MacKenzie River Pizza Co. — Restaurant in Billings

Update: This is such a consistently good restaurant that I have to keep updating. Another great experience with takeout tonight (the host on 11.06 dinner was superb!), and omg that potato pizza (my fave kind, hard to find!) is soooo good. They also offer whole anchovies for the Caesar & you get quite a generous portion (lol I’m guessing the prep people maybe don’t know how strong they are but I’ll take extra ty!) with no up charge. And the host grabbed me a chicken tortilla soup & extra sour cream & let me add in to my takeout order. Also it’s perfect for groups, there’s lots of classic Montana faves but also classic global signature dishes (their Thai pizza popularized Thai peanut as a flavor in billings, imho), and more unusual options like the fully loaded pizza special or the seasonal flatbreads. And whoever creates recipes knows exactly how to use blue cheese so it doesn’t overwhelm - it’s hard to find places that aren’t ultra fancy that know what kind of bleu to use & how to make it delicious & complex, not bitter & funky. I think I’ve eaten more meals at MRPC than any other restaurant in billings (except maybe Taco Bell in my youth lol). Anyway thx for another great meal (actually I’ll get three out of it!) & for being reliable AND creative. Recent price increases were very low compared to other restaurants that don’t even use the same quality of ingredients.

Summer ‘24: Very affordable these days! It’s a longtime family fave for interesting comfort food & accommodating the picky eaters, but honestly, I was pleasantly surprised that prices haven’t increased much lately. I got a small Cobb salad, absolutely loaded with premium toppings, for under $12, and a fast food salad with chicken is $9-10 at some places, with a lot more lettuce and cheaper toppings. I won’t be shocked if a new menu and new prices come out this summer, but til things change, I’ll be ordering more frequently. I am a light eater, I got a salad & flatbread, enough for 3 meals (2 for the average person I’d think) for around $24 and got plenty of protein and fresh produce. Also that chicken bbq Apple Gouda flatbread is delicious! I usually get the pear but didn’t want 2 things w blue cheese, the apple one is just as good. Great takeout service, short wait time, very...

Tonight we were unfortunate enough to experience some of the worst service we've ever had at McKenzie River. It began with four drinks, three straws and a hollow promise to bring another. Tea turned out to not be to husband's liking so he requested a soda instead; the rejected tea remained perched on the edge of our table for our entire visit. When pizzas arrived server grabbed the empty plate from the lodgepoles, utterly ignored our completely empty drink glasses, and then never returned. After several minutes we decided the only way we would get any refills was to walk the empty glasses across the dining room to the manager and ask, which is exactly what we did. Server returned when we finished eating and we requested two boxes and the bill. Credit card was at the ready on the edge of the table however boxes were delivered with ticket perched on top. Husband reaches for the black ticket folder to hand back with card but server has quickly left and, once again, does not return. We put leftover pizza in boxes... and we wait. We put on our jackets... and we wait. Husband sends everyone to the car in hopes it will serve as an indicator that we are ready to get going. This seems to work. As I exited the dining room I heard a waiter I recognized, Jacob, asking his table how their meal was and inquired if there was anything else they needed that he could get. This was a courtesy we were never afforded. In fact, our server never even introduced herself, but our hostess told us who our server would be. Sadly for us, it seems it was our 'destiny' to have a poor experience for dinner...

I ordered online and requested curbside delivery at a specified time. I received an email confirmation of the order and was instructed to click the "I'm Here" button in the confirmation email when I arrived. So, I arrived at the proper time and parked in the designated curbside delivery spaces, which were right in front of the door. I clicked the "I'm Here" button to let them know I was there. I then received another confirmation that they knew I was there and would be right out with my order. But after 5 minutes, no one had showed up. Finally, after 20 minutes and 4 clicks later, I called the store. I was then told that their system doesn't inform them when a customer clicks the "I'm Here" button, and that I'm supposed to either call or come in to let them know I'm here to pick up the order. Great. Nothing in the confirmation email told me to do that. I wasn't about to go inside because I had just come from work and was filthy dirty and not appropriately dressed. I should have called I guess, but I thought I had let them know already that I was there by clicking the stupid button. Anyway, the pizza was stone cold by the time I finally received it. I later called the manager who confirmed that the "I'm Here" button doesn't work and that they probably need to do a better job of monitoring the curbside delivery spots. I was, however, refunded the cost...