While most people think of Mount Rushmore or Crazy Horse Monument when traveling to South Dakota’s second-largest city, Rapid City offers a menu of outstanding restaurants that challenges the palate of any foodie.
Here are nine recommendations to whet your appetite in Rapid City, South Dakota.
1. Delmonico Grill
Dry aging steaks for 2 months is standard practice at this downtown restaurant. Considered the best steakhouse in the Black Hills — and possibly all of South Dakota — Delmonico Grill features fine dining in a casual environment. With intimate seating, diners can rely on personal service from the waitstaff. The chef seeks to use locally sourced ingredients as often as possible to create fresh dishes.
Opened in 2007, Delmonico Grill offers a variety of amazing entrées. Whether you prefer a steak aged in house for more than 70 days, fresh seafood such as spice-crusted ahi tuna or pan-seared Scottish salmon, or a burger, Delmonico Grill aims to please. Consider a cocktail or regional beer to complement your choice of entrée.
What To Order At Delmonico Grill
The prime rib is a weekend exclusive. With two cuts — 12 or 16 ounces — the prime rib is cooked to order. The medium rare cut is perfect, served in its delicious juices with a side of horseradish for a flavorful kick. Add a loaded baked potato and you may have leftovers for another delectable meal.
2. Tally’s Silver Spoon
Fresh oysters in the middle of the Black Hills? At Tally’s Silver Spoon, diners are impressed by fresh appetizers, seafood, and entrées such as bison steak. Originally a diner offering comfort food and a great cup of coffee, Tally’s grew into a popular eatery for the downtown crowd. After taking over from their parents, the second generation of Tallys renovated the restaurant into a modern feel while maintaining their parents’ comfort-food concept.
Today, Tally’s Silver Spoon is owned and operated by a Cordon Bleu Institute-trained chef who had developed the concept of “fine diner.” Maintaining classics such as blueberry pancakes for breakfast and cheese soup at lunch, diners browse the menu for appetizers such as fresh mussels in a curry broth or foie gras, and then enjoy an entrée of seafood pimentón or the Smokey Pig sandwich — made with chipotle pulled pork, pickled onions, and beet slaw.
What To Order At Tally’s Silver Spoon
With seasonal offerings, including locally sourced ingredients, the menu at Tally’s Silver Spoon may change. While the bison steak is a recommendation when in season, consider the “Indecision Menu,” allowing the chef’s team to create a tasting menu for you.
3. Sabatino’s Italian Ristorante
Locally sourced ingredients add to the unique and delicious menu at Sabatino’s Italian Ristorante. Owned by immigrants seeking to bring authentic Italian to Rapid City, Sabatino’s offers seasonal items, allowing diners to experience great food, such as fresh pasta with house-made marinara and pesto sauces. From lasagna to gnocchi Bolognese, the menu features traditional pasta with a contemporary twist.
Creating delicious dishes featuring house-made dressing and bread, Sabatino’s also makes some of its pasta by hand. Since seasonal menus change, if you prefer comfort Italian, consider classics such as lasagna or fettuccine alfredo alessio.
What To Order At Sabatino’s Italian Ristorante
With a changing menu, consider trying the ravioli. Stuffed with crab and shrimp, the house-made ravioli is served with a tomato and olive oil sauce.
4. Kathmandu Bistro
Nepalese cuisine rules here. Along with its décor highlighting the country’s culture, diners’ palates are transported to a classic eatery in Kathmandu. With traditional food, Kathmandu Bistro’s menu features samosas, tandoori chicken, chicken tikka, and classic naan bread.
The 10-year-old restaurant features intimate dining in a historic 1886 building. Combining the vintage copper ceiling with Nepalese art, Kathmandu Bistro is truly a unique dining experience in the Black Hills.
What To Order At Kathmandu Bistro
You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, from vegetarian options to chicken, beef, and lamb. Chicken tikka masala is a classic dish that always satisfies. Featuring boneless chicken breast, the dish is served in a creamy sauce made with Indian spices.
5. Firehouse Brewing Company
It seems apropos that South Dakota’s first brewpub is located inside Rapid City’s first firehouse, built in 1881. Firehouse Brewing Company opened in 1991, adorning its walls with plenty of firefighting memorabilia. The microbrewery opened less than 100 days after renovation started. Over 3 decades, Firehouse Brewing Company has showcased why it continues to rank among the best breweries in the state.
Offering beers with fire department-related names, such as Thirst Extinguisher and Smoke Jumper Stout, Firehouse Brewing creates original beers, including IPAs, lagers, and ales.
Its dining menu offers a variety of dishes, casual yet a bit upscale for a brewery. The Tuna Poke Nachos feature wonton chips topped with raw tuna, avocado, edamame, cheddar cheese, green onion, and a drizzle of Sriracha and soy wasabi crème. Pub classics such as fish and chips and a variety of burgers give the brewery a casual feel. Entrées featuring yellowfin tuna, bison lasagna, and barbecue highlight the menu.
What To Order At Firehouse Brewing Company
A fan-favorite, the Rancher’s Pie combines ground beef and vegetables layered with garlic and cheese mashed potatoes, all topped with a hearty brown gravy. The meal is served with a toasted butter-glazed puff pastry.
6. Colonial House Restaurant And Bar
Resembling a diner out of the 1950s, Colonial House Restaurant and Bar includes entrée options from buffalo burgers to comfort food. Add one of the bakery’s fresh treats and you have the makings of a meal that makes Grandma proud.
Opened in 1981, Colonial House’s menu features “Midwestern American” cuisine. If your grandma made it, it’s likely also been done here. From steak and eggs in the morning to fried walleye or the classic chicken-fried steak, Colonial House takes diners back to the days of home-cooked meals shared with family and friends. House-made desserts, from cookies to pie, are perfect for capping a delicious meal.
What To Order At Colonial House Restaurant And Bar
With a variety of burgers on the menu, the buffalo (bison) burger is perfect for a comfortable, yet not heavy, meal. An 8-ounce bison patty on a fresh bun topped with lettuce, tomato, and onion, the burger is complemented with an ample serving of fries. Consider a side salad, too.
7. Prairie Berry Winery
While it doesn’t grow its own grapes, Prairie Berry Winery produces delicious wines. But its seasonal dining menu offers light options, such as sandwiches, salads, and soups.
With wine in her blood, Sandi Vojta has been around winemaking most of her life. So, it made sense to open Prairie Berry Winery in the heart of the Black Hills. Nearly 25 years have passed, and the winery continues to produce award-winning styles, such as its “Red Ass Rhubarb” (think donkey).
The kitchen staff creates impressive dishes, from charcuterie to sandwiches and soup du jour. The porchetta sandwich features cured pork belly loin roast, apricot mostarda, salsa verde, wild arugula, and shaved fennel on a ciabatta bun. The Caesar wedge salad includes romaine lettuce and croutons topped with a house-made Caesar vinaigrette dressing.
What To Order At Prairie Berry Winery
A perfect example of Prairie Berry Winery, the Chef’s Plate features three gourmet cheeses, three charcuterie meats, nuts, winery-produced jam, marinated olives, seasonal vegetables, and crackers. Add a house-made soup as a complement.
8. Black Hills Bagels
If there’s one thing journalists know, it’s great coffee and breakfast. (Okay, two things.) Owned by former journos, Black Hills Bagels serves up a variety of tasty sandwiches as well as great coffee.
While most people are sleeping, Black Hills’s bagel crew gulps coffee as they mix and cook bagels to be served fresh that morning. Once done, you have about a dozen flavors from which to choose, including cinnamon raisin swirl, garlic, and chocolate chunk. With a variety of cream cheeses available, a bagel and hot cup of coffee make for a great start to the day. If you’re adventurous, create your own bagel sandwich, with ingredients such as egg, bacon, and spinach. Whichever you decide, you can’t go wrong.
What To Order At Black Hills Bagels
Black Hills Bagels is known for its vanilla nut bagel — a longtime fan favorite. Add a spread of whipped peanut butter, plain cream cheese, or brown sugar cinnamon, and you’re set for a delicious excursion to a South Dakota original.
9. The Mudhole Of The Black Hills
Combining food and a secondhand store is the signature of The Mud Hole of the Black Hills. Offering comfort food for breakfast — such as biscuits and gravy, omelets, and burritos — The Mud Hole seems like a hole-in-the-wall kind of place that offers great food. And you’d be correct. The downtown location offers breakfast from 7–11 a.m., as well as serving as a secondhand thrift store.
From a good cup of coffee to a breakfast burrito, biscuits and gravy, or a plate of pearl sugar waffles, you can fuel your shopping energy before heading to the thrift side of the building and taking in an everchanging collection of wares.
What To Order At The Mudhole Of The Black Hills
The Mud Bog is a local favorite consisting of scrambled eggs, potatoes, and cheese stuffed inside two hearty biscuits and topped with sausage gravy.
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