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    Thirstys

    3.8 (103 reviews)
    InexpensiveBurgers, Bars
    Open 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Thirstys Photos

    Business Info

    THIRSTYS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids
    Good for dancing

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    Reviews With Photos

    Happy hour chips and queso
    Eliza D.

    We came here after walking out on Murphy's next door (didn't even order)--still set on happy hour drinks and wanting to make use of our paid parking. The outdoor courtyard looked promising, but once inside, we were met with a dim, dated space and a strange vibe. My husband was hungry, so we stayed. He ordered the Monte Cristo--the smallest we've ever seen--served with what tasted like leftover fries. The happy hour drinks? Limited to a few beers the waiter was vague about. We ordered the $4 chips and queso, which somehow managed to be worse than canned. Hoping to salvage things, we tried a game of pool--but the lone table was so close to the wall, we couldn't take proper shots. The check came on one of those tip-prompting tablets that guilt you into generosity. I think my husband still tipped, out of sheer kindness. But wouldn't recommend this place. Honestly, it's getting harder and harder to find a decent restaurant these days.

    Bison Burger

    Stopped by while in town to get the bison burger I had been craving for so long. The service was attentive and very polite. The burger was on point and tasty. If you are looking for a bison burger check it out.

    Dog friendly! They even bring water out of the pups.
    Rick L.

    Outdoor patio is great and the place is dog friendly which brought us here. Nacho Grande barely had any meat which wasn't good to begin with. It had liquid nacho cheese and shredded cheese, which was confusing. And there wasn't much of either. Really the nacho were not good at all. It looked nice and large inside.

    Pool Table

    Visiting from California, I was trying to find a decent place to go for dinner. Everyone at the hotel was recommending this place, so I decided to try it. It was awesome! The service was very quick and the food was delicious! Definitely hope to come back here someday.

    Seating outside by the fire pit.

    As a local, this place is underrated. The food is always consistent and delicious. I had the Chicken Caprese sandwich which is new and it was amazing!! Also I want to shout out RJ for being so kind and making our experience truly so enjoyable. Highly recommend.

    Thirsty's
    Trista H.

    A group of us stopped into Thirsty's for a quick beer and light bite. Free parking can be found on the street. Discover is an accepted form of payment. Indoors is spacious and can easily accommodate large groups. Thirsty's offers a generous selection of local craft beer. Service was friendly and efficient.

    They serve your dog a complimentary bowl of water!
    Ryan R.

    They welcome and serve pets, which is awesome. However, the service and food is, I hate to say, subpar. The burgers have no real outstanding quality and my chicken wrap was packed with lettuce to substitute for the immense lack of chicken. The bar and seating areas were not even at half capacity but we hardly saw our waitress, which is a problem when you're waiting on a refill of water. Additionally, they have one beer menu that is located on a board inside. Therefore, if you want a beer, you can order it from the table but first you need to leave your table, travel inside, and awkwardly stare at a wall menu with others. This is problematic for anyone with a walking handicap. Now, having said all that I must say that the food is not disgusting and the restaurant is not trash. There are just a few things that need correcting and updating (namely the attentiveness of the staff, food preparation, and modernizing the beer menu). I'd try this place again just to give it another honest attempt.

    Bison burger with onion rings!

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    10 months ago

    Had our dogs with us and were able to sit outside. Service was excellent and food was good!

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    8 months ago

    We had appetizers & a pint. Brussel Sprouts were DELICIOUS & beer tasty too. Would recommend. Very nice outdoor seating.

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    11 months ago

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    2 years ago

    The service was fantastic! The waitress gave us suggestions based on our preferences and we loved everything we got!

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    2 years ago

    Great patio seating. Enjoyed being able to bring my pup. A lot of great options for food and beer.

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    3 years ago

    Burger was average but homemade hand cut fries were great. Service was awesome and they have a wide variety of beer on tap. Would recommend

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    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - Thirstys

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    Independent Ale House

    Independent Ale House

    (555 reviews)

    $$

    tl;dr the food menu is equal parts fun and flavorful, while the extensive draught list will appeal…read moreto weekend warriors and beer snobs alike Across my National Parks travels, I've found bars and breweries to be the safest of bets for reasonable dining in the middle of nowhere. In Rapid City, one of the most popular spots is Independent Ale House in the quaint downtown area. This taproom boasts an extensive list of local and international brews, paired with a cheeky lineup of slightly elevated pub fare. Independent doesn't particularly pop against the well-manicured brick buildings downtown, but it's one of the few spots with steady foot traffic. Warm accent lights dimly light the interior. The exposed-brick walls are decorated with an eclectic assortment of brewery-branded neon signs and antique tchotchkes. Wooden tables flank both sides of the entrance ramp, while upholstered booths are hidden in the back. A human-height blackboard above the bar is chalked with countless color-coded rows of available beers. Contemporary music is drowned out by chatter. My group visited on a weekend for an early dinner, and we had no trouble securing a booth. For brews, I loved my Lost Cabin Lord Grizzly Scotch ale, while my partner enjoyed her Cohort Cranberry Hibiscus mead. Beyond the drinks, I was pleasantly surprised by the pizzas. The oval-shaped pies were about the size of a menu. The thin, chewy crust was more akin to flatbread, but it never felt cheap or fast-food-y. The toppings were pressed close to the edges, and each pie was cut into 8 two-bite slices. Our consensus favorite was the recommended Bob's Popper pizza, a bacon-ranch pie that added a few unorthodox ingredients: cream cheese and raspberry preserves. Put simply, the components just worked. The 3 Little Pigs pizza was no slouch either. The rich combination of meats infused a flavorful savoriness but never felt overwhelmingly greasy. The Dub's Thai pizza combined an ambitious array of ingredients (from peanut sauce to sliced coconut), with an overarching flavor of the cinnamon- and cumin/forward garam masala spice blend. The resulting pie was more fun than forgettable, even if I would try another variety over this one next time. House hot sauces and other dips on the side infused new flavors into any untopped crusts. Beyond pizza, the special Sweet & Salty High Salad (topped with pretzels and popcorn for texture) was an inoffensively playful take on a spinach-and-goat cheese salad. The service was efficient, if not somewhat absentminded -- our server didn't bring water until after food was served, and she nearly forgot one of our items. The pizza was a tad expensive (at $15 for some varieties), but Independent otherwise delivered my most enjoyable and well-rounded meal across the Dakotas.

    I really liked the selection of beers on tap. It's got a flatbread type of pizza and the toppings…read moreare inventive. We tried the ham, pickle and cream cheese. Wowza- it was an awesome combo! Bring your ID- they card even if you look 80.

    Press Start - Mac and cheese with smiley fries

    Press Start

    (36 reviews)

    $

    Go here for the games, but skip the pizza…read more Came here with the family. The kids love an arcade! They loved playing games and getting tickets and then getting their junky candy and trinkets as prizes. We did eat here on our first visit. I ordered a wedge salad and shared a pepperoni and mushroom pizza with my husband. The kids had kids meals. Portions were huge, but the food was pretty unremarkable or worse. The wedge salad was off. I think the lettuce had frozen and then then thawed. After one bite, I decided to stop eating rather than risk food poisoning. The pizza was maybe a step up above Chuck E Cheese? Bland but very greasy/oily. The kids meals had huge portions that neither kid could finish. I had a cocktail that was mostly juice. Very drinkable because it was juice. Thankfully it was a bargain (only $9.99). But other than the food stuff, the family had fun here. Enough that my husband took the kids back again (after dinner) the next night.

    Fun place to spend a few hours--whether you're with the kids or not. Before 10 p.m., it's a great…read morefamily spot. My son has a blast playing games and collecting tickets for the little prize toys (even if they only last two minutes, he still has fun!). My husband enjoys the pinball machines downstairs, and I really like the vibe down there too. After 10 p.m., it's kids out, the tables are cleared from the dance floor, and the place turns into more of a nightclub. It's an okay spot if you're in the mood to dance. Overall, it's a unique mix of arcade and nightlife.

    Teddy's Sports Grill

    Teddy's Sports Grill

    (7 reviews)

    $$

    If you want to watch football in Rapid, Teddy's is definitely the place to go!…read more When I lived in SD I used to go to Teddy's every other weekend to watch games. I'm a Bears fan and there are always other Bears fans there, so we generally get a big screen to ourselves to drink beer and eat good food and watch a game. The place is huge and there are TV's all over the place so you can get by watching a couple of games at a time. I've never been there to watch any other sports, but I'm sure it's the same. The staff is really friendly and cool and they'll put a TV on whatever you want (well, as long as it's sports . . .). The food is pretty good. I noticed that sometimes the nachos were good and sometimes they were fair. The inferno wings are REALLY hot. The chicken sandwich isn't bad. But the best thing is that if you hit it during happy hour (which you most likely will during a game), you get big discounts. The beer here is good. They carry a few of my faves but the selection isn't top notch. But the bartenders are super cool and friendly and that is what I like. The place is HUGE. Two sets of bathrooms which makes it great when it's busy and it's always clean. There's several pool tables and dart games and such. And if you like dancing, the other half of the bar is dance club. It's hoppin' on Fri/Sat nights. That's not really my scene though and I prefer the sports bar side. I really miss Sunday's at Teddy's now that I'm back in CA. It was one of the best places to watch football that I've ever been to.

    Weekend nights are fun. Pool tables not hard to get on, drinks are served quickly, but I did have…read moreone bad experience that ruined it for me. The beer pong tournements. A friend of mine was playing in one. Being as that he is there every weekend, the staff knew him pretty well. They knew he was military and had orders to leave soon. Same guy made it to the finals of this beer pong tournement, before the game started, the ref gave the winnings to the other team because they were also usuals. When my friend asked why, they replied, "because you have orders and want them to come back." Soon after we tried to report then to the better business borough and they had no record of Teddy's or moonshiners. Service-5 Establishment-3 Management-1 Policys-1 Comes out to about a 2

    Juniper at Vertex Sky Bar - Logo

    Juniper at Vertex Sky Bar

    (134 reviews)

    $$

    Awesome rooftop bar with amazing views of Rapid City! This was such a lovely place to be every…read morenight while staying in Alex Johnson hotel. The staff was friendly, the drinks were great. I would highly recommend the Blue Hue Spritz cocktail - it was delicious and refreshing. There's seating inside and then an awesome patio with seating along a fire pit, some tables/chairs, and some bar seating along the perimeter with views of the city.

    We dined at Juniper nearly two months ago, and everything was *phenomenal.*. Because it was a…read moreMonday evening, staffing was light, so Connor, the bartender, was doing it all: answering the phone, taking orders (no note pad, nailed every course), mixing the drinks, and checking in on us all while taking care of other customers. He and his helper were polished, professional, kind, and so much fun! To enter the restaurant, you have to go through the lobby of the Alex Johnson hotel and take the elevator up to the top floor. You emerge from the elevator in a cozy foyer with enormous windows, and the restaurant is through a heavy wooden door to the right. Inside the restaurant, the decor is Art Deco, light and airy with tin ceilings and tall windows. Everything was immaculately maintained. The menu was limited that evening, but we still found everything we wanted (I am vegan, my companions were not) from starters to dessert. The only bad part was that it was our last night in Rapid City and we couldn't take our leftovers, so we just ate as much as we could. The serving sizes were generous without being over the top. We would 100% return to Vertex if we visit Rapid City again.

    Firehouse Brewing Company - Beyond Veggie Burger with mashed potatoes

    Firehouse Brewing Company

    (1.3k reviews)

    $$

    Food, atmosphere, beer, all amazing!! Love, Love, LOVE, this restaurant!!!…read more From New Jersey, and can't wait to come back to South Dakota, just to eat at firehouse brewing Company. Thank you!!! Sue Schu

    The good news? They are open longer hours than many of their downtown Rapid City peers. The bad…read morenews? The food is pretty mediocre and they are understaffed. We arrived around 7:30. (Hey, Yelp! This part of SD is in MST, not Central!!!) The hostess said we could site outside by the fireplace but that there was only one waitress for that area. Sadly, the other restaurants in the area were either full or closed on that Wednesday, so we took our chances. Service was slow. The waitress was very nice but overwhelmed. They have a kids menu, which is nice. They have a decent beer list. Lots of local options. I had an okay sour beer from the Sturgis area. The kids loved being able to have frozen mocktails. I tried their reuben. They claimed it's Rapid City's best, but if that's it's best, don't order a reuben in Rapid City. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't great. Just bland. Not enough sauerkraut. The thousand island dressing (served on the side by default) was pretty good but salty. I had a side of broccoli, which I thought was a nice option, but it was bitter and undercooked. My husband had the pork schnitzel meal, which he thought was okay. He liked being able to order mashed potatoes as an option. Thankfully, we sat by the TV, and there was a dog show going on. Seeing all those exotic purebred dogs kept my family distracted while we waited for the food.

    Thirstys - burgers - Updated May 2026

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