Disappointed. Beautiful setup, great service, but the food... Meh... It started with the mushroom tea and a biscuit. Delicious, full of flavor, well seasoned. And then it went all downhill from there. The next six dishes that were waiting for us at the table, were a huge disappointment. Bland. I was tempted to ask from some salt, pepper and tabasco sauce to fix it. Then there was a mistery box dish that we had to find with the compass. Cute, ok. But it was sitting in that box unrefrigerated for more than an hour. Is that fine dining? Trout dish and sausage were ok, and I just wanted to like them compared to other dishes. Desert was also ok. Again, everything was beautifully presented. However, to me it's useless if the food is bad. I'd rather get good food that looks ugly. The alcoholic pairing was also hit or miss. The non-alcoholic pairing was mostly miss with the lowest point was the cucumber water.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Victor Cape
Incredible dining experience. One of the best meals I ever had in my life!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Monica Susilo
I had a reservation for the Mushroom Dinner, booked months ago, but the experience was a major letdown. It started off great with a delicious mushroom soup and crumpets, but then quickly went downhill. Almost every subsequent dish was bad, some were far too salty or intensely bitter—to the point we couldn't eat most of the food.
The saving grace is the atmosphere and service. The space is beautiful; the tables and unique pottery/plates (reportedly handmade by the team) are incredibly creative and photo-worthy. The servers were friendly and pleasant, though my concern about the bitter food was unfortunately not taken seriously.
If you are looking for great vibes and beautiful artistic craftsmanship but don't mind bad food, this is the spot. If you are going for the cuisine, temper your expectations.
Amanda Way
Amazing spot. I had been following their rotating menu for a while and had to come in for their bedtime stories theme. The food was fun and delicious and both the alcohol and n/a parings were spot on and creative. Definitely a place to celebrate a special occasion and have fun!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Psy Che
My wife and I have been coming here for years, and their new place is absolutely amazing! Creative dishes, gourmet food, amazing experience every time!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Audrey Wilk
I would give zero stars if I could. I made a prepaid reservation at this restaurant, paying the full price up front. Unfortunately, both my friend and I came down with COVID right before our reservation. Out of respect for public health and their own staff and fellow diners, I contacted the restaurant immediately to cancel and asked for a refund or even a credit toward a future date.
I spoke directly with Ryan, the head chef, and his response? A cold, unapologetic refusal. No refund. No reschedule. He pushed me to find others who could take me and my friend’s spot after he said they find it nearly impossible to fill spots the day before. No consideration whatsoever. Essentially: “Thanks for your money, too bad you’re sick.”
I even asked if he would prefer if my friend and I show up with covid and he said “that’s a choice you would have to make.” It contradicts what he has on his site which says:
“Merchant Roots has heavily considered the current health climate due to recent variants and trends, as presented by COVID-19. We are ensuring that our staff continues to remain current with their vaccinations; and we are additionally requesting that all guests continue to do the same.” But coming into the restaurant testing positive for Covid is okay?
I understand restaurants have policies, but good businesses also have compassion and common sense. Penalizing customers for doing the responsible thing and staying home while contagious is not only heartless, it actively encourages people to show up sick just to avoid losing hundreds of dollars. That is dangerous, irresponsible, and frankly shameful.
This place clearly values profit over people. I won’t be back, and I’ll be warning others to steer clear of a business that treats its patrons with such disregard. There are plenty of restaurants that understand hospitality means more than just taking your money.
Service: 1
Brandon Manning
I've been to three different experiences here, and each one has been more amazing than the last. The food, wine, experience, and service are all top notch.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Vivian P
Food quality not so up to par with menu pricing but other than that good service beautiful atmosphere thank you team!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Bruno Franca dos Reis (bfreis)
It had been too long since I last went to Merchant Roots. Still AMAZING! Thanks for the incredible experience tonight.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Akash
I don’t usually post reviews, but this was honestly one of the most disappointing tasting menus I’ve experienced, not just in SF but anywhere. A coworker had hyped this place up as one of the best in SF and my expectations were high. I booked this for Valentine’s Day, hoping for something special but if anything, my partner and I ended up bonding over just how underwhelming the food was (she flew in from NYC for this). Throughout the meal, not once did anyone on staff ask how the food was. Dishes were simply served and cleared away and we were guided to the next part of the “experience” which was surprising for a spot that bills itself for good food. I understand the intent behind the “Humpty Dumpty” theme but this particular execution just didn’t land. While I can imagine they’ve pulled off more successful concepts in the past, this menu was almost entirely breakfast-themed, and there’s only so many egg-centric dishes you can serve at dinner before it starts to feel repetitive and uninspired. By the end we were completely over the endless parade of “breakfast takes”. Overall it was a big letdown there was very little creativity, and the lack of engagement from the staff made the whole thing feel flat, would not recommend.
Outstanding restaurant! Creative and Beautiful Presentation, Delicious Food, Very Different from other restaurants !
If you are trying to decide between this and some other fine dining restaurant in San Francisco, then Merchant Roots is an obvious choice if you are looking to be WOWed!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Orange CC
My partner and I were there for the In Bloom Edible flower experiance. Definitely an Experiance more then a place for lots of food, but we did leave full and satisfied. The chefs (who also served us) were all delightful and very good at answering any questions we had. Beautifully curated space. Would definitely recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jessica Mendenhall
Such a fun dining experience! The vegetarian menu was a delight!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Theresa Lavalley
The most amazing experience I have ever had I was taken on a 2 hour sensory adventure. Wonderful wine pairings. Lovely! THE IMAGINATION and creativity is out of this world!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Laura Dell
We've been twice now to Merchant Roots for two different menus, and this has become my new favorite restaurant for a fancy dinner. The food is exceptionally delicious, but the real fun is seeing the creative ways that every dish leans into the theme for the menu. Everyone at the seating eats their courses simultaneously, and we love to watch and speculate about the next course as the team assembles it. One of the other best parts is that everyone on the team is a chef and server, so you can talk to the chefs directly about the meal. Both times we've gone have been evenings full of fun, whimsy, and delight, and we can't wait for our next visit.
Disappointed. Beautiful setup, great service, but the food... Meh... It started with the mushroom tea and a biscuit. Delicious, full of flavor, well seasoned. And then it went all downhill from there. The next six dishes that were waiting for us at the table, were a huge disappointment. Bland. I was tempted to ask from some salt, pepper and tabasco sauce to fix it. Then there was a mistery box dish that we had to find with the compass. Cute, ok. But it was sitting in that box unrefrigerated for more than an hour. Is that fine dining? Trout dish and sausage were ok, and I just wanted to like them compared to other dishes. Desert was also ok. Again, everything was beautifully presented. However, to me it's useless if the food is bad. I'd rather get good food that looks ugly.
The alcoholic pairing was also hit or miss. The non-alcoholic pairing was mostly miss with the lowest point was the cucumber water.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Incredible dining experience. One of the best meals I ever had in my life!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I had a reservation for the Mushroom Dinner, booked months ago, but the experience was a major letdown. It started off great with a delicious mushroom soup and crumpets, but then quickly went downhill. Almost every subsequent dish was bad, some were far too salty or intensely bitter—to the point we couldn't eat most of the food.
The saving grace is the atmosphere and service. The space is beautiful; the tables and unique pottery/plates (reportedly handmade by the team) are incredibly creative and photo-worthy. The servers were friendly and pleasant, though my concern about the bitter food was unfortunately not taken seriously.
If you are looking for great vibes and beautiful artistic craftsmanship but don't mind bad food, this is the spot. If you are going for the cuisine, temper your expectations.
Amazing spot. I had been following their rotating menu for a while and had to come in for their bedtime stories theme. The food was fun and delicious and both the alcohol and n/a parings were spot on and creative. Definitely a place to celebrate a special occasion and have fun!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My wife and I have been coming here for years, and their new place is absolutely amazing!
Creative dishes, gourmet food, amazing experience every time!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I would give zero stars if I could. I made a prepaid reservation at this restaurant, paying the full price up front. Unfortunately, both my friend and I came down with COVID right before our reservation. Out of respect for public health and their own staff and fellow diners, I contacted the restaurant immediately to cancel and asked for a refund or even a credit toward a future date.
I spoke directly with Ryan, the head chef, and his response? A cold, unapologetic refusal. No refund. No reschedule. He pushed me to find others who could take me and my friend’s spot after he said they find it nearly impossible to fill spots the day before. No consideration whatsoever. Essentially: “Thanks for your money, too bad you’re sick.”
I even asked if he would prefer if my friend and I show up with covid and he said “that’s a choice you would have to make.” It contradicts what he has on his site which says:
“Merchant Roots has heavily considered the current health climate due to recent variants and trends, as presented by COVID-19. We are ensuring that our staff continues to remain current with their vaccinations; and we are additionally requesting that all guests continue to do the same.” But coming into the restaurant testing positive for Covid is okay?
I understand restaurants have policies, but good businesses also have compassion and common sense. Penalizing customers for doing the responsible thing and staying home while contagious is not only heartless, it actively encourages people to show up sick just to avoid losing hundreds of dollars. That is dangerous, irresponsible, and frankly shameful.
This place clearly values profit over people. I won’t be back, and I’ll be warning others to steer clear of a business that treats its patrons with such disregard. There are plenty of restaurants that understand hospitality means more than just taking your money.
Service: 1
I've been to three different experiences here, and each one has been more amazing than the last. The food, wine, experience, and service are all top notch.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food quality not so up to par with menu pricing but other than that good service beautiful atmosphere thank you team!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
It had been too long since I last went to Merchant Roots. Still AMAZING! Thanks for the incredible experience tonight.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I don’t usually post reviews, but this was honestly one of the most disappointing tasting menus I’ve experienced, not just in SF but anywhere. A coworker had hyped this place up as one of the best in SF and my expectations were high. I booked this for Valentine’s Day, hoping for something special but if anything, my partner and I ended up bonding over just how underwhelming the food was (she flew in from NYC for this). Throughout the meal, not once did anyone on staff ask how the food was. Dishes were simply served and cleared away and we were guided to the next part of the “experience” which was surprising for a spot that bills itself for good food. I understand the intent behind the “Humpty Dumpty” theme but this particular execution just didn’t land. While I can imagine they’ve pulled off more successful concepts in the past, this menu was almost entirely breakfast-themed, and there’s only so many egg-centric dishes you can serve at dinner before it starts to feel repetitive and uninspired. By the end we were completely over the endless parade of “breakfast takes”. Overall it was a big letdown there was very little creativity, and the lack of engagement from the staff made the whole thing feel flat, would not recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Outstanding restaurant! Creative and Beautiful Presentation, Delicious Food, Very Different from other restaurants !
If you are trying to decide between this and some other fine dining restaurant in San Francisco, then Merchant Roots is an obvious choice if you are looking to be WOWed!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My partner and I were there for the In Bloom Edible flower experiance.
Definitely an Experiance more then a place for lots of food, but we did leave full and satisfied.
The chefs (who also served us) were all delightful and very good at answering any questions we had.
Beautifully curated space.
Would definitely recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Such a fun dining experience! The vegetarian menu was a delight!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The most amazing experience I have ever had I was taken on a 2 hour sensory adventure. Wonderful wine pairings. Lovely! THE IMAGINATION and creativity is out of this world!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We've been twice now to Merchant Roots for two different menus, and this has become my new favorite restaurant for a fancy dinner. The food is exceptionally delicious, but the real fun is seeing the creative ways that every dish leans into the theme for the menu. Everyone at the seating eats their courses simultaneously, and we love to watch and speculate about the next course as the team assembles it. One of the other best parts is that everyone on the team is a chef and server, so you can talk to the chefs directly about the meal. Both times we've gone have been evenings full of fun, whimsy, and delight, and we can't wait for our next visit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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