The Star Hotel – Hospitality at its Best!

Part of the fun of traveling the U.S. is experiencing new restaurants. Part of deciding where we will spend the night is determining where we will go for dinner. When possible, we’re trying to avoid chain restaurants and check out local institutions. In Elko, we were able to do just that, visiting the Star Hotel and Bar. OMG! What an amazing experience!!

The Star Hotel was created in 1910 to provide a familiar place for Basque sheepherders to spend their winter months while they were in between shepherding jobs. It began with 11 rooms, one bathroom and wood heat. You could get room and board for $1.00, and, get this, 8-10 drinks at the bar for $1.00. It has a great story, including having served its community as a dance hall, a matchmaking location, a place for expectant women to come in from remote shepherd villages to stay and deliver their babies, a hospital….always providing that famous Basque hospitality.

The current owner has been in place for 14 years and continues many of the traditions created by the original owners, including hosting the annual Sheepherders’ Ball. He and his girlfriend tend the bar and provide amazing service and some really generous pours. The restaurant was filled with hunters and kids dressed for prom, and it was packed. We had to wait 45 minutes for a table and it was totally worth it. Meals are served family style, with strangers siting elbow-to-elbow, and the staff work their tails off, but seem so happy to be here! If you come, bring your appetite. All dinners include soup, salad, homemade bread, green beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans and French fries. And the Star Hotel’s idea of petite? Their smallest steak is 14 ounces!!! Ken ordered an amazing prime rib and got 16 full ounces of deliciousness.

If life brings you this way, don’t miss The Star Hotel!