With the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone National Park, excellent food, and thriving cultural and art scenes, Bozeman certainly deserves its title as “the most livable place.”
This fast-growing city in southern Montana offers residents and tourists the best of outdoor adventures and city living. What’s not to like?
If you live in Bozeman or find yourself in the area, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we show you the best places to get your pizza fix as well as food and drink tours where you can get your aperitif.
Sit back. Relax. Let us help you find the best places to wine and dine in Bozeman.
Recommended Food and Wine Tours in Bozeman
You may be surprised by the variety of food and drinks you’ll find in this small but fast-growing city. Bozeman is not just home to a number of great restaurants, but also offers distilleries and breweries that are open for tours and tastings.
- Tour De Foam (4 hours) – Highly recommended!
- Bozeman Spirits Distillery (Under an hour) – For whiskey, vodka, gin, and rum lovers
- Dry Hills Distillery (1-2 hours) – Great for whisky and cocktails
If you love your spirits, drop by any of the above places.
Travel Tips for Eating in Bozeman
- July and August are the best months to visit Bozeman. The best attractions will be open during these months, but there won’t be a large crowd. The weather is also pleasant for travel.
- Bozeman is a great city for foodies. You may come here looking for great pizza but don’t neglect other specialties that make use of local meats and ingredients like lentils, trout, elk, bison, and the crowd favorite — huckleberries. These tasty round berries can often be found in pies, lemonade, and other delectable pastries in Bozeman restaurants.
- Since waiters and other front-line restaurant workers make the majority of their money from tips, tipping in Bozeman is customary just like in other parts of the country. A tip of 10 to 15 percent is expected for deliveries while tips of $2 to $5 are customary for pizza, $1 to $2 a drink for bartenders, and 15 to 20 percent of the total bill for dine-in and waiting services.
- Most of the restaurants are in downtown Bozeman along Main Street or within the immediate vicinity.
- If you fancy exploring the city’s local produce, swing by the farmer’s market in Lindley Park on Tuesday evenings. You’ll be delighted to find artisans, local farmers, and pop-up dining establishments beneath the pine trees.
Why not combine the great outdoors with being a foodie? Gallatin Valley Botanical is a certified organic farm near Bozeman where visitors can pick their own fruits and vegetables. The farm is spread over 57 acres where they grow their produce, flowers, eggs, and raise farm animals.
The 6 Best Pizza Places in Bozeman
You may not immediately associate the city of Bozeman with great pizza but that will soon change once you visit any of these pizza restaurants. Many of our recommendations incorporate locally sourced, fresh ingredients into their menus so you’ll end up savoring pizza that has its own Bozeman twist. The results are delicious and it’s easy to find yourself coming back for more.
1. Blackbird Kitchen • 140 East Main St • ($15-$30)
You’ll forget this restaurant’s chefs aren’t Italian once you’ve tasted their excellent thin-crust pizzas. Located in downtown Bozeman, Blackbird Kitchen with its sleek, modern, and minimalist interiors is the place to go when you’re looking for a simple Italian meal. In addition to pizza, they also serve pasta, antipasti, and a wide selection of beers and wine.
This little eatery is open from 4:30 PM to 9 PM every day. It isn’t too fancy but this restaurant gets the basics right. If you’re looking for good Italian American food for a hearty dinner, Blackbird Kitchen is the place to go.
2. Mackenzie River Pizza • 232 East Main St • ($11-$28)
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Mackenzie River Pizza is a restaurant chain with nearly 30 branches in selected states in the country. Though they have excellent pizzas, the Bozeman branch has an extensive menu that offers salads, sandwiches, tacos, poutine, flatbreads, pasta, meals in bowls, desserts, party platters, sides, and a kids menu. They also have a bar where you can get a beer or two.
Their dishes are inspired by local and Italian delicacies but you should try their huckleberry-infused lemonade, a local drink in Montana. Their pizzas are known for their authentic Italian flavor and generous portions. They feature delicious vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.
A restaurant with rustic and vibrant interiors, Mackenzie River Pizza has been around for almost 25 years. They’re open daily from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM. You can order takeout or have food delivered to your home if you can’t dine there.
3. Colombo’s Pizza And Pasta • 1003 West College St • ($10-$30)
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Colombo’s Pizza and Pasta offers a wide array of pizza flavors with the option to choose your own pizza toppings. This pizza joint has been a Bozeman favorite since 1985. The ambiance at Columbus is family-friendly with many alternatives for friends who want more than a pizza.
Colombo’s offers a variety of pasta and calzones while guests on a gluten-free diet can avail of gluten-free pizzas. They are open daily from 11 AM to 10:30 PM except for Sundays when they are open from 5 PM to 9 PM.
4. Bridger Brewing • 1609 South 11th Avenue • ($3-$23)
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What could be better than cold beer and pizza? At Bridger Brewing, you can enjoy this great pairing to your heart’s content. This casual restaurant along 11th Avenue across Montana State University has been crafting its own beers since 2013. They have at least 8 different types of beers on tap that go well with their selection of hand-made pizzas. They offer generous servings of pizzas that you can order whole or by slice.
If you’re in the mood for something other than pizza, don’t fret. Bridger also offers a good variety of appetizers, salads, and desserts. They also treat their diners to live music performances on certain nights.
If you want to learn more about beer and how it’s made, Bridger provides private and public brewery tours so you can learn about the brewing process and watch their brewers work.
This brewery and restaurant is open daily from 11 AM to 9 PM. There are provisions for outdoor seating, table service, and a television for your favorite football matches.
5. Pizza Campania • 1285 North Rouse Avenue • ($11-$30)
If you want a delicious, oven-fired Neapolitan pizza, head to Pizza Campania, a modern pizzeria in Bozeman’s Cannery District that uses a hand-built wood-fired oven.
Their authentic Italian pizzas, il secondo or second courses, Italian-style salads, soups, and antipasto are all made with fresh mozzarella and fresh ingredients. The staff is friendly, welcoming, and can help you with your food choices.
Pizza Campania is the perfect date place. Their outdoor seating area, rustic ambiance, good food, wine, and excellent service are all you need for an enjoyable evening.
You can come over for lunch or dinner from Tuesday to Friday from 11 AM to 9:30 PM or drop by earlier on a Monday between 9 AM and 5 PM. They’re only open for dinner on Saturday and Sunday from 4 PM until 9:30 PM.
6. Red Tractor Pizza • 1007 West Main St • ($12-$32)
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There are lots of food choices in Bozeman, but you should definitely pay Red Tractor Pizza a visit. This establishment offers New York-style brick-oven pizzas made with locally sourced, fresh, sustainable, and organic ingredients. They also offer dairy and gluten-free options.
Red Tractor Pizza’s vision was to create a place where families can gather together and have a good time. They offer live music and entertainment a few nights a week which can be enjoyed with an Italian wine or one of the 12 Montana draft beers they carry.
If you love pizza and music, don’t miss their pizza buffet and live music night on Mondays from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Red Tractor has 4 locations across Montana with two branches situated inside Bozeman.