Running Bear Pancake House

Good local café for breakfast. Looks like a lot of locals and visiting snow mobilers stop here for a warm breakfast. Good food. Hearty portions. Would eat here again.

This place is really good at making breakfast. I had the eggs benedict and it was fabulous! I don’t think one can ask for much in such a remote location and these guys deliver. The peanut butter chocolate milkshake was not good, however. I couldn’t taste the peanut butter and the chocolate wasn’t the highest grade, but whatever. I’m definitely a snob when it comes to those ingredients though, so you may think it’s delicious.

Awesome local flair, solid pancakes, fast and friendly service, reasonable prices, and a rustic ambience make this pancake house worth visiting if you are looking for a good pre-​Yellowstone breakfast near the west entrance.
I opted for their new cinnamon roll pancakes. Unlike other cinnamon roll like pancakes, these did not have an overwhelming amount of frosting or toppings. It was a subtler cinnamon roll flavor, but it was really delicious. Some cinnamon chips, light frosting and buttery soft pancakes made this really great.

Unilocal reviewers got it right. Food so good, we felt comfortable in repeating the experience. Two breakfasts, two *wonderful* 5 star experiences.
First of all, you can’t beat all-​you-​can-​drink coffee. The first time there, we received our own self-​serve thermos pot. We liked that! The second time, not as lucky. It certainly was not based on availability, because the second visit they were not as busy. Perhaps it was our waitress? But at least she kept the cups full. And the coffee was decent.
The menu was full of offerings of real American comfort foods. Comfort foods like chicken noodle soup, chicken fried steak, meatloaf, hot beef or hot turkey sandwiches, homemade biscuits, and gravy. Reminder: Wear your elastic banded stretch pants.
My order that first morning, the Papa Bear breakfast… biscuits and a side of gravy, three bacon and 1 egg, was a happy one. The gravy, so yummy it needed to be eaten on its own, the bacon cooked to a crisp finish, the eggs done nicely. The biscuit was huge and tasty, I preferred it «nekkid», i.e. slathered with butter and honey instead.
Mr. B is easily tortured by the concept of meatloaf for breakfast. So naturally he had to order this. He loved his meatloaf with brown gravy. Why is it so hard to find good meatloaf? These folks got it right with a beautiful blend of flavors including a good pork sausage, and moist with minimal filler!
The 3 small pancakes he substituted for potatoes (at no extra charge) were outstanding and came with 2 kinds of syrup. But the winner was… drum roll… the boysenberry syrup, yessssss! Confession: The Green Eyed Monster forced me to steal bites. And that is what led to me ordering the Mama Bear (one egg, one pancake, two bacon slices) breakfast the next morning just so I could have a pancake of my own… and more of that not-​too-​sweet boysenberry syrup.
The second morning, Mr. B moved on to their Chicken Fried Steak. This was equally wonderful, a nice portion with a crispy coating, and more of that crazy wonderful gravy.
Finally, let’s not forget their extraordinary baked goods. I ordered a side of their apple pecan bread, and was very surprised and pleased. Three huge slices arrived, so moist, and just as cinnamon-​y as hoped, with a delicate texture. They claim, «Just like Gramma’s». To that I say, «I want to kidnap your Gramma.»
Bottom line: This is a top choice for a great breakfast in West Yellowstone. And the number of customers willing to stand in line to get in is their testimonial.

Exactly what we wanted after a week of Lake Yellowstone Hotel food. I ordered the cinnamon toast pancakes. Probably the best pancakes I’ve eaten in my entire life, and I am a hardcore pancake connoisseur. My husband agreed that these pancakes were the bomb, and he is a lover of pancakes just like me. I also had an amazing caramel apple cider drink that I wish I could drink every moment of every day that I was alive on this earth.
I still dream of this place.

Wonderful… place…
Awesome food and good service. People are very friendly and food quality is good.

Holy moly, this was the best meal during my week long stay in West Yellowstone, I had the meatloaf with eggs and an incredible peanut butter raspberry latte. The service was incredible, 10 bears goodness.

EXCELLANT wait staff. One girl said it was her first week… couldn’t tell! Service was excellent.
We had the cinnamon pancakes, ham and eggs, bacon and eggs. Each meal was well prepared and tasted delicious.
I would recommend this restaurant to anyone.

Very large portions, and very good. It was better than what I was expecting for a small restaurant. We will definitely eat here again when we come back to Yellowstone. Service was awesome. Atmosphere was very charming. This is a great start to our Yellowstone trip.

I like this place, but it was nothing special.
The food was good. I tried the strawberry crapes, which were very good. I also tried the buckwheat pancakes, but they were just OK. The skillet was good but not outstanding.
Price was reasonable.
Service was good.
Overall, I liked this place, but I liked euro café down the street better.

The pumpkin espresso was beyond amazing!!! They have an awesome selection of specialty espresso drinks. The pancakes were typical, nothing special. The boysenberry syrup is very good, «life changing.» The non traditional French toast banana nut was too dense for me, I didn’t like it. The cinnamon roll was good not amazing. The Mexican skillet was ok. Next time I would try the strawberry crepes. Overall the espresso and boysenberry syrup are the best things. Be prepared to wait awhile for food. It can be super busy. The waitress was really nice.

We are out of towners so I tried on Unilocal for guidance. Gotta say I feel mislead.
The experience started out Ok, but the service quickly declined. After waiting 10 minutes with our waitress nowhere in sight I resorted to going to the counter to ask for more coffee and a bottle of hot sauce for my exceedingly bland (I’m talking Middle America here) Mexican skillet.
Wife hated her cinnamon roll as it appeared to be largely without cinnamon. The boy had pigs in a blanket, which were ok. The girl had a stack of pancakes which were ok as well.
I see no compelling reason to return unless it is the only place open.

The food was good the service was good. Kids ordered each a pancake which were huge. I would have given 5 starts but I ordered the crepes and they are clearly not crepes. You can’t make a think pancake and call it a crêpe, it has to be rubbery and it would have been cheaper for me to order a pancake with strawberries if I knew that’s how it was going to be but nonetheless it was still yummy. The coffees were delish! I had the hazelnut mocha and hubby had the Carmello latte.

Awesome restaurant for breakfast. We tried couple of restaurants during our stay at West Yellowstone. Found this to be the best.
Tip: If you are planning to go for breakfast, it’s better to go early. It gets crowded around 9 – 10.
Their pancakes are worth a try! Not too sweet. Just perfect

Great place for breakfast! The ladies were very friendly and attentive — — made sure the bottom of our coffee cups were never seen! The pancakes were ligbt and fluffy and the cinnamon buns were served warm, sweet and oeey gooey good!

if it’s breakfast/​brunch time expect a wait, if not for your seat then for your food. Basic diner fare but what we learned was that the chicken fried steak is AMAZING. I would have to say, it’s the best we’ve had, by far. Usually CFS’s are dry and thin, this one was a good size, moist inside, with a nice crunch on the outside and overall super tender.
Definitely order the pancakes as well. If for nothing else then just so you can try the infamous huckleberry sauce that is warm and served alongside the pancakes.

Had a fabulous brunch here with my boyfriend.
Friendly atmosphere, great service, and great food! Pancakes were perfect. Omelette was huge. Sausage and bacon was great. Coffee was good too! Prices are good in comparison to other restaurants in the area. Would recommend if you’re hungry in West Yellowstone!

Solid four stars. Prices weren’t bad for being so close to Yellowstone, my cappuccino was good and omelettes were, too. Slightly better than your typical breakfast place. Staff was friendly, too.
I’d eat here again.

It is what it is. A quaint and charming local diner with wonderful charm from a time in the past. Service was exemplary and the food was excellent.
If ever in West Yellowstone, worth a visit!

If you’re ever in West Yellowstone for breakfast you HAVE to come here! Everything was spectacular! We had the cinnamon bun and pancakes and an omelet.
Portions are very large so I would recommend sharing. The servers were very friendly and attentive. This place was packed, which is always a good sign. We would definitely return!