A dinner of hand-cut steak, warm bread, soup, salad, potato and ice cream has a pleasingly old-school sense of occasion. At this Butte steakhouse, the meal is built to be more than an entrée delivered to the table. It unfolds in courses, leaves room for conversation and gives a road-trip dinner or family gathering a little extra weight.
The setting helps. Warm wood, exposed brick and copper details give the dining room a rustic, warehouse-like character, while the mix of black and copper in the décor adds a little evening polish. Booths and standard indoor tables keep it comfortable rather than fussy.
It is a good place to arrive hungry and settle in. The room has hosted anniversary dinners, Father’s Day gatherings, farewell meals with family and business travelers looking for a proper sit-down supper in Butte.
Steaks with room to choose your appetite
Steak is the reason many people come, with hand-cut cuts that are known for being juicy, tender and well seasoned. The choices reported on the menu cover a useful range: filet, New York strip, ribeye, sirloin and a two-pound T-bone for anyone who sees no reason to be subtle.
The filet comes in several sizes, including petite and mini portions. The petite has been noted as substantial in its own right, a useful option for diners who want a filet without committing to the largest steak on the table.
There is room to dress up a steak, too. Asparagus, crab and shrimp toppers are among the add-ons that have appeared with the steak selections, turning a straightforward beef dinner into something closer to a surf-and-turf plate.
The meal starts before the steak arrives
The house supper-club rhythm begins with bread and butter, soup and salad before the main course. It is a generous format, especially for travelers accustomed to ordering every component separately and watching the extras mount up.
Soup can be more than a token opening course. One version of the beef soup arrives with a scoop of mashed potatoes, which is a very Montana answer to the question of how hearty soup ought to be. Chicken soup has also made a strong impression on diners who were looking for something memorable before the entrée.
The salads come with house-style dressings and croutons. Honey mustard and ginger dressing have both been mentioned, offering a little more personality than a standard side salad quietly pushed to the edge of the table.
Potatoes, fried starters and the useful extras
A classic baked potato can arrive loaded with the familiar range of toppings, while double-baked potatoes give the meal an even richer turn. Along with the entrée and its sides, the overall dinner can be genuinely filling; this is not a place that treats the potato as a decorative afterthought.
For the table, the appetizer list has included fried mushrooms, fried ravioli, calamari and TotChos. The latter swaps chips for tater tots, a small but very appealing bit of menu logic.
The calamari has been served with pepperoncini and sun-dried tomatoes, a sharper, more colorful direction than a plain basket of fried seafood. It is the sort of starter that can keep a group busy while everyone studies the steak sizes and debates side dishes.
Not everyone needs to order beef
The broad menu makes dinner easier when a table includes committed steak eaters and people with other plans. Seafood, chicken, pasta and vegetarian choices add enough range that the restaurant works for mixed groups without forcing anyone into a compromise meal.
Chicken Marsala is one of the alternatives, served with a wine sauce kept restrained enough that the chicken remains the focus. Shrimp scampi, fish and paella extend the options further.
A seafood combination of halibut and buttery prawns has also stood out. That kind of plate gives a diner a reason to come back without repeating the steakhouse order, which is always useful in a restaurant that invites lingering meals.
Save a little space for the ice cream
Dessert commonly arrives as part of the multi-course finish, and ice cream is no mere afterthought here. Moose Tracks is a familiar crowd-pleaser, but licorice ice cream is the one that may stop the table for a moment.
The licorice flavor begins with a vanilla-bean note before moving into the unmistakable old-fashioned black-licorice taste. It is a dessert for people who already love licorice and a worthwhile curiosity for anyone willing to take a spoonful.
Strawberry cheesecake and bread pudding offer less divisive ways to end the meal. Still, the licorice ice cream gives the dessert list a distinctive little wink.
A drink and an unhurried table
The bar offers cocktails, wine and a full drink selection, with an Old Fashioned and Cadillac Margarita among the drinks that have made their way across the bar. There is also an attached Guido’s Bar, giving the evening a natural place to begin with a drink or continue after dinner.
Service is friendly and attentive, with staff ready to help with menu suggestions and check in without hurrying a table along. That relaxed pace suits celebrations and larger gatherings especially well, but it also makes a Tuesday night dinner feel less like a stopover meal.
The dining room can carry a moderate conversational buzz, and at busier moments it may get lively while remaining workable for talking across the table. Reservations have been recommended at popular times. A free lot is available, although finding parking has occasionally taken a little looking.