Idaho Eats guide · checked October 2026
Idaho's oldest restaurants
Idaho dining rooms we could put a year on at their own address, oldest first: 11 restaurants, cafés and lodges. Four go back before 1950: Redfish Lake Lodge (Stanley, 1929), Sawtooth Hotel (Stanley, 1931), North Hi-Way Cafe (Idaho Falls, 1934) and The Ram Restaurant & Ram Bar (Sun Valley, 1937). A note under each one says where its year comes from.
What the year means
The year beside each place is when it started serving at the address it has today, in much the form it has today, as the place itself or a published history tells it. A dining room that opened together with its lodge or hotel takes the lodge's year. Redfish Lake Lodge and Sawtooth Hotel are dated that way. A business that began somewhere else, or moved, gets only the year it reached this address, never its older start. When two sources give different years we take the later one, and when the only source is the place's own telling, the note says so. Each was checked by hand in October 2026 against a 2025–26 source. A place we couldn't date at its address isn't on this list, so an older one may be missing.
Other guides: Idaho Basque restaurants, Idaho finger steaks & drive-ins, Idaho spud plates, Idaho huckleberry: where to eat it, Idaho trout restaurants, Idaho taquerías, Idaho historic saloons & supper clubs, Idaho James Beard honorees, Idaho restaurant inspections. City pages: Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Caldwell, Coeur d'Alene, Twin Falls, Post Falls, Lewiston, Rexburg, Eagle, Moscow, Sandpoint, Ketchum, McCall, Hailey. Regions: North Idaho, North Central Idaho, Southwest Idaho, Boise, McCall and Mountain Home, Magic Valley and Wood River, Southeast Idaho, Eastern Idaho.
Oldest first
Redfish Lake Lodge
401 Redfish Lodge Rd, Stanley
Trout On the menu: grilled Idaho trout (breakfast) · Since 1929 · Season: Summer season only: the 2026 season runs through Sunday, October 11; reservations for summer 2027 opened in September 2026.
Lakeside lodge whose Limbert's restaurant, Rustic Lounge and Lakeside Grill serve guests and visitors during the summer season.
The lodge says Robert Limbert built it in 1929. It sits on Redfish Lake outside Stanley's town limits (Stanley mailing address).
Sawtooth Hotel
755 Ace Of Diamonds St, Stanley
Since 1931 · Season: Open mid-May through mid-October; last night of the 2026 season is Saturday, October 17. Dinner Thursday-Monday, 5-9 pm.
Log hotel in downtown Stanley with a dining room serving dinner during the summer and fall season.
The hotel says it has been Stanley's downtown hotel since 1931; a 2019 Stanley-Sawtooth Chamber post calls it a largely unchanged log cabin-style lodge housing guests since 1931.
North Hi-Way Cafe
460 Northgate Mile, Idaho Falls
On the menu: chicken fried steak, broasted chicken, Full Monty sandwich, liver and onions · Since 1934
A breakfast-and-lunch cafe on Northgate Mile that serves its whole menu all day from 5 a.m.
The cafe's site says 'in business since 1934' and that it is approaching 92 years; East Idaho News (2021) reported it had been in the same building at 460 Northgate Mile for 87 years.
The Ram Restaurant & Ram Bar
1 Sun Vly Rd E, Sun Valley
Trout On the menu: pecan-crusted Idaho trout, Ram fondue, black truffle potato · Since 1937 · Season: Hours vary by season; listed as Wednesday-Sunday dinner, reservations required.
Sun Valley Resort restaurant in Sun Valley Village that serves a weekday heritage menu of dishes from the 1950s and 1960s alongside its regular menu.
Sun Valley Resort says The Ram opened in 1937 and calls it Sun Valley's original restaurant; it is in Sun Valley Village next to the Inn (resort address).
The Pioneer Saloon
320 N Main St, Ketchum
America's ClassicSpud plateTroutHistoric saloon On the menu: Jim Spud, Idaho baked potato, Brie and smoked trout · Since 1950
Ketchum saloon and steakhouse named a 2025 James Beard Foundation America's Classics honoree; the citation names its Jim Spud, a baked potato topped with teriyaki beef and cheese, and smoked Idaho trout.
Sun Valley Magazine (2011) says the Pioneer at 320 N Main has served steaks since 1950; the James Beard Foundation says the building went up in the 1940s as a gambling casino. Duffy and Sheila Witmer have owned it since 1986.
Connie's Cafe & Lounge
323 Cedar St, Sandpoint
On the menu: prime rib dinner (Fridays), prime rib dip, eggs Benedict · Since 1952
Downtown Sandpoint cafe with a lounge in back that hosts trivia, bluegrass jams and live music; owned by Lars Hall and Chris Ankney since 2021.
The cafe's own history says it began in 1952 as a Conoco gas station with a five-seat lunch counter, which Fred Hartley remodeled into Fred's Diner in late 1954 before Conrad 'Connie' and Donna Balch bought it; it was closed for a stretch between December 2008 and April 2009 under changing owners.
Westside Drive-In
1929 W State St, Boise
Finger steaksDrive-inSpud plate On the menu: finger steaks, fry sauce, Idaho Ice Cream Potato, tater tots, garlic bread · Since 1957
Its owners told The Takeout (2019) that their finger-steak batter is the original recipe from Boise's Torch, whose finger steaks historian Rick Just (2020) traces to an August 1956 Idaho Statesman ad while noting that both cook Milo Bybee and owner Willie Schrier have been credited with inventing them.
The Takeout (2019) says the drive-in was originally opened in 1957 by Ralph Caskey; chef Lou Aaron bought it in 1994 (KIVI; East Idaho News/Idaho Statesman 2023).
Frostop Drive-In
26 US-20, Ashton
Drive-inHuckleberry On the menu: huckleberry shake, root beer float, raspberry cheesecake shake, mushroom Swiss burger, battered cod basket · Since 1965
A Frostop-franchise drive-in on Highway 20 in Ashton that has had a string of owners since 1965, run by Wayne and Hannah McCausey since 2007.
The Ashton Chamber of Commerce says Leland Garner founded the drive-in in 1965; its own site says '60 Years in Business' on Hwy 20 in Ashton.
Lardo Grill & Saloon
600 W Lake St, McCall
Finger steaksHistoric saloon On the menu: finger steaks, burgers, loaded Lardo fries, spaghetti, hot buttered fudge cake · Since 1973
Saloon at the west end of Lake Street on the site of the 1880s mining camp of Lardo, which The Takeout (2019) listed among Idaho places serving finger steaks.
Valley Lookout/BoiseDev (2024) says the Howard family launched the restaurant and bar in 1973; Valley Lookout (2026) says it has been open since the 1970s. The property was listed for sale in September 2024.
Txikiteo
175 N 14th St, Boise
Basque On the menu: pintxos, chorizo sandwich, charcuterie board · Since 2018
Pintxos and wine bar in the Linen District, a few blocks west of the Basque Block.
An Idaho Statesman story (2018-05-30, reprinted by Euskal Kultura) says it opened in March 2018 in the Linen District building then addressed 1401 W Idaho St, with Dan Ansotegui cooking at night; Visit Boise (2026) lists the same corner as 175 N 14th St.
Ansots Basque Chorizos & Catering
560 W Main St, Boise
James Beard nomineeBasque On the menu: chorizo, croquetas, marinated solomo, txistorra, Basque meatballs, patatas bravas, cod and clams in salsa verde · Since 2020
The Ansotegui family's chorizo maker and lunch counter in the Pioneer Building in Old Boise, a block from the Basque Block.
Euskal Kultura (2020-06-18) reported Dan Ansotegui would open Ansots at 560 W Main St in mid-July 2020.