A Bar, Montana — Restaurant in Kalispell

We came to A Bar one night after a very very long day at the beautiful Glacier National Park. We were sweaty and tired and needed some salty, greasy bar food with some booze. My friends that we were staying with were locals, and they recommended A Bar, so we knew we had to try it out.

It was a Friday or a Saturday night, and we arrived after nightfall, so we were worried there wouldn't be anywhere to sit, but we miraculously found a nice six top with a great view of the karaoke that was about to start. Looking around, the ambiance was really cool.

It had a heavy dive bar vibe. I could perfectly picture Garth Brooks singing in the corner with a rowdy crowd packing the place. A lot of the tables were talking or shouting friendily to one another, showing me that there were a lot of locals and/or regulars there. But also, the place sold merch, as if it were a tourist attraction. A very interesting blend.

Service was great. He was just a cool dude that efficiently brought to us everything we ordered. Beer showed up in a hurry, the food came out timely and nice and hot. Very nice fella.

As for the food, it was surprisingly very good. Like, the best food we ate the entire time we were in Montana.

We opened up with the A Bar Nachos (Corn tortilla chips smothered with melted cheddar, refried beans, taco meat, diced tomatoes, olives, jalapeno, and green onions. Served with salsa and sour cream.

Wow! These were good nachos. First of all, they were huge. You can't have small plate of nachos, it's not a good look. Second of all, they were layered beautifully. Not all the toppings were topped on top, they were layered in between layers of chips, leaving no boring bites even towards the end. Third of all, they added beans. Not everyone does that, but everyone should, because it spreads well and they're a great meat substitute. Just amazing nachos.

For my main meal of the night, I ordered the Cowboy Burger (1/3 pound Angus Patty, lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheddar, onion rings, and barbecue sauce on a grilled Brioche bun).

Also awesome. A huge patty, cooked perfectly, sitting on a bun that was hearty enough to support it, stacked high with crispy onion rings and skewered with a giant steak knife to really set the presentation off right. A little fresh veg, a good amount of sauce, and a literal mountain of tater tots really made this a super satisfying meal.

I also got to try the Shrimp Basket (Crispy Breaded shrimp, deep fried and served with French fries, cocktail sauce and lemon). These were nice. Nice, crispy shrimp, crispy tots, nothing was too greasy. A nice way to end the meal.

Or so I thought that was the end.

At the last second, I saw on their specials board that they had a huckleberry cheesecake. We were on the way out already, so I ordered it to go, and when I got it home, I naturally paired it with some Tillamook huckleberry ice cream and had one of the best...

We stayed in Big Fork and came across A Bar near our short term rental. From the bar staff to the servers to the kitchen staff, everyone was welcoming to us out of towners, friendly and attentive and all around superb! The daily specials are truly excellent. From someone who hosts a dinner party in the sky ✈️ for 350 passengers several times a month, I genuinely was so impressed with the efficiency of the kitchen. They took pride in their prep and food delivery and presentation. Food was delivered by the kitchen as soon as it was finished. It was served piping hot.

After a long day of hiking we looked forward to stopping at a friendly place with good drinks and comfort food. Well...

Stopped here for lunch after our road trip to get some delicious 🤤 Flathead Cherries 🍒 Great 😊 experience! We were greeted with a beautiful young lady holding the door 🚪 open for us as my wife uses a walker! The atmosphere was awesome 👏🏻 the service was great 👍 and the food w outstanding, much more than we could eat! Thumbs up 👍 to the excellent staff beginning with our waitress, bartender, and cook 👨‍🍳 you all do an outstanding job and we would highly recommend your establishment to all! Thank you 🙏🏻 all for making our dining experience such a pleasant one! Keep up the outstanding job that you all are...