Staggering Ox

good great grand… been so since middle school in 2000 and continues 15 years later

Fun atmosphere. Food tastes fair. Took over 30 minutes to get our sandwiches and it wasn’t very busy. When my hot sandwich came I opened it, to my disgust I found two thin slices of meat that only covered approximately two bites. I was told by the waitress that I was paying for the fresh baked bread and the experience. Two people in our party didn’t get their sauces and one of us pulled a hair out of their sandwich. This is an experience I won’t pay for again.

The Staggering Ox is pretty delicious, we eat there several times when visiting the city, but they do have some pretty strange characters working there. That fact does not take away from great tasting and original sandwiches.

I have always loved the Ox, but this time my bread was dry and crumbly and the teenagers/​20 something’s were cussing in the back and it was so loud the guy in front couldn’t hear himself think. The tables were sticky. They used to put lemons out, and twice now they didn’t have any out. I have eaten staggering ox since it was sold at the pop shoppe. Very disappointed.

I wish I could give this place a «less than one star» rating. I had the misfortune of visiting the Helena, MT Staggering OX on February 22^nd of this year. My girlfriend is from MT and had enjoyed the Missoula location while she was in college. We were driving though Helena and thought «why not, we’re hungry and it’s a sandwich place so we can be back on the road quickly with our food». Unfortunately, this was not the case.
Okay, where he to start. I guess the first red flag was when my girlfriend went into the restroom to wash her hands. There was a teenage employee that had just finished using the restroom and only ran her hands under water without washing them. Yuck.
So. we ordered two sandwiches and waited. We waited for 20 minutes before speaking with the guy at the counter (at this point, I have to say that he was the only person that seemed to care at all in that place) He checked with the people in the kitchen (one was a teenage kid with food in his mouth and the other was a guy who looked like he was a 40 year old meth head. And at this point I must apologize to most meth heads, because this guy is giving you a bad name).
About 5 minutes later the food was passed through the window to, you guessed it, the girl who had failed to wash her hands in the bathroom. The meth head slid the food across to her with such force that she had no chance to catch it before it fell about two feet onto the other counter. The girl brought the food over to us at the counter. Since I had seen the food fall, I took a look at it and my Philly steak sandwich was no longer a sandwich, it was a pile of meat with a few pieces of bread squashed together. At this point I said «No. we are not taking this and we would like our money back» a younger gentleman came over and handed me $ 8.
My girlfriend was ready to get back on the road so we just took it. A few minutes later, I called and spoke with someone about the service we received. He told me that there would be a manager named Jim at the store the next day if we wanted to speak with him. I called the next day and the person who answered said «Jim is usually here, but he left early today» I left a message. I called the next day as well and the person who answered said «Jim is not available» I left another message. What did I do next? Yep! I called for the third straight day and received the same response. I called once more about a week later and received the same response.
I did not want to resort to giving them a bad review on a site, but here we are. Jim: you run a terrible establishment and I can tell exactly why your employees act like they don’t take any pride in their work; because you don’t take any pride in it. I have managed restaurants in Alaska and Idaho. I know things go wrong sometimes, but this wrong. And with no accountability? Unacceptable. I will call the restaurant again, and again if I must.

Truly unique sandwich experience. I miss «nukes» and creamy dill sauce. The mouse trap is great also. I wish I didn’t live 1500 miles away lol

I have been in love with The Ox since my freshman year and it is one of the eateries I must visit when I visit Helena.
I have never had a bad ox sandwich. I started with the Mouse Trap and then went around the menu. My main sauce has always been Camel Spit but there are times when I would order a different sauce just to venture out of the norm but it’s rare. The sandwich come in «barrel» formed bread with the «guts» removed. They then stuff the barrel with your preferred lunch choice and either give it to you cold or warm… depending on what you order. Now, when I speak of guts, it’s the soft bread on the inside. You can also order bread guts so it doesn’t go to waste.
It’s quite roomy in there now and the décor has changed a bit but it’s still the artsy feel when you walk in. The hanging records are gone and I suspect they have been gone for a while but they share the seating area with a little quaint bar in the back that I have yet to venture to. The people at the counter are still the same happy folks who are willing to give suggestions if you are in need of one. They also told me that they would FedEx me a sandwich if I ever had a hankering. Tempting but I think they are best enjoyed when you take it home yourself :)
In all, if you live in Helena, Bozeman, or Missoula then you know the The Ox. If you have never been to the cities and are looking for a sandwich place, I suggest giving this place a try.

Dirty tables, texting teenagers and shouting in the kitchen are major deterrents to paying nine dollars for a sandwich. The quality of the food is adequate but inconsistent. It’s hard to support a local business that seems to have given up.

If you want a unique sandwich experience, then this is the place! Your first time here should be the Nuke. Then branch from there. Besides their tasty food, the bread is quite different. Shaped like a can, you will find a new and enjoyable way to dive into this one. The staff are very personable and have a uniquely playful approach to their customers which is quite refreshing compared to scripted corporate chains. You won’t go wrong eating here so get over there and eat their food!

This is a must stop every time I am in Helena. I order the 3 Mile Island. Definitely a unique sandwich.

I’ve been coming to the ox in Helena for years and all through high school. Since I’ve moved away for college I still come in to get a club foot every time I visit home. These are my absolute favorite sandwiches!

I spent many, many dollars at the Missoula Staggering Ox during my college years. Alas, while the sandwiches aren’t quite as good as I remember (they seem smaller and more expensive) they still hit the spot. Several vegetarian options, super casual 80s vibe (like, it hasn’t changed since the 80s, not hipster retro 80s), kid friendly.

Great sandwiches with a twist on the how they’re made. Never seen a sandwich made from bread that’s shaped like a drink loose before. They’re sauces are really good too. Definitely would recommend this to anyone!

I ordered the Crab Trap on Asiago Cheese. It was good. I really like their sandwiches but I have to say that their prices have gone up pretty substantially over the years. $ 8 or $ 9 for a sandwich is what I usually spend. I always bring out-​of-​town guests here because it is unique, but I rarely go here otherwise.

I was about to give this place 2 stars, but after how they treated us, I had to bump it up an extra star.
Known for its cylindrical bread container, Staggering Ox is a place to try at least once. We ordered a couple sandwiches and nachos. The sandwich had a lot of horseradish in it that we were glad that we ordered their «small» nachos. It fed our family of 5 adults and 2 kids. My mom had ordered a turkey melt, and midway she was wondering why it had pepperoni. My mom doesn’t like spicy stuff nor does she complain. We told her we should bring it back as it wasn’t the sandwich she ordered. We did and they remade her sandwich without any pushback. They also gave us a free sandwich card for our next visit. That was really going above and beyond our expectations as they already replaced the sandwich.
The interior is bizarre with hanging records. If you go further back there’s a bar. One thing is the bathroom. It had graphic pictures that I wouldn’t want my nieces seeing. Large location, but family friendly might be a stretch.

I had the Three Mile, I thought it was pretty good. The camel toe sauce is fresh, my daughter had a taco salad, it was huge.
I like a vegetarian friendly place, and the bread is awesome.

Ok food. Not much substance and a tad bit pricey. Worth trying once, but probably not worth a repeat.

I like the concept of these sandwiches but they screwed my order up which in some peoples situation may have preferred it the way they made it up but I requested it differently which ruined it for me. I’ll be back though because I do enjoy it when its correct.

I used to love eating at this place in Missoula when in College. I have now introduced my wife to the Helena spot and we have to stop every time we are visiting. She loves it!
The food and sandwiches are pretty fun with all the dipping sauces. I also like the baked potato. Not really going to get too into reviewing the food because it has been done already.
This particular spot is pretty cool because of the beer place in the back. I really like this place and will continue to come back and support… I feel bad that I have to give it such a terrible review.
The main reason I am writing this review is in hopes that the owner reads this and knocks some sense into his or her employees. Before we went here, I told my grandpa that we were going to Staggering Ox, and asked him if he wanted to go. He declined and had a negative comment about the employees… something about loud and rude.
After being in there, I understand. The employees weren’t rude and were actually pretty nice. But the side conversations that everyone can hear needs to stop. I heard about parties, drugs, running from cops, stupid pigs… etc. And these conversations weren’t happening in the back loud enough to hear… they were at the front counter. This is fine if you want the customers to be 100% high school and college students who don’t care about hearing conversations like this. But if you want families and people like my grandpa to eat here, then something needs to be done.

Hey New York, welcome to my 400^th Unilocal review: *the* sandwich place I spent a small fortune on during college. I have fond, fond memories of the Ox from the days that they were included on my meal «flex dollars» plan to the days where that was no longer the case but we came here anyway.
The Ox was on my top 5 list of places to hit during my trip back to Montana this month, and sure enough, within less than 24 hours in town I’d made it to the Ox to order my staple sandwich, «The Nuke,» with ranch on the side. The Ox offers many different varieties of breads, fillings, sauces, hot/​cold, etc etc, and even vegetarians will find choices on the menu (I know this because I would still eat here when I was a vegetarian), not to mention their signature serving method that is sure to send any first timer into a frenzy of «how on earth am I supposed to eat this?» See attached photo for a hint on that one.
I’m sad to report that prices have increased (while wages have not, right Occupy Wall Street?) ;). I remember the last time I was in Helena (about 3 years ago), the Nuke was still around $ 6.50, but yesterday it was just under $ 8. Boo. However, my order came out much quicker than I remember in years past, so that’s an added bonus. With a drink you’re easily breaking $ 10 or more. Still, I’m in Helena, MT, people… I shouldn’t be paying close to $ 10 for lunch. I moved to NYC for the opportunity to do that!