Planning your day trip to Butte
What's to do in Butte?
Butte known for its colorful history, myriad of outdoor recreation options, and a strong workforce. The city is also home to Montana Tech. Read our profile on why Butte makes a great place for tech.
The large ethnic population and taste for high living that characterized Butte in its heyday are still visible in the local cuisine.
The Meaderville neighborhood was Butte’s Little Italy, famous for restaurants with “Meaderville service.” Meals were served in courses and included a relish tray, breadstick, soup and salad, pasta, main dish, and dessert. Meaderville was swallowed up by the Berkeley Pit expansion in the 1960s, but multi-course meals live on.
Dig into the authentic Italian-American version at Lydia’s Supper Club. Or see the Meaderville tradition translated into a diverse menu at Casagranda’s Steakhouse.
Foodies should also try dinner at the Uptown Café for a white-tablecloth meal fit for a copper king (or queen).
For breakfast and lunch, The Hummingbird Café near Tech offers a rotating menu of natural and locally sourced food with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.
Many of Butte’s cherished food traditions date back more than a century.
Pekin Noodle Parlor, opened in 1911, is believed to be the nation's oldest Chinese restaurant in America continuously operated by the same family.
The pasty (pass-tee) – a meat-and-potato pie wrapped in a flaky crust – was introduced to Butte in the lunch pails of Cornish miners. Sit at the vintage lunch counter of Gamer’s Café, where the locals eat, for a pasty served with gravy. Or try a snack-size pasty in the historic bank vault at Metals Sports Bar & Grill, washed down with a Headframe Spirits “Dirty Girl” (adult root beer float).
Butte’s fast-food favorite, Pork Chop John’s, serves up a crispy pork fritter on a bun as-seen-on the Food Network.
Travelers can stay at any number of recently renovated hotels, including the historic Finlen or Miner’s Hotel in Uptown and the Copper King Convention Center near the airport.
Check out more of our recommendations for food, drink, and lodging below.
Abbreviations:
Coffee: C; Breakfast: B, Lunch: L, Dinner: D
Thanks to the Butte Convention and Visitors Bureau for their assistance.
Craft Beer and Spirits
Butte Brewing Co. – 465 E. Galena Street – 406-299-3953 – Open 12-8 pm. The original Butte Brewing Company was founded in 1880. The new version opened in 2015 in a brand new building in East Uptown and serves seven microbrews brewed on site. Map
Quarry Brewing – 124 W. Broadway Street – 406-723-0245 – Open 3-8 pm. Located in The Grand Hotel on Broadway Street in the heart of historic uptown Butte. Open since 2007, Quarry Brewing serves handcrafted beers and fresh popcorn. Map
Headframe Spirits – 21 S. Montana Street – 406-299-2886 – Open 10 am - 8 pm. Founded in 2010, the tasting room at Headframe Spirits is a friendly place to sample new cocktails and learn about the history of the great mining town, Butte, America. Map
Restaurants and Coffee Shops
Park and Main Cafe - 8 West Park Street, Suite A (street level) - 406-723-2044 - Open 6 am to 1 pm. A hole-in-the-wall cafe below street level underneath the Metals bar that serves freshly baked orange cinnamon rolls, sticky buns and flavored scones every day and their famous butterhorns on Mondays. - C/B
Gamer’s Café – 15 W. Park Street – 406-723-5453 – Open 7 am - 2 pm. Gamer's has been a local favorite for home-cooked meals since 1905. Come for traditional breakfasts with pancakes, eggs, steaks, pork chops, sausage and bacon and lunch specials that vary from pasties (best ever!) to prime rib. - B/L Map
Hummingbird Café – 605 W. Park Street – 406-723-2044 – Open 7:30 am - 4 pm. A popular coffeehouse and juice bar with a full menu for breakfast and lunch in historic Uptown Butte. Homemade, local, and organic food with vegetarian/vegan options. - C/B/L (Free WiFi)
Metals Sports Bar & Grill – 8 W. Park Street – 406-782-5534 – Open 11 am - 9 pm. Located in the old Metals Bank & Trust built in 1907, Metals serves burgers, pasta, steaks and local beer in an upmarket pub. The dining room still features the original bank vault and teller line and patrons may dine in the vault upon request. - L/D
Uptown Café – 47 E. Broadway Street – 406-723-4735 – Open 11:00 am - 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm. In the heart of the Historic Uptown District, Uptown Café serves informal café lunches weekdays with two soups and two entrees that change daily. Every night the Café is transformed into a white-tablecloth restaurant serving Continental cuisine. - L/D (Free WiFi) Map
Casagranda’s Steakhouse – 801 S. Utah Avenue – 406-723-4141 - Open 5-10 pm. Whether you choose Casagranda's seasoned, hand cut, Rocky Mountain grown beef or something special from their diverse menu, you will appreciate the historic charm of this steakhouse in Uptown Butte's warehouse district. Entrees include a dish of Montana's Wilcoxson's ice cream for dessert. – D Map
Lydia’s Supper Club – 4915 S. Harrison Avenue – 406-494-2000 – Open 5-9 pm. Started in 1946, Lydia's is Butte's only remaining traditional Meaderville-style supper club. Meaderville was an Italian neighborhood in Butte famous for its supper clubs serving multiple courses. The neighborhood was absorbed by the Berkeley Pit in the 1960s, but traditional Meaderville dinners live on. Meals start with an antipasto first course with Lydia's “famous” homemade Roquefort dressing, salad, cheese, green onions and homemade sweet potato salad. Along with a main dish of steak, chicken, or seafood you'll get all-you-can-eat raviolis and spaghetti with homemade sauce, plus French fries. Make reservations. - D
Ice Cream and Sweets:
Shepperd’s Candy - 2405 Harrison Ave. - (406) 782-8721. Founded in 1954, this Butte confectionery is where the locals go for boxes of special, hand-crafted candies to give as gifts. Think buttery caramels, dipped chocolates, fudge, pecan rolls, almond roca and peanut brittle. A throwback to a time before cell phones and the Internet, Shepperd's does not advertise or sell products online and they only ship candy locally. So get these treats while you're in town.
Whitehead's Cutlery and White's Castle Candy Shop – 73 E. Park Street – 406-723-9188 – Open 11:00 am - 5:00 pm. Founded in 1890, Butte's oldest business carries everything from zombie-slaying daggers to fudge. Old-fashioned soda fountain is open in summer. Map
Lodging:
Miner's Hotel - 53 West Park Street - 406-723-8928. Housed on the second floor of the Miner’s Bank and Trust Building in historic Uptown, Butte's first boutique hotel opened in 2016 near NorthWestern Energy headquarters. With eight rooms - two suites, two super singles, two twin rooms, and two regular-sized singles - amenities include gas fireplaces along with continental breakfasts featuring locally made pastries. Rooms run from $129 to $189 during the summer.
Finlen Hotel and Motor Inn - 100 E. Broadway - (406) 723-5461. Dating to 1923, the Hotel Finlen sits right in the heart of uptown Butte near NorthWestern Energy headquarters. 24 Hotel rooms and 32 Motor Inn rooms are furnished with either Queen size or Full size beds and include air-conditioning and cable TV. High-speed wireless Internet available in some rooms. Rates from $76 to $108.
La Quinta Inn & Suites Butte - 1 Holiday Park - (915) 888-3781. Newly renovated. Free breakfast and WiFi. Rates from $120 to $144.
Copper King Hotel - 4655 Harrison Ave - (406) 565-5001. Restaurant, bar, and spa. Convention facility with over 15,000 sq ft of meeting space. Rates begin at $114/night.
