Hoot Owl Cafe

Breakfast was great and so was the service. Really liked the décor which is appropriate to the food. Some «characters» came and went while we were there.

We wandered in here by accident. Good old fashioned breakfast in huge portions. It took some time to get our meals because it was super busy. Just keep that in mind if you are super starving. Coffee needs help, but food was great. We will be back.

My favorite breakfast spot in sandpoint! It resembles a diner on the inside with breakfast that is so much better than a greasy diner! My kids love the hot chocolate and the pancakes. Probably the best pancakes I’ve ever tasted! The biscuits and gravy, omelets and pancakes are usually my top choices whenever we go! You won’t be disappointed. If there’s a line… wait…it goes quickly and is well worth it!

I was there ¹⁰⁄₆ for breakfast. CFS but shared this time. I was full enough that missing lunch was definitely not an issue. I’ll be over that way again this weekend and hope to stop in again. It’ll probably be the same breakfast as I love CFS. We were one of the first customers of the day so it was chilly but soon warmed up. Service was attentive. Good comfort food. Reasonable prices. As always 3=good in my scheme of things.

Excellent food! I had a French dip with waffle fries (very good) and my husband got the Moon Man (biscuits and gravy) it was amazing ! Huge portions and great prices.
Would definitely recommend and would definitely go back if we are ever back in town.

Great food, wonderful service and lots of humor maked a super experience. Green eggs and ham? Sure, it sounds funny, but great nuances of flavor. Eggs with pesto, fresh spinach and avocado topped with asiago cheese on a big slice of juicy ham. Yum! Hoot omlet lived up to the description — everything but the kitchen sink topped with chili. A little extra time on the hash browns to crisp them up would have made it perfect.
Service deserves a special mention. These foljs work as s team and our coffee was refilled by anyone with a pot in the area. Never got low or cool — important at 730 AM on a Saturday. We’ll be back next time we’re going through.

Awesome. Biscuts and gravy! I had the redneck and my wife had the moon man. To die for!

I had the Heathen for breakfast and it was so good! Hash browns with every vegetable that goes with them plus eggs, ham and cheese. Num!!! Get the full size and you’ll likely have breakfast again tomorrow
Friendly service and we were welcomed when we first stepped inside.

Big servings, friendly staff. Lots of kitch to look at. Definitely a locals place. Just wish they had vegetarian gravy!

A bit disappointing after being recommended as THE place to go for breakfast. Denver omelette was a huge portion, but the ham, onions, and peppers were pretty much raw inside the omelette.
Hash brown side was great.
Entire place vibrated from a truck outside. Many many flies. Décor is … Unaware that changes were made to the pledge of allegiance in 1954.

Wow! I am so glad my family and I stopped at this gem. The food is amazing. My husband had the Bomb Diddly with chili added (both visits). I had the biscuits and gravy with a side of bacon. Son had bacon cakes. My daughter had pancakes the first day and french toast the second. We were only in town for two mornings and went here both times. the portions are huge! The biscuits and gravy are just like mom made. The bacon is crisp and delicious. It is not very often that my family finds a place that we all like. This one is one of a very few. Forgot any negative reviews. Also, shout out to Susie for waiting on us both days. Excellent service with a big smile. If you don’t stop you are missing out!

Looking for a regular, greasy spoon breakfast while we were on vacation. It’s a short journey out of Sandpoint and into Ponderay to get here (only takes a few minutes).
The food is really good and the portion sizes can be on the larger side. We did a split order of biscuits and gravy for two of my boys and the plates were still so large they had no hope of finishing. The corned beef hash wasn’t too salty and proved extremely filling. The coffee was the only thing that wasn’t awesome but, I kind of expected typical diner coffee anyway.
Staff was very friendly and we had a long conversation with one of the women who works here since we were visiting from Oregon and she had lived here at some point as well. We’ll be back in the future!

WOW!
The biscuits and gravy where excellent!
I got the full order and am ready for a nap!
This is great home style breakfast!
Loved it!

My gf and I decided to spontaneously road trip down to Idaho just because we both wanted to get away for a few days. We hit the main street and were welcomed by the locals. One of the locals we were with was became our tour guide and recommended some places to eat. «If you want some great comfort food that is not healthy with big portions, head to the Hoot Owl» so the next morning, we decided to give them a try.
Located just outside Sandpoint in the city of Ponderay — it is less than a 5 minute drive from Sandpoint. We googled mapped Hoot Owl but anything in or around Sandpoint, you’ll easily find. We pulled in the parking lot which was pretty full and walked into the log café. Hoot Owl Café is the definition of Ma and Pa café and who doesn’t love Ma and Pa’s?!! There were so many neat decorations with small trinkets everywhere!
We were seated in a booth, handed waters right away. We glanced at the menu but I knew what I wanted because of the reviews I had read — Red Neck Benedict which is a biscuit topped with eggs, patty sausages, sprinkled with cheese and topped with a whole lot of gravy. They offer full of half orders so when I was ordering, I asked if a half order of the red neck benedict was enough and she said «I think so» so that’s what I went with. Alyssa went with the Loyel’s Vegan Potatoes which is shredded hash browns, peppers, onions, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms tomatoes and spinach — she added bacon and an avocado and it also came with a side of salsa and sour cream. She got a full order because she forgot to say half. There were some trivia cards on the table, so we started playing that while we waited which was interesting and fun!
I think when our waitress told me «I think so» she actually meant — DEFINITLEY because when my half order arrived, it looked like a full order and there was gravy galore… MMM no complaints here! My benedict looked exactly how they explain it, pile of gravy on top of everything. I cut right into the biscuit and you can see the egg, sausage and cheese — dip it even more in the gravy and you’re gold! It was delicious. The biscuit is moist and tasty and the gravy just added that greasy comfort level. Alyssa’s meal looked much more ‘healthier’ than mine… I think it was the avocado that made it look healthy but it was carbs on carbs with some vegetables after all. Alyssa really enjoyed her meal and even had a small containers of leftovers to munch on later.
The service was good and friendly, waters were always full. No complaints! Overall, Hoot Owl Café is no fancy joint but it’s the joint you want to hit up for comfort/​hangover food. We were looking for delicious comfort food and this was the place to be and from looking at the full house, it seemed that it is the place to be. I would recommend The Hoot Owl if you’re in the Sandpoint area — it’s worth the short drive!

This place is amazing. My family went on a road trip Sandpoint area and found out about this place from the local paper. This little ‘hole in the wall’ primarily specializes in breakfast but has a small lunch menu too that says its served anytime. I had the privilege of eating hear more than once during my stay (as we found it the first morning of our stay and just kept going back), and there were so many awesome favorites on this menu you should really go more than once. I had the hash browns supreme one morning followed up with the short stack the next and lastly with the ‘big Earl’ (this crazy breakfast sandwich that had this homemade ranch dressing and hash browns on it). The food was an excellent value and the service was fast and very friendly. Be aware that on the weekends they get busy so you might have to wait. If you are in the area and it between 5am-​2pm it would be a crime not to stop by!

My fiancé and I went here after a weekend camping up by Bonners ferry. It was delicious and hearty food that was creative. I had the bomb diddly on letter and it had jalapeño, pineapples, and sour cream in it. My fiancé got half orders of the red neck Benedict and half order of the Supreme hashbrowns. Both were also amazing. Great place, friendly staff, and I highly recommend it if you are in the area.

Loved this diner! Chicken Fried Steak was on point and we loved the waitress that took care of us… she was a true HOOT! Highly recommend.

A no-​nonsense bad for you but awesome as well — hometown mom and pop breakfast place. Food and fine, price is fine, service is fine. No problems here.

Food was good. Prices great. Service is fast and extremely friendly. Would come back again next time I’m in the area!

I love the Hoot Owl!!! I went there twice in a week, first had the large chicken-​fried steak (enough for two meals), which was crisp and delicious and smothered with amazing gravy. The hash browns were perfectly done and the wheat toast was this delicious dark bread full of grains (see? That’s a healthy breakfast).
Second time I had the bacon, mushroom and Swiss omelette. Fresh mushrooms, cut thick enough to have a great texture and cooked just right so they were juicy.
I can’t wait to get back to Idaho, so I can eat my way through the menu!