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Casagranda's Steakhouse Butte, MT
Author: Traveling Diners

Traveling Diners

Last week a group of us travelled to Butte for dinner at Casagranda’s restaurant. We decided to meet for a pre-dinner drink (or 2) at the Bourbon Alley Bar in the Butte Depot.

At one time, Butte had 3 railroad lines with 3 different depots. The Bourbon Alley Bar is in the old Great Northern Railroad station built in 1916. It was the last of the railroad depots built in Butte. Of course, it closed long ago and stood empty for many years. Bill Fisher and family has renovated the station and made it a great event center with a grand hall and 2 (yes 2) bars.

When we first arrived a little before 5:00pm the Bourbon Alley Bar was very quiet. However, a reception in the Grand Hall caused the bar to fill up quickly. We had a great time and met a few of the Butte locals attending the reception.

The Casagranda’s restaurant is right across the street from the Butte Depot. So, it was a short walk to the restaurant. We had reservations for 6:00 pm and we were promptly seated when we arrived.

Of course, we immediately turned to the wine list and ordered wine. The wine list is a good wine list featuring mostly California Napa Valley wines. Our end of the table got a bottle of Klinker Brick Cabernet (we were familiar with the wine from the May wine tasting event at the Betsy). It was excellent.

Between the eight of us dining, we ordered several steaks, chicken, paella, halibut and salmon. Everyone was happy with their dinner except for the salmon. It was an apple salmon and was far too sweet for the person that ordered the salmon; but the bowtie pasta that came with the meal was excellent. The meaI I ordered was 18 ounces of perfectly cooked medium rare ribeye and came with double-baked baked potato.

At Casagranda’s, you should come with a healthy appetite! The entrees include house-baked bread, salad, soup of the day and a scoop of Wilcoxson’s ice cream for dessert.

Our server was a delightful young Butte native who was attentive, efficient and very sociable. We had a good time just talking with her.

After a great dinner we went to the historic Helsinki Bar in what was once the heart of Finn Town in Butte. The building was built as a boarding house and saloon in the 1890s. In 1908, the Hihnala family operated a rooming house and offered steam baths, or saunas, in the establishment to the residents of the Finn Town neighborhood. It was also known as the Helsinki Bar and Steam Bath. It has recently been renovated. The new owners were there and greeted us warmly. We had a quiet drink at the Helsinki before leaving to return home.

Casagranda’s Steakhouse is located at 801 South Utah; Phone number: (406) 723-4141. Visit their website at https://casagrandassteakhouse.com

The Bourbon Alley Bar is located in the Butte Depot at 818 South Arizona Street; phone number: (406) 299-0762. Visit the Butte Depot website at https://www.thebuttedepot.com

Helinski Bar is located at 402 East Broadway; phone number: (406) 782-2016.

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PhotoCredit: See the Captions
Image 1 Caption: Butte Depot Photo from Butte Depot Website
Image 2 Caption: Casagranda's Steak Photo From Casagranda's Website
Image 3 Caption: Casagranda's Pasta Photo From Casagranda's Website
Image 4 Caption: Casagranda's Exterior Photo From Casagranda's Website
Image 5 Caption: Helsinki Bar Photo From Helsinki Bar FB Page