Nite Owl & Back Room Restaurants — Restaurant in Columbia Falls

Not far from one of the most beautiful places I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing is a really unique dining experience that goes by the name of The Nite Owl and the Back Room. I’ve toured around the US and I’ve visited places like the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, and none of those compare to the stunning beauty of Glacier National Park.

My wife and I visited Glacier National Park last month and we had the chance to experience some of the local cuisine and we fell in love with the Columbia Falls restaurant. After a long day of adventuring through the park, hiking the old growth forests and enjoying the views and the wildlife, we found the Nite Owl and Back Room a short half hour southwest of the park.

The first impression was one that was perhaps a bit forgettable, as the aesthetic of the restaurant doesn’t exactly share all of its secrets until you enter and enjoy the feast within. The restaurant is a marrying of two kitchens and many styles of cuisine, and is so much more than an all-you-can-eat type joint. The restaurant is two in one, with two separate kitchens. One is open all day and is modeled like a classic diner with breakfast and dinner. The other is dinner only, and specializes in home style cooking. The concept is interesting, and one that I was excited to see work well, because having one large kitchen and one menu can be difficult to master for some, let alone two!

My curiosity was soon sated after arriving, as I enjoyed the brisket, which was amazingly tender and very flavorful and delicious. The gravy was great, but the star for me was among the simple things. The fry bread with honey butter was phenomenal. I would come just for the bread and butter. I’ve had traditional fry bread, and while it wasn’t the same as natives used to make, it was intensely enjoyable. Leah and I also tried out and loved every morsel of the chicken, the sweet tea, and our desert. Although the Nite Owl might appear as a traditional local diner with decent eats, it’s packing all sorts of flavor and culinary goodness inside that I never expected prior to my first visit. We loved everything about our meal and will...

We came in for a 75th birthday party with 17 people. We had a reservation, yet it was hands down the worst service I’ve ever experienced in this valley. Our server, Amber Miller—who we were told is “the best they have in the backroom”—was absolutely terrible. If she’s the best, then this place should just close its doors.

In two full hours, not once did she offer another round of drinks or even ask about dessert. Empty plates sat piled on the table the entire time. Half of our group had to get up and go to the bar themselves just to have a drink. The food took over an hour to arrive, and not once did Amber check in with an update. She simply disappeared. When the food finally came, it was clear she couldn’t care less—three people ordered medallions that were overcooked, and the cod was a sad, burnt, frozen-from-a-bag disaster.

She never came by to ask if we needed anything, never cleared dishes, and never once acted like she was there to actually serve a table. I would have loved cucumbers on my salad, or even some extra dressing—but she never gave me the chance to ask. Amber flat-out sucks at her job.

What makes it worse is that when this was raised later, she treated my daughter—who works there—as if she was lying. That was the final straw.

So let me be clear: Amber, I’m calling you out by name. You ruined what should have been a special occasion. I will never come back. And here’s the thing: statistics show an unhappy customer tells everyone. In this case, you now have 17 people who will be telling everyone they know about how bad this place is. ..I think it is fair to say that my daughter did. Tell her manager who gave the birthday people a $60 gift card. 3 of the people who had 3 dinner entrees, 3 bar...

Read a number of good reviews on this restaurant before deciding to try it out. The place was always busy when we drove past and appears to be a favorite for the locals so we took that as a good sign.

The place was very busy for a Labor Day evening, but we got a seat at the counter. It took a few minutes before server took our order, but that was expected. After about 15-20 minutes we saw that several people that arrived after us had already received their food.

I finally asked the server to check on our order. I’d ordered a 2-piece catfish dinner with baked potato, and my wife ordered a catfish sandwich. The server asked the kitchen when the order would be ready and we were close enough to hear “3 minutes “.

About 10-15 minutes later, the server finally set our food in front of us. My catfish was hot but not very tasty. My baked potato was so undercooked I bent the fork trying to smash it. The toast that was served in place of a roll had obviously been setting a very long time and was stale. My wife’s fish sandwich had been undercooked, and she couldn’t eat most of it.

The server asked part way through the meal how we were doing but moved on before I could speak. She never apologized for the order taking so long or if it was to our satisfaction.

I rarely complain publicly about food quality or service, but this experience was just beyond bad. We’re just in town for a week enjoying the sights and events, but this was certainly not one of...