The Rathskeller — Restaurant in Helena

I went to the Rathskeller for the first time last night with a friend who is a member of the Montana Club upstairs. When we walked in around 7:00, web.jam was playing and they were fantastic—the music and the vibe made me immediately think this was the kind of place I’d want to come back to. Unfortunately, the server, Kerrie (I believe that was her name, as that was what appeared on the receipt), completely changed my mind.

It took about 15 minutes for Kerrie to come over, and she already seemed annoyed that we had moved from a table to the center bar. We ordered drinks, which didn’t arrive for another 20 minutes. Mine was completely undrinkable—the ingredients tasted off. My friend tried it and agreed. When Kerrie finally returned about 30 minutes later, I explained that the drink was bad, but I made it clear it wasn’t her fault. I told her I’d still pay for it, but I wanted to order something completely different. Another 30 minutes passed before the replacement drink arrived. That one was excellent, but it ended up being the only positive part of the service all night.

Over the course of two and a half hours (7:00–9:30), here’s what actually happened: one bad drink, one good drink, a bill—and screamed at by the server. When I asked for the check, it took her another 30 minutes to bring it, and when she finally did, she slammed the bill inside the glass down hard in front of me. This wasn’t just her being quick—it was deliberate and aggressive. When I said “excuse me?” she started yelling, “I’m the only one here!” Meanwhile, just before this, she had walked up to another table that yelled once to thank the band and told them “no screaming.” The whole bar looked at her like, they hadn’t done anything wrong. Even after slamming the bill, it still took her another 20 minutes to take my card and bring the receipt.

The Rathskeller has so much going for it—great music, cool vibe, fantastic atmosphere. But the service, at least with Kerrie, was truly awful and could ruin what should otherwise be a really fun place. Based on other reviews, this seems to be a recurring issue, with management saying “we’re working on it.” If this is their idea of improvement, I can’t imagine what it was like before.

I’m writing in such detail because other reviews about bad service were vague—maybe being specific will help the owners actually fix the problem. If the service ever improves, I’d come back in a heartbeat. As it stands, this was a one-and-done for me.

Vibe/Atmosphere: 5/5 Service: 1/5 Overall: ⭐☆☆☆☆ (the one star is solely for the service; everything...

On July 21, 2025, my wife and I had the pleasure of drinks and dining at The Rathskeller. We’ve experienced fine food in metropolitan areas both domestically and internationally so we’re always eager to try out new culinary experiences in any city. We were thoroughly impressed with the environment, service, food and drink selections.

The newly renovated Rathskeller was tastefully restored and updated with some modern finishes. More importantly, it had a relaxed and positive vibe which encouraged us to want to spend more time there.

We enjoyed the mocktails (The Cat’s Meow, Strawberry Thai Basil Rickey and Teatotaler). Each had their distinctive flavor which went well with our appetizers. I understand there will be 10 more mocktails added to the menu soon!

We started with the House Made Pretzels with German style beer cheese and the Chaat (flatbread with a green chutney) and moved on to the Deviled Eggs (with wasabi yolks and tobiko) and Huckleberry BBQ Pork Sliders. Each was an exquisite and fun adventure for the palette. Every dish was a great combination of local influences with exotic flavors which worked well together.

Hats off to Ajital Pannu and his entire team at The Montana Club and The Rathskeller. We look forward to dining at The Montana Club and checking out the Tea Room in the near future. You’re off to a grand start with this historic building.

Definitely a ‘No Not Miss’ place in downtown Helena to bring friends and family looking for an elevated...

I want to like The Rathskeller. It's in a lovely historic building and I like the recent improvements that they have made to the bar and the increase in live music. However, the service has always been terrible and still is. We were there on a Tuesday evening and it was not busy, but the single server never did wait on us. The bar staff acted as if it was an imposition to wait on me, the drink selections were limited, and the price was considerably higher than any bars in Helena. I give it a try every time they reopen and it's always a disappointment. This place has so much potential and, with some attention to customer service, it would be...