6 Best Restaurants in Billings, Billings, Little Big Horn, and the Montana Plains

Award-winning Hawaiian-born chef Carl Kurokawa's menu changes monthly, but you can count on fresh fish, often flown in the day before from Hawaii. Other offerings might include proscuitto-wrapped chicken marsala, and London broil made with local beef. Inspired by Pacific and European flavors, yet distinctly American, Carl's cooking is some of the best in the state. The intimate dining areas' decor is impressive, with a pressed tin ceiling in one room and painted scenes of a grape-carrying Bacchus in another. Situated behind a hedge on a residential street, and thus not easily spotted, the building was formerly a stable for the turn-of-the-20th-century sandstone mansion next door. In warm weather patio dining is a popular option.

A restored flour mill houses this restaurant, which prides itself on serving locally raised and processed proteins. Steaks, chicken, and pasta are mainstays, but the seafood selection is also noteworthy. Like outdoor seating options at most Billings restaurants, the patio here is very popular in summer.

People come to this attractive chalet-style building for European, pan-Asian, and American specialties such as quinoa tajine, veal picatta, coconut prawns in Thai curry sauce, and wood-fired pizzas.

Situated downtown near the Alberta Bair Theater, this prime people-watching restaurant has a loyal dinner following, understandable considering its casual yet elegant decor, pleasant, attentive service, and such entrées as buttermilk fried chicken, Alaska king salmon, apple-brined pork shank, and made-from-scratch pastas. Walkers also has an upscale bar scene, attracted, in part, by a tempting selection of craft cocktails served by bartenders so hip they look like they belong in Brooklyn. This is where politicians (such as President Bill Clinton), celebrities and other famous folks dine when they're in town.