24 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).

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

Kathmandu Bistro

Nepalese, Indian, and Tibetan food are on the menu at this small downtown eatery, which is a favorite lunch spot for locals. The exposed-brick wall and other decor is unassuming, and the focus is on the food. A wide-ranging menu includes tandoori, masala, curry, and, for the more adventurous, even a few alligator dishes.

Mavericks Steaks and Cocktails

Recycled barn wood decorates this casual bar-and-grill establishment in the heart of downtown, where steaks are the star of the menu and big-screen TVs are tuned to ballgames.

Millstone Family Restaurant

Depending on your early-morning energy level, walk or drive to the Millstone for a satisfying country breakfast before starting your day. Breakfast is so beloved here that it’s served all day and includes an extensive array of omelets, waffles, pancakes, and more, but the skillets menu is most worth your attention. There's another location on Main Street, as well as a location in Spearfish.

Murphy’s Pub and Grill

Chow down on local ingredients that produce hearty regional favorites like buffalo meat loaf, while relaxing in a laid-back, pub atmosphere. Feel free to pair a couple pints with your meal—you can walk back to your hotel if you're staying downtown.

Nonna's Kitchen

Finding a good Italian restaurant can be challenging in some cities, but not in Spearfish. Nonna’s (Italian for grandmother) Kitchen opened in 2020 in an 1895 building that’s full of character and good, authentic Italian food. The owner wanted to share family recipes that have been passed down for generations, so everything is made fresh. There’s also a great wine selection. Outdoor seating along Main Street allows you to take in the crisp Black Hills air when the weather allows for it.

Powder House Restaurant

This rustic steak house at the Powder House Lodge is made for quiet mountain evenings with its indoor, log-cabin-style dining area and expansive, covered, outdoor patio. The menu focuses on quality meats (but with vegetarian options) and relaxing drinks. This is a place to unwind and enjoy a quality meal.

Que Pasa Cantina

Every day is a fiesta at Rapid City's most popular and spacious Mexican restaurant, with its upbeat servers and its focus on gathering people together around food and drink. The Fifth and Main location makes this one of the most visible businesses in the city and puts guests within walking distance of everything in the downtown area, including Main Street Square.

Stage Stop Cafe at Cheyenne Crossing

Located at a crossing that can take you west to Wyoming, north into Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway, or east to Lead, this country café with simple decor serves up hearty, home-cooked food without pretension. It's 8 miles southwest of Lead on a site that also includes a small lodge and gift store.

Stampmill Restaurant & Saloon

Pub food is served up in a relaxed setting in this downtown Lead establishment, located in a lovingly preserved 1897 building with exposed-brick walls, wood floors, high ceilings, and a fireplace. There are two Victorian-style rooms for rent on the upper floors.

State Game Lodge Restaurant

Located in the historic Game Lodge where President Calvin Coolidge and First Lady Grace Coolidge lived for nearly three months on a 1927 vacation, the Game Lodge restaurant has the biggest dining capacity of any restaurant in the park. There are multiple seating areas ranging from basic to elegant to outdoors (be sure to inquire about the options). Breakfast and lunch buffets are available, and the menu includes a wide range of salads, burgers, and entrees, with a focus on local ingredients, including bison meat.

Sylvan Lake Lodge Restaurant

There's no better setting for dining in Custer State Park than the Sylvan Lake Lodge, which is perched on a hillside above beautiful Sylvan Lake. The dining area has vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors, large windows, and a stone veranda. Like other restaurants in the park, the menu includes a selection of salads, sandwiches, burgers, and locally inspired entrees featuring bison meat and other specialties.

Western Art Gallery Restaurant

More than 200 original oil paintings, all with a Western theme, line the dining room of this eatery in the Wall Drug complex. For a tasty meal, try a hot beef sandwich or a buffalo burger. The old-fashioned soda fountain has milk shakes and homemade ice cream. This place also serves the area's best doughnuts, and a regular cup of coffee is still just 5 cents.

Woolly's Grill and Cellar

As it's family-owned and -operated, it's no surprise that this place caters to families. Though it specializes in hand-cut steaks and prime rib, entrées on its modestly priced menu include helpings from the 18-foot salad bar. It's right next to the Mammoth Site.

South Dakota

South Dakota

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