This May, my family and I, all went to Missoula Montana for my little brother’s college graduation. After hearing about all the cool coffee shops and bakeries around the town I couldn’t wait for the grand tour. He took me to Cafe Dolce, The Catalyst, and La Petit Outre.

First up, Café Dolce. The building, specially built for the café has 2-story ceilings covered in French country designs, lots of blue/yellow. You can get an idea from the picture of my latte and palmier. The latte was decent, I’ve had much better. I’m not sure they even attempted a rosetta, it’s just sort of a blob. I was surprised to see a bag of Café Umbria beans beneath the counter. The pastries were great, they were from La Petit which I’ll cover later. They have a great patio area out back too, feels very European. On a side note, we found out a while ago, my favorite barista at Barista here in Portland use to work there. She probably had served my brother a number of times. Anyway, for where and what it is, it is a fantastic café. If I lived in Missoula I’d visit often.

Second, we visited The Catalyst. My brother’s landlord in Missoula also owns this shop. Similar to Café Dolce it has a modern feel. The Catalyst has some fantastic soups and sandwiches. It is definitely more of a local café, as opposed to a “coffee shop.” There is local artists’ work around the walls, and big glass windows view onto one of the city’s downtown streets. It has a great atmosphere.

Both of these reminded me of Sydney’s here in Portland. That more modern, clean, feeling with decent coffee but great food.

La Petite Outre is a local bakery in Missoula with fantastic breads and pastries. My brother would regularly stop for baguettes while biking home. I was able to try one of their baguettes, it was fantastic. They are larger than most I have had, but it was delicious. Trying a shot of their coffee wasn’t anything to brag about, but they are a bakery. Lots of great looking breads, delivering all over Missoula. If I was living in the area I’d make regular stops for bread.

So that’s some of the shops around Missoula. They don’t have quite the hipster scene like we do here in Portland, but they have great people trying to make great food and drinks and I would say for the most part they’re succeeding. If you’re visiting the city and are curious, here are the addresses for each shop.

Café Dolce

500 Brooks St, Missoula, MT 59801

The Catalyst

111 N Higgins Ave, Missoula, MT 59802
Get Directions

La Petit Outre

129 S 4^th St W, Missoula MT 59801