Merchant's Oyster Bar

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1. K

   Kari

   Vancouver

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on November 4, 2015

   overall5food5service5ambience5

   Had a wonderful time, the food was lovely! The food was fresh, menu inventive and the ambience was cozy. Perfect setting for my birthday dinner. Thanks for making it special!

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2. AP

   AlixP

   San Diego

   18 reviews

   4.0

   18 reviews

   Dined on November 1, 2015

   overall4food4service5ambience4

   This small, quaint restaurant has trendy decor and food. The atmosphere is warm and inviting and the food is as well. I highly recommend the oysters... especially during November since they are "on special" all month. The tuna tartare is amazing and the crab and shrimp roll was incredibly delicious. The other people in my party got the crab pasta which was really yummy but a tad salty. I dont know if it was unusually salty or if its always like that?? Overall, I highly recommend Merchants for its overall experience - Food, service, and atmosphere. I would definitely go back :)

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3. PR

   PacificRhum

   Vancouver

   4 reviews

   4.0

   4 reviews

   Dined on October 17, 2015

   overall4food4service5ambience4

   Dinner for four - attentive service but not intrusive, nice atmosphere of nieghbourhood restaurant but clearly more than locals here! All enjoyed their meals from tender, flavourful beef to pasta to delicious fish.

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4. BN

   BaNaNaBoy69

   Vancouver

   21 reviews

   vip
   4.0

   21 reviews

   Dined on October 17, 2015

   overall4food4service4ambience3

   Went here on a first date for brunch and buck-a-shuck oyster specials. Good service, food and neighbourhood charm. Sister restaurant to Cork & Fin in Gastown.

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5. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Vancouver

   4 reviews

   5.0

   4 reviews

   Dined on October 15, 2015

   overall5food4service5ambience5

   Love this place. Super cute

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6. B

   Beetleything

   Vancouver

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on October 10, 2015

   overall2food2service2ambience2

   Wine is pricey for The Drive - The food was OK - small portions. The oysters where ok - but all 12 had bits of shell in them, i have shucked my own oysters and made a better job of it.

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7. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Vancouver

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on October 9, 2015

   overall5food5service5ambience5

   What can I say - I love love love Merchant's. The service is always fantastic, the food is fresh, local & delicious, and they always have some great bottles (or cans) of craft beer on hand, not to mention awesome cocktails. It's my favourite brunch spot (2 words. Lobster+Benny) and the perfect dinner place as well. Just pure <3.

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8. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Vancouver

   6 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   6 reviews

   Dined on October 6, 2015

   overall5food5service5ambience5

   Amazing service, exceptional food. Can't wait to go back.

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9. B

   Birthdayparty

   Vancouver

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on October 2, 2015

   overall5food5service5ambience5

   The food was fabulous, carefully prepared and beautifully presented. The oysters were, of course, the main show, and everyone seemed genuinely happy to be presenting us with our fare. The serving staff was friendly and attentive, without being overbearing. The owner came to our table several times, always with a beaming smile. They looked after our special birthday requests, and lead the whole room in a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday. As we were preparing to leave, the owner came to our table again, thanking us sincerely for 'bringing great energy' to the room. All in all a terrific experience.

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10. EV

    EatVan

    Vancouver

    5 reviews

    3.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on October 1, 2015

    overall3food3service4ambience3

    Nice enough restaurant. The charcuterie plate (large) was large in terms of the size of the board but woefully bare. Also why give five slices of bread for 6 people? And make us ask for more? Should accept yelp offers no matter even if it's happy hour. The coupon doesn't state any blackout times?!

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11. IE

    IrisEggwhites

    Vancouver

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 26, 2015

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Really great, friendly atmosphere. Fantastic service. I feel like they take a lot of pride in how they operate and there's no "try-hard" going on. Just earnest and love what they do. I love this restaurant. Fantastic bar too..

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12. T

    Technovictim

    Vancouver

    24 reviews

    4.0

    24 reviews

    Dined on August 25, 2015

    overall4food4service4ambience3

    Despite the BC Oyster ban, the imported PEI oysters were lovely and delicious. Our server(s) was/were delightful and took care of us. The patio is small, but still good to check out. It is a smaller menu, but still lovely and delightful. The cocktails that are invented in house are also great to sample (a few times over) as well. We will be back.

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13. C

    Carm

    Edmonton

    16 reviews

    vip
    2.0

    16 reviews

    Dined on August 18, 2015

    overall2food4service1ambience3

    I think service was pretty poor. Our server didn't really pay attention to us at all. We asked for a few minutes to look at wine. He didn't come back for 20 minutes. Our food was super slow in coming out. Five tapas took close to two hours! The restaurant wasn't even 50% full, I would hate to think what the wait time for food would be if it were full. We asked for extra crackers for the oysters mousse, they didn't come until we reminded him. We had to ask for our server twice, otherwise he never came. He seemed really spaced out, like he was somewhere else. After seeing the menu and the reviews online, we had high expectations. We won't be coming back.

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14. P

    Poohbear

    Vancouver

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on August 1, 2015

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    ive never been this in love with my food for a while. I'm very picky at what I eat. Merchants delivery the same high quality in food a five star resturant offer, eve better. Staff is friendly and professional. The owner came by to introduce some food and ask if food was up to our likings. Their menu changes according to season. Wish the portion was bigger because it was too good!!!

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15. G

    Gloria

    Vancouver

    48 reviews

    4.0

    48 reviews

    Dined on August 1, 2015

    overall4food4service4ambience4

    Food was really good. Everyone was basically licking their plates. We waited at least 30 minutes for our plates but that's probably because we had 8 people. It didn't bother some, but bothered me because I was really hungry.

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16. F

    Fashionablefoodie

    Calgary

    15 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    15 reviews

    Dined on July 4, 2015

    overall4food4service5ambience3

    Server was great.

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17. CC

    CedarCottager

    Vancouver

    11 reviews

    2.0

    11 reviews

    Dined on July 3, 2015

    overall2food2service1ambience1

    Disappointed by the service and food. No wonder it was half empty on a Friday night... Waitress was not paying attention, and busy making out with her boyfriend sitting at the bar. Food was OK. I guess the service was so off-putting that the food tasted bland.

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18. C

    Chowhound

    Vancouver

    2 reviews

    3.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on June 13, 2015

    overall3food4service4ambience3

    The food was wonderful, especially the oysters. The "patio" is just a section of the sidewalk, but it's better than that sounds. Overall, this is one of the Drive's nicer neighborhood restaurants.

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19. W

    Westy

    Vancouver

    19 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    19 reviews

    Dined on June 4, 2015

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    There is not a lot if choice on the menu, and no specials, but the food we ordered was fantastic, perfectly cooked and the service was great. Lovely unpretentious place on the drive, we will return.

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20. MM

    MsMartini

    Vancouver

    4 reviews

    3.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on May 31, 2015

    overall3food3service3ambience2

    Based on the price points for food and drink, this establishment misses the mark. When paying above average prices, especially for the neighbourhood, it's expected to receive above average food, service or experience. This ceertainly isn't the case. The food is not bad, but also nothing to write home about. We had oysters and scallops on the half shell, roast cauliflower, and specialty cocktails. Nothing was particularly wowing. The minonette for the oysters was flavourless and we had to ask multiple times for tabasco sauce. The roast cauliflower was exactly what one would expect, which in some cases is certainly a positive. The $12 cocktails were far from being worth the money. In terms of ambiance, we sat out on the patio and it was very quiet. If you're looking for a nice place to take a date, this would be a hit. If you're looking to have a fun afternoon with some friends, the Charlatan across the street would be a better venue. The service is friendly, but not memorable. Considering that the competition for oysters includes Rodney's, Chewies and Joe Forte's, the exerience at Merchant's seems to fall pretty flat. All in all, if you're craving oysters on the drive this place has the market cornered. If you're craving oysters and you're willing to go anywhere else. I would.

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21. s

    shelll

    Vancouver

    36 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    36 reviews

    Dined on May 24, 2015

    overall5food5service4ambience4

    We had lunch this last Saturday and ordered oysters, beef tartare and oysters sabayon. Everything was fresh, excellent quality and inexpensive. We will definitely return.

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22. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Vancouver

    4 reviews

    2.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on May 23, 2015

    overall2food2service3ambience2

    Over priced - Portions very small - Food average at best - Servers friendly

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23. EB

    ErinB

    Vancouver

    4 reviews

    4.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on May 9, 2015

    overall4food4service5ambience5

    Everything was great except for the food variety. For lunch most of their menu is breakfast/brunch items. The only items that weren't breakfast food was banh mi (Viet subs). It's kind of strange having Vietnamese food at an oyster bar so it would've been so great if their dinner menu was available as well for lunch. I was told of a great mushroom salad and was looking forward to that but discovered it was only on their dinner menu.

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24. m

    myopinion

    Vancouver

    1 review

    2.0

    1 review

    Dined on May 8, 2015

    overall2food3service1ambience3

    Perhaps an off night? Relatively small menu is ambitious, but , other than Oysters, ( which were fine), food was only "ok" on this, my first visit. In addition to Oysters, which were properly shucked and tasty, we had the appetizer sampler. - Chicken skins, tuna tartar, and beef tartar. First off, full marks to the kitchen for the food presentation. Chicken skins were unusual and not recommended.;- a bit greasy for my taste. Similar to oily potato chips ( tasting of chicken skin), with dollops of what seemed like un-tasty liver on them. The Tuna Tartar mixture used medium quality tuna ( in my view). While the mixture was nice and the taste was fine, the accompanying avocado sauce was bland and unappealing. The Beef tartar was flavourful and worth considering. Restaurant was very busy, and while server was very polite,there were unreasonable delays between the act of ordering our to receiving the order. ( About 45 minutes-hour.) There was even a 20-30 minute wait for a bottle of beer. If our server did forget to put our order in -- which, based on the look on her face when we asked where our food was may have be a possibility , -- she should have owned up to it. Instead we were left with the impression that such delays were the norm. I appreciate and enjoy a relaxed and romantic dining pace, but 2.5 hours for a dozen Oysters and appetizer plates is excessive. Might give it one more try for the Oysters alone, -- if they are not too busy.

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25. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Vancouver

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on April 17, 2015

    overall5food5service5ambience4

    We've been to Merchant's many times sometimes for a quick oyster and a pint, other times for a full meal. Always great service and food.

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26. S

    Superbee

    Vancouver

    6 reviews

    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on March 29, 2015

    overall5food5service5ambience4

    I ordered pork belly which was juicy and tender in the meat but crunchy on the skin! It's done perfectly!

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27. S

    Sirius

    Vancouver

    8 reviews

    3.0

    8 reviews

    Dined on March 28, 2015

    overall3food4service4ambience2

    Foods and service are great, just a bit too expensive for such small portion and ambiance, would rather go some where else for that kind of price.

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28. T

    Technovictim

    Vancouver

    24 reviews

    3.0

    24 reviews

    Dined on March 21, 2015

    overall3food4service3ambience3

    A friend and I went here for a special occasion night out. The food was delicious, but it being a Saturday night, it was quite noisy. It is a small space with a lot of reflective surfaces, so it makes sense that it would be noisy. The food was great though. I love oysters and their evolving menu, so I will be back. Service could be a tad more involved.

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29. 1

    148jules

    Vancouver

    160 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    160 reviews

    Dined on March 7, 2015

    overall4food4service5ambience4

    The trout was delicious but slightly disappointed that temperature wise the trout was only lukewarm.

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30. CR

    CatherineR

    Vancouver

    8 reviews

    5.0

    8 reviews

    Dined on February 4, 2015

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    If you want to start your evening out with a smile on your face, dine here before going to the Cultch theatre

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31. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Vancouver

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on January 31, 2015

    overall3food4service4ambience3

    Overall we had a great meal. Like other reviewers have said, the portion sizes are small. Our server was very good and attentive. I do have a beef with this restaurant calling themselves an oyster bar when they only two kinds of fresh oysters. In my opinion that is false advertising. Rodney's or Oyster Express are much better choices for oysters. But a great place to have dinner on the drive.

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32. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Vancouver

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on January 26, 2015

    overall4food3service4ambience4

    The service was excellent. They ran out of the short rib which was what some of my group members were hoping to order. We were informed of the substitution available immediately. I haven't been here for buck-a-shuck I've heard that it's worth it.

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33. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Hawaii

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on January 22, 2015

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Went here with 3 friends for Dine Out and had a great time. Menu is all set pricing, so a bit confusing to figure out the bill, and drink prices were slightly high but food was delicious and oysters were fresh. Would go again.

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34. y

    yumm

    Vancouver

    114 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    114 reviews

    Dined on January 22, 2015

    overall4food4service4ambience4

    I personally found the space too noisy for conversations. However, it's one of those neighbourhood joints that's suppose to be loud, casual and fun. (For some reason, people like yelling at each other over the music.) Anyways, the food is really good. Oysters - fresh, fresh, fresh! Sandwiches we ordered - creative and delicious! Must try the pulled pork sandwich. It comes with a great pickled purple slaw right in with the meat.

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35. k

    krissyc

    Vancouver

    13 reviews

    4.0

    13 reviews

    Dined on January 20, 2015

    overall4food4service5ambience5

    A group of five of us went to Merchant's for Dineout Vancouver. The service there is absolutely incredible. The food is delicious and the oysters are really fresh! Their entrees are still on the tiny side (and way too expensive if purchasing by themselves) but really tasty. I've been once before and I would go again and I would recommend to friends.

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36. g

    gordmet

    Vancouver

    51 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    51 reviews

    Dined on January 20, 2015

    overall4food4service4ambience3

    We had a great meal with some innovative presentations. The short rib was very tender well seasoned with a rich sauce although a bit small on the serving size. The pork belly was great, moist, crisp, and flavourful. The ling cod was a tad over cooked and the purple potatoes were uninventive very starchy with little seasoning, certainly not as inventive as the sides on the other dishes, a tasty roast carrot puree and a parsnip puree with the rib and a celeriac puree and cubes with clams and fennel with the pork belly. Overall a very good meal and a great Dine Out.

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37. z

    zarah

    Vancouver

    3 reviews

    2.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on January 19, 2015

    overall2food2service1ambience3

    they were obviously overwhelmed by their full booking that night (dine-out - monday) so it took quite some time before each plate could arrive at our table. it would've have been ok with us except that the table next to us' (a party of 4 who had arrived and ordered waaaaay after us - i was with my husband) third course arrived more than 15 minutes before ours. i made inquiries and our server simply said, the kitchen was busy (duh - this is dine-out, welcome to the food industry. also maybe this is the first time they've ever been busy?) and just slinked away, avoiding our table the whole night. the manager approached my husband and apologized profusely. he comped us a dessert in apology but my night was ruined by then.

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38. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Vancouver

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on January 18, 2015

    overall3food2service3ambience3

    We were disappointed by the portion size as well as the quality control at Dine Out; especially since brunch is so delicious and filling. I would still encourage people to go for oysters and for their lobster benny.

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39. TG

    TheGoodBelly

    Vancouver

    27 reviews

    3.0

    27 reviews

    Dined on January 17, 2015

    overall3food2service2ambience3

    Short and Sweet The Good: - The three savoury courses menu was a great idea (as it is true that not everyone has a sweet tooth; but they did offer dessert if you wanted it) - The service staff and host was very pleasant and efficient - My courses were good, but the best was the beef tartar (I chose: oysters, beef tartar and the short rib) The (Bad) Fair: - Though we had reservations, our table wasn't ready at the agreed upon time. (We were fine with it, as seating can be hard, and some people linger a bit longer than the restaurant intends. The staff had to move another table over so we could be seated. It was all very politely done and it's fair, but I had to mention it because it happened. - Our entire party ordered the short ribs for the main course, but all the short rib cuts were not equal. And we all found the short ribs to not be fork tender. (I had to cut thru a big piece of tendon with a butter knife, and another party member had mostly fat on their cut of meat). We all had a great time, but I think the disproportionate short ribs and its tenderness would be the main complaint.

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40. a

    agordonc

    Vancouver

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on January 17, 2015

    overall3food2service2ambience2

    I went to merchants on sat for the 2015 dine out Vancouver. I'll start with the positive, the cocktails were amazing and the wine pairing with diner was great. The negative, the portions were super small. my partner got the rib ( thats right one rib) how is this a main course? we also got the crab it was tasty but had way too many noodles in it to make up for the lack of crab on the plate. It also seemed that there were a lot of extra costs involved in our meal such as a extra $2 for the rib and a extra $2 for the crab. I thought the menu was $28 for a set menu. Also the staff didn't know the difference in the oysters. I thought this was a bit strange considering it's a oyster bar.

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