Prevail Union | MGM — Restaurant in Montgomery

Here's another update to appease Google... so I'll make it a tip to help at-home bean buyers. If you "just want coffee" go for the black label bags at the bottom. All of the flavors you see listed are not added flavors but "tasting notes" that come from the beans themselves based on their locale, soil, etc. The black labels are blended, so they have a nice taste balanced by cost-efficiency. If you want something a little more interesting, go for the red/blue/yellow labels. Those are single origin and have great flavor. Read the tasting notes and think about what sort of aroma and taste you like with your coffee. Chocolate/vanilla and other base notes typically pair better with milk and cream. The berry and floral flavors should be enjoyed without milk/cream as it typically drowns out the nuance. If you need it sweet, add a little sugar (but give it a try without it at least once!). Lastly, if you really want to try some fun coffee, go for the dark blue "Constellation Series." If you aren't grinding your own beans and using single brew methods, the constellation probably isn't worth it, but for those who are... It's a treat.

Google keeps asking for more updates, so here's the latest: they recently started a really interesting membership program. For an initial fee of $500 you get a swanky laser-etched travel mug and free drip, tea, and cold brew for two years. Do the math... if you live/work in the city, the thing would pay for itself by the end of summer. Prevail continues to show Montgomery what good coffee and customer rapport look like.

Update: having lived in the area for nearly a year now, I can say without doubt that this if the best coffee shop for a hundred miles around... Probably even further. Even if you're driving all the way to Birmingham, the shops you'll visit have their various perks, but they all lack consistency, which is something Prevail has in full. The coffee is always good, the beans are always worth getting. The seasonal offerings are delicately balanced to still provide a true coffee experience while celebrating the season. The baristas are friendly and helpful, the food/pastry selection is well-priced, and the beer/wine menu makes for a calm alternative to the bar/club scene.

Former review: A pleasant surprise. If you happen to be in the Montgomery area, this is the place to go. Their Chemex is automatic, so you can expect a decent baseline quality, and their beans--the significant factor after all, have pronounced notes. No bland, bitter...

I can't say enough good things about this craft coffee shop. It's local to Alabama, and it has expanded to Atlanta. It was bookmarked immediately as a place I needed to visit when in MGM. It certainly turned out to be the best coffee shop experience of the entire trip.

I must warn you that it gets super busy early in the morning. There are many military personnel that go through this shop. That's always a great sign as they are very well traveled and know their coffee. Our favorite time to visit was around 2pm when it wasn't so busy. The service is great, and the baristas are professional & friendly. I can't comment on any of the pastries because we were strictly there for the coffee. The coffee was amazing! On the first visit, I decided to get their signature Alabama Stinger (iced) with macadamia milk. They have other plant-based milk options such as oat and Myracle mylk. I was given a sample of the macadamia milk, and was hooked on it the entire trip. I was definitely buzzing with the Stinger's shaken blend of Miller Farms Alabama Honey and a double shot of espresso. You can get a quad shot for $1 more.

Well, I didn't think it could get better than that until the next day. I decided to try their other signature drink called the HVR. I never thought I would like raspberry in coffee. This was another amazing flavor. They make their own syrups. What more can I say?

My brother loved his hot latte. So much so, that he we made this our daily afternoon stop to energize and talk about our day. Listen!!! I'm a true coffee lover. I seek out local coffee shops any time I'm traveling. I walked past Starbucks on Coosa Street and passed Market Plaza every morning from my hotel just to get to this place. It was initially difficult to find as a tourist, but I figured out the quickest way was to go through the old Kress Building (from Monroe St.). It's a lovely indoor walk with some public art and work spaces. There's an entrance to the coffee shop from inside that building. There's also an entrance from Dexter Ave.

The coffee shop is warm, comfortable, and inviting. It's very tastefully decorated with lots of wood. It sits there overlooking a beautiful public art mural of Dr. Valda Harris Montgomery at Lower Dexter Park. It's the perfect spot to chill at a table in the park. Don't miss this hidden gem if you're ever in...

UPDATE: The owner reached out to me after I left the below review, and he offered to replace the coffee grounds that I found I didn't care for. His recommendation for replacement beans was thoughtful and well-researched. He was very friendly and I learned some things about different roasts that I didn't know, which I appreciated very much. The coffee he recommended was really good; and I will be recommending Prevail Union to my colleagues who need to come to Montgomery for work. Thank you so much! This place is a bit harder to find, as others have mentioned, but not impossible. Staff was very friendly. I came because they roast their own coffee and since I'm away from home I wanted something better than the stuff that the hotel leaves in the room. I purchased a bag to brew in the morning and got a cold brew along with it. Extra points for non-dairy milk! They were kind enough to grind it coarsely for me there in the shop. The reason for the two stars was that the blend I purchased, Farmer's Daughter, was so blonde that it was nearly raw. I was so pleased they had a 'roasted on' date that I didn't check to see what kind of a roast they'd done on it. I'm not certain the beans even made it to first crack, and there is a significant amount of paper in the grind as well, enough to taste it in the resulting pour-over. My little roaster at home doesn't put that much paper into the beans; I'm not sure what kind of filter they're using but it's not getting the job done. The resulting coffee is extremely nutty and not pleasant. I'm going to try to find another local roaster, and I can't recommend buying their beans based off this...