The Park Café near St. Mary’s is exactly that - a café located near a national park.

The burgundy-colored building trimmed in white looks so charming and inviting, and since there aren’t many places to eat in or around Glacier, it’s usually extremely busy. The Park Café has a bar area with six or seven stools, and the remaining inside tables seat two to four people. The outside dining area was also a popular place each time we were there.

The Park Café serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and has a wide variety of items on the menu, all reasonably priced. Breakfast includes everything from muffins, fresh fruit, cold and hot cereal, to eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, biscuits and gravy, omelets, French toast, and pancakes with fruit. The most expensive item on the breakfast menu was $7.50. The lunch menu has just as wide a variety in sandwiches, burgers, bratwursts, hot dogs, salads, and Mexican burritos, quesadillas, and tostados, with the most expensive item being $8.

We ate there twice during our stay in Glacier, and both times, the food and service was tasty and good. The first time we ate there, we had the fish and chips, which had three pieces of halibut fish and fries, and the "Heavenly Peak" hamburger, which was one half pound of ground beef, with mushrooms, Swiss cheese, barbecue sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and thousand island dressing on a giant Kaiser bun. Both were around $8 each. Our total bill with drinks was just over $20. The second time we ate there, we were both just in the mood for small sandwiches. I had the chicken salad sandwich ($5.95), which had shredded chicken, celery, mayonnaise, walnuts, cranberry sauce, and lettuce on raisin bread. I wondered about this strange combination, but it was amazingly tasty! My husband chose the Reuben, which was rye bread with hot corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing ($6.75). Both sandwiches were served with tortilla chips.

One of the sayings at the Park Café is "Pie Rules." My husband was in heaven once again, as he had so many varieties to choose from. He rumbled through the many selections and finally opted for the lemon meringue.

The Park Café is certainly not a fancy restaurant, but it was clean, the food was good, and the people were extremely nice and friendly. It certainly appeared to be a popular place, judging from the number of cars always there. The Park Café has a small ramp, which makes it wheelchair accessible, and has a large restroom area outside that is separate from the restaurant. Every member in your party will find something on the menu that suits their taste buds and it won’t break the bank!