The smoke came first. A bartender at Social Haus lit a piece of wood on fire, dropped a glass over it, and trapped the whole thing like he was preserving evidence. By then I was already deep into the particular mood of the place, sitting in a dark green leather banquette, staring at the glass-walled fire, and realizing this wasn’t going to be one of those tasting menus where everybody speaks in hushed tones about microgreens. At Green O, the adults-only hideaway tucked into the 37,000-acre Paws Up ranch in western Montana, dinner begins with theater and then keeps finding new ways to get more interesting.
Social Haus isn’t just another resort restaurant with good lighting and a chef who knows how to plate a carrot. It’s the centerpiece meal at one of the most expensive overnight experiences in Montana, maybe the most expensive dinner in the state once you consider the whole package around it. Green O is a 12-accommodation retreat in the woods, all private “hauses,” soaking tubs, glass walls, and a level of privacy where you half expect Bono to walk out of the cabin next door. Social Haus, though, gives all that luxury a pulse. It’s not just a restaurant at a very nice retreat in the woods—it’s an experience into the finest of cooking.
