Dakota Thyme

This is a great restaurant with healthy and tasty food choices. We ordered a bison barley soup that was wonderful. A tad too salty, but rich with wonderful pieces of bison meat.
It came with a choice of several salads: we chose the black bean mango salad with a tiny amount of jalapenos. Yum!
Pining for dessert, I asked the server if they had a dessert menu. He said go up to the counter and see what you like. I was not sure if i would need to bring the dessert back to my table. Once I got there i was ike a kid in a candy shop — many bakery-​style desserts. We chose the gluten-​free almond chocolate torte, which they said they would bring to our table. It was great.
The store has a Main Street address but it is really behind the Mexican place with that address and next to the parking garage. And don’t confuse it with the Dakota Steakhouse.

This place simultaneously has astounding potential and a severe identity crisis. It simply has no idea what it wants to be, from the shelves and racks and coolers of stuff that remind one of an import market to the odd arrangement of the kitchen (which couldn’t be further crammed) and the elevators to the wall of wine bottles and overhanging glasses to the rather ramshackle arrangement of indoor furniture and sprawling outdoor tables to a menu that looks like it was designed by someone who employed the philosophy of «that sounds good, let’s put it on there, too.»
The waiter we got, after the table was cleared by someone else, was new and woefully inexperienced to the point where he should not have been on the floor. For this alone, an automatic point deduction and I would rather have had the girl who cleared the table, given that she wound up having to step in periodically. This was easily the worst waiter I’ve had in probably years and I hesitate to call it his fault alone. He clearly was untrained. The wait staff appears not to have actual zones, but instead tables are assigned haphazardly and randomly. I believe this particular one had both indoor and outdoor customers. Needless to say, our order was done incorrectly, but not enough to make it a point of bothering with. Easier to just skip.
The actual food was good. My wife had some kind of Brie and vegetable sandwich with a Russian onion marmalade that she enjoyed quite a lot. I had the pastrami on rye. The rye was cooked impeccably, crispy on the outside, with a nice buttery crunch and soft on the inside and the pastrami was lean. Unfortunately, it was also a bit dry and the mustard that came as a side (I had to ask for it, despite it and horseradish being listed as included on the menu) was not very good. This sandwich really needs a higher quality mustard, maybe a nice stone-​ground Porter or Stout or even something like an Inglehoffer. Frankly, even a yellow Plochman’s would have been better. I would have asked for one, but our server vanished nearly entirely after delivering the food. The sandwich could alternately have used a slice of melted Brie in there, to add a bit of moisture and complexity.
As it was a bakery, one would expect the pastries and dessert and breads to be good and my bread was outstanding. The triple chocolate cookie, however, surpassed even that and was arguably the best food item I had in Rapid. My wife got a lemoncello to go and while she enjoyed it immensely, I thought it was only ok and overpriced at $ 4.
This restaurant sorely needs some actual restaurant management and a focus on what it wants to do. It could easily be expanded and then divided, with the space for the storefront not competing with the actual restaurant side, which would given the wait staff less room to bump into things and hopefully a streamlining, which would elevate the service level. Were it not for the high quality of the food pulling things up, even with the minor issues with it, this is a 3 or less star review.

Awesome place with delicious fresh food and a relaxing atmosphere. Their tomatoes taste like they picked them out of the garden.

Great fresh food & good service, I had a goat cheese strawberry salad that was amazing & the kids had the grilled cheese which was probably one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches that I have ever had (yes I totally stole some!!) must stop in Rapid City!

Overall the place is great. I highly recommend the monte christo if you are wanting something brunchlke. My only complaint was the BLT. The bacon tasted as if it was simply from a store package, the bread was stale and it was just missing something unique. It needed a sauce or something to bring it up to snuff with their other menu items.

Excellent place. The croissant with ham and cheese is really good. Price is just a bit on the high side.

One of the few places in Rapid that genuinely cares about local foods and quality ingredients.
I’ve only eaten breakfast here but it was excellent. They have a smoked local ham that is delicious.

Lots of gluten free options.
The staff is very knowledgeable about the wine and cheese selections and go out of their way to help customers. They have an great selection of artisan cheeses for the area.

The only worthwhile eatery in Rapid City that is open from 2:00 — 5:00 p.m. Had the reuben sandwich and a salad for a late lunch on Friday, and a customized omelet for breakfast on Sunday morning — and every entrée comes with free coffee! Great variety of food and drinks, and a charming, casual atmosphere. Highly recommended.

I really enjoy Dakota Thyme.
They have some great pastries — tiramisu, lemon bar. Yum!
The food is a refreshing change from the options generally found in Rapid City.
I usually have the black bean salad as my side and have enjoyed it every time. (The best part is they post their recipes online so you can make at home as well!)
Sandwiches are always good.
As a vegetarian, it is sometimes difficult to find a menu that is easily adaptable. The menu at Dakota Thyme offers exactly what I need.
To those native to the area, prices may seem a bit steep for what you get but for the quality it is worth it.

There’s lots to admire about this place: cute atmosphere, good pastries.
I love their happy hours: half-​priced wine. Entrée-​wise, what I’ve tried there has been their curried chicken salad. It was good, but I also felt it was something I could have easily made at home. I’ve also tried their flatbread. It’s an excellent appetizer, but it wasn’t big enough to fill two hungry people. And the bar is already set pretty high for flatbread pizza down the street at Independant Ale House. I wouldn’t say that Dakota Thyme’s was better; Indy’s is. But Dakota Thyme’s crust was interesting and different. The service is sometimes up and down though. Maybe that’ll improve as they get some staff properly trained.
I think their crown jewel is more pastries/​soups/​breads rather than main dish-​entrees. If you have a sweet tooth for homemade exceptional quality sweets and are a bread-​n-​soup snob, this is your go-​to place. They also sell Made in South Dakota products and locally source stuff.
I consider myself a regular here, at happy hour for half-​priced wine and a fantastic Sage Derby green cheese. Their bread is a home-​run. Buy some and try it and see.
The owner is nice and quite knowledgeable about the food-​wines-​cheeses. Try their homemade crackers and Sage Derby cheese and a good BIG pour of wine at happy hour. You won’t regret it.

The food is decent… But that didn’t overcome the awful service we got. Our salad wasn’t served with fresh bread like it was supposed to be, I was charged twice on my credit card with the wrong amount, and they forgot about my original order. We ended up waiting for 20 min before I just gave up and asked for a refund

Dakota Thyme has exceptional tasting, local, and quality food. But that is it. Poor management resulting in high employee turnover makes for an inconsistent experience each and every time. Your only as strong as your weakest link.
I hope they get it together, or downtown Rapid City might have to see bye-​bye to fresh baked pastries and all the other goodies Dakota Thyme has to offer.

I remember not being very impressed when Dakota Thyme opened, but the place has started to grow on me.
I was initially turned off by their high sammich prices (high for the area). I still am. I’m not adverse to paying what’s due for good food, but this is western South Dakota for Pete’s sake. Food prices should be proportional to murder rates, not the inverse of winter temperature extremes!
Anyway, they suckered me in with their happy hour deals on pastries. I’ve gone there every afternoon for the last week to stock up. I have butter oozing out of my pores.
I echo a previous Unilocaler on the elephant ears; they are flaky and flavorful. Danishes and muffins are so-​so, but better than the competition in RC. The cinnamon rolls WERE great, but they changed up the icing recipe and presentation recently, and not for the better.
The pain au chocolat (Australian for chocolate croissant) is my favorite.
Service has gotten much better since the open, please keep it up.
Their challah bread makes the best french toast. The best!
Challah at your boy!

Just visited Dakota Thyme for breakfast on Monday and it was wonderful. I ordered the french toast with bacon with real maple syrup and mixed berries. My husband really enjoyed his ham and cheese croissant and yogurt parfait. Although, he did add honey as the yogurt was plain. I really like the atmosphere of this place; sunny window booths, complimentary bread, coffee, iced tea and water of course. I even grabbed a cinnamon roll for the road. I ate it a few hours later and still tasted very fresh. I will be going back here.

Beautiful place! Super delicious food, great service and a local business. There’s no way to go wrong here!

My friend and I were road tripping across the country, and had stopped in Rapid City for dinner. Dakota Thyme happened to be right next to where we parked, and we were intrigued by the pastries in the window.
Not only did the café have fantastic pastries (the elephant ear was amazing), they also had an impressive menu with a variety of creative salads and sandwiches – plus a huge selection of gourmet sodas. It was like a little bit of San Francisco or Brooklyn plopped into the middle of South Dakota.
The owner was also really friendly and helpful, and I’m really impressed with her first foray into the restaurant business :)

I always get a little excited when I find places in the Rapid City area that remind me of my hipster foodie homeland (Austin, ya’ll). Dakota Thyme definitely falls into this category of tasty gems.
Located downtown in an alley, is a delightful little bakery/​restaurant. The primary fare is light– sandwiches, salads, soups, and some minor entrée types to include cheese or sausage plates. They offer several baked goods that range from breads to cupcakes to tarts, as well an extensive selection of wine and several beers.
The ambiance is typical bistro comfortable with an unbearable view of a parking garage unfortunately. Having gone in the evening, it was not busy at all, so we served fairly promptly.
We tried the Seafood Gumbo, the Muffaletta, a Pastrami sandwich and the black bean salad, as well as one of their savory tarts– a goat cheese, artichoke, sundried tomato and carmelized onion delight.
Gumbo– pretty decent. Sausage, chicken and shrimp, with okra and peppers, and a nice hint of file. It had a texture and quality that did not immediately indcate it had tumbled out of a can or large air-​locked bag. It was served as a side to the sandwich, and was slightly underwhelming in the size department… not a traditional «cup» that I am accustomed to. No rice, for you rice-​in-​my-​gumbo people.
The sammies: served on bakery bread, the servings were large but not disgustingly so (you know what I am talking about). The muffaletta was served on a herbed foccacia, a little heavy on the olive oil. The pastrami came with a side of spicy mustard and horseradish.
The black bean salad got a «meh» from the hubs.
All in all, a very solid lunch spot, good for locals and tourists alike.

Cold almost rainy day so lunch here for a warm sandwich was just the ticket. Everyone had a great meal and who would of thought we could get a Mexican coke in Rapid City SD

Great sandwiches, complementary coffee and tea with meal and a nice, relaxed setting for enjoying the afternoon with family or friends.

A nice bistro with quality offerings, including a selection of craft beers, gourmet sodas, and european deli foods. Kind of an awkward ordering queue, and can get crowded during rushes, but the food is pretty good.