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We've compiled the best of the best in Helena, Bozeman, and Southwest Montana - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Located inside the historic Gold Bar in downtown Helena, Old Salt Outpost goes a lot deeper than the simple burger menu found here. The menu includes a single burger, double burger, a bratwurst, or a salad. The general lack of options is more than mitigated by the quality of the smash burgers, perhaps the best in the state.
The small, 200-person hamlet of Lima was once a bustling Union Pacific Railroad Service Center, peaking at 2,000 residents. While a lot has changed in this rural town, there's one thing that hasn't—the quality of steak at The Peat. Built in 1883, it was originally a brothel and saloon, and walking in here is a step back in time to the rowdier heyday of the gold rush. A large grill in the middle of the bar cooks your Montana beef to order, and it is considered one of the best steaks in Montana. There are still some hotel rooms in the back for hunters and folks who have a few too many drinks.
Fresh seafood, steaks, poultry, and pasta are served in this elegant restaurant that's one of southwest Montana's finest eateries. Try the scallops Provençal, sauteed with tomatoes, feta cheese, and garlic. A cafeteria-style lunch is served from 11 to 1. A rotating exhibit of paintings by local artists lines the walls.
This supper club and lounge is known for its steak and seafood. Folks come especially for the huge set meal of tenderloin typically served with salad, shrimp cocktail, breadsticks, spaghetti, salami and cheese, and ice cream. Dim lighting, white tablecloths, mirrors, and historic photos of Anaconda decorate the restaurant.
The art deco–inspired interior, often filled with live jazz music, is a hallmark of this small but spacious restaurant, which started out serving comfort food but has branched into tapas and more exotic, internationally influenced but locally sourced fare. Favorites include the creamy tomato soup with fresh rosemary and the salmon mousse crêpe (scratch-made with grilled asparagus and Parmesan crisp). Look for menu items like Montana stroganoff, bison sirloin, and a wild mushroom fettuccini.
Blue Moon Bakery sets out a tempting array of scones, muffins, cakes, and cookies. They also serve sizeable sandwiches (both cold and hot) and gourmet pizza.
This longtime local favorite for Mexican food, margaritas, specialty pizzas, and burgers is set inside a handsome historic downtown building but has a modern, rustic, real-Montana feel. Good bets from the Mexican side of the menu include pork chile verde burritos and mahi-mahi fish tacos, while the Surfing Pig (with Canadian bacon, grilled shrimp, pineapple, mozzarella, and barbecue sauce) is a favorite among the pizzas.
Your quintessential small-town establishment, this steak house is a no-frills place with simple decent steaks and shrimp, yet it's some of the best food in Deer Lodge. What it lacks in industry accolades it makes up for with local character.
At night this restaurant fills with the boisterous merrymaking of the après-ski crowd—particularly Friday night, when a throng gathers for an all-you-can-eat fish fry. The menu includes Asian soba noodles, grilled rainbow trout, and lamb burger blended with mint chimichurri. There are several local beers on tap and happy hour is from 3 pm to 6 pm, when there are special prices for drafts, wine by the class, and house cocktails.
Saddles, saddle blankets, bridles, and other cowboy and ranch paraphernalia prepare you for the certified Angus beef from the grill, perhaps in the form of a hearty Cowboy Coffee Ribeye, charbroiled with a spiced rum coffee sauce. Seared fresh mussels (from Prince Edward Island) are a local favorite. Dine on the deck in summer.
Some call it funky; all call it good food at a fair price. Named for the shape of Grandma's glasses, this small family-owned restaurant serves up a sense of humor with breakfast and lunch, including a "Purrfect Lunch" special; "Look for the Catastrophe" (scrambled eggs with taters, toast, and veggies); the "Felix" (a breakfast sandwich with prosciutto, roasted red pepper aioli, spinach, gouda cheese, and a fried egg on a torta roll); and the banana bread French toast.
This bistro-style restaurant is a pleasant surprise in an area with numerous steak houses. Among the specials are char-grilled elk loin chops, crispy duck, and a full pound of Dungeness crab.
Multiple TVs, each tuned to a different sport, line the brick walls of this friendly place. The bar claims 20 beers on tap, the better to enjoy what locals call the town's best hamburgers and other hearty pub fare. In winter opt for buffalo chili. The fish tacos, bison burger, and beer-battered fries also get rave reviews.
This beloved diner has been feeding the Butte masses, especially after church mass, since the mid-1990s. The staff is friendly, the hash browns are plentiful, and the menu is exactly what you'd expect to see in a diner. Since you're in The Mining City, opt for the popular "Motherlode" omelet.
Walk in to be greeted by friendly locals who have bellied up to the long bar with its iconic red-upholstered barstools and a small handful of tables. The short but sweet menu is full of iconic burgers and Philly cheesesteaks washed down with local brews and spirits.
Fine dining in Big Sky doesn't get any finer than here, where shareable feasts include the splurge-worthy tomahawk bone-in rib-eye steaks and braised bison short ribs. Mains include everything from wild game Bolognese to cedar-plank mushrooms. Also open for breakfast and lunch.
Hungry Moose serves deli sandwiches as well as basic grocery items.
You're a guest of honor at this cozy Italian eatery tucked into the north end of the walking mall. With only 54 seats, dinner is intimate and elegant, and this regularly ranks among the best restaurants in Helena. Start with baked fontina or fried calamari, then dine on an array of pasta dishes, New York steak, veal scallopini, or pork chop with apples. Try the Italian Sausage Cavatappi, a Lucca's original: spiral pasta, sun-dried tomatoes, shallots, and garlic in a Marsala and fresh sage cream sauce. Be sure to ask the maître d' about the impressive wine list. Limited hours and a small dining area make reservations a must.
