central restaurant

a great time. from the host staff to the wait staff to the kitchen staff, this was a terrific dining experience. montgomery needed a place like this. it's all there, atmosphere,foodselection, affordable, the whole package. you won't be disappointed. i had the pork shank (pictured). it fell off the bone. i can't wait to go back. a+.

great evening. dear central,

just wanted you to know how much we enjoyed our group dinner tuesday night.
it was just perfect, nothing could have been better. the service was just
outstanding. sorry i can't remember the servers names but please let them
know how much we appreciate their good work.

we eat out at these meeting all over the country and everyone was just
amazed how good thefoodwas prepared and served.

our moderator, eats out at least 100 days a year traveling
to these different groups. he stated "it was the best meal i have ever had anywhere."

thank you, the chef and all the staff that served us.

i ate here a few weeks ago... it is probably one of the best restaurants in montgomery and probably the best space.
the ambience was great, there were large group of auto executives drinking large quantities of booze but that was fine.

the service was very good but thefoodwas just average on this trip. i've been here two times before thefoodwas better so i'm gonna give it a break and recommend it and try it again because i know they can do better and have.

there was a problem with the light over our
table and they came by to check on us numerous times to see if we wanted to move or were happy. i appreciated their extra attentiveness.

this place is worth going to try again then i will.

my "go to" place in montgomery....when i want to relax, be pampered, and enjoy a wonderful lunch.  the atmosphere, service, andfoodquality is worth the price. central is full of local flavor and southern hospitality. the shrimp and grits, as well as the burger, are two of my faves. the desert menu items will not disappoint. some of the best deserts i have ever tasted. delicate, flavorful, yet not too sweet.  central is a gem in the heart of montgomery...and is worth every penny!

pricey. read the reviews and stopped by on whim after attending an event downtown. we were early, 5:30p, on a saturday evening. no reservation, but we were welcomed and seated quickly. our server was friendly and explained the special. she also explained that the foods were locally sourced. we ordered the special, beef wellington, and the meatloaf with spicy ketchup. the server offered bread and i asked if it was homemade. she explained the bread was not homemade, but the butter was. i was curious about the 'homemade' butter. we were brought two very small rolls and butter with a few herbs mixed in. nothing special, but fine. dinner came. the wellington was an individual serving and very good. the fingerling potatoes excellent. the meatloaf itself had a good texture, was served on garlic mash, which was tasty, but was all smothered in the spicy ketchup. the spicy ketchup was so overpowering that you could not taste the other foods after eating it. i scraped off as much as i could and ate around the rest. i found the side veg to be greasy and tasteless, green beans and mushrooms.the server did stop at one point and ask if i didn't like the ketchup, and would i like one without ketchup. at this point i'd eaten plenty, about half, and declined the offer. i did appreciate her asking, i just wished it had been sooner. for the hype of locally sourced foods and the price, i expected better. dessert was a chocolate creme brûlée, which i was told was excellent and the mixed berry cobbler, strawberry/blueberry, which is very good and big enough to serve two. my rating is due to the fact, that with tip, we spent about $120.00 for two people, for a meal that was good. it was just that, good. the service was good, thefoodwas good. we will not return as there are many places to getfoodthat is as just as good or better.

my husband and i celebrated our 35th anniversary at central. we both ordered rib eye steak. our waiter, braxton was friendly and informative about the wines and the history of the building. thefoodwas delicious and favorable. .we were served a bread pudding as a complimentary dessert for sharing our anniversary at central.

best anniversary ever! my hubby and i went on the recommendation of family to celebrate 10 years. we drove two hours in to have a night to remember and i must say it was worth it.
our server, drew, was top notch. excellent suggestions for bothfoodand drink that complimented each other expertly. matched with attentive service and great conversation.
i had the filet special and my husband enjoyed his ribeye. the steaks were awesome, perfect temps and great seasoning and flavor. the creme brulee was divine.
good job central! we now have a reason to visit town more frequently. keep up the good work!

my husband & i had a terrible experience last summer here, but we decided to give it a third shot based on the more recent experience of some friends. this time we were not disappointed and had a great time. we spent $115 between the two of us - appetizer, 2 drinks each, entrees, 1 dessert. it would seem the wait staff is hit and miss. our waiter was okay this go around. i revised my urbanspoon opinion to "likes it", but i'm still apprehensive.


-----20 jul, 2012-----

$101.00 for two and i had to pick crab shell out of my mouth with every bite.

my husband & i have been twice: the first time was pretty good and the second was just disappointing all the way around. on the second trip, i ordered a 1/2 dozen raw oyster appetizer and 2 out of the 6 were literally the size of a quarter (a big no-no for raw oyster fans). my husband got the calamari and it was covered in the wasabi cream sauce (as opposed to it served on the side); the calamari quickly turned into chinese buffet honey shrimp. his entree was decent, though there was no chorizo to be found in the chorizo mac n' cheese. mine was a little fishy and full of small bits of crab shell.

if i'm going to spend top dollar (montgomery style) for my dinner, then i expect far superiorfoodthan what i had tonight.

sketchy service. my wife and i met my brother and his wife for dinner at central recently. we were shown a table immediately by the hostess. after about five minutes, we were asked by another hostess if our server had arrived yet, and we replied no.
finally a young man arrived, and was very cordial. he seemed a little quirky, but was trying to be friendly. he took our drink orders and then left us to browse the menu after making some suggestions. he was very helpful with his knowledge of the main dishes. after ordering, we didn't have too wait very long for our meal. we ordered a fish and a chicken meal, which were ok, nothing special. upon completing our meal, our server asked if we needed more drinks, and we told him no, but we would probably order dessert and have coffee. he left us with a dessert menu. after about 10 minutes, we noticed our server hanging out outside of the restaurant with the valet workers. after a while, he came back in, and made several trips past our table without saying a word. finally, we asked another server if we could get some help with our dessert order, and we told her what we wanted. a few minutes later, the manager came by and offered to help. we explained the problem, and she verified our order. shortly thereafter, our original server stopped by and asked us if we needed anything, and we explained that the other server had taken our order. he was agitated, and said that she couldn't put the order in. so we told him what we had ordered. then the second server, a young girl, brought us our desserts and coffee, and said that she would be our new server. we finished our meal and left our second server a nice tip for being so helpful and friendly.
i'm just not sure what happened with our first server, but his mannerisms changed completely about halfway through our meal. he seemed to be high or something. a very strange experience.
the manager and second server were very friendly. thefoodwas ok. and the atmosphere of the restaurant was nice.
but overall, it was not a good experience, and we probably won't be back anytime soon.

spent $200 on liquor, wine and food.foodwas good and we ate and drank at the bar. asked the inept hostess several times for a table and she blew me off or forgot. complained to the manager and he made excuses saying she was inexperienced, in her third yr of college and lacked skills. this was a disappointing response after spending $200 and couldn't get a table over a 3 hr timespan. too late and too many drinks to go elsewhere. maybe the management should consider hiring high school grads only instead of someone attending a 3rd rate college.

class & style in the gump. i rarely get to eat at high end restaurants, but i was treated a few weeks ago to go to central in the alley section of the newer re-fashioned downtown mtgy. i was stunned at the beauty and careful design of an old cotton gin warehouse. the indian light fixtures alone are worth the trip to see. thefoodwas equally stunning. i enjoyed the iceburg lettuce wedge and bleu cheese with grapefruit garnish. it was better than any i'd had before. the pub burger was expected to be nothing special, however, it was really one of the best burgers i'd ever had. there sandwich had a bacon and onion jam on the bread and a pickled green tomato. the beef was really choice and all together in a burger bite, all the flavors worked together wonderfully. others in our party had the grilled chicken and hanger steak. both were bragged upon--although there was a bit of controversy over how the steaks were ordered and how they came out. (the waiter made up for the issue with reserving them fresh steak [which they took home] and dessert to share!)
i plan to go back again soon. i want to try everything on the menu.

good steak, good times.. we enjoyed central. my steak was very tasty, as were the sides. we had three appetizers. i had the smoked tuna with pretzels and my husband had the salad and calamari. he enjoyed all three apps but felt that the calamari had too much sweet sauce. he also enjoyed the fresh bread. for afters, we had the creme brulee, which was nice. our server was very attentive. the only real quibble i had was that myfoodcould have been a little warmer.

great space, ok food. i was so excited when this restaurant opened. wonderful space in downtown montgomery that one hopes just offers goodfoodand a place for a good time. i have been 3-4 times and have enjoyed the experience as the service was great and the atmosphere was exciting. the only thing that does not deliver is the food; very ordinary. i realize that the prices do not call for a 5 star result but when the chicken is not as good as costco, there is a problem. other dinners who had fish dishes were also "ok at best " with those dishes. only the steak eaters were satisfied. i truly hope thefoodwill improve as this place has a lot of up side.

great food!. outstanding service and great tastingfoodall around. menu is short, but everything looked intriguing. had the pork and peach appetizer and the tuna entree. excellent!!! prices are a little on the high side, but worth it... i'll be back.

i have been to central 5 times since it has opened and i have not been disappointed! it is a great addition to montgomery. the service is excellent and thefoodis fantastic!