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    Central

    4.3 (615 reviews)
    Closed Closed

    Services - Central

    Bartending services

    Event lighting services

    Post-event cleaning services

    Central Photos

    Business Info

    CENTRAL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - Central

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    Reviews With Photos

    Dessert flight!
    Therese B.

    Crab fried rice was delish. And we couldn't resist the dessert flight after an enthusiastic endorsement from a waitress for the mile high pie . Great service and a fun atmosphere- lovely find after a hot day at the Legacy Sites sculpture park.

    steak tartare
    Steven G.

    Downtown Montgomery towards the river. Ambiance/Cleanliness-Smartly appointed, interesting lighting, hipster meets old money vibe, very clean, welcoming. 4 stars Service-Arris was on point, and a real gem of a person. We were quickly seated without advance reservations at a lovely booth and given solid advice on the food, which was brought out at a fine pace and presented well. 4 stars. Food-was quite good. We started with steak tartare, cubed, rather than minced, top quality meat, light, yet flavorful. The buttermilk creme fraiche was airy, yet substantial. She had the curried short rib, cooked perfectly, exotic flavor, not overpowering. I had the teres major which was also well executed...but if i had a choice,the elote style corn pudding would have been denser and more heavily seasoned. We had the Marquise, a rich, but forgettable chocolate dessert. 4 stars

    Jake's Mile High Lemon Meringue Pie
    Clark C.

    Likely the best restaurant in Montgomery, AL. Not much competition for that title but worth noting. My wife had the venison entree and I had the duck breast entree (both dishes were among the best we've ever had for their respective proteins). The service, the Beet salad, cocktails and dessert (mile high lemon meringue pie) were also excellent. The setting/ambience is also great... a former warehouse with high ceilings and a nice noise level. Highly recommend.

    Rustic and elegant
    Pat C.

    Central, by Chef Jason McGarry, offers amazing food in a rustic yet elegant environment. It's a large place with several private dining areas perfect for any affair. The open kitchen reminds me of Emeril's style. I was by myself so I elected to sit at the bar among a business owner and a doctor. Service is attentive and friendly. The wine list and cocktail menu are robust. The dinner menu is definitely unique. I had to look a number of items up on Google. I started with a fruity yet dry French Beaujolais. It was bright and delicious and the pour was extremely generous for only $12 a glass. Next I tried the boudin croquettes. They were flavorful and spicy with a good creole finish. They were artfully presented with greens and a mustard sauce. My entree was a nightly special, the red snapper. The fish was crusty outside and moist and flaky inside. It sat on a bed of rice, collard greens and diced vegetables. It was perfect! The asparagus side item was grilled expertly, crunchy and tender. I had several beaujolais while I savored the smells from the open kitchen and talked to my polite Jamaican servers. This is an enchanting place.

    Strawberry Doughnut
    Megan R.

    Top 5 best meals I've ever had! Dining here is an experience! Service was great & so was the food. Desserts were mind-blowing! No notes!!!

    Oyster sliders
    Kelly S.

    Made rez 30min before opening and was able to get a rez for 8. I had: 1) oyster sliders - 3/5. Good flavor and crunch, but light on the oyster. 2) grilled octopus - 4/5. It was pretty tender and well-seasoned, but I didn't like the orange sauce and didn't need the greens under it. Woulda given it a 3, but gave it an extra star for the portion. Large enough to be an entree. 3) squash/crab/green apple soup - 4/5. Good amount of crab meat. It was pretty sweet so adding the chunks of green apple felt unnecessary, especially in light of added curry, too. Too many flavors going on. 4) endive salad - 5/5. With the candied almonds and apples, this was my favorite dish! Would go back just for this. Good service. Would return if in town.

    The duck breast, from savory to sweet.
    Chris R.

    Food was high quality and the chefs did an excellent job with the flavor combinations. Service was professional, knowledgeable of the menu and friendly. Chris the chef knows his stuff while running the kitchen he was also able to give our table his recommended favorites and a brief explanation of the flavoring! You can't go wrong at Central the cocktail selection has something for everyone.

    Duck wonton appetizer!
    Jeremy B.

    A great spot for an elegant dining experience. We tried quite a few dishes and enjoyed them all. We started with the salmon croquettes appetizer and iceberg wedge salad. Those salmon croquettes are flavored perfectly. My main course was the Olive roasted rack of Lamb, nothing like a rack of lamb. You won't leave any meat on the bone. The Gochujang rubbed lamb ribs pack some interesting flavor with a spicy kick. Exactly what I was looking for. We couldn't resist the desserts, so we devoured the ohh so delicious strawberry donuts dish and the Jake's Mile high lemon meringue pie. Those strawberry donuts are perfectly crispy on the outside with a warm middle, reminds me of poundcake. I'm addicted for sure. Even my teenagers enjoyed the rack of lamb.

    Ribeye, Roasted Brussels with bacon & honey, sweet potato
    Vivi B.

    Absolutely amazing! The best ribeye I've ever had! It was seasoned perfectly with a nice char on the fatty part and cooked to perfection a true medium rare steak. Nigel gave us recommendations, we were in between short rib or steak. He described the Roasted Brussels with bacon & honey perfectly. Nigel was outstanding told us about all the other must check out spots. Everyone was very personable, definitely a must stop if I'm back in the area.

    Navy bean ravioli
    Stuart O.

    I've been here for dinner maybe a half dozen times and normally both the food and service are stellar, worthy of 5 stars. This time we came on a Wed night and when we arrived they weren't at all busy. Got seated and served water right away - all good. We quickly decided on a wine from their wine down Wednesday menu and ordered. The server seemed confused and made several trips back to talk to his "manager", and then came out 20 min after ordering and said the Zin we ordered was out but his manager had a substitute for us. She came out maybe 5 min later and offered us another reasonable Zin for the same price. It was nothing stellar but acceptable. So we started enjoying our wine 30 min after being seated and decided we'd better order our food quickly or we might never see it. We ordered a starter and a salad to split, and told him we'd also split the entree after our starters. He must've put a rush on the food because the starters seemed to come out in just a few min. Sadly, one min later here comes our entree when we had just started our salad. The food was delicious as always but the evening was diminished by the chaotic service. We also asked for some bread, but all they had were crostini's- which was ok but with heavy fare (short ribs) you could expect to have a nice roll or baguette to accompany the entree and salad. I'll give central another chance but this was really surprising and disappointing. I'm hoping it was just a bad day for our server or he is brand new.

    Gochujang Rubbed Lamb Ribs

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    1 year ago

    Top two restaurants in Montgomery. Outstanding food, service and ambiance, can't say enough.

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    11 months ago

    Food, service and ambiance all on point The oysters were awesome as well as the gumbo.

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    Ask the Community - Central

    Do they take reservations ? Also, does central have parking available?

    reservations are taken and I recommend them as they get busy ! parking is public street parking in the area.

    Is this a good spot for a business lunch?

    Yes we are! We have multiple options for any size business meeting. Please call our events department and they can answer all of your questions. The number to call is 334-517-1121. Thanks for your interest in Central and we look forward to serving… 

    View All 3 Questions

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    Central - bars - Updated August 2026

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