Thirsty Turtle Burgers & BBQ

If you are traveling through Montana on I 90 take the short detour to this place. The service is amazing, Manda, our server was spot on the entire time. The service and the atmosphere is enough to stop, but then the food puts it over the top. The food was fresh well prepared and original. The Fried Chicken Steak Sammie, a grilled cheese with Chicken Fried Steak as the center protein was amazing. The only downside to it was the gravy makes it messy to eat and hard to take the leftovers to go.
The exterior is a little off putting but fits the town and the venue. The other concern is the strict no variation from the menu. If you have picky eaters this isn’t the place for them.
Last but definitely least is the love of signs. They are signs everywhere. It is neat and endearing and actually helpful. My favorite was the pool table directions, I actually checked the cues and they were still perfectly straight so the five bucks for dropping them makes sense.

Exactly like Moms kitchen. Great food, great staff and good prices. A must stop for me coming from Shepherd going to Bozeman.. respect the rules and wait for a seat. Don't come here and ask to change up the menu. Come to the thirsty turtle and let them handle it from there. Enjoy and highly recommend.

The food was so delicious and best part was it was served like less 15 minutes . It was quick! And we were so happy as we skip lunch for church and so we came in about 3 o’clock and we were so hungry. The waitress was so pleasant and very friendly . We will make up for the tip next time . As we didn’t realized until we were done with food that they won’t take American Express card . So it’s important to note that in case that is the only card you have in your hand . We got lucky we had enough cash to pay for the food 😊.

My partner and I stopped by as we were passing through Big Timber and saw this “bbq” place and being from Texas we had to test it out.. To sum it up it was some of the best food we’ve had in Montana in our 2 years of living here. The ranch and Cajun ranch are to die for and everything is made with love and you can taste it!! Will definitely be telling all my friends about this place!

Great local place with big hospitality, just follow rules; no changes and no substitutions! Prices are modest with delicious cooked to order meals for the heartiest of appetites. Amanda is all over the place without dropping a single plate so he kind and help out kinda of like going home for supper

Nice little spot to eat some real food after traveling from North Carolima to Washington state. Found it on Google maps and thought food looked good.
Pretty slow day but could be attributed to it being Thursday. Quick seating, service, and check made for a speedy return to the road.
The pork briquette was great, along with the accompanying BBQ sauce. There was only one staff member fulfilling the role of host, server, and bartender, but she did a good job in handling our orders and the subsequent customers' orders as they came in. Even when the phone kept ringing she managed quite well. If I travel this way again, I will make sure to stop and grab something to eat if open.

Excellent food, served so fast, kid friendly, cozy atmosphere, and stellar service. Wonderful place to eat with great prices and good drinks. I only went here once, but if we visit again, we will be going there again for sure.

We visited on a Wednesday around 4pm. It was not busy at all. The staff was very kind and attentive. You could almost miss this little place driving by. When you first walk in there is a large sign to wait to be seated. This was our second time visiting this establishment (I forgot to take a picture the first time we visited). However, The first time we visited it was during the dinner rush- they were extremely short staffed but the service did not lack at all. I was very impressed with their speed and polite service even though they were under enormous pressure with all their tables full. The food is full of flavor and quickly prepared. Portion sizes were right on queue.

Always excellent food and service. I am a little sad that I can't eat anything fried as I have a fish allergy, but they are very accommodating. My husband loved the fries!

I loved the vibe. Kid friendly. Expect to pay around $12 a meal. Lots of fun choices on the menu. I think the name of the burger I ordered was "The Farm" as it had ham, egg, bacon, burger, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, & pickles. The Onion Rings were done right. And they even had spicy ranch to boot!

Great spot for food in big timber. Big menu with big portions. Great service. I'm not sure why I waited so long to try it.

Menu was awesome. Our waitress was efficient and multiple checked on us. Food was great. There’s another bar we ate at the following day kiddy corner from thirsty turtle that had better reviews but honestly, the menu wasn’t anywhere near the thirsty turtles. Good, but 90% of the time going forward I’ll pick thirsty turtle over the other nearby bar. More dimensional food items, hard to describe.

After SEVERAL days of driving. Dozens of stops and restaurants. This place was the absolute best stop we’ve made. Very delicious food! Thank you!!!

Great beer, great burgers, great tempura chicken!
On our way from
Mountain View, CA to Billings, MT, we stopped off in Big Timber for a bite. They have an outdoor patio that is perfect for minimizing Covid (we were headed to out grandkids, including a 2 yo boy and a 3 month old girl). My wife really enjoyed her cheeseburger & fries, I loved the tempura chicken & fries (with Ranch), and we both loved the draft Amber, and the conversation with the lovely Montana couple sitting "next" to us. The service is lovely, as well. 1st class eats in Big Timber!

Stopped here on our way from Florida to Alaska, and very happy we couldn't find a place to stay in Billings as we passed thru, taking us here.

If you take into account that the entire damned country is short staffed, and that you should expect a bit of a wait, you will realize that you've just walked into a hidden gem of an eatery.

The waitress was prompt to sit us, explained there may be a wait, and took our orders quickly.

Looking over the menu, we wished that we could sample more than one dish, they offer quite a few tempting options.

I opted for the Grizzly burger (Alaska bound, remember??), and wasn't disappointed. From the sample on the burger, the BBQ is top notch. I've done my share of low and slow, and this place has it down.

Wife also suitibly pleased with her choice, the Rustic grilled cheese (3 cheese, bacon, avocado, and tomato on sourdough) and a Big Sky IPA. Then a second Big Sky IPA. 😉

We then decided we couldn't do better later, so ordered more food to go. How's THAT for happy customers??

If I had ANY complaints, it would be that Rick Astley came up on the music rotation. I hate getting Rick-rolled 🙄

Be patient. It's worth it. If you aren't patient, go-to taco bell, Karen. And stop harassing the staff! THEY showed up....

Great food! Very good service and the wait time was nonexistent. The Cajun Sauce goes great with the food.

Great food. Nice service. Covid safety friendly. Big portions for the price. Ordered Lumberjack with sweet potato fries. Fries a wee bit over done but otherwise whole meal, including Huckleberry Lemonade, was delicious! My sisters burger was huge and waffles fries were great! House bbq sauce is da bomb and left on table to serve yourself freely. Montana/50's style atmosphere. Will definitely dine here again when passing through

The food was outstanding! Fresh ingredients, large portions and delicious. I had the Pear-A-Dise sandwich. Grilled pears, ham, smoked Gouda and a raspberry sauce on the best grilled sourdough bread. So flavorful. Family members loved their burgers and homemade chips. The green Chile chicken soup hit the spot. Service was outstanding. Yes, like many they could use more staff, ( seems many don’t want to work for a living these days) but the team really was hustling with a smile. If we pass by this area again on a road trip from Arizona, we will be back. Thank you for a truly enjoyable experience. Wishing you continued success with your restaurant.

Great atmosphere. AMAZING FOOD!!! Very clean. I come out of my way to come here. Waide and Tiffany are amazing!!!

It’s always exciting to stumble on a great burger joint. Burgers are fantastic, but the fries are good enough to die for. Mixed drinks are well balanced and kids meals are an ideal portion. Will stop again when our travels bring us back through Big Timber.