Breakfast is the most important meal of the day… or at least that’s what the so-called experts tell us (I think – it’s hard to keep up). Whether you put any stock in those expert opinions, though, if you start a day of Montana adventures on an empty stomach, you’re going to have a bad time.
And the town of Whitefish is full of adventure opportunities: Whitefish Mountain Resort, nearby lakes, miles of hiking trails, innumerable campgrounds, and of course, nearby Glacier Park. Whether you’re going hiking, biking, kayaking, or skiing, you’ll need some fuel to power you through the day. These are some of the best breakfast restaurants in Whitefish to keep you full and happy as you explore the area.
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Quick-Service Whitefish Breakfasts
Glacier Park’s timed-entry starts at 7:00am in the summer, which is also just about when many of the parking lots at area trailheads are filling up. So if you want to beat the crowds, it’s best to wake up early and hit the road. This inevitably involves fumbling for a coffee and pastry as you drive there, so let’s start with places to go when you’re short on time for breakfast in Whitefish.
Folklore Coffee
One of our favorite Montana coffee roasters, Folklore’’s original location is in the town of Conrad, just north of our hometown of Great Falls. But Conrad isn’t all that big and doesn’t see too many tourists, so we’re pleased to see they’ve branched out to Whitefish where many more coffee drinkers can share in the experience of sipping their delicious brews.
So first and foremost, go here for the coffee.
Premium coffee aside, though, Folklore has a small but practical menu of pastries, bagels, sandwiches, and breakfast burritos, and even home-made pop-tarts. If you’ve got time to hang out – the shop’s super cozy, and there’s even a great free bookshelf where you might find your next favorite read.
WILD Coffee Company
A second option if you’re craving premium coffee in Whitefish is WILD, owned by the same couple that founded Sweet Peaks ice cream (the Whitefish branch of which is conveniently located across the street).
They differentiate themselves with a minimalist aesthetic showcasing the area’s natural beauty through the photos of Glacier Park and the Flathead Valley that brighten their walls. WILD’s coffee beans aren’t widely distributed like Folklore’s, either, so if you want a cup from them, you’ll have to stop in the shop.
While I love the house-roasted coffee and the nature-inspired vibe, it’s the biscuits that really put WILD on the map as one of the best places to get breakfast in Whitefish. To be clear, I’m not talking about biscuits and sausage gravy like you’d find at your local Cracker Barrel.
These flaky little pillows of buttery deliciousness are instead topped with huckleberry jam, runny eggs, microgreens, or crispy bacon. A little bougie and possibly too Instagram-able? Maybe, but oh my are they good.
Cutthroat Bagel Company
Just a few months old, Cutthroat is the newest breakfast spot in Whitefish. You may already be familiar with them if you’re local, though, since owner Dan Moe has been selling his bagels at the Columbia Falls farmers’ market for the past year.
So, how was Cutthroat able to go from farmers market stall to brick and mortar in just a year? By sticking to a laser-focused menu that emphasizes quality over variety. There are only four kinds of bagels – plain, sesame, salt, and salty seedy (sort of like an everything) – and for toppings, there’s just plain cream cheese, jam, and butter.
They also do English muffins that look delicious, but it’s too hard for me to pass up a really good bagel. Cutthroat serves coffee from Uptown Hearth in Columbia Falls, which is another great breakfast option if you want to stop somewhere on your way to Glacier Park.
Fleur Bake Shop
Bagels and biscuits are great, but there’s also a whole world of delectable sweet pastries out there – croissants, brioches… probably some other French words. Fleur Bake Shop’s owner, Whitney Brien, is trained in the art of French pastry-making and her passion for pastries and attention to detail really shine through – especially in my favorite, the orange cardamom bun.
You’ll need a good cup of coffee to pair with these buttery, sweet treats, and Fleur serves some of the best. They source their beans from Black Coffee in Missoula, which is another one of our favorite Montana coffee roasters.
Croissants, buns, and scones are Fluer’s proverbial bread and butter, but they do a few seasonal or rotating pastries to keep things interesting, too. They also make, hands-down, the best bread in town. If you’re packing sandwiches for a hike, grab your fillings from the grocery store, but get the bread from Fleur. You’ll thank yourself when you bite into a freshly-baked baguette or a slice of focaccia come lunchtime.
Amazing Crepes
While we love all of the above bakeries and coffee shops, I think our most frequent Whitefish breakfast stop must be Amazing Crepes. It’s not just because they’ve been making some of the best crepes in Montana since 2005, or because the founders were inspired by the same crepe trucks we loved in Thailand.
It’s also that I always get sucked in by the big front window where you can watch them make the crepes. After ogling that silky smooth batter as it transforms into a crispy little pancake, how can you resist?
Okay, now that it’s settled that you’re getting a crepe, what to order – sweet or savory? The Nutella-banana is always a solid choice, but the root veggie, egg, and cheese crepe feels more substantial, like it’ll be better fuel for your adventure. Third option: have the savory crepe for breakfast, and save the sweet one for a mid-morning treat. Best of both worlds.
To go along with those scrumptious crepes, Amazing Crepes serves some seriously good coffee from Fieldhead Roasters in Bigfork. If the weather’s nice, there are a couple tables out on the sidewalk where you can watch other passersby get hooked by the crepe-making window. Or if those seats are full, you can always make a picnic of it in nearby Depot Park.
Sit-Down Breakfasts in Whitefish
Be warned: weekends during summer tourist season will have just about every sit-down restaurant in Whitefish jam-packed. So if you just need a quick bite before hitting the trails, the bakeries and quick-service spots listed above are the better option. Should you have the luxury of lingering (and waiting for a table), though, these Whitefish breakfast spots will not disappoint.
Buffalo Cafe
The Buffalo is a Whitefish institution, having opened in 1979, back when Whitefish Mountain Resort was still Big Mountain and much more of a dirtbag hill than it is today. More than 45 years later, it’s still serving up classic greasy spoon dishes, like eggs benedict, pancake stacks, and breakfast burritos.
Their signature dish, the very first item on their menu back in the ‘70s, is the “Buffalo Pie” – a pile of crispy hash browns topped with two poached or over-easy eggs and a variety of meats and veggies. It’s a calorie bomb for sure, but there’s a good chance you’ll need it to fuel a few hours of hiking, biking, or skiing.
The Buffalo is also very popular for lunch or dinner, and unlike most breakfast spots in Whitefish, they have an alcohol license. Mimosas are available starting at 11am, so if you want to make this a boozy brunch, the Buffalo Cafe is the place to do it.
Loula’s Cafe
Another diner-esque option for breakfast in Whitefish is Loula’s Cafe, serving pancakes, toast, scrambles, and eggs any which way inside the town’s old Masonic Temple. The atmosphere is considerably more casual than other sit-down restaurants in Whitefish, with some of the friendliest service, and it’s a great spot for families.
The menu largely consists of familiar breakfast fare, though with a little something special – like white truffle hollandaise on the eggs benedict or raspberry sauce on lemon stuffed french toast.
But what they’re most famous for is their pies. While I can’t in good conscience advocate eating pie for breakfast, a fresh pie is the surefire way to take any picnic basket from good to great. Huckleberry is the obvious choice in Montana, but Loula’s takes it up a notch with combos like huckleberry-peach, huckleberry-cherry, and huckleberry-raspberry. Or you could just get the apple pie… if you have no sense of adventure.
Swift Creek Cafe
At the other end of the spectrum is one of Whitefish’s most upscale breakfast options, the Swift Creek Cafe. Headed by owner and chef Christian Moreno, the cafe’s origins can be traced back a few generations and several thousand miles from Whitefish to the family’s coffee estate in Costa Rica.
The Moreno family got their start growing some of the world’s best coffee beans before branching out into the restaurant industry. Today, Swift Creek continues to serve their award-winning coffee, along with house-made breads, jams, and some of Whitefish’s finest breakfast cuisine.
While they also make dishes that you might classify as diner fare, like biscuits and gravy, much of the menu is filled out with decidedly more upscale items, like Liege waffles and Turkish eggs with lamb and hummus – it’s a foodie’s paradise.
A word of warning, though, Swift Creek is incredibly popular, especially on the weekends. There might be a wait, so don’t show up starving (perhaps raid your hotel’s continental breakfast beforehand). They also don’t open until eight, which could set you back if you’ve got a full itinerary.
Huck’s Place
This popular Whitefish brunch spot got its start as a juice bar serving acai bowls in the now-defunct Stumptown Marketplace, before moving over to their current location on Central Ave. Owner Madisen Cross first created their signature juices and smoothies to help her father – nicknamed Huck – when his health was failing.
They still serve those famous juices and put a strong focus on fresh and healthy ingredients, but have since expanded the menu to include breakfast standards like avocado toast, bagel sandwiches, and breakfast burritos. Like the Buffalo Cafe, Huck’s has an alcohol license, meaning this is a place to order a mimosa with your eggs benny.
Whitefish Hotel Breakfasts
Not every hotel in Whitefish offers breakfast, and some that do aren’t worth sticking around for – a freshly-baked croissant from Fleur or a hearty skillet from the Buffalo surely beats the continental breakfast at your average chain hotel.
Many of the hotels in Whitefish are pretty upscale, though, and so are the breakfasts they serve. Plus, you can’t beat the convenience of throwing on a pair of sweatpants and meandering down to the lobby. Though it should be noted that unlike the standard continental breakfasts, most of these aren’t included in the room rate.
These are some of the best hotel breakfasts in Whitefish:
Firebrand
One of the swankiest hotels in town, Firebrand sits in the heart of downtown and features a roof-top hot tub, an in-house spa, and, if you’re visiting Whitefish in the winter, even a ski valet. So it’s not surprising they do a bit more with the morning meal than your typical hotel breakfast bar. Everything’s made-to-order, with options like steel cut oats and fruit, buttermilk pancakes, and avocado toast. It’s a bit pricer than going out to one of the aforementioned restaurants, but you can’t beat the ambience (or convenience).
For a quicker option, there’s also a coffee bar in the lobby serving their custom blend of locally-roasted beans, along with a selection of baked goods.
Grouse Mountain Lodge
Across the street from the Whitefish Lake Golf Club, Grouse Mountain Lodge is the ski lodge hotel experience, while still being within the city limits. There’s a full-sized pool, a big fireplace in the lobby, and of course, an excellent breakfast buffet. This is no Days Inn continental breakfast; we’re talking loads of flaky pastries, fresh fruits, pancakes, eggs, and all the breakfast meats you could ask for.
Good Medicine Lodge
For a bed and breakfast in Whitefish, you can’t go wrong with Good Medicine Lodge. It’s the only B&B on this list and in addition to their hot tub, outdoor fire pit, and complimentary cookies, the Lodge does a killer breakfast. Get ready for freshly-baked bread with local jams, fluffy crepes, and homemade biscuits served with coffee roasted right in the lodge.
The owners are all about sustainable and local food, so during the summer they purchase any ingredients they can at the Whitefish Farmers Market and grow their own herbs in the back garden.
Apres Whitefish
Apres is one of the newer hotels in Whitefish offering a more boutique experience. As such, they don’t have the sort of massive breakfast spread that Grouse Mountain Lodge offers. In fact, there’s not even an on-site restaurant.
However, the coffee bar in the lobby is a great breakfast option, especially if you’re looking for something quick. Their espresso drinks are made with beans from Montana Coffee Traders just down the road, but what Apres is really known for is their crispy Liege-style waffles, which are made to order.
Whitefish Breakfast Map
Our custom map shows where you’ll find the best spots for breakfast. Whitefish is a small town, and these restaurants (and most others, along with lots of shops and galleries) are concentrated in the downtown area.
Click here for an interactive version of the map!
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