The Alpine Inn is not fancy, and is in fact a little bit run-down, but it exudes old-world, small-town charm. The rooms are comfortable and clean and don't look like every other hotel room in the world. We stayed in a two-room suite with our two kids, and it was perfect. My in-laws stayed in a separate room on the same floor. It's right on Main Street, so close to everything you want to see in town, and only a 15 minute drive to Mt. Rushmore.

We did not realize after we sat down for dinner that there is only one item on the menu: steak and potato with salad and white toast. "We've been doing this for 27 years," said the waitress. (Gratefully, they had a kids' menu.)

While the price was ok, and the meal was pretty good, we later found out we couldn't pay with a credit card, only cash, no out of state checks. "But we do have an ATM," said the hostess.

Lots of hype for this restaurant with a few negative surprises left a bad taste in our mouths. A great restaurant often is more about a "feeling when you leave" than the food.

This place came recommended by the owner of the Bed & Breakfast we were staying at outside of Rapid City, SD. She warned us that during the day, the Restaurant served German Food but by night, they had an extremely limited dinner menu consisting of 2 items. Steak and steak. You can get a 6oz. filet for $8.95 or a 9oz. filet for $10.95. We called ahead of time to get a reservation and we were told that they don't do that. It's a 45 minute wait, period. We got there and it was pretty packed. It smelled pretty good too. Those are always good signs. We waited about 30-40 minuets. There is a covered deck out front that has tables and chairs and speakers so you can hear when the hostess calls your name. When we got inside, the Restaurant was still pretty busy. It had a nice atmosphere, dimmed lighting and great ambiance. When the waitress came to take our order, she asked if we were familiar with the menu (because there are only 2 items available for dinner, they do not have menus). Of course we were, as we were told before hand. However, if you did not know, it could come as somewhat of a disappointment. Anyway, we both ordered the 9oz. filet, medium. It comes with a salad with the only dressing being Ranch, which was fine. The salad comes out and all it was, was a big wedge of ice berg lettuce, doused in dressing. The dinners came and were served with a baked potato, about a 1oz. portion of sour cream with a small sprinkling of chives, in a little paper cup. Butter was in pats on the side. Then you get a piece of Melba toast cut in half and a limp piece of ice berg lettuce as a garnish. When we cut into the steaks, they were rare. We had to ask to have them fixed, since we had both ordered medium. The waitress brought out a separate plate to put our steaks on, so she could take them back to the kitchen. When they were brought back out, they were perfectly cooked. We decided to order desert, and take it to go. They do have silverware to go as well. We had the Grand Chocolate Tower, which was brownies and chocolate mousse. It was delightful. Although we weren't super impressed, the food was palatable and if in the area again, would probably return. As the title for this review states, you get what you pay for.

Their home page lists the FAX #. I found it though 605) 574-2749 and called. The person who took my reservation was polite but short. When we arrived at 12:30 it was the height of the lunch hour and the hostess was snippy. She told us to wait that our table wasn't ready. It took about 10 minutes (restroom break time).
Everything went smoothly once we were sitted and the lunch (sandwiches, soup amd salads ordered by my group) were all excellent.
If you are thinking of eating here for dinner-REMEMBER there is only one thing on the menu...STEAK!