538 Madison Avenue
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
*Disclaimer: We were not paid for this review. All opinions are our own and based on our personal experience. Your experience may be different.
Running Bear Pancake House is a family restaurant which serves breakfast and lunch in the West Yellowstone region. After reading good reviews, we decided to stop here for breakfast before our drive through Yellowstone National Park. The food was decent enough and the ambiance super cute.
Running Bear offers a full traditional breakfast menu which includes daily specials. With hearty options such as French Toast, Breakfast Burritos, and Strawberry crepes, you can definitely fuel up with some carbs before your adventures at Yellowstone. As a bonus, they also offer a full espresso menu. You can enjoy a number of specialty creations including a Banana Cream Pie cappuccino and a Snickers mocha.
The food was okay, but I expected it to be much better for the price. We paid over $30 for 2 omelets and 2 glasses of orange juice. I felt this was a bit high for breakfast which is really cheap to make. Nevertheless, the food was decent and it is a convenient dining choice before a long day of driving and exploring. Update: As of 2025, you can expect to pay anywhere from $12-18 for each entree, so not a bad deal. Current entrees include selections like: Spanish omelette, Cinnamon Roll cakes, and a Breakfast Quesadilla.
Service was pretty bad. Our waitress would not substitute anything on the menu and never refilled the water. She was rude and acted like she was inconvenienced by everything. Such a shame as this place is so cute. I hope we just caught someone on a bad day.
I thought this restaurant was going to have more of a mountain/nature type theme since it was located near Yellowstone. It had a rustic touch, but I felt they could have gone all out with the mountain decor. The tables were way too close together giving the dining room a cramped feel.
I recommend visiting Yellowstone National Park at least once in your lifetime. However, there are plenty of other restaurants in the area. Due to the bad service, I would not recommend Running Bear Pancake House as your first choice. However, if you are seeking a breakfast choice near the entrance, Running Bear is a convenient choice which opens early (6am 7 days a week).
