14 Best Restaurants in Helena, Bozeman, and Southwest Montana, Montana

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.

Hungry Moose serves deli sandwiches as well as basic grocery items.

Wooden booths give this cozy restaurant an old-time, casual feel. Potatoes figure heavily into the breakfast menu, in items such as the Bakery Ladies' Special: potatoes and sausage, green onions, and cheese. There are vegetarian specials on weekdays, and the lunch menu includes burgers and enchiladas. Locals order the Tibetan Toad: scrambled eggs with sausage, green onions, cheese potatoes, and toast.

All the pies, muffins, and cinnamon rolls are made on the premises at this casual, family-friendly eatery. There are a lot of choices, but trust the name and go for the buttermilk or buckwheat pancakes topped with blueberries, strawberries, peaches, coconut, walnuts, or chocolate chips. Breakfast is served all day. There's also a basic lunch menu with sandwiches and salads and box lunches to go.

Opened in 1863, Star Bakery made beer and bread for area miners. Open almost continually ever since, it's now a popular bakery managed by a schoolteacher.

No visit to Butte is complete without trying a pasty, the traditional miner's dinner of meat, potatoes, and onion baked inside a pastry shell. This bakery is one of the best of several eateries that serve these pocket-size meals; they also sell doughnuts, cookies, cakes, and breads, all cash-only. There are no tables; all items are takeout.

A deer head, often sporting sunglasses, surveys the cowboys and families that pack the counter stools and tables at this down-home breakfast and lunch spot. Peruse the local paper as you work your way through biscuits and gravy, eggs with corned-beef hash, or pork chops. There's nothing fancy outside or in, but for local color, this is it.

At Wheat Montana's Three Forks headquarters and flagship restaurant/store, you can enjoy tasty sandwiches, freshly baked bread, and pastries. You can even purchase grind-your-own flour from their Prairie Gold Whole Wheat.

Decorated with picks, shovels, and other mining equipment, this is a place for casual family-style dining. Locals come in for the steaks and seafood. Lunch and dinner are served year-round, and there's a breakfast buffet in summer.