Built with brick and dark wood, adorned with framed vintage posters of mountain events, Buchanan’s Chop House and Whisky Bar, the 40-seat restaurant at the Kandahar Lodge on Big Mountain, exemplifies true mountain town dining.  

Owners and siblings James Buchanan and Caitlin Buchanan hope to continue the 40-year legacy of fine mountain dining that the location represents. 

“It’s a classically styled North American chop house. We always want the food to be exceptional, but we don’t want to be too much,” James said, sitting in the dining room. “It’s a casual but still fine dining atmosphere.” 

The menu features traditional chop house fanfare, like a wedge salad and a variation of chops on the bone, to unique dishes like lobster pot pie, wasabi shrimp and a chop house tataki.  

“We want to do things right, start to finish,” Caitlin said. 

The tataki, made with a tender piece of wagyu eye of round, is quickly seared and thinly sliced. With a Japanese flare, the dish is vibrant and fresh, served with a citrus ponzu sauce, fresh and fried onions and herbs.  

The dish is representative of springtime, James said, as the restaurant builds its menu with seasonality in mind.  

If a chop house has a good wedge salad, James said, it’s normally indicative that it’s a decent chop house. Buchanan’s has two salads on the menu, a wasabi Ceaser salad and a wedge salad.  

Topped with a garlic basil dressing, blue cheese, candied pecans, bacon and dried berries, each bite of the wedge salad packs a flavor profile that is savory, sweet and fresh.  

But the real focus is on the various cuts of meat served. The menu features oven roasted rack of lamb served with a Dijon herb crust and a long-bone beef short rib with a black pepper and forest mushroom demi-glace. The center-cut ribeye is serviced with a Flathead huckleberry demi-glace.  

“It’s such a maneater,” James said of the beef short ribs. “Coming to the top of the mountain in Montana, you want a really good piece of meat. You can get that here.” 

Sides include pork belly mac and cheese and also on the menu is the braised beef poutine served over fries. Various fish options are delivered to the restaurant daily. 

Everything is made in-house, the Buchanans said, from the sauces to the desserts. Including a chocolate mousse tower which is three layers of mousse, each a different form of light, fluffy chocolate, are stacked atop a graham cracker base. Topped with a berry sauce, the sweet dish offers a range of textures and flavors. 

James and Caitlin’s parents, Carol and Michael Buchanan opened the original Buchanan’s Chop House and Whisky Bar in Calgary 37 years ago. Their parents retired to Whitefish in 2005, and James took over the restaurant in Calgary officially in 2012.  

James and Caitlin eventually moved to Whitefish as well and when the Big Mountain restaurant location became available, the pair jumped on the opportunity to expand.  

“There was always such a good pedigree with this place so when it became available, we were definitely interested,” Caitlin said.  

Before the Buchanans, Andy Blanton owned the restaurant, called Cafe Kandahar, creating a legacy of fine dining in the space. Buchanan’s head chef, Steen Turner, worked at Kandahar with Blanton. 

Buchanan’s officially opened March 12 and will stay open year-round. The restaurant currently offers weekend dinner service but once the Khandar Lodge opens for lodging guests the dining room will be open six days a week for lunch and dinner, featuring patio seating as well.  

The space also boasts a speak-easy sort of bar space. 

Current hours are Thursday through Sunday, opening at 5 p.m. The restaurant is located at 3824 Big Mountain Road in the Kandahar Lodge in Whitefish.  

For more information, visit buchananswf.com. 

Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or [email protected].