Close Covid-19 Notice

Cafe Kandahar is now open for the Winter Season!  The dining room is open Wednesday through Saturday, throughout the 2022-23 winter season, and reservations are required.  We encourage guests to make reservations in advance of the requested date.

The Snug Bar is open daily at 4pm, with an array of specialty cocktails, wines by the glass, and a more casual food menu offering.  Snug Bar food menu is available Tuesday through Sunday, beginning at 5pm, with inside seating available on a first come/first serve basis, as well as take-out options available.  Snug Bar has a limited food menu offered on Monday.

Please review our menus and information below, as we look forward to feeding you inspired food creations alongside curated wines and craft beverages. We genuinely appreciate your support and interest!

Serving thoughtfully constructed cuisine inspired by classic and modern influences.

About Us

About

Café Kandahar has been a cornerstone of Whitefish dining since 1983. Chef Andy Blanton arrived on the scene from New Orleans in the fall of 1999, remaining at the helm ever since. At Café Kandahar, we offer a refined and innovative approach to dining through thoughtfully constructed cuisine, highlighting local and seasonal ingredients. Our knowledgeable and exceptional service staff provide a unique dining experience complete with carefully curated wine pairings and beverage recommendations. ‍ The restaurant is located inside the rustic Kandahar Lodge at Whitefish Mountain Resort. A dinner at Café Kandahar is an intimate evening in a quaint setting. An occasion to celebrate food, wine, and life with loved ones or friends. A chance to embrace the delectable moments we can savor now, and cherish later as delightful memories.
Chef Andy BlantonPrivate Dining

Private Dining

Chef Andy Blanton and team are available to bring extraordinary dining into the comfort of your home, for a special celebration with family or a memorable gathering with good friends. Consider a multi-course tasting menu or an array of appetizers, with an optional wine pairing (from our cellar or yours). We also offer the opportunity to bring our Sommelier along, and even turn the event into a cooking class or a wine tasting format.

 

Over the last two decades, we've provided countless one-of-a-kind experiences for our guests, with menus designed to match occasions and personalized with unique culinary adventures. Chef Andy arrives with his talents and skilled service staff to prepare an exquisite meal in your own kitchen, an unforgettable experience like no other. DUE TO LIMITED STAFFING, PRIVATE DINING IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE.

 

For more details regarding private dining, please contact us via email.

COVID-19 INFO & FUNDRAISING EFFORTS:

When Covid-19 first struck our community here in NW Montana, Cafe Kandahar assisted in spearheading a new program in partnership with the North Valley Food Bank and Whitefish Community Foundation to prepare and provide healthy meals for individuals and families seeking food assistance. Almost overnight, we witnessed a dramatic increase in the need for accessible, affordable food among our community members hardest hit by the virus's widespread economic fallout – including many first-time visitors who'd never before utilized the Food Bank's services.
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In response, we established the “Restaurants Providing Healthy Meals for Families” program, through which local restaurants cooked prepared meals for distribution to community members served by the North Valley Food Bank. We are proud to have taken an active role in helping to place food onto our neighbors' tables during a time when many are facing unprecedented challenges in our daily lives.
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To date the program has included 11 different local Restaurants, who combined have delivered over 7,600 meals to our community. If you wish to assist our efforts to help feed people in need, please consider making a donation directly to the North Valley Food Bank or to the Whitefish Community Foundation's Community Emergency Response Fund.

COVID-19 Information

Here are some of the changes we have implemented in order to ensure the health and safety of our patrons and guests, as well as our valued staff. We greatly appreciate your support and understanding, as we are taking the upmost precautions to provide a comfortable and safe dining experience for all involved.

  • Daily temperature checks of all staff along with physical health assessments
  • All staff members required to wear masks or facial covering, while also practicing rigorous sanitation methods and frequent hand washing
  • Reducing number of tables from 14 down to 8 tables only, to allow for proper recommended spacing between other diners (tables placed 6 feet apart); as well as, limiting the number of reservations and occupancy
  • Eliminating extra steps of service such as replacing silverware (instead delivering all utensils at once), and discontinuing bread service (available by request only)
  • For water and bottle wine service, we will pour the first glass and then leave bottle on the table
  • All tables and chairs will be sanitized before and after each seating
  • Laminated menu pages for ease of sanitizing between uses
  • Hand Sanitizer available for all guests
  • Limiting access to the Restaurant to staff and patrons only
  • Offering the Snug Bar menu as take-out only
  • Removed menu items that included raw or undercooked dishes, such as carpaccio and tartare

Press

Café Kandahar and Chef Andy Blanton have garnered numerous accolades over the years. We are proud to share with you some of our achievements and recognitions. Chef Andy Blanton is a four-time semi-finalist for best chef in NW region by the James Beard Foundation, while our wine program continues to garner Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence- each year since 1998. Feel free to peruse the links below to learn more about our efforts.

James Beard Foundation AccoladesTop 10 fine dining experiences in small towns in the U.S.  (Culture Trip)Top 10 Chefs from journey as dishwashers to chefs (Motivational Journey)The 10 best small town food scenes (USA Today)52 places to visit in 2020- New York Times Magazine (#52- Glacier National Park, and Café Kandahar)Great Chefs ProfileGreat Chefs ProfileBest Chefs America Profile

Articles

Montana Ski Resorts Don't Get As Much Love As They Should (Condé Nast Traveler)Race past busy, pricey Vail to catch the season’s end at affordable, crowd-free Whitefish (Washington Post)A fun weekend at Montana's Whitefish Resort - plus world-class dining (Seattle PI)Visiting Western Montana – Where to Dine and Stay in Glacier Country (Pratesi Living)The 10 Best Restaurants In Whitefish, Montana (Culture Trip)This Montana ski town offers deep snow, authentic Western vibe (Dallas Morning News)Chefs' Favorite U.S. Restaurants (Travel + Leisure)Organic Attractions in Whitefish, MT (Sunset)Fireside Sipping (Flathead Beacon)Find Montana’s Best in Whitefish (Northwest Travel & Life Magazine)10 Best Regional Western Dishes (Via- AAA Magazine) GO HERE, NOT THERE: WHITEFISH MONTANA VERSUS VAIL, COLORADO (Amy Tara Koch)6 Great Cities to Visit in Winter (Via- AAA Magazine)Ski Resort Dining Reaches New Summits (Northwest Travel & Life Magazine)Fall Harvest: Map out a fall food tour in Montana (Montana Office of Tourism)Glacier Country, Montana: A Memorable Girlfriend Getaway (GoNOMAD Travel)

Mentions (Videos)

Meet the people who moved to 'The Last Best Place' (Seattle King5 News)Handpicked Chef Series - Whitefish, Mont. (Northwest Cherries)

Features

DINING OUT: CAFÉ KANDAHAR (Big Sky Journal) The Kandahar Experience (Flathead Beacon)Grazers: Café Kandahar (Sip Northwest)From Dishwasher to the James Beard House: Chef Andy Blanton (JustLuxe)Big Mountain (Flathead Living)Morels, Three Ways (Flathead Living)It's Game Time! (winereviewonline.com)Cafe Kandahar, Whitefish (SKI)Cafe Kandahar: a mountain restaurant (Montana Living)CAFE KANDAHAR – WHITEFISH, MONTANA’S TRUE HIDDEN GEM (Wanderlust My Way)The Art of Pairing Food and Wine at Cafe Kandahar (Luxe Adventure Traveler)CAFE KANDAHAR: WHERE TO EAT IN WHITEFISH, MONTANA (Outside Suburbia)A Delicious Visit to Cafe Kandahar in Whitefish, Montana (Glacier County Montana)Restaurant at the base of Whitefish Mountain Resort has an atmosphere worth experiencing (Snow Seekers)

Other

Chef Andy cooking at the James Beard HouseChef Andy featured at Sun Valley Harvest FestivalWhere the Chef’s eat (Flathead Beacon)Ski Whitefish interview with Chef Andy Blantonhttps://missoulian.com/business/montana-inbusiness/whitefish-chef-will-take-taste-of-mont-to-n-y/article_3aa1b5a4-825a-11e1-bdc6-0019bb2963f4.htmlhttps://www.starchefs.com/cook/press/montana-chef-andy-blanton-cook-james-beard-house-flavors-montana-wild-natural-untamed