maybe not.
So, I would have to say the food is great....service varies depending on the waitstaff... -
Review from blazer p.
Vancouver, WA
10/9/2011
On our trip to Whitefish, we have had both a lunch & breakfast here.
It's a quaint place with booths, tables and a small dry bar to belly up to if you're by yourself.
Breakfast was above average with good sized portions. Prices were very reasonable for a tourist destination. I had eggs, sausage (odd flavor, but I liked it and the spices), hashbrowns and toast. The wife had two huge pieces of French Toast with lots of cinnamon- excellent. The hot cocoa was pretty good as well with a generous whipped cream topping.
For lunch, we each had a burger. Again, being Montana, the meat had an excellent flavor, and it was served on a nice Kaiser roll. Due to caloric intake, we passed on the beer battered fries (I suppose I could feel my arteries harden eating those), but they had nice options instead.
The two things that I pause on are the beer battered fries (no regular fries, tater tots... it's the beer batter or nothing) and the too far laid back atmosphere. Not the servers (they were overall average to above average- but very busy and seemed a bit hurried), but the clientele. In this small town, as no one would be surprised, eating a meal is part eating and part social. They eat, then read the local paper for 20 minutes, or chat with the neighbors at the next table... A lot of table time is wasted. When we arrived for lunch we counted 8 tables where people had finished their meal, yet the first table to clear was 20 minutes later. I don't care how small townish this place is, that's too long to wait. It kept us from coming back for a second lunch.
Recommended- YES! If full- just walk away unless you like long waits watching people just sit after finishing their meals. -
Review from Andrew B.
San Diego, CA
5/11/2011
Had lunch here on a weekday, so the restaurant was not busy at all. The waitress we had was pleasant and on top of things.
The sandwiches my girlfriend and I had were great and reasonably priced. The two locally brewed beers we tried were also great.
I would have preferred that my salad and sandwich come on separate plates, but even this didn't bother me that much because the food and beer were great. -
Review from Siara S.
Missoula, MT
9/25/2011
Words cannot express how satisfied I was after ordering the ham shoulder with French toast for breakfast!!!! They have a local bakery supply them with cinnamon bread that they slice and make into French toast, which, when it comes out is a 'texas toast thick' slice that is coming apart with a twist of cinnamon as if they rolled up a cinnamon roll and put it into a bread pan. Then their slices of ham shoulder which is more like awesomely thick bacon is accompanying French toast. Service was friendly, too, which was great. I look forward to a trip to the slopes and breakfast here again!!
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Review from Dale Z.
7/10/2011
I wanted to try the pancakes, but they had quit serving them when we were seated. The hawaiian burger and fries were quite good. Nice ambience.
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Review from Paul W.
Pasadena, CA
9/20/2010
Buffalo Cafe is a good place for breakfast.
You can't miss having the Huckleberry pancakes, which the place is known for. -
Review from Cyrill D.
Tempe, AZ
7/30/2011
I thought this was a great breakfast place-lots of options and even healthy choices. I grabbed Linda's breakfast burro and it was good-even with the surprise broccoli and califlour. Their salsa is good-and this is even though I love my salsa hot. It had good flavor and texture. My friend had poached eggs over hash-browns and raved about it-the green chilis that were touted as mild really were.
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Review from Ash S.
Portland, OR
11/1/2011
Kid friendly place with great food for breakfast and dinner.
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Review from Jonathan C.
Whitefish, MT
12/18/2010 19 Check-ins Here
This is the most consistent place for breakfast in Whitefish. Always busy, and always good. Last visit we ordered the special breakfast tacos (essentially smaller versions of "Andy's Big Breakfast Taco") and they were great! A huge portion that was enjoyed later that day too...
Also on the menu was a version of Banana Bread French Toast that was also very very delicious...
Four stars reflects the sometimes terrible service by two particular waitresses... -
Review from Miriam L.
Whitefish, MT
2/9/2011
Excellent place for a consistent breakfast or lunch and am a new fan of their dinners. Have NEVER had a bad meal here - LOVE LOVE LOVE the purple sauce on everything ! Only reason we sometimes don't go for breakfast or lunch is because you have to wait to get in on Saturdays and Sundays!
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Review from Lucky L.
San Francisco, CA
9/17/2008
It's about as good as you're going to get for a great Sunday breakfast in Whitefish, or anywhere else for that matter.
Great people, great food and just one of those places that always feels like home - breakfasts rock, lunch is pretty damn good, and the new dinner menu is surprisingly solid (I highly recommend the purple fish tacos) and a good value, too.
Expect a wait on weekend mornings. -
Review from Suzanne C.
Brea, CA
8/15/2010
You can tell that this is a well-loved local watering hole due to the wait, and the food is good, if a little greasy. However, this is totally what you would expect from a coffee shop. I had the patty melt, which was great and served on dark rye with choice of cole-slaw or fries - I opted for the slaw, but tasted the fries and they were great. We were there at the end of their breakfast/lunch service so it was a little hectic and service was slow, but the staff was very friendly.
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Review from jeff K.
Los Angeles, CA
3/9/2009 2 photos
The Buffalo is good eats. I remember not being able to walk once I left this great establishment. For breakfast, it gets busy. I remembering having to sit at a dirty counter that servers took care of immediatly. They were slammed. The workers are pretty together there. They get your order guick and get your food to you fast. The biscuits and gravy clogged my heart so bad that I asked for more. The Biscuits & Gravy is one of the best Ive ever had. If youre ever in Whitefish and want a good country breakfast check this place out.
Listed in: Best Places on My Travels
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Review from William S.
Kalispell, MT
6/28/2011
This is one of our favorite breakfast stops for an early day of hiking and fishing. Got in just after opening time, 7:00am. Heard our waitress ask the cook if he was ready. Good food, plenty of it. My lone complaint was the very ordinary coffee that should have been better. Boring and ordinary describes most of the coffee in the state. Good beans deserve less water. But this is still a fine stop for breakfast and lunch. Great sandwiches.
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Review from Lana G.
6/21/2008
Good mac 'n cheese, the wife said. Barely adequate wine list and totally inadequate beer list. Good garden salad but the beef stroganoff -- a "house specialty" according to the menu -- was the worst I've ever experienced. The cream sauce was just a greasy gravy based on the tough, greasy, grisly beef that swam, or sank, with the noodles therein. Hence the single star: the good mac 'n cheese and garden salad notwithstanding, ya gotta know how to make your own house specialty. In addition, the waitress was obnoxious.
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Review from Lisa C.
Sunnyvale, CA
8/17/2009
Tried their Huckleberry pancakes and they were pretty ordinary. The eggs that came with it were pretty normal as well. Whistle Stop in East Glacier serves better breakfast.
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Review from francis s.
Seattle, WA
9/7/2008
It's true, I was eating huckleberry-buckwheat pancakes at the Buff at five years old- before pandering off to ski school on the bunny slope. The Buffalo cafe has been around longer than any other breakfast joint downtown for a reason. It is a must before hitting the hill, going to your construction job or a day of hiking. I have yet to try the dinner service. Maybe next time? Until then- Nicole's French Toast, Vicky's Huevos or Buffalo Pie are old family faves. The purple dressing on their warm vegetable salad remains a delicious mystery and don't forget the stiff french-press of Montana Coffee Traders.
