"Review - Motherlode - 11/12/2025 For today’s ROMEO (Retired Old Men Eating Out) Club adventure we visited a restaurant that we’ve visited before. We were on a search for a good breakfast and we were starting out early enough that we were confident that breakfast was still being served. (That gets to be a problem around 11:00 am.) We decided to head out to the Motherlode. The last time we were here neither of us were overly impressed by the food. Otto had given them a “not coming back” rating. But today we decided to give them a second chance. As we entered the restaurant side of this restaurant-casino we were cheerfully greeted by the waitress, who invited us to “Come on in and sit at any available table.” We chose a small, two-person table that was placed along the wall. A radio station was softly playing country music in the background. The all-wood interior was tastefully decorated in fall decor. Standard diner-style tables and chairs provided plenty of seating. Our waitress provided us a detailed description of the daily special which was a breakfast burrito with lots of ingredients. Otto said, “I’ll take that.” Then, to me he said, “with all of those ingredients it ought to be good.” I opted for the biscuits and gravy because someone commented online about “the nice, thick gravy.” We had two gals waiting on our table. Both brought coffee refills and both checked in to make sure everything was good. Looking around the dining area, we could tell that a lot of the folks here were regulars who didn’t need to look at the menus. The girls were addressing them by name. One of the waitresses literally ran to the door to hold it for an older gentleman with a walker. Coffee refills were frequent. The coffee was good. I would guess that it was a medium roast; mild, but flavorful. Normally, when I have biscuits and gravy with hash browns I sprinkle Tabasco on the gravy and ketchup on the “hashies.” But this time neither condiment was required. The gravy was thick and had good spice to it, but was lacking in meat. The biscuits had a nice firm texture, perfect for supporting the thick gravy. The lightly toasted hash browns were nice and crispy without being burnt. Although our meals were very reasonably priced, we both felt like a healthy dose of meat would have greatly enhanced the “meal enjoyment factor.” Otto quietly remarked, “I only found three pieces of ham in my burrito. It was mostly eggs and vegetables and not a lot of meat. I wouldn’t order this meal again.” I personally feel that biscuits and gravy with no sausage in the gravy is not really “biscuits and gravy.” If I had to guess, I’d say that the gravy came out of a can and the biscuits came out of a tube. Reviewing this restaurant is very difficult, because I feel that they have a lot of potential. We possibly just need to order the right items from the menu. On the table next to ours a man had four eggs, over medium, with a pile of bacon on the side. If we want a healthy dose of meat, then we should specify that when we order. Regardless, the Motherlode far exceeded our expectations from our previous visit. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"

"A place that feels and tastes like home. We love coming here, the service is ALWAYS friendly and I will stand by that they have the best burgers and onion rings in town. This is where we go to celebrate everyday wins, find comfort after a hard day, or are gathering with friends. Reasonable prices and generous portions have me hoping this place stays a staple to Helena for years to come ❤️🤌🏻🍔"

"This was the worse service we ever had at The Motherlode. We ordered salad which usually is served before the meal , no this waitress brings after the main meal. I have never seen her here before, but they need to do better with her training. We usually give an establishments 2 strike rule, and we have been coming here for over 20 years almost every week. However, we are pretty sure we will not return here for a long time. We would rather drive out of town to Missoula or Bozeman to get better service. Do better Motherlode. We know you can from past experiences."

"I did not have any food so I did not rate it. The service was outstanding. Danny was an all-star. Busting his ass as they were short-handed and he held it down until help arrived. He service didn't stop once help arrived. He continued to provide amazing service to anyone and everyone that showed up. Now, I do have one complaint and its the reason for the 3 stars in atmosphere. They have a TouchTunes and I love TouchTunes and it's the original reason I came here. But the "regular" patrons did not like my choice of music and asked for the music to be turned down that I paid for. I would think that if you have a TouchTunes and someone pays for the music that the volume should stay where it was set until the "paid for" music is over. Other than the music volume issue I enjoyed my time there."

"I had to give a star for service, otherwise there wouldn’t be a star. We had the worst service we’ve ever had in our 70+ years! After sitting there waiting for our food for well over an hour (they were not busy) and saw 2 other tables that came in at least 15 minutes after we did get their food, I flagged down the waiter. I asked where our food was and he rudely said, as he pointed to another table, that we came in way after they did. The other two at my table immediately said ‘Oh no they didn’t!’. Our waiter brought out our food finally and then totally ignored us. The little gal that was filling coffees started to come toward our table and he told her he just gave us coffee. Both of us that were drinking coffee had empty cups. The other person with us didn’t ever get her soda refilled. He made one of the other wait staff bring our bill to us. We will not ever go back and will be sure to relay our service to our many friends! Do better Motherlode 😞"