Kootenai River Brewing Company

What a fantastic experience! The customer service was outstanding, and the selection of beers was excellent. The views from the bar are stunning, and there’s ample seating both indoors and outdoors. We’re already looking forward to our next visit!

Great beer in the charming town of Bonners Ferry! The restaurant has a spacious setting right across from the river, offering both indoor and patio seating. They provide a nice variety of beers and food options. We particularly enjoyed the Grapefruit Grizzly IPA and the Wee Lass Red, along with the salmon wrap and Smash burger. I apologize for not taking pictures until we had already started our meal. There’s plenty of space for larger groups, and you can find parking along the river across the street. I rated it 4 stars because the service was a bit slow, but our server was very attentive and regularly checked in on us. It seems they might just be dealing with staffing issues. If you're in Bonners Ferry or just passing through, definitely give this place a try!

For dinner, we ordered a smash burger and the salmon tots. The smash burger is essentially a superior patty melt, thanks to the caramelized onions and pepper jack cheese, which truly enhance its flavor! The salmon was tasty, although slightly overcooked, but still very enjoyable. However, I found the tots to be a bit too crispy; even as a tot lover, I couldn't finish them! We sat at the bar, where our bartender was friendly and cheerful, but the service felt a bit lacking. We had to look for silverware and napkins, waited quite a while for our food, and often felt overlooked. Despite there being many servers, they seemed focused solely on their own customers, hardly acknowledging others or sharing a smile after leaving a table. It created a peculiar atmosphere, not the lively and welcoming environment we typically enjoy at breweries. Overall, it was a good experience, and I would definitely return for the salmon if I'm in the area again!

Great service food and atmosphere. Very friendly and super nice bar with a sweet view.

Bonner's Ferry was the farthest north I went on a recent trip to Spokane and the Chimney part of Idaho. Of course if I went much further I would have been in Canada. I went to Kootenai River Brewing Company and really liked my experience there. The taproom and restaurant has a great view of the river and people were very friendly. My trip had unexpected rains and a rain storm was happening when I went to this brewery. Despite the wet and slight chill I had it sounded great to have their Coffee Porter. I wasn't disappointed at all and loved the dark color and richness to it. A well allocated flavor of coffee was present and noticeable. I have had some types of these porters where the flavor of coffee is too subtle. A very smooth body added to the beer experience where it had me kick back and slow down and take a break from all the sightseeing I was doing.