If happiness had a smell, it would be the burgers sizzling at Connie’s Cafe & Lounge in Sandpoint. I came in hungry and left questioning whether I should legally be required to write this place into my will.
Let’s talk about the burgers. These aren’t the flimsy, sad little disks that apologize for existing. These are bold, glorious towers of beefy excellence that arrive like they’ve just won a championship belt. Juicy, perfectly cooked, and stacked high enough to make you consider unhinging your jaw like a very determined python. Every bite felt like a tiny parade in my mouth, complete with confetti and possibly a marching band.
Speaking of bands, the Double Shot Band playing live on the first Friday of the month absolutely lit the place up. Great music, great energy, and just enough volume to make you tap your foot without accidentally ordering dessert in Morse code. The whole room had that warm, small-town, everyone’s-your-friend vibe that makes you want to stay way past “just one more bite.”
Yes, you might wait a little while when it’s busy… but that’s only because everyone else already figured out how good this place is. Totally worth it.
Final verdict: Come for the burgers, stay for the music, leave very full and already planning your next visit.If you’d like, I can also tailor a shorter Google-style version or make one that’s extra over-the-top dramatic.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mike Ryen
Boring and small serving. Good enough
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Dharpstudiophotography
Very clean and spacious excellent food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
dar sherwin
Can park in front or back. It's a laid back diner type of restaurant that is kept clean. We have enjoyed all of our meals over the years: soups, salads, chili, pasta, chicken and waffles, onion rings..Service is pleasant although sometimes they get busy and forget things like ranch for onion rings. But onion rings are very good without ranch or ketchup so by the time we got it we didn't need it anymore ,) I love how they serve hot tea here and the flavor choices. Prices are the most reasonable in town as with the portions and a huge menu. Overall, it's our go-to restaurant.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chicken and Waffles, Salad, Chowder, Belgian Waffle
Crystal Axel
We really enjoyed our steaks and eggs. Fun atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sadie Porter
I cannot believe that I almost passed on these guys! We were in town for a super quick stop, but we always find a reason to try new food! When we first came in, we immediately accepted that service was going to be slow, when the waitress was straightforward with being alone and not all the tables were currently clean. No biggie! We were immediately sat at a table by the door. It wasn’t terribly busy to where the door was opening and closing constantly, but my toes were cold. I was in tennis shoes. For the sake of a new menu, we ordered breakfast and lunch. The garden skillet was delicious! Eggs were cooked perfectly! Sourdough bread was good. The traditional eggs Benedict was absolutely fantastic and with a little bit of salt, the hash browns were cooked perfectly! The meat on our French dip didn’t need any flavor assistance from the Au Jus! It was obviously appreciated that they were individually flavorful, but it’s a safe bet if someone doesn’t care for the Au Jus. We got the fries with the sandwich, and those were pretty good too! Nice and crispy, but still soft on the inside! We ordered the buffalo wings. The appearance was deceiving because it looks like there isn’t enough sauce, but there is. They were crispy on the outside, we did have two dry ones, but I would order them again. I’m a huge ranch critic lol but their ranch is good! The service didn’t suck at all. We did not have an unreasonable wait time and we were immediately sat. Our waitress (I wish I got her name) handled being alone nicely! Our drinks were never empty and all of our food was correct, warm, and delicious! We will definitely make our way back another time!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lisa Devine
Very nice and clean restaurant. Very good service. I had the small Rick's special and it was delicious and the perfect amount of food for one person. Idaho does not allow hard liquor until 10 am so no bloody mary but the mimosa was a good substitute
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
KC Poe
This place was fantastic. Great food and service. The salisbury steak and caesar salad were delicious. Tremendous value too. $31 for two people.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
alfahad91
I was excited to try a traditional American diner and the reviews sounded good. From the start the place didn’t seem welcoming, not to strangers at least. I was left waiting standing at the entrance with two staff seeing me but not recognizing my presence. The lady working at the bar was nice enough but food was taking ages to come out. Not only mine but several diners were sat without food. Given my short time in Sandpoint, I cut my losses short and went elsewhere to eat. This was at 2pm on a Sunday.
*Update following owner response* I placed an order … waited for it … nothing came out of the kitchen … cancelled it and moved on. If this doesn’t warrant a one star, not sure what does! But glad I confirmed that owners and workers there have an attitude and not service oriented.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Mustang 56
Two stars because they do serve food. We were seated in the lounge. Breakfast was mediocre quality at best. Service was slow. It looked like the bar service for people drinking on Sunday morning was ok. But we were just a family, not drinking. Waited about 45 min for food. Waitress came by once to refill coffee. When pancakes arrived the butter wouldn’t melt because the pancakes were lukewarm. Asked to have them microwaved. They came back lukewarm with butter still not melted. Never got another cup of coffee and couldn’t swallow the pancakes. Breakfast shouldn’t be that hard, Other food wasn’t better. It was a disappointing experience. There is much better food and service elsewhere in Sandpoint. Try another place.
My wife and I were trying different local spots in Sandpoint while on our honeymoon, we saw the reviews for Connies and thought we'd give it a shot. First thing that struck us as odd is we were seated at around noon but we could only order from the breakfast half of the menu. The food was ok at best, our scrambled eggs were somehow over cooked and rubbery on the outside while being undercooked and a little slimey on the inside, the chicken fried steak barely had any flavor outside of the fry batter, but the waffles and hashbrowns were good. Our service was ok, but we had to flag down staff a few times, once for after our waitress spilled some of my drink and walked off, the other for water refills. Speaking of drinks, my wife was never asked if she would have liked a refill on hers and my Irish coffee was definitely poured with a heavy hand. We stacked out plates and set them to the side as a sign that we were done and ready for a check, but our waitress just kept walking by and acknowledged us, making it feel like we were trapped in an awkward state of mediocre food longer.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
Murph96
Everything about Connie’s from the food too the service, to the atmosphere is great! If you’re looking for a 50s-60s diner vibe this is the place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Owen Willett
The buser Joey gave us one of the best restaurant experiences I’ve had, amazing food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
April Bryant
Great food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Erin Johnson
I treated myself to brunch in the lounge and it totally scratched my itch for corned beef hash. I was so focused on stuffing my face that I forgot to gather photographic evidence of the event. My hash was crispy and perfectly portioned. The only thing keeping me from licking my plate was the presence of other diners. I decided to keep it classy. And the mimosas were a perfect sweet complement - not too much OJ, just the way Mama likes it!
If happiness had a smell, it would be the burgers sizzling at Connie’s Cafe & Lounge in Sandpoint. I came in hungry and left questioning whether I should legally be required to write this place into my will.
Let’s talk about the burgers. These aren’t the flimsy, sad little disks that apologize for existing. These are bold, glorious towers of beefy excellence that arrive like they’ve just won a championship belt. Juicy, perfectly cooked, and stacked high enough to make you consider unhinging your jaw like a very determined python. Every bite felt like a tiny parade in my mouth, complete with confetti and possibly a marching band.
Speaking of bands, the Double Shot Band playing live on the first Friday of the month absolutely lit the place up. Great music, great energy, and just enough volume to make you tap your foot without accidentally ordering dessert in Morse code. The whole room had that warm, small-town, everyone’s-your-friend vibe that makes you want to stay way past “just one more bite.”
Yes, you might wait a little while when it’s busy… but that’s only because everyone else already figured out how good this place is. Totally worth it.
Final verdict: Come for the burgers, stay for the music, leave very full and already planning your next visit.If you’d like, I can also tailor a shorter Google-style version or make one that’s extra over-the-top dramatic.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Boring and small serving. Good enough
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Very clean and spacious excellent food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Can park in front or back. It's a laid back diner type of restaurant that is kept clean. We have enjoyed all of our meals over the years: soups, salads, chili, pasta, chicken and waffles, onion rings..Service is pleasant although sometimes they get busy and forget things like ranch for onion rings. But onion rings are very good without ranch or ketchup so by the time we got it we didn't need it anymore ,) I love how they serve hot tea here and the flavor choices. Prices are the most reasonable in town as with the portions and a huge menu. Overall, it's our go-to restaurant.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chicken and Waffles, Salad, Chowder, Belgian Waffle
We really enjoyed our steaks and eggs. Fun atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I cannot believe that I almost passed on these guys! We were in town for a super quick stop, but we always find a reason to try new food! When we first came in, we immediately accepted that service was going to be slow, when the waitress was straightforward with being alone and not all the tables were currently clean. No biggie! We were immediately sat at a table by the door. It wasn’t terribly busy to where the door was opening and closing constantly, but my toes were cold. I was in tennis shoes. For the sake of a new menu, we ordered breakfast and lunch. The garden skillet was delicious! Eggs were cooked perfectly! Sourdough bread was good. The traditional eggs Benedict was absolutely fantastic and with a little bit of salt, the hash browns were cooked perfectly! The meat on our French dip didn’t need any flavor assistance from the Au Jus! It was obviously appreciated that they were individually flavorful, but it’s a safe bet if someone doesn’t care for the Au Jus. We got the fries with the sandwich, and those were pretty good too! Nice and crispy, but still soft on the inside! We ordered the buffalo wings. The appearance was deceiving because it looks like there isn’t enough sauce, but there is. They were crispy on the outside, we did have two dry ones, but I would order them again. I’m a huge ranch critic lol but their ranch is good! The service didn’t suck at all. We did not have an unreasonable wait time and we were immediately sat. Our waitress (I wish I got her name) handled being alone nicely! Our drinks were never empty and all of our food was correct, warm, and delicious! We will definitely make our way back another time!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very nice and clean restaurant. Very good service. I had the small Rick's special and it was delicious and the perfect amount of food for one person. Idaho does not allow hard liquor until 10 am so no bloody mary but the mimosa was a good substitute
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place was fantastic. Great food and service. The salisbury steak and caesar salad were delicious. Tremendous value too. $31 for two people.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was excited to try a traditional American diner and the reviews sounded good. From the start the place didn’t seem welcoming, not to strangers at least. I was left waiting standing at the entrance with two staff seeing me but not recognizing my presence. The lady working at the bar was nice enough but food was taking ages to come out. Not only mine but several diners were sat without food. Given my short time in Sandpoint, I cut my losses short and went elsewhere to eat. This was at 2pm on a Sunday.
*Update following owner response* I placed an order … waited for it … nothing came out of the kitchen … cancelled it and moved on. If this doesn’t warrant a one star, not sure what does! But glad I confirmed that owners and workers there have an attitude and not service oriented.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Two stars because they do serve food. We were seated in the lounge. Breakfast was mediocre quality at best. Service was slow. It looked like the bar service for people drinking on Sunday morning was ok. But we were just a family, not drinking. Waited about 45 min for food. Waitress came by once to refill coffee. When pancakes arrived the butter wouldn’t melt because the pancakes were lukewarm. Asked to have them microwaved. They came back lukewarm with butter still not melted. Never got another cup of coffee and couldn’t swallow the pancakes. Breakfast shouldn’t be that hard, Other food wasn’t better. It was a disappointing experience. There is much better food and service elsewhere in Sandpoint. Try another place.
Restaurantji Recommends
My wife and I were trying different local spots in Sandpoint while on our honeymoon, we saw the reviews for Connies and thought we'd give it a shot. First thing that struck us as odd is we were seated at around noon but we could only order from the breakfast half of the menu. The food was ok at best, our scrambled eggs were somehow over cooked and rubbery on the outside while being undercooked and a little slimey on the inside, the chicken fried steak barely had any flavor outside of the fry batter, but the waffles and hashbrowns were good. Our service was ok, but we had to flag down staff a few times, once for after our waitress spilled some of my drink and walked off, the other for water refills. Speaking of drinks, my wife was never asked if she would have liked a refill on hers and my Irish coffee was definitely poured with a heavy hand. We stacked out plates and set them to the side as a sign that we were done and ready for a check, but our waitress just kept walking by and acknowledged us, making it feel like we were trapped in an awkward state of mediocre food longer.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
Everything about Connie’s from the food too the service, to the atmosphere is great! If you’re looking for a 50s-60s diner vibe this is the place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The buser Joey gave us one of the best restaurant experiences I’ve had, amazing food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I treated myself to brunch in the lounge and it totally scratched my itch for corned beef hash. I was so focused on stuffing my face that I forgot to gather photographic evidence of the event. My hash was crispy and perfectly portioned. The only thing keeping me from licking my plate was the presence of other diners. I decided to keep it classy. And the mimosas were a perfect sweet complement - not too much OJ, just the way Mama likes it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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