Johnson's of St. Mary

A five star rating doesn’t do this restaurant any justice, it deserves so much more. I went on a week-long vacation to glacier national park with 2 of my friends, we went to Johnson’s Cafe 3 times, and twice in one day. They run a tight ship, many of their dishes don’t offer substitutes which would be completely unnecessary. However, even though the restaurant is very old-school they do offer vegetarian options. The food itself is phenomenal, every bite is nostalgic, you can taste that the recipes are family made, dining at this restaurant reminds you of home, no matter where you’re from. The service is comparable to what I’ve experienced at some of the nicest steakhouses I’ve been to. The waiters and waitresses treat you like royalty, they don’t need to “grab a dessert menu” they have it memorized, they know how much to charge for the small substitutions they do offer. If you treat them with basic kindness and respect you will get more in return, but if you go the extra mile to show your appreciation and gratitude towards the staff, they treat you better than royalty, they treat you like family (even if you are a city slicker dressed head to toe in Patagonia and north face). I’m extremely grateful towards all the staff at Johnson’s who made our stay in Montana so worth it, eating here was certainly a highlight of the trip. I have a strong feeling I’ll be coming back, and even if that’s 40 years from now, it’ll still be the same.

Loved everything about this place. The motel is very homey and clean, the desk clerk was so friendly and accommodating. The restaurant has the most amazing food , all homemade. And if you are lucky enough to meet the head cook and owner Nathan, it makes it even more special. My husband and I travel quite a bit,and I can honestly say this is one place I will never forget. It's that special. Do yourself a favor if you happen to come this way and stop in, you won't regret it.

Restaurant. I have been coming here since it was run under a previous generation. My most recent visit still brought me some decent home style food but I left disappointed. I always liked their desserts and ordered a slice of huckleberry pie. It was very good but then I got the bill and it was $16!! Surprise! I thought another area place was overcharging at $10 for a piece. This was better but $16 is more than they used to charge for their huge specialty ice cream pie. At least that was a menu price item. Pie was not listed now and I did not ask ahead of time so part of the blame is on me. Lesson learned and it does make me think twice about coming again which makes me sad. Lot of great memories here going way back. Just going to make more pies at home now.

Cozy atmosphere with great views. Nice mom and pop feel. Very friendly and attentive staff. Family style soup and sides was nice. The walleye was delicious. The chicken fried steak was ok. The huckleberry and thimble berry cheesecakes were very overpriced and underwhelming.

We came for both sets of reviews. The ones where the person in charge of media roasts everyone and the ones raving about the food. Any place where a restaurant can tell people how it truly is is a place fine by me :) . Tom was our server and man did he kick ass. He sat and greeted people, ran food did half the dining room solo and still while maintaining a fabulous attitude and great demeanor. Food was fantastic we did huckleberry everything 😂. Got the bison buffalo barley soup with the bbq brisket lunch special. That soup was so damn good. Kudos to the back of the house team! Love the decor and family vibes. Love the fun cracks at the California people (I’m a San Diego transplant ) the family history all over the place. This place was awesome. Next time we’ll be sure to stay at the campground

This restaurant served delicious homemade meals with generous portions. (We each took a “ to go” meal from the left overs.) My huckleberry pie was also large enough for two servings. Wait staff| was friendly and provided excellent service. Ambience was unique and the history of the campground and restaurant was provided within the menu.

Johnson's of St. Mary is a hidden gem near Glacier. This is an RV park, campground, and cabins with a restaurant on the grounds. We had the special of the day, which was a brisket with Huckleberry BBQ sauce. Sounds strange but it was amazing. The special came with a huge bowl of their famous soup w/croutons, fresh baked bread & butter, cole slaw, and mashed potatoes & gravy served family style. So much food for two people! You won't regret eating here. To finish off our meal, we each had a dish of Huckleberry ice cream, which was delicious, and took a serving of Huckleberry cobbler with (there was no way we could have eaten another bite after that amazing meal). Johnson's has an old cabin atmosphere with 1940's-50's country background music; fun. Our waitress was very attentive and friendly. We highly recommend this spot and will stop in the next time we are in the Glacier area. Happy Trails to You! 🤗

*I'm unable to comment on your reply, so editing this to add- We had a party of 9, including a baby, and were more than willing to accommodate your space limitations—we even offered to have the baby sit in my lap. You had an 8-top available, yet instead of working with us or showing even basic courtesy, your staff chose to respond with rudeness and profanity, including cursing in front of our young children. That behavior is completely unacceptable in any establishment, regardless of size or ownership. We were the only customers in the entire restaurant. There was no issue of taking up space needed for others, because there were no others. You pride yourselves on being a small, family-owned business in a historic building—but “having rules” does not excuse unprofessional and frankly hostile behavior. We didn’t ask to be treated like we were at a chain restaurant. We asked to be treated with basic human decency. Instead, your staff’s conduct made it very clear that families—especially those who don’t fit into your perfect seating chart—aren’t welcome. You're right: we left. We took our business, and the $300+ we were prepared to spend, elsewhere. And this review does do something: it warns others that while your cafe may be quaint, the service is anything but. If I could offer zero stars, I would. We recently visited Johnson's Cafe with our family, and I wish I could say anything positive beyond the efforts of our waitress, who truly tried her best and was sincerely apologetic. Unfortunately, the rest of the staff completely ruined our visit. From the moment we arrived, we were treated as a burden. Our family is larger than average, but rather than show even a hint of flexibility or hospitality, the staff was dismissive, condescending, and outright rude. Worse still, we were shocked and appalled to hear members of the staff cursing in front of our children—and even at our children at one point. It’s one thing to be unaccommodating, but to behave so unprofessionally in a family establishment is beyond comprehension. The atmosphere became so uncomfortable that we left before placing an order (with a family our size, they lost out on at least $300), and frankly, we’re glad we did. Again, I want to emphasize that our server was kind and clearly embarrassed by the behavior around her. She deserves better than the team she’s working with. There are far better places in town that understand basic decency and the meaning of customer service. Johnson’s Cafe will not receive our business again, and I strongly urge other families to think twice.

We went for dinner after reading it was one of the best restaurants in the area (not that there are a lot of options). Upon entering I was pleased with the decor and atmosphere of the restaurant. It had a country, small town look decorated with antiques and old family photos. We were seated about 15 minutes after arriving and were given a pitcher of "water". Whatever was in that pitcher was brown and I didn't notice it until already after taking a drink. The server never was able to tell us what I had ingested. We ordered, the food came, and it was mediocre at best. We had a turkey sandwich and burger. Neither were very good. While eating I watched a server clean a table with two unused water cups on it. The cups, turned upside down were left on the table as the table was sprayed with cleaner and wiped off. Then slide to another area of the cleaner coated table and sprayed again. Those cups were never removed or replaced. The next family would be drinking disinfectant cleaner. I would not recommend going and I will not be returning. Having food that is just okay is one thing, but compromising the health and safety of patrons is unacceptable! I will end this on a high note and say the Huckleberry Lemonade was delicious and refreshing!

I am staying at the campground and the views are absolutely beautiful. The sites are clean with picnic tables. I have been here a week and it is extremely peaceful & quiet. The campground has everything you need: clean bathrooms & showers, an affordable laundry, propane refills & a delicious restaurant. The soup & homemade bread can't be beat!

The Registration desk was efficient and knowledgeable about the hikes in the area. The view from the upper RV campground was breathtaking. We even enjoyed the family dinners at the Johnson Cafe that incurred bad reviews. However, the campground is in need of a facelift: the showers and restrooms are old, the sites need sprucing up, the picnic tables are falling apart, the electrical connections at the sites need looking at, and most importantly, the WiFi is bad. In such a remote area and while traveling, you need to be able to rely on the campground WIFi. I honestly cannot recommend this place.

One of the worst experiences I've ever had. We sat at a table close to the kitchen. We could hear the servers in hush tones talking about how uncomfortable the owner makes them feel. A few even mentioned how he touches them inappropriately and fired the last girl that spoke up. Another told a story of last years employee who was only 19 and having a full affair with the owner, while his wife took other employees out to help her get her own dates. Even worse the owner could be heard in the kitchen throughout our meal saying horrible, inappropriate, derogatory things towards almost every customer that came into the restaurant. In the end the food was some of the worst i had ever eaten. The burger smelled like sulfur. The water smelled like sulfur. The meat was still frozen on the turkey sandwich. The soup looked and smelled of vomit. When we tried to talk about the food the owner came out and threw a tantrum like a child and then tried to tell us he's the only restaurant in the world that makes everything homemade as i watched frozen burgers being put in a microwave to defrost. When we asked for a copy of our receipt we were denied. When they payment finally processed on our card it was $25 over what it should be. When we called to try to rectify the situation we were cursed at and hung up on. I cant imagine how a place like this is allowed to operate.

These people charge a TWENTY PERCENT fee for to go orders. That is just rediculous. Will NOT be eating there. This is abou8t the most rediculous fee I've heard of for this.

We were on the road when I called for an RV spot and luckily got one for the night. This was our 2nd rv experience and though it didn't have a wow factor it served our needs. We had a spot on the hill and were able to walk easily to the restaurant and showers. We did dine for dinner that evening as there are no fire pits for cooking. The meal was fine. Showers were adequate and the coins were enough. The views are amazing and enjoyed the area. Would highly recommend it.

We stayed here for a week. Great views. The showers were not clean and I and others in our group did not have hot water. They are free token 6 min showers. Bathrooms were unkept and not always stocked. The restaurant doesn't open until 11 am. , so we never got to try the rolls past reviewers had raved about. It is close to the entrance to Glacier National Park, that being said, there is not much to do in St. Mary if it's raining and you don't want to go to the Park. There's a pizza place, good pizza long wait and a couple souvenir shops and a beer palace 21 and older only. We had young kids in our group so nothing close by without a drive to entertain all. Browning didn't have much to offer either. if you want the Park experience and other options, stay by the West entrance to the Park. Definitely wouldn't stay here again. Glacier National Park is So Majestic! We loved it!

We decided to skip showering until we found a better campground. That should say it all.

Total nightmare. Enormously loud club directly across the st plays music until after 2 am. You will hear each and every beat. Staff is rude and unhelpful. If you come to rural Montana for the all night meth parties this is the spot for you. Otherwise avoid like the plague.

The only reason this place has one star is because zero is not an option. We visited this campground a few days before staying there and were turned off by the trash and filth around the facility. The campsites are also packed in and there is zero privacy what so ever. There is very limited options for the East side of Glacier, and I though that this was the best option.... But it was simply terrible. After we saw the campground we called to cancel and told them why. The grounds were not what was promised on their website or over the phone! When we asked if we could cancel, they said sure but we are going to charge you for your full stay. I understand having policies in place so they don't hold our spot and lose a potential customer, but the campground was virtually empty! When we started to complain we were put on the phone with "Nathan Goddard" "attorney general to the Blackfeet tribe" . This man threatened us and said "You know you are messing with the Blackfeet Indian Reservation don't you? We are on the reservation. I'd watch it if I were you!" We have two babies, and were threatened by the Blackfeet attorney general. Why would we sleep in a place where we were threatened?! Not only was he racist and threatening to our family, this establishment ripped us off and is laughing all the way to the bank. I have lost a huge amount of respect for this tribe and businesses owned by the tribe members. This is a very sad situation of racism and an establishment taking advantage of tourists who had never seen anything but what they promised. In closing I urge people to PLEASE stay at the west side of glacier! Or if you do stay at the east side do not stay at Johnson's of St. Mary. A wonderful campground option is Glacier Campground on the West side!!! They are 100% better and $10 cheaper!!

Server was a great guy. Owner is a joke. Came out super upset for no reason and started saying we could only get one bill for 20 people. He then said no one could get fries and basically ruined my whole experience here. If you have the option to go here just save yourself the trouble and don't.

My wife and I recently made a reservation for 1 night in their full furnished cabin costing us $200 (100 up front and 100 when you stay) a night. This wasn't bad considering everywhere else to stay was booked up. We were travelling down from Calgary from a late flight and got in a little after 8:30PM. went to go check in and the office is closed and nobody is anywhere to be found. we checked our reservation and saw that you had to make special accommodations if arriving after 8PM. So we tried calling the office, nobody is there.. we left a message. After spending 30 minutes trying to figure this out we decided to go down the road to St. Mary Lodge and Resort. We got a room the night of for $99 with tax. which was half the price. I have never been anywhere with a lodging reservation that closes at 8PM. a total rip off and you would think that since we never checked in and actually stayed there, the other $100 wouldnt be charged... nope we paid the full $200 to not even stay there. In addition to our phone message we emailed as well... never heard back from either. DONT stay here, go down the road and stay elsewhere!!

Well set up campground and motel. It had all we needed for a great stay near St. Mary's entrance to Glacier NP. The staff at the camp office was very helpful and efficient. Clean basic showers, toilets, and laundry. The real treat was the adjacent Johnson's Cafe with the best home style dinner specials you could want. Fun atmosphere with antiques, memorabilia, and Johnson family history.

This is the worse RV park. Should be rated at a O. Go somewhere else. Good Sam should not even give this Park a rating. Go to the KOA. WE LEFT ONE DAY EARLY! Stayed two nights but left. The park would not remit $ for one night. Older man at the desk was rude. Uneven ground....could not level. Rigs so close could barely open our door. Reserved a full hook up. When we got to our site, it was water and electric only. Had to go back to office and arrange a move to Full Hook up. Beautiful view destroyed by everything else. We left and went to Kalispell.

We stayed here early August 2014 and had a good stay. We reserved on line, and the responses were timely and they accommodated a change in our dates with out any problem. I liked our site very much, a water electric site was towards the back, we had lovely views of the trees and our site was large and roomy - felt a lot nicer then than the car park feel off the big rig section. The angle of our site made hookups a little tricky, but we managed fine. Amenities were fine, toilet shower block was on the old side and a bit limited for the number of campers, but with the short camping season up here I can see why a decision to expand this would be delayed. They were always kept clean and looked after. Laundry facilities were good, wifi hotspot got a little overloaded. Restaurant on site was great. We would book again :)

This is a review of the restaurant, not the RV park. We had dinner on a Thursday night in early September 2017. We started with a slice of huckleberry ice cream pie. It was massive, probably 6 inches tall-graham cracker crust, layers of vanilla and huckleberry ice cream, topped with a thick layer of whipped cream and drizzles of chocolate and caramel sauce. Talk about sugar shock. The Divide Mountain Buffalo Burger was good, as was the homemade soup. The Cousin Patty Sandwich was ok. Our server was friendly and attentive. The decor is antique western--guns, tools, household items.

Please consider the no exceptions cancelation policy before booking an RV reservation here. Though we experienced a complete engine failure in our rig a couple days after booking a four night reservation for two weeks in the future, they were not gracious enough to consider our request for a refund of the near $50 deposit. So now our engine replacement will cost $30,050 instead of just $30k. Thanks a bunch Johnson's of St. Mary.

Ok so my wife and I are on our honeymoon and after a long day we wanted a nice place to eat dinner. We were told that this place was just incredible. Well. It was not. When e got there, the waitress just pointed to a table and said " sit there". Then she gave us the menu and said it's the last day of the season so we don't have a lot. She told us the special and then left. It wasn't what she said that upset me it was her attitude. When she said all that she was not welcoming at all. And had a look of like it's been a long day I don't really care anymore and I just want you to hurry and leave so I can go home. Then my wife and I order the special of bbq roast beef. When we get our food and a hot coco for the mrs. it was dry, the bread was stale. The roast beef was borderline cold. The sauce was very lightly poured over the top. And the potato's were extremely peppered. Oh, and when it was brought to our table it looked like there was only enough for one person not two. Barely enough food. But ok it's fine. Then we got the bill. For what we ate we had to pay for 48.65 for two crappy meals, and crappy staff. I will not go there again.

Terrible campground. Nothing but dead grass sites. So close together that you can barely walk between rv's when slides are out. Management was rude and very unfriendly. Do not stay here unless you have to. Go look first because they will not give refunds and will charge for any unused nights if you want to leave early but they don't tell you this on the phone only after you arrive and decide to leave early.

I camped her for two nights and it was $65 for a tent site. I liked the spot as it was farther away from the store. It was fairly close to the people next to me and they kept talking late at night which was annoying. I thought that the shower coins were enough for me and I only used 6 min of the 4 coins I was given. The man who checked me in was very nice! The restaurant is great and it is super close to getting into and out of Glacier which was ideal. I would stay here again the next time I am visiting!

BEWARE! If you make a reservation for a campsite, and cancel, there is a $10.00 fee that they charge you. This is NOT COMMUNICATED at the time of making the reservation by phone, nor is it listed on their website! It is only listed on the confirmation email AFTER you make the reservation. When I found out they charged me, I called them to contest. The lady hung up on me! http://www.johnsonsofstmary.com/services/campground/campground.htm This is very bad business and I will never stay there. PS. Your bank will refund the charge if you dispute this! :) It is no wonder someone else gave them a bad review as well. Very rude indeed!

One star is too much credit for this facility. My stay here on 7/27-7/29 2016 was extremely unpleasant as compared to the stay 10 years ago. The $95.34 that I paid got me a sardine packed back in site (site #1, loop A, right next to the office) that was blocked by incoming traffic (could not leave with my truck as people parked in front of it to check in) with no fire pit (yet firewood was sold at the office for an extorted rate). When I inquired about a different site, was told abruptly and quite rude, "campground is FULL". Only 2 of the 4 showers in the men's room were functional and VERY unsafe with no mats or floor protection at all...again, campground was FULL. Was given 4 shower tokens with a 6 minute time limit per token...as there were two of us, we used the tokens on the first night, I inquired about 2 more tokens for the next night and was told they were $5 a piece! The Millennials that are hired here for the summer would do well to learn about customer service and not treat it as "just another summer job". In summary, ten years ago I would have given 4 stars and a great review...not now. My recommendation for anyone staying in this area would be to utilize the other RV parks available. I will NEVER return to Johnson's of St. Mary.

Very convenient since it was close to the entrance of St. Mary and a 30 minute drive to our hike to Cracker Lake. We arrived to our camp site, and someone was already set up there. First, the front desk told us we could move to the tent site across from us. Why should we have to move if this was our original tent site? They also expected us to wait for them to come back to tell them to move. We decided to go to Glacier National Park and show the people that we had this spot when we got back. Turns out, they also had that spot written down on their receipt. We were kind enough to be the ones to go down to talk to the front desk. The front desk was sorry since that was our spot and blamed her summer workers for giving our spot away and not knowing how to "work the system." Even then, she wanted us to move our tent to a different spot. Why should we have to move? I'm disappointed with the customer service, and I hope they find a better system for their tent sites.