Entry No. 56 — the Missoula file — filed under: speakeasy-bar
Depot Wine Room
Beneath The Depot — one of Missoula's iconic old-school steakhouses since 1974 — sits a stone-walled basement wine cellar used as an intimate private dining room. Upstairs and down, the restaurant holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence wine list and the world's largest collection of Larry Pirnie's vibrant Western art. It's an easy spot to overlook if you only know the steakhouse, and the cellar room can be reserved for small groups.
The story
Most people walk into 201 West Railroad Street expecting a quintessential 1974 Montana steakhouse experience: choice cuts, eighteen draft beers, and walls lined with the world's largest collection of Larry Pirnie's vibrant Western art. The Depot delivers all of that upstairs, but if you stop at the main dining room, you miss what sits directly beneath the floorboards.
Beneath the restaurant floor is a subterranean, stone-walled wine cellar that houses the steakhouse's Wine Spectator Award of Excellence collection. It doubles as a secluded private dining room, trading the clamor of the upper dining room for cool stone masonry and racks of curated bottles.
What it's like
Arrive during evening service, which starts around 4:30 PM. You'll leave the chatter and bright Western paintings of the upper restaurant to head down into a quiet basement framed by rough stone walls. Because the cellar room functions as a working wine vault and private dining space, call ahead before showing up to confirm it isn't booked for a private event.
The move: Skip a regular dinner table and ask for the downstairs wine room instead, then work through a flight of bottles you'd never order anywhere else in town.
📍 Before you go Tied to the steakhouse's evening service (roughly 4:30pm onward). Call ahead to confirm the wine room is open and seatable; hours can vary.
- 📍 Downtown Missoula
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 201 W Railroad St, Missoula, MT 59802 (cellar beneath The Depot steakhouse)
Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- The Grotto — Pair your wine cellar trip with another secret underground room hidden down a concrete staircase off The Old Post's back patio.
- Double Front Cafe Basement Bar — Follow up your steakhouse cellar bottle with a drop into another classic Missoula basement bar sitting right beneath a historic fried-chicken spot.
- Charlie B's (Dinosaur Cafe) — Swap stone wine walls for a dim dive bar two blocks away lined with portrait photography and serving Cajun food.
- Montana Antique Mall — Spend the late afternoon exploring four floors of oddities in Missoula's oldest hotel building before descending into the Depot cellar for evening service.
Good to know
Where inside the restaurant is the wine room located?
It sits directly beneath The Depot steakhouse at 201 W Railroad St in Downtown Missoula, accessible via the basement cellar stairs.
When is the wine room open?
It operates during The Depot's evening service, starting around 4:30 PM (note that the restaurant is closed on Mondays).
Can I reserve the wine room for a small group?
Yes, the basement cellar can be reserved as an intimate private dining room for small gatherings by calling the venue directly.
What makes the wine selection notable?
The cellar holds a wine list recognized with a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, stored directly inside the stone basement walls.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · opentable.com · missouladowntown.com · Tripadvisor · Yelp
last checked: 2026-06-24