60 Best Restaurants in South Dakota, USA

We've compiled the best of the best in South Dakota - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.

Alpine Inn

$$ Fodor's Choice

With its pastoral paintings, lacy tablecloths, and beer steins, the rustic Alpine Inn brings a version of old-world charm to the Old West. The lunchtime menu changes daily but always has selections of healthful sandwiches and salads—and no fried food. The dinner menu has just two dishes: filet mignon, which is one of the best steaks around, and a vegetarian pasta primavera option. Weather permitting, lunch is served on the veranda overlooking Main Street. Hard liquor is not served. Arrive early, because this spot fills up fast, and they don't take reservations (or credit cards, for that matter).

Black Hills Burger & Bun

$ Fodor's Choice

The focus on simple, fresh, and delicious food at affordable prices has made this very small establishment into a phenomenon with one of the best reputations of any restaurant in the Black Hills. It's located in a renovated, downtown building with exposed brick walls and stained-glass accents. The only problem here is the difficulty getting a seat in the small dining area: hours are limited, the place fills up fast, and because the reputation is so stellar, people are willing to endure long waits outside on the bench or even just standing on the sidewalk.

Deadwood Social Club

$$$ Fodor's Choice

On the second floor of historic Saloon No. 10, this warm restaurant surrounds you with wood and old-time photographs of Deadwood. Light jazz and blues play over the sound system. The decor is Western, but the food is northern Italian, a juxtaposition that keeps patrons coming back. Try the wild boar bundles as an appetizer, paired with one of numerous martinis or a bottle from one of the largest wine cellars in the state. The menu stretches from pheasant to walleye, as well as creamy pasta dishes, buffalo, and melt-in-your-mouth rib-eye steaks. Reservations are recommended.

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Delmonico Grill

$$$$ Fodor's Choice

Known as perhaps the best restaurant in Rapid City (in competition with establishments including its sister restaurant, Tally's), Delmonico is the place to go for delicious steak. Upon entering this downtown steak house, you’ll see it’s a cut above many other local restaurants. The wood-floor dining room is stylishly designed, and the wait staff is attentive. Beyond steaks, the menu includes seafood, wine, and side dishes crafted by a local chef. If you’re looking to step out in style for some fine dining, this is a top choice.

Dough Trader Pizza

$$ Fodor's Choice

Whether sitting by the fireplace in the small, indoor seating area or by the fire pit on the outdoor patio, you'll get some of the best pizza in the Black Hills at this beloved Spearfish eatery, located in a remodeled former Tastee Freeze. The gourmet pizza is cooked in a stone oven and served with fresh toppings generously applied.

Harriet and Oak

$ Fodor's Choice

For a delicious cup of coffee or a quick sandwich and chips for lunch, this chic coffee shop and café is a great choice in downtown Rapid City. There's bar-stool seating at windows looking out on Main Street, and quiet nooks in a loft overlooking the main dining area.

Leones' Creamery

$ Fodor's Choice

Leones' is the kind of quiet, locally beloved, hole-in-the-wall place you could easily miss but definitely shouldn't---its handcrafted and ever-evolving ice cream flavors are the best in the Black Hills. The owners pour their passion into creative creations that often incorporate locally produced beers, produce, and other novel ingredients. Leones' is the ideal place to treat yourself after a day of exploring the Black Hills.

Skogen Kitchen

$$$$ Fodor's Choice

The small town of Custer is one of the last places a visitor might expect to find gourmet cuisine, but it's available at Skogen Kitchen, where a chef with national experience has settled into a small, modest-looking establishment and built a widespread following. The restaurant takes its name from a Norwegian word for "the forest," which reflects the owners' heritage and influences the restaurant's menu and simple, clean decor. Hours are limited and the place fills up fast, so you'll need a reservation well in advance of your visit.

Steerfish Steak & Smoke

$$$ Fodor's Choice

Western chic is the style of this restaurant, where a buffalo head and cowboy art adorn the walls of a historic, 1893 stone building with wood floors. Steaks, smoked meats, and burgers are the focus, but the menu also includes a large salad section, and the prices range widely from $12 sandwiches to $40 choice steaks. The bar serves an extensive selection of beer, wine, whiskey, cocktails, and mixed drinks. In a city with some great restaurants, this one stands out.

Tally's Silver Spoon

$$ Fodor's Choice

Ask locals where they like to eat, and many will mention Tally's because of the chef-driven menu, the high-quality food, and the "fine diner" atmosphere (where "cherry pie and foie gras co-exist"). The eclectic menu ranges from $10 breakfasts to $40 dinner entrées. This small, downtown, corner building fills up fast, so consider making reservations.

Uncle Louie's Diner

$ Fodor's Choice

While many other Sturgis "restaurants" are essentially biker bars that also serve food, Louie's is a true hometown diner offering good, simple, affordable food. The menu focuses on hearty breakfasts, burgers, and a selection of Mexican-inspired dishes.

The 1891 Steakhouse and Bistro

$$$

In a shared location with the Red Rock River Resort, this steak house in a historic building sources produce from local farmers' markets and beef from locally grown cattle. The spacious dining room has wood floors and high ceilings with intimate, cloth-covered table settings.

Antunez

$$$

Going for the feel of a Spanish or South American café, this small restaurant is one of the few in the Black Hills attempting to elevate Hispanic food into high cuisine. Although the elaborate dinner entrees are quite expensive, the menu also includes more affordable, all-day choices such as enchiladas, quesadillas, and tacos.

Badlands Saloon and Grille

Meat and potatoes are the mainstays of the menu at this Western-themed restaurant, which is a modern take on an Old West saloon. The location is across the street from Wall Drug.

Black Hills Bagels

Start your day early at this local favorite breakfast spot, where the bagels range from cinnamon raisin to white chocolate chip and can be enhanced with an array of toppings on the build-your-own sandwich menu (or just choose from the five signature sandwiches if endless options aren’t your thing). If you're heading off to explore the Badlands or Mount Rushmore, take your breakfast sandwich to go, and consider grabbing something extra for the long morning ahead.

Blue Bell Lodge Dining Room and Lounge

Feast on fresh walleye or buffalo, which you can have as a steak or a stew, in this rustic log-cabin structure with a stone fireplace. There's also a good selection of salads as well as kid-friendly burgers, sandwiches, and wraps. While the restaurant is most convenient for those staying in the Blue Bell Lodge or its associated cabins, the location on the western edge of the park also makes it a good lunch spot for anyone emerging from the western terminus of the Wildlife Loop Road or making a jaunt to the Mount Coolidge Fire Tower.

Bobkat's Old Fashion Purple Pie Place

This seasonal bakery serves homemade pies and ice cream, as well as lunchtime fare like salads and paninis. Believe us when we say, the peach pie is divine, but if you're looking for something more exotic, there's rhubarb, strawberry rhubarb, cherry, blueberry, bumbleberry (that's everything together), raspberry rhubarb jalapeño, peanut butter, and a daily cream pie. Yes, there is apple, too.

Branding Iron Steakhouse & Saloon

$$$

Much of the Belle Fourche--area economy is built on cattle, and when local ranchers and other residents want a good steak, they go to the Branding Iron. This is a no-nonsense, saloon-style facility with wood paneling on the walls, a bar, pool tables, lots of seating, and big food portions.

Buffalo Dreamer

$$$$

Co-located with Moccasin Springs Natural Mineral Spa, this restaurant is run by a local chef who trained in New York and is now attempting to bring high cuisine to the High Plains. The evolving menu promises food prepared "with love and deep intention," including dishes incorporating duck, salmon, grass-fed beef, and locally grown farm vegetables.

Carvers' Café

The only restaurant at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, operated by concessionaire Xanterra, affords commanding views of the memorial and the surrounding ponderosa pine forest. It serves good food at reasonable prices. The menu includes pot roast, bison burgers, and ice cream made from Thomas Jefferson's original recipe. You can dine with the presidents for breakfast or lunch.

Cedar Pass Lodge Restaurant

Cool off within dark, knotty-pine walls under an exposed-beam ceiling, and enjoy a hearty meal of steak or tacos and fry bread.

Colonial House Restaurant and Bar

For a good, simple, hearty, and affordable meal, this locally owned restaurant is a popular place among Rapid Citians for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's conveniently located on the street that eventually leads out of town toward Mount Rushmore.

Cruizzers

Tasty and hearty made-to-order pizzas, calzones, subs, and pasta make this pizzeria overlooking Keystone's boardwalk a favorite stop for visitors who are hungry from a day of exploring Mount Rushmore and other attractions.

The Custer Wolf

This bar and grill is in a renovated brick building with wood floors and a long, wooden bar, where the food is elevated a bit beyond standard pub fare. It's a great spot for a casual, affordable meal during a day of exploring the southern Black Hills.

Dockside Grill at Legion Lake Lodge

The restaurant at Legion Lake Lodge is an affordable, faster-food option. You can sit down by the floor-to-ceiling windows inside and enjoy an appetizer, salad, sandwich, or burger, or you can order from the picnic menu and take your food to go. There are numerous places to sit outside at the lodge and alongside Legion Lake.

Firehouse Brewing Company

Brass fixtures and firefighting equipment ornament the state's first brewpub, located in a 1915 firehouse. The house-brewed beers are the highlight here, and the menu includes such hearty pub dishes as pastas, salads, gumbo, and buffalo burgers. There's an associated winery next door.

Fuji Steakhouse and Sushi Bar

Watch your food cooked on the hibachi or take a seat away from the action and order from the menu, which includes sushi, rolls, soups, and other traditional Japanese selections. This restaurant is located just off Interstate 90 near lots of other restaurants and shopping.

Gold Country Inn Cafe

For a change of pace from Deadwood's upscale dining options, try this affordable, comfort-food café with a small-town, unassuming atmosphere and a menu full of traditional options like eggs, hash browns, burgers, and chicken salad sandwiches.

Golden Phoenix

Great food, low prices, and relaxed, friendly, and quick service make this one of Rapid City's most popular Chinese restaurants. The friendly chef-owner seasons traditional dishes from all over China with spices from his native Taiwan. Try the Mongolian beef, sesame chicken, or Hunan shrimp. Local businesspeople crowd in for the daily lunch specials.

Grapes & Grinds

Start your day with some caffeine, get a late-morning pick-me-up, or grab a glass of wine and tasty treat at this quick-stop coffee shop and wine bar along the main road through Keystone, which features indoor seating and an outdoor patio.

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South Dakota

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