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

Blue Moon Bakery sets out a tempting array of scones, muffins, cakes, and cookies. They also serve sizeable sandwiches 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.

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.

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.

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

This warm and friendly coffee shop offers salads, sandwiches, and pasta along with its espresso drinks. Try the French toast breakfast sandwich.

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.

Aaron and Megan Hecht make superb pizzas with crispy crusts, flavorful sauces, and memorable frontier names. Folks also come for the sandwiches, pasta dishes, and the live music hosted at the adjacent saloon.

This pub-style restaurant in the heart of downtown is housed in a historic building dating back to 1882. While it's a family restaurant, it's named for the political debates you're likely to hear while dining on burgers, sandwiches, mac and cheeses, and wings. The Windbag is known for its hearty and generous helpings and, of course, its history (ask about the brothel). It also has a large selection of imported and local beer, on tap and in bottles. Choose to sit in the restaurant, the bar, or on the patio in the summer.

Westfork Meadows has several tasty eat-in or take-out spots. At Wrap Shack wraps start out the size of a pizza, and stuffed, aren't a whole lot smaller. Choose as many fillings as you can handle.

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.