Thirsty's is one of the more under-appreciated spots in downtown Rapid City in my experience. It's never the first place that comes to mind when locals think of grabbing a bite to eat or a cold drink, but it should be, because this place excels at what they do. I think of them as a hidden gem in plain sight and am quick to bring out-of-town guests here. One word of caution: don't expect a full bar. If you want that, head next door to Murphy's, or across the street to Teddy's. It's strictly beer and wine here, but they have an excellent selection of 30+ beers on tap, many of which are local craft brews, plus a few ciders. They are always cold, refreshing, and delivered promptly. The food is fresh and tasty. Thirsty's has some of the best chislic in town and I am addicted to their wraps--especially the Turkey and Ranch Chicken. I get them with a side of coleslaw or German-style potato salad for a perfectly filling, delicious meal. Other highlights include the Indian tacos, Spicy Chicken Sandwich, and burgers. The only thing I've ever been disappointed with here is the French fries, which I feel are mediocre. They're not bad, per se...but I usually opt for sweet potato fries instead. Those are excellent. I love the decor inside Thirsty's, but usually head for the patio (at least when it isn't snowing!). It's fairly secluded, has a couple of fire pits, and is dog-friendly. Service there is attentive. Don't overlook this place the next time you're in town; it's a great and unassuming spot with good food, an impressive beer selection, decent prices, and friendly service. read more

Needed a lunch stop on our way to see the local tourist sites. There is outdoor seating, we opted for the air co inside. There is a nice selection of beer available (30 taps). We were on motorcycles so had only one! Had to try the 1/2 lb. Dakota Buffalo burger which is advertised as locally sourced. It was delicious, cooked just right and large. The service was pleasant and fast, overall a great lunch stop. read more

See all

This bar is a great place for beers and burgers. My favorite meal is a tie between the French Dip (double meat) and the MonteChristo. Sit at the bar on a Thursday and if you have Dani or Payton as the bartender the beers and food will come fast. It does get busy during tourist season so there may be a bit of a wait at the tables but the food is so good it it worth it. The atmosphere is jovial and celebratory. While there might be one waitress who does not do that well, the rest of the wait staff literally run and the place should not be judged based upon her. read more

We stopped here on vacation, every other nearby restaurant had an hour wait. We were seated immediately.. that's the only pro. Our waiter took about 15 minutes to get our drink order (waters), and our food took more than 30 minutes. Luckily, we ordered an appetizer The food was subpar, my Buffalo chicken wrap was iceberg lettuce and microwaved chicken. We left after promptly walking to the bar for our ticket. read more

I used to enjoy eating here, but my recent experience was awful. Would not recommend. Very rude waitstaff and management.

Came here on an off chance driving back from Custer park and glad we stopped! In disclosure, we are from the north east corridor of the country with easy access to NYC and first-class dining. That statement aside, the food here is better than 90% of things we have had in nyc. Seriously! The food here would be akin to a 4 star experience in midtown, yet this dive bar has it going on! I mean seriously, if you ate here, you've had food better than 90% of NYC!... And a major shout out to the potato salad :) read more

We found this place by accident. The bar/grill we wanted to go to had an hour and 45 min wait time, so we landed here. Service was a little slow but the food was really good and moderately priced. read more

Came in on a Thursday to have a burger and beer. All tables were full so we decided to sit at the bar. Bartender was stressed out to the max. Wasn't very inviting to more people sitting at the bar. Gave us our beer, told us our total, then I asked him for a menu and got an eye roll and "it'll be a minute." When said minute was up we got the menus thrown at us which made our decision to eat elsewhere. Never had an issue with the previous owners. Hopefully this isn't a trend. read more

We stopped at Thirstys for lunch while on vacation because of the Yelp reviews. We were not disappointed. The food was delicious! Made from scratch bar food is the best kind! The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is because the staff wasn't wearing masks which we feel is important with the current COVID crisis. Would definitely return if/when we come back to the area! read more

Overrated. Decor was dated. Ordered the artichoke dip as an app and was big time missing the freshness of spinach-- was it even in there? I don't even know. The burgers were okay but not memorable. The french fries were pretty tasty and they had good ranch so that is where my stars are coming from-- that and the service was friendly even though our server disappeared for a good while toward the end of our meal leaving us wanting refills. Also, so. many. flies. o.O read more

This place has really grown and changed since its opening, only a few years ago. They've added a darling little cobblestone patio, covered on one side and very open with a street-side view. They are basically a pub-n-grub, but they have a few notable things that make them stand out from other pubs. Firstly, they make their own french fries, long and thick and fresh, a nice alternative from other area distributor-ordered frozen-fare. They have a half a dozen various salads, and several have dark greens, not iceberg. I'm a fan of their stuffed portebello sandwich stuffed with parmesan and grilled peppers and served on a Kaiser-style bun. My friend had their southwest hamburger with an interesting tangy sauce, which he says is their best burger and usually orders only that except for their giant stuffed burrito. Occasionally, they have bands on the patio. The inside lacks in interesting or original decor, so I'd recommend sitting outside in good weather. Josh, one of the servers is also fluent in information regarding local hiking and kayaking. He's very speedy and friendly. I'd recommend to be seated in his section. If you're in downtown Rapid, and don't want to spend a ton of money for a good, hearty lunch before hitting up Mt. Rushmore or the Journey Museum, this is your place. read more

Thirstys - Southwestern Burger with Homemade Fries - Burgers Near Me - Rapid City, South Dakota

Food hot and fresh, service hit on all points. Good bar fare selection with a reputation for burgers. Ample seating, stage area, full bar, endless taps with local brews, billiard table, patio, clean/modern bathroom. read more

See all

This place offers a friendly unpretentious atmosphere with good food, excellent staff and a wide selection of beers. Great place!

Food was great but staff was overwhelmed by this summer's crush. We had a hard time getting a server's attention and then the kitchen reportedly lost our order. Service was distracted and forgetful. Food was tasty once it arrived. read more

Great food, great beer list and really friendly staff. Thanks to Jennifer, our bartender, for being so welcoming!

Watch where you google, I will say when I was looking at the menu online, the Thirstys I found was in another city. (No shock another bar has the same name.). So, when we got there we noticed the menu was different. There is no liquor at this bar. Only beer and wine. When the waitress said we could go to the bar next door because they have liquor....we should have went. We didn't want much to eat, just a couple of drinks (we settled on the wine) and some "in house made chips and salsa". The salsa wasn't half bad, the chips were stale (we were told they were made the same day) I would say that may have been a stretch. If they were truly house made, they should have been fresher or maybe they have been sitting out all day. Chewy chips sticking on your teeth is NOT good. We foolishly ordered queso which was congealed in the bowl. This was queso that comes out of a can....you know the stuff they sell at the ballpark? Yeah, like that. So, this is another place I would pass on. We did go to the place next door! read more

Came here because they were dog friendly. We chose a table out on the patio and were eventually welcomed by a waitress with bad vibes. Overheard the waitress tell another worker that she hated dogs. Gotta say our dogs knew and picked up on the bad vibes. We ordered beers and they never came. Turned out they were never submitted. When we finally got them (an hour after ordering) we asked for a burger and the bill. About 30 minutes later we were told the burger was given to the wrong table. Ended up being there 2.5 hours for two beers and a burger. Only giving two stars because they welcome dogs. Would recommend the restaurant hire staff who aren't afraid of dogs, don't give bad vibes, and remember to submit food tickets to the kitchen. read more

Best fries anywhere. Great beer selection. Can't find a better place to go in the Black Hills.

Awesome service and amazing beer menu. Great food. Pet friendly and super nice people. Even have a pet menu. Love this place. Worth supporting. Keep up the good service and friendly staff read more

Thirstys - Burgers Near Me - Rapid City, South Dakota

See all

Pulled up just the other day wanting a good burger but didn't really feel like Murphy's. I mean Murphy's is good and all but maybe a bit overpriced so I decided to check out Thirstys and I wasn't disappointed. Thirstys def has a 57701 vibe and that's what I like. Real people out to enjoy a beer and a burger. I went with the cobra burger and it was awesome. The fries were legit and the service was great. This is my kinda place. read more

I discovered this gem while here for an extended medical stay . I keep going back because the service is wonderful , the food great and the beer choices are just as good ! They have a large selection of beer for reasonable prices along with a good selection on tasty food with large portions. You won't be disappointed:) read more

Food was just okay-not spectacular. Server seemed like she didn't care and would rather be out with her friends not very friendly or welcoming. We went there since it was one that was open on the holiday. One really great feature was the variety of local craft beers although they couldn't provide you with a beer menu. Slightly annoying that you had to go look at their chalkboard to know their selection. Really you couldn't print a list? The patio was also nice and we enjoyed that but it was not that great in terms of food or service. Would not go again unless there were no other choice. read more

Mediocre experience. When we first got here we were going to sit on the side patio, but the server was miserable and flustered. We moved to the front patio and got a different server who was pleasant and friendly. Didn't catch her name but she was blonde. She gave incredible service. The food was just ok. The steak was super duper salty, when I asked for butter for my baked potato, I was given "whipped spread" that had about 15 carcinogenic ingredients...and I was told they don't have "real butter"...wtf? The burger was a frozen patty, not fresh, and I asked for medium, but got well done. But it tasted pretty good. The fries have skins, I'm not a fan of that but they rasted good. It was just ok. They need to lay off the salt, service was good (with our second server!) food was mediocre. Please buy some real butter for the baked potatoes! read more

This place has a sign saying "Please seat yourself but all the tables are dirty and the workers just stares at us!

We were immediately greeted by our waiter and we had drinks in a matter of minutes. He was very friendly, offered good insight on the food choices we were debating as well as kept our drinks full. The food was fantastic (I got the Chislic and it did not disappoint!) and both kids have the ranch a 9/10 (only topped by Mazzio's). Definitely a place worth visiting! read more

What a burger! My wife and I split the portobello and Swiss burger and it was amazing. Almost ordered another one. The salad was fresh and fries are fresh cut potatoes. Friendly waitress and a great selection of drafts. Highly recommend! read more

Best place to eat in RC. Great service, great food -- what else do you need? Lots of hoity toiyt joints downtown. Stick with this place instead. Won't disappoint. read more

This is a great place to come! The burgers and fries are great as quesadillas, and the Indian tacos. The patio is beautiful and the service outstanding!! read more

Great taco salads, burgers of every kind, friendly wait staff and a nice ambiance plus Trivia Night on Wednesday! We don't drink but would come here if we did! read more

Place was awesome! Best food I have had while in Rapid City. family friendly as well.

Good Beer, but the mean & grumpy server did not let us finish our beers. They closed at 10, which is fine, but they turned off the lights next to us and asked us to hurry up at 9:40 so they could go home. I tried to talk to the miserable, grumpy lady with the pretty tattoos and she asked me to hurry up and get to it because she was tired and had to work in the morning at her other job. We will never go back to this place. I guess they just don't like to make money & have a successful business. We are a fun, kind, & respectful group of 6 friends, and she ruined our evening because of her crotchety attitude. read more

We stopped here during our road trip west and were pleasantly surprised. Did a great job with patio service and social distancing with COVID - our server Tim was very helpful. Very quick service and the food was delicious We ordered the Hawaiian and bourbon burgers and they were very tasty. I would also suggest the Chislic appetizer. read more

Visiting Rapid City on our road trip east, We where hungry and it was a hot day! We had to find a place with a sidewalk patio so that our dog could sit with us and not in the car. When the waiter came out with the menus he also brought a bowl of water for my dog. After that I knew that I was going to like this place. The food was traditional american, burgers etc I had a salad and a veggie burger with fries both where better then I expected. The salad was good better then a lot of places and the fries where awesome nice and thick. the veggie burger was just nice to see on a menu in South Dakota. My traveling companion had a Taco Salad and said it was yummy. The dog enjoyed being able to join us. Overall it was a great experience. Definitely worth a stop if you are in the area. read more

On vacation with my family and was excited to find a restaurant that would allow us to bring our dog on the patio. When we arrived I went inside to ask for a highchair for the table (the sign out front says seat yourself) and was ignored completely. After about 5 minutes if standing there I decided to go back outside and let my husband go in and get the highchair. After waiting at least another 5 minutes a girl brings us a high chair and tells us she will be back shortly with menus. After another 15 minutes of waiting and still no service we decided to leave. This self proclaimed "best service in town" restaurant is a joke. Save yourself some time and eat elsewhere. read more

Thirstys - "Best service in town" epic fail! - Burgers Near Me - Rapid City, South Dakota

Ate at Thirsty's last week when I was attending a conference in Rapid City. The prices were reasonable, service was phenomenal (shoutout to Megan who was a rockstar), and the food was great! Would absolutely recommend to anyone who is visiting and looking for a quick bite to eat! read more

This place sure has come a long way since it opened back in 2007. This is one of my go to places for lunch. The service is always great, the food is amazing, and the outside patio is great for sitting out and enjoying a few drinks and good food with friends. I really enjoy their wraps. I have had about 3 on their menu and each one is equally amazing and not over filling (but still generous in size) I also enjoy their Philly cheese steaks! They have homemade chips and fries, which are both good, but I prefer their homemade chips! I can't wait for summer to come back around so I can make use out of their wonderful patio! read more

Stopped in for lunch after flying into town. Bacon Chedder Buger=delicious! read more

As a tourist from out of the state me and my family were looking for something tasty and quick. From the inside it looks like a place that you and your family can enjoy, self seating which is nice. For starters the menu is very creative and it was hard to choose what to eat. Eventually I decided a burger with barbecue sauce and onion cooked medium, with a side of fries. When the food eventually came the burger was good but the fries were over cooked and soggy only a third which I believe were edible. To end off service wasn't as good the whole experience. read more

Great creative American cuisine. Erin is THE BEST server--patient, efficient, good recommendations, and fun. Trivia Wed nights for prizes. Starts at 7:30 but come early for a table. read more

See all

We stopped in late after a visit to Mt Rushmore. We expected the kitchen to be closed and the bar food to taste like bar food. We were WRONG. Jena waited on us and ensured we had access to what seemed like a scratch kitchen. I had the Hawaiian Burger with the special sauce & sweet potatoes fries......awesome. My kids ordered and had more food than they could...no easy task. My wife does not eat meat and Jena asked her what she wanted and made it happen. Additionally she answered all our questions and provided plenty of great information. When I return for Sturgis Bike Week I will visit again. read more