"Review - Staggering Ox - 12/10/2025 For our ROMEO Club (Retired Old Men Eating Out) adventure today we celebrated our second “Second Wednesday, Second Chance” meal. You might recall that the last time we visited the Staggering Ox back on August 1st, we were disappointed because they stopped serving breakfast right as we got there. At 10:45 AM the hostess explained to us, “I don’t have anyone back there who knows how to make breakfast.” Back then, the lunch menu sandwiches were great, but we knew that sometime in the future we would want to partake of their breakfast offerings. So today they were the target of our Second Wednesday, Second Chance ROMEO Club adventure. We had agreed to start early, so I got up at the crack of 8:00 AM, and I was in Otto’s driveway by 9:00 AM. By 9:30 we were striding into the Staggering Ox with great expectations. In our previous review I mentioned how eclectic the decor is, with plenty of seating for different sized groups. In a recent social media post the owner was looking for more local artists to display their work on the restaurant walls. Entering the restaurant from the front door I remembered that In order to order breakfast you have to walk all the way to the back of the dining area to the Red Atlas coffee shop where they also offer fancy coffee drinks. The meal that we were both looking forward to is found on the Keto-friendly section of their breakfast menu. It consists of three eggs and six slices of bacon smothered under three slices of cheddar cheese. Otto substituted pepper jack cheese. We both ordered normal coffee from the self service coffee bar. You help yourself to a mug of coffee from a choice of regular or decaf, and you can dress up your drink with multiple sugar and non-sugar options and cream. As we were waiting for our food, Otto remarked, “You know, they didn’t ask how we wanted our eggs cooked.” So we both gave our opinion of how they would be cooked. I said, “Since they didn’t ask, you have to assume scrambled.” Otto thought that they would be fried, probably “over medium.” As our good-hearted debate was drawing to a close, our server arrived with our meals in a rectangular styrofoam container with plastic silverware inside a brown paper lunch bag. It turned out that Otto’s guess was closer to the truth. My eggs were pretty much over easy while Otto’s eggs were a little more done. His eggs had a lot of crispy around the edge which he considers overcooked. The color of the eggs was an unappealing gray, as if they had been cooked in the bacon grease. The melted cheddar mixed with the yellow egg yolks was unappetizing. The lack of egg options and the difference in our identical orders makes me wonder if the cook actually knows how to cook eggs. Even with salt and pepper added the flavor of the eggs was just blah. On a positive note, the thinly sliced bacon was very well cooked, nice and crispy, and not burnt. (I hate bacon that flops around like a wet lasagna noodle.) Plastic silverware and styrofoam “plates” is an automatic downgrade in score. On the positive side, we both liked the “serve yourself as much coffee as you like” service. The Staggering Ox has great sandwiches, some of the best in town, but as a breakfast place the food was only so-so. There are much better options. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"

"I ordered a Rice of the Sea. I got a half order of rice with some cheese. Nothing that should be in the order, when I called and complained, they said sorry. They also said I could come back and get another, 20 minutes before they closed...I live 30 minutes away. Doesn't work out. VERY DISAPPOINTING."

"Super funky atmosphere, and excellent eats !! Such a fun and unique place to grab lunch. Huge shout out to Keith for the delicious clubfoot sandwiches. Thanks for making our time in Helena even better !"

"The online ordering made it super simple when we were traveling through town. Having that option will increase our likelihood of using this location more when we travel. Sandwiches and quesadilla were yummy. I love the sauces."

"What an eclectic, fun spot collaborating space with atomic bar. Delicious food —win! Pros: easy parking, plenty of seating, super cute retro bathrooms which are very clean and amazing fresh made food. Cons; ? hacks: a clubfoot with chips was totally more than I could eat. Missed some photos cuz everything was so cool in this old strip mall!"