The Merchant Tavern

Egg Benedict ordered eggs soft. They were raw. Hash browns were over cooked. Ate it anyways as didn't want to make experience negative for family. Food is becoming inconsistent. Not acceptable when charging $100 for 2 adults and 2 children (no alcohol).

Lovely restaurant and good service. We went for brunch and had the pancake stack which was really good although a little overpriced for pancakes unless it included a small serving of fresh fruit. Toutons was good but again $6.00 for a small toutons would like to see a more substantial size for the price.
We have been here a few times and will be back again. A very nice unique restaurant!

I made a reservation for 6:30 on a Friday. We got there a bit early but we're still seated right away. Our server was very knowledgeable about the menu's (Both food and drinks). The Cod tacos were amazing. The entrees we had were great and the desserts were also very good. Overall the experience was one of the best I've had at any restaurant. I highly recommend eating here.

Anniversary

Excellent all around. Great food and great staff. Very friendly.

We had been at Merchant for a birthday celebration just a few weeks ago and thought maybe we ought to go somewhere else for our anniversary. We mulled it over and ultimately decided that we were pretty sure we'd be happy at Merchant. We were not disappointed! The meals were delicious and creative, the wine recommendations were perfect and the service and ambiance are the finishing touch. It's our fave!

The service was great and the food tasted great. The cocktails were very innovative. The whole restaurant was very elegant and I thoroughly enjoyed the open kitchen concept. There was a good variety of food options, in terms of dietary restrictions. We had a blast and would visit again when are are out east.

We had a lovely date night at the Merchant Tavern, it’s an energetic vibe, but not so loud that we were unable to comfortable talk during our meal. We enjoyed the cellar salad, seafood soup, and oysters to start before splitting the shrimp and mussels linguine. All the food was delicious, with the seafood soup being the favorite of the night. My husband ordered a scotch (which came as a shockingly short pour) and I had the beet cocktail to start. We would skip those next time and stick with the wine list. We took the sommeliers recommendation to pair with our pasta and it was excellent. This is a great date night spot and we look forward to returning!

My wife and I had the cod and salmon. The meals were not very flavourful. The burgers seemed to be a very popular dish as there appear to be quite a lot being served that night. We would go back and try another dish. We had the creme brûlée for dessert and it was great.

The Merchant is one of my favourite places to eat. The vibe is casual and friendly, the service is great and the food is always creative and delicious.

Excellent cocktails, great atmosphere, service, and food was amazing (as always).

Excellent recommendations from our Server. Very attentive service overall.
The recommendation to have the lamb pasta was perfect for me since I love lamb. The meal was delicious.
My husband had the cod dish which was excellent but not great value at the price.

Overall, great place to dine out in St John's.

A birthday brunch for multi ages and we all loved it!

I liked it so much and we’ll go back as soon as possible

We were greeted by the hostess for our 5:30pm reservation, who then immediately asked us: did they tell you another party is booked at 8pm, so you only have 2.5 hours for dinner?
No, we weren’t told. Yes, I made my reservation via OpenTable and gave the website my credit card as a guarantee.
What is up with this? Does management think so little of customers making online reservations that a cc is needed, then narcissistically telling customers their time is limited. Let’s get real! Dinner in 2.5 hours is more than enough time, so why insult us by describing the limit? The next customer has already given a cc as well, so they’ll show up too. The time problem is a management problem, one that should not concern the paying customers.
Food was interesting. Caesar salad was “classic”, meaning it had bacon. While I liked the bacon, Ceasar’s in Tijuana doesn’t use bacon??
The Halibut was a bit dry, so I asked for Olive Oil to make it more interesting, yet my wife’s duck was very good with nice sauce.
Lot’s to see in the restaurant. One section to the left of the kitchen is for prep. It’s surrounded by a counter with seats; this seemed to be an exciting place to watch the very clean and professional kitchen, although it’s neither clear how to make a reservation for seating at this counter nor how long one is allowed to sit.

Outstanding food and Service. I recommend sitting at the raw bar, the staff are truly entertaining and masters of their craft.

Such a great experience. Just luvs it. Will definitely be back and it is a must to visit while in St John's. Staff and setting is amazing. Cod and salmon meals were just perfect, wine was delish.

Our server was really busy she didn’t have time to do justice to amount of tables she was looking after . Waited a long time for drinks , to be checked in with and our bill . Will be back to give it another try soon

Tables were too close together, and packed into a small space.
The cocktails were decent, but over priced.
The food was very disappointing. A very expensive steak dinner consisted of a small piece of poor quality meat, with a huge pile of fries.
Would not recommend this place, will not go back.

Great atmosphere and food with seasonal ingredients.

Our favourite restaurant in St. John’s. Everything we had was delicious and cooked to perfection. We’ll definitely return!

Exceptional as always. Went for girlfriends birthday / date, and have been before for similar style occasions. Restaurant is very modern with a large bar at its centre and an open and visible kitchen along the back. Waitress, I believe her name was Meghan, was quick to take seat us and make suggestions with good knowledge of both the specials and drink menu. Food was quick and fantastic. Slightly overcooked steak was instantly noted and corrected by the waitress as food arrived to the table. Absolutley recomend anything on the menu, you can't go wrong, however the steak topped with merchant's butter is still our favourite! My girlfriend would "eat here every day" if possible.

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Would have given a higher given a higher rating were it not for the mussels being old ... we returned them, and they allowed us to get another entree, but our friend felt ill the next day. Also, we ordered bread and it took over 5 mins to get it. Service, other than the bread issue, was good

We had brunch. The kitchen had some sort of issue with our order resulting in us not being served our meal until about an hour after we arrived. The server was apologetic and when he brought the bill he gave us a nice discount without us having to ask. It was appreciated and shows that this place does care about its level of service. The food was very good as was the general atmosphere.

I ate here with my extended and immediate family for brunch and had a great experience. I am happy to say that it is kid friendly and the staff were fantastic and accommodating with my toddler. The food was very good - the biscuits are basically sent from heaven (what kind of magic is baked into them?!) The only reason I didn’t give the food a 5/5 is that the fried chicken sandwich that my husband had was so greasy that he felt he couldn’t finish it. I also found both times that I visited for brunch, the wedges were overcooked somehow (they are too crunchy, almost like they have been refried too many times). But all in all, my experiences have been positive.

First time at The Merchant Tavern, and went there based on recommendations from friends. Glad we tried it, and we will be back for sure. Our server (Jane) did an excellent job... was super friendly and helpful!

This was our first meal there that was not good. The meal was fooled up. Very salty. Not great service. We went for our anniversary and were disappointed. This is not the norm for Merchant Tavern.

Always enjoy Merchant but disappointed that we were not advised of the low water pressure as soon as we were seated.

Hands down best meal we’ve had in a long time. Mussels were delicious, food and drink also amazing.

My sister and I were celebrating her birthday and were looking forward to the Tasting Menu which we had previously. We were disappointed to learn that this was no longer a menu option but our server and the chef agreed to do a tasting menu just for us!!! It was amazing and we were so grateful!!!!

Food was very average at an above average price. Service was ok but the waitress was a bit fussy. Nothing very special but it is quite unique for the area it is in. My friend got sick from the undercooked salmon which at first I thought they were gutsy for serving not fully cooked.

Fantastic atmosphere, great service and a robust menu. Highly recommend the seafood and finish off with vinegar pie. One of my favourites in St Johns. Book ahead!

We had a great time; so full of tasty raw tuna and ceviche scallops. A steak-frites with a sauce I wiped up every last drop with the generous fries. Salmon was cooked very well with a fresh sauce that made this dish lighter than other places, which was a delight. Vinegar pie was a neat treat: good work turning a modest meal from the 20s into something memorable. Service was friendly and efficient with a very knowledgeable service and precise support staff. Will recommend to all who ask for unique dining options in St. John’s.

This meal was one of the best we had in St. John’s. The ambiance, food, service - everything was amazing. And a great live band too!

Overall awesome.

The food was inventive and leveraged all of the great produce from the area. My pasta was perfectly al dente. The service was outstanding. Our waiter was extremely familiar with all ingredients that went into our meals. I will definitely go back next time I’m in town.

Ordered the beef tartare as an app to share. Quite disappointed at the quality of beef used for a raw dish. I’ve had this here before but seems they’ve changed the beef cut. Too bad. It shouldn’t be tough but rather tender and melt in your mouth. The mussels were very tasty. Frites were over cooked and unsalted. My husband enjoyed his meal of fish and chips. Seems the quality of food at The Merchant has dissipated recently which is unfortunate.

Great food! Great cocktails! The seafood was in season and really delicious.

One of my favorite locations, meal is always fantastic! The servers are always knowledgeable and pleasant.