Sykes Diner

I ate at Sykes last year and loved it. I went back this year with my brother and he wants to build a shrine to it he liked it so much.
The food is very well prepared with excellent ingredients. The corned beef hash is to die for, all homemade and perfectly done with eggs for accompaniment. The BLT my brother had was perfect with the best bacon he’d ever had. I don’t know if they smoke their own or buy it locally, but it’s really good. They also bake and have some of the best oatmeal raisin cookies I’ve ever had.
The servers are really nice and very efficient. They have to be because the place stays packed. All in all, my brother and I loved the place and would go out of our way to return.

The food is AWESOME! Fresh and fast service! Seat yourself, casual. The coffee is only 10 cents bottomless between 7 – 10 am! Early bird specials! The biscuits and gravy was great and the avocado bacon eggs Benedict was great! I also saw some corned beef hash that looks awesome! Everything homemade! Glad we came here before flying home!

Best breakfast in Kalispell. Eggs Benedict was awsome and the ham was Smokey tasting also locally sourced. A true win fellow Unilocalers

Great breakfast. 10 cent coffee. Downtown Kalispell. They change specials daily. Great biscuits and gravy.
Reasonable prices

Love this place. Affordable and delicious. 10 cent coffee in the morning too!
I wish I still lived in Montana so I could come here regularly! ⁵⁄₅ stars!

Stopped in for a quick lunch. They actually had a fresh pork side sandwich on the menu and it rocked! I had a slice of berry pie for desert and I’m not sure when I last had such amazing pie. The crust was just like my mom used to make. For me, when I’m in town, I am always going to stop by this place.

Solid 4.5!
TL;DR– If you like homey, feel good local food, eat here.
I’ll try to keep this brief. All of the reviews in my Montana-​vacation series have been novellas. My apologies.
The half point dock– service was relaxed (I don’t even want to say slow. I think it’s just the way things are here. It’s kind of a nice departure from NY lol) And J‘s sandwich meat was dry and tough.
Atmosphere– Adorable. Local. Cheery. Bright. Co-​located with the market and pharmacy. What’s not to love.
Food– I got the meatloaf. It came with a scoop of mashed potatoes (pretty sure they were real– they had peelings!) and a scoop of mixed veg. I cleaned my plate. I’m a meatloaf connoisseur and this was one of my favorites. Brown gravy, not red, and oniony. Yes!!!
J got the Rustlers Steak sandwich, which is a sirloin steak with mushroom, cheese, onion… etc. «Good, except his steak was dry» (take this with a grain of salt– crybaby gets his steak well done and that’s exactly how they made it). The accompanying French fries were amazing. Seriously… get the fries.
Sadly we were too stuffed to try dessert, but the very nice man running the register and doing lots of other stuff told us everything is made there. We did get a cowboy cookie («everything in it except raisins») to go but haven’t eaten it yet. And even that was cute– he tipped the jar toward us and said, «it’s like grandma’s house. You get to pick your own cookie.» LOL
Edit: we ate the cookie and it was as yummy as everything else. We went back tonight after another hike and got two cinnamon rolls…
I like it here. Montana for the win. Well, so much for a brief review.

This is one of the best diners in town. Everything I’ve tried has been delicious. The service is always top notch and the prices are super reasonable. Definitely recommend!

Great breakfast! Everyone is very friendly.
The kids menu has great choices, the portions are realistic, and the price is great!
I had biscuits and gravy. The gravy has a kick to it, it’s thick and flavorful, not overly salted or peppery. I’d suggest ordering the gravy on the side and asking for it to be hotter. While I’m not a fan of lukewarm gravy, this was really good.
The pancakes don’t need syrup, they are sweet and fluffy. Their bacon was good, and the syrup was used to dip the bacon in. Mmmmm Mmmm good!
Our server was Jo I think. She was very friendly and attentive.

Wonderful local diner. We stopped by on our way from Missoula to Kimberley, BC. The service was friendly, fast and efficient. My husband had the daily soup special which was turkey rice. Delicious! I had the house special steak au jus sandwich that I loved. We left with two pieces of the huckleberry bread pudding to savor later.

Haven’t been in the place since they remodeled the whole building. The place looks great including the little grocery store.
I had the in house made Chicken Fried Steak with Sausage gravy. My daughter had a basic eggs, bacon and home fries with the kids bringing up the rear with pancakes.
The CFS was pretty good but unfortunately it was overcooked in the fryer and kind of dry. Luckily the gravy was awesome and helped but they really need to pay more attention in the kitchen. It is hard enough these days just to find something that is handmade and not the frozen crap that most places serve you from sysco or whatever cheap ass crappy food service Co they get their mass processed garbage from.
The other food was good but it was simple fare so not much else to say.
I will go back and check it out again and maybe like some places I can request that they pan fry it.

I know this place had been around for many years but, I’m not a fan. The service is really good. I love the store and all its local products. But, I do not like the food. It’s plastic tasting, low quality and bland. Not my favorite place to go on any day

If you read nothing else I write just read this: GET THE BISCUITS! No, seriously. The biscuits come out huge and warm and so delightfully delicious. The husband and I have eaten here every morning of our stay just to consume these suckers.
Now the rest of their food (we’ve really only had breakfast) is solid. Great portions so that you feel like you get your money’s worth. I have gotten the omelette and the hearty breakfast meal and my mate has gotten the chicken fried steak (which I might mention comes HUGE with its own plate along with toast, eggs, and potatoes). Everything was delightful. The service was friendly and quick which is always a nice addition to a good meal.
Pro tip: if you’ve ever eaten fresh avocado and enjoyed it maybe just avoid the ones here.

Thanks to Unilocal we found this perfect diner for our breakfast forays before heading to Glacier park in the mornings.
It’s been around for a while, but they must’ve remodeled because it’s been updated but seems to hold on to that diner charm.
A warning… the breakfast portions are huge! Enough for two people, or one if you anticipate hiking 13 miles and not wanting to be hungry until 6pm. The first morning I had the pesto and spinach omelet special and the second morning had the veggie scramble. They don’t offer much without meat. But these two items are an egg lovers dream. The eggs are cooked just right and full of fresh, tasty veggies. The side of home fries are tender on the inside, crispy on the out. And their coffee is darn good too. Service is just what you’d expect from a small town… friendly, courteous, and welcoming.

So, I’m a girl from the south and breakfast is important to me. Not saying that is the only meal that I would consider here but I often find myself in the morning looking for a good spot. This place is an established local favorite and I learned that when I discovered it through a group. When I’ve gone back and eaten I’ve been pleased primarily because there are affordable options like a very petite breakfast serving and they still offer an old fashion $.10 cup of coffee. I also like the very comfortable chairs and the general relaxed feeling of the place. An added bonus is that there is an associated store and pharmacy and I was able to get my prescription filled while I enjoyed my single egg, hashbrowns and single slice of toast breakfast ($ 5.50) along with my ten cent cup of jo and a local paper… A comfortable blissful start to my day

This place is turning into one of our favorite
Service and food are just So outstanding its a pleasure just to come in. Thank You Sykes
For a job well done.

Really like this place. Food is great! Prices not bad. Love the pies. Service is super nice. Bathrooms are clean

If you want to experience local color and flavor, this is the place to go. I just got off a plane and was looking for a place to eat and asked Unilocal to help me out. When I saw the words «comfort food,» I knew I had to try it out. What a treat!
Walking in to the place felt like I was walking back in time fifty years. It’s an old style diner that was salted with several old-​timers who have probably been coming here for decades. Then peppered with couples, families and a few out-​of-​towners like me. The staff is super friendly and the little gal that served me was extra perky, too!
I chose the chicken pot pie saddlebag which was a tasty pot pie filling baked in a fluffy crust — delicious! But there were at least a half dozen other dishes I wanted to try, but just don’t have the time! The bacon jalapeño cheeseburger omelette sounded great — maybe next time… dinner anyone?

This is a real diner, not one of those plastic fantastic places you see in malls. I ordered their Mexican burger. It was very good and satisfying. It is not gourmet, which is why I liked it. The fries were fresh and salty, everything that is not on my diet. I had headed out late for dinner and needed comfort; I found it here. Nice service.
By the way, if you buy breakfast in the morning, the coffee is still ten cents.

So far everything we’ve had here is consistently awesome. Fresh, homemade diner food: buns, biscuits, desserts made daily by their own baker.
The burgers are some of the best in town, second only to Hops, but not as spendy, made with fresh local beef and very juicy. In fact most of their meats are locally sourced and/​or made especially for Sykes. Bacon is the meaty thick kind. Fries are crispy. They bring you free ranch in a bottle. Breakfasts are big and well seasoned. The chicken pot pie is some great comfort food and their menu is quite diverse with some not so «dinerish» offerings, like Ahi Tuna. Some of our favorites are the Loaded Hashbrowns, Eggs Benedict, Huevos Rancheros, any of the Burgers and Salads, Chicken Parmasean and the Weekend Specials which showcase the chef’s imaginative flare.
Sykes is also an eclectic and useful grocery that sells fresh meats, fresh baked goodies and homemade canned goods and pickled vegetables. A great restaurant for tourists to get their Northwest breakfasts and seasonal Huckleberry fix but not too snobby for locals. In fact, locals of all kinds have loved this place for years. Service is so friendly and über flexible.
Last time we were here my husband and I arrived closer to closing time and they let us take our time eating while they cleaned up, even encouraging us to stay and order dessert. They let us pick a few baked good goods to take home although the store was technically closed and they gave us a free caramel roll. They never made us feel like we were causing them extra work. For all those Montana establishments with poor service, come study Sykes for a taste of true diner hospitality. Thank you!