Entry No. 12 — the Missoula file — filed under: speakeasy-bar
Double Front Cafe Basement Bar
Upstairs is a beloved Missoula fried-chicken cafe (the building dates to 1909, with chicken on the menu since the 1930s and the same family running it for 60-plus years), but the full bar is downstairs in the basement, and locals call it one of Missoula's best-kept secrets. It opens mid-afternoon, around 3pm, and is where a lot of nights out quietly begin before people surface back onto Alder Street. The vibe is unpretentious old-Missoula rather than designed-speakeasy, which is exactly why regulars guard it.
The story
Upstairs, the Double Front is a known quantity: a Missoula landmark frying chicken at 122 West Alder Street since the 1930s, housed in a brick structure dating to 1909. The Herndon family has run the oil-and-flour operation for more than sixty years, serving hand-battered pieces to generations of Montanans. But if you walk in, grab a booth on the ground floor, and leave after dinner, you missed the real move—and locals aren't in any rush to correct you.
Below the grease and noise of the dining room lies a subterranean full-service bar that opens mid-afternoon around 3 p.m. This isn't a modern, pre-packaged speakeasy with fake passwords or velvet ropes; it's a genuine old-school basement dive. Down here, the atmosphere belongs strictly to old Missoula—a dim, unpretentious lounge buried underground where nights quietly begin before anyone on Alder Street notices.
What it's like
You slip past the main counter upstairs and take the stairs straight down into cool, low-lit dive territory. The smell of fried chicken fades into the damp shadow of an old downtown basement bar. Expect a full-pour drink menu—beer, wine, and hard liquor—and a crowd of in-the-know regulars nursing mid-afternoon drinks. Grab a plate of hand-battered chicken upstairs, disappear down to the basement, and post up in a corner well before the dinner rush hits above.
The move: Order the hand-battered chicken upstairs, then disappear down to the basement bar for cocktails where most tourists never think to look.
📍 Before you go Basement bar opens around 3pm to close; it's a downstairs lounge, so not obvious from the main cafe entrance.
- 📍 Missoula (Downtown)
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 122 W Alder St, Missoula, MT 59802
Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- The Grotto — Double down on underground Missoula drinking spots by taking the hidden concrete stairs down to The Grotto right after your basement round at Double Front.
- Charlie B's (Dinosaur Cafe) — Keep the authentic dive tour going by heading a block over to drink beneath Lee Nye's portrait-covered walls at Charlie B's.
- Depot Wine Room — Contrast Double Front's low-key basement dive vibe with a quiet drink in the stone-walled cellar under The Depot.
- Montana Antique Mall — Pick through four floors of junk and history in Missoula's oldest downtown building before ducking into the Double Front basement at 3 p.m.
Good to know
How do you get to the basement bar?
Enter the Double Front Cafe at 122 W Alder St and look for the internal stairwell leading down into the subterranean lounge.
What are the hours for the basement lounge?
The basement bar generally opens around 3 p.m. and stays open through the evening.
Is it a full bar downstairs?
Yes, the basement lounge serves beer, wine, and hard liquor.
Can you bring chicken from upstairs down into the bar?
Yes, you can order the hand-battered fried chicken from the cafe and head downstairs to eat it with a drink.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Yelp · nbcmontana.com · Reddit
last checked: 2026-06-24