3 Best Restaurants in Bismarck, North Dakota

Known for its good steaks and strong cocktails, Peacock Alley is one of downtown Bismarck's most popular spots for both lunch and dinner. Once the historic Patterson Hotel, this restaurant was the scene of countless political deals, captured in period photographs that feature prominently on its walls. At lunchtime you can choose from a decent selection of wraps, sandwiches, and burgers. The dinner menu focuses primarily on different cuts of steak, although you can also get sides, salads, and seafood. Regional dishes include pan-blackened prime rib. Check the website for daily drink specials.

Elegant fine dining often comes with a heavy dose of pretention, but not at this Bismarck restaurant, where the ambience is casual and the food is delectable. A glance at the menu would have most people assuming this is a jacket-and-tie kind of place, but the vibe is considerably more laid-back—it even has paper tablecloths that guests of all ages can draw on with crayons, perhaps inspired by the original artwork on the walls. It offers a regularly changing menu of primarily European and American dishes, most constructed around grilled or sautéed meat. Permanent menu fixtures include venison sausage, bison, lamb, and walleye fish. Organic and local produce is used whenever possible.

It’s fair to say that most people come to the Walrus for the beer and stay for the food. This pub–restaurant has 40 American craft beers on tap, and is constantly adding new brews to the roster. It also serves imported beer by the bottle and wine, as well as a wide variety of pub fare, steaks, seafood dishes, pastas, pizzas, and burgers. Teetotalers can opt for an Italian soda or, somewhat uncharacteristically, a hot cup of house-blended herbal tea.