The Merc is a Helena institution. Fantastic coffee, esp. if you're a dopio espresso fan. The beans are fresh, the pour is perfect: each bean is massaged by hand and lovingly squeezed to extract every molecule of goodness. Adding milk or cream is not recommended. Helena's best coffee by far. Once you're done sipping your demitasse or two of nature's most potent nectar, you can then wander around browsing through the retro toy and candy collection; funky and whimsical housewares, or just decide you're gonna sit here for the next couple months and write that novel you've been dreaming about; develop that vegan fur business idea you can't get out of your head, or simply feed the pet koi. Kid friendly, (just don't let them lick the fish). Oh yeah, the Italian Soda's rock. We use them to extract best efforts out of elementary school aged kids. read more

There's simply no better coffee in Helena. Friendly staff, excellent drinks, and an incredible array of all kind of gadgets and oddities make this a must-stop in Helena. read more

If you're looking for the best cup of coffee or espresso around for miles, then look no further. I always get the Ray Roger because it's the best! They also have the coolest gifts here. I just love the whole atmosphere! And everyone is always super friendly. It's always on my list of must see places here in Helena and they never disappoint! read more

Two words-- HOT CHOCOLATE It's to die for, best hot chocolate I'be ever had. Seating can be a little difficult to find of you get your drink to stay, depending on the time. But it's definitely worth it. read more

Came in for an iced coffee. Excellent customer service and very unique vibe makes this a place to go back to. Not to mention the coffee was great as well. Always a plus when they're accommodating to my pup as well. Cool spot!! read more

Being a coffee-snob I find myself usually a little worried about trying anything "too local" but this place was too cute to pass up. I ordered an Iced Americano and I was impressed to see the baristas actually PULL the espresso shots! Instead of the fully automated machines :) read more

Nice and fun people. Great coffee and tea. So many interesting and fun things. If you want to feel Helena, Montana, just visit here. You'll meet the alive history!!! read more

I LOVE this place, the staff is so nice, and it is the most charming place I have found in a while. The tea selection is fantastic, and I can't wait to work my way through it. If you want a cute place to have a cup and some conversation, this is it. They have a funky collection of wares for sale, and candies I haven't seen since I was a kid. read more

So glad my friend introduced me to this place. It's super cute. A little cramped inside but I think that adds to the charm. Great selection of gift items. And they serve coffee and tea too. read more

Serving great coffee, candy, and gifts for decades. The interior decor is fantastic, the service is good, and location ideal.

I love their coffee, but they are bit slow. Besides that. I would recommend going there with a friend. It's a great place to be able to sit down and chat. A warning though, they do not have any internet. read more

A must every time I visit Helena! Great ambiance. Great staff. GREAT COFFEE!

This place is super cute and my kids love the tree house upstairs. The gifts and items for sale are fun and unique too. I'm not giving it 5 stars because the service was super slow. We ordered 3 drinks and seriously waited over 20 minutes. I ordered an ice tea, which was served in a hot coffee container. Who drinks ice tea that way?? The young girl who made our drinks chatted with a guy at the counter about random stuff and couldn't multitask at all. I understand the coffee drinks take time, but 20 minutes is excessive when there are no other drinks in the queue. Im assuming they are normally faster than this and maybe the girl I had was having an off day. read more

Thoroughly impressed with the selection, the service, and the adorable ambiance. I'm from Chicago, but my next trip to Helena will surely include a stop in this shop. read more

Had some of my best coffee talks here. The environment is one-of-a-kind!

Invite a friend to the merc for conversation and hot chocolate. Study for finals in a cozy booth. Rendezvous with classmates over break to relive those high school days. Or just sit and soak up the warm vibes, friendly smiles and eclectic music. The merc is helena's signature spot to renew the spirit. And I do not work for them!!! Enjoy. read more

This place is cool. Great atmosphere. Neat gift ideas. Great loose tea selection at a fair price. Can be crowded during busy hours. Check em out, you won't be disappointed! read more

The tea is delicious, people who work there are nice and you just want to buy anything there :) loved it !

Such a fun gem of Helena's downtown, the Merc has heaps of personality! Wander all of the unique trinkets as you wait for your coffee, there is always something new and interesting! My drink of choice is the Tall House Special read more

I really love this place! I stumbled on it by accident, but was extremely happy to find (in my opinion) the best coffee in the city. The rustic atmosphere gives the place a great vibe, and there are always interesting people to talk to. read more

We stopped here for ice cream. It was delicious and the cones and cups were very generous. They honored Veterans with a "Thank you for your service" and a free ice cream. Amazing generosity. read more

This place is absolutely incredible. Each cup of coffee is brewed by the cup, and each espresso drink comes from vintage manual pull machines, so each hand crafted drink takes time and precision. They have a huge assortment of teas and tea blends, and have the best speciality drink selection of any coffee shop I've ever been to (try the Ray Rogers or Earl Grey Chocolate Cake!). The friendly, artisanal ambiance of the Merc is meant for lingering, making it great for getting computer work done, business meetings, and catching up with friends. They have the best card/post card selection in town, and the coolest little gifts around. If you can't tell, I'm extremely impressed with the place and will continue to frequent it on a regular basis. read more

The new owners have destroyed the place. It used to be owned by this great guy named Ray who was always there and worked hard to make people happy and keep the place clean. The new people, who knows? The quality of the service and the coffee have both suffered. Also, the gifts aren't nearly as cool. I'd skip it and go somewhere else. To bad Ray is gone. :( read more

Great coffee and tea. Fun atmosphere. Unique. Easy to find a quiet corner to study. The only drawback is the internet is not reliable!! When it does connect, it's slow. If that gets fixed, it would be 5 stars. read more

This is one of the best hidden spots in Helena! Great for first dates, relaxing, studying and gift buying :)

New to Helena, I quickly heard that 'The Merc' had the best coffee in town. The coffee is excellent and the shop does have unique, fun gifts. However the last time I was in studying for an exam with another individual the waitress was exceedingly rude and confronted us saying that they are busy and if we wanted to stay much longer we needed to order. I did explain that we had already ordered and asked if we needed to order again in order to stay? The waitress did not respond and was unapologetic. We decided rather than purchase another drink in order to stay we would go to a nearby coffee shop such as Fire tower who has excellent coffee and even better, outstanding service. If you require a purchased beverage to sit at a table for a certain length of time this information should be provided as most customers there spent time with friends or working as well. I will gladly take my business elsewhere and will share my experience with all. Local businesses want people to shop locally but provide customer service that is unacceptable. read more