Olive B's Big Sky Bistro — Restaurant in Big Sky

A short drive north from Yellowstone is the lovely little town of Big Sky, which is nestled in the mountains of Montana, sandwiched between the legendary parks of Yellowstone and Glacier National Park. My wife Leah and I toured Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier parks last month and we took an evening and ventured north from our Yellowstone campsite to Big Sky, where we had the pleasure of experiencing a truly great restaurant.

In Big Sky, you will find Olive B’s Big Sky Bistro, which is a continental bistro serving lunch and dinner, with dishes like mushrooms gratinee, calamari, crab cakes oysters and more for starters, soups and salads, and entrees like Rocky Mountain elk, pork prime rib chop, New Zealand lamb chops, duckling, ribeye, bison short ribs, salmon, walleye pike, and much more. They have a full bar stocked with many delicious cocktails, whiskeys, wines and beers.

The appetizer bread was fresh out of the oven and had a truly wonderful taste, and the herb butter that accompanied it was magical. Perhaps the best fresh bread I’ve ever had, and considering how many restaurants I’ve eaten at in my life, that’s saying something. I started with clam chowder soup which was quite nice. I sampled an old fashioned with bourbon, which was made well, but a bit on the strong side, which I believe is simply personal preference. But it was nice to feel a bit of tingle before the appetizers came.

For appetizers, we shared Mushroom Ciabatta Bread, which was light and perfect as a starter, with a whole hell of a lot of flavor. My tastebuds were very happy, let me tell you. I ordered the King Salmon, which was cooked to absolute perfection. It was so tender, it melted away on my tongue, and it was juicy and the pure definition of mouthwatering. Plus, the little flowers on top for decoration were very cute. Great presentation, but even better flavor. Leah had the Veal Cutlet Parmesan, which was a fresh take on chick parmesan with a thin breaded veal, topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, with prosciutto ham on top of a bed of linguini, garlic, fresh spinach and Roma tomatoes. She loved it, and I had a bite and can confirm in its deliciousness.

Our desert was a berry crisp that was to die for. But by that point, we were suffering beneath the weight of our bellies and had to trek back to our campsite before another big day of exploring Yellowstone. Leah and I both very much enjoyed our experience at Olive B’s, and can’t recommend it enough. Take a drive and escape the Yellowstone madness and try...

For starters, we ordered a spinach salad and the french onion soup. The spinach salad was fairly standard, but I did enjoy the addition of celery root. My companion was very pleased with the french onion soup - he said it was everything he'd been hoping for, and they certainly did not skimp on the cheese!

I got the broiled shrimp for my entree, which was accompanied by tomatoes, artichokes, and garlic, with a side of saffron rice. The dish included 5 smallish shrimp. My favorite part of the dish was the garlic; I received 5 garlic cloves that were barely cooked. I loved that.

My companion ordered the duckling, which had a peach glaze and came with spinach, sweet potatoes, grapes, and pearl onions. He enjoyed the duck and thought it was well-cooked, but we both thought that the dish was sweet and fairly one-note in that respect. It would have been nice to have something to contrast the overwhelming sweetness.

The servers were great and attentive without being in-your-face. This was our first visit, but my guess is this is a restaurant that would be a reliable place for...

WOW, AMAZING!!! The place we had planned to dine at closed a few hours before our friend's reservation (they got a cancelation email) for a private event. We decided to try Olive B's as an alternative. The restaurant was busy, but we could be seated at the bar. Rick, the bartender/our server, recommended the Huckleberry Martini, so delicious. We had the Crab Cake appetizer (great), I had the Wild Game Bolognese (ground elk & bison, tomato sauce, over fetuccini, garlic bread), which was very good, and my son ordered the Rocky Mountain Elk (3-2 oz. seared medallions, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and a to-die-for huckleberry demi-glace). His dish was better, and I suffered a little dinner envy! On the pricier side, but well worth it for an elegant,...