The Merchant Tavern

Excellent service, tasty food, and a pleasant atmosphere, but the music is too loud, making it difficult to hear the person across from you.

The food and table service rival experiences I've had in Michelin-starred restaurants in Toronto, but the music volume was so high people had to raise their voices to hear one another, and the general vibe was “bustling.”

Great night to sit and dine with our friends. We were seated in the vault with was awesome as a couple of our friends are ‘hard of hearing' so the noise level was just right. Food was excellent, service was top notch and the perfect amount.

Excellent food and service! Always a pleasure to dine at Merchant Tavern. My favorite downtown St. John's restaurant.

We make a reservation at Merchant Tavern whenever we are in St. John's, the food is always delicious, ingredients are fresh and high quality l. On this particular visit, Innocent was our server and he was an absolute joy, so friendly and a real asset the Merchant Tavern team.

Very disaaponting. The service wasn't friendly and seemed very put on. Often waa forgotten or having to remind the server of things. Food was not good. Probably one of worst pieces of meat I have ever had. So salty, just couldn't eat it. Everything was taken care of but it was way too pretentious without the goods to back up the attitude. On a positive note, they had a nice French Pinot and good music.

Just had a fantastic dining experience, the best part? Our server Mari, she was an absolute treat! Never had a server this personable and who seemed to truly care about our dining experience! She knew the menu in and out and was able to give us the perfect experience. Really made our special celebration even more special!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Had dinner (duck breast) here 2024-11-16 and we were extremely pleased. The service and atmosphere here was top notch as well. It's nice to "push the boat out" sometimes. We will be back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I cannot rave about this place enough. We had the tasting menu with wine pairing. It was exquisite. Stunning food that rivals anything I've experienced at Michelin starred restaurants. Wine pairings were spot on. The worst thing I can fault is the first table we sat at had bad lighting, but it was quickly rectified. Overall five stars easily.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Looks like a bank from the outside, but really nice inside. Great burger!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Burger

Dined at the Merchant Tavern recently while on vacation from the US. It was a special milestone birthday, so my husband and I looked at reviews of restaurants and chose this one. The interior is lovely, very industrial chic with very high ceilings. It’s beautifully decorated. I kept ogling the paintings on the wall to the left as you walk in the front entrance. SO beautiful.

We were seated at a high top right up against very loud people at the bar, when we had requested a nice table for two. I’d say this was the least desirable table in the entire restaurant, but so be it. I ordered my standard vodka martini with a lemon twist, and when it arrived, I had to wonder if the server had consumed ¾ of it on the way to the table (see photo). It was an expensive drink too! I was not happy, but wasn’t sure if it was a Canadian thing with standard measures? In the states, martinis arrive filled to the brim. I did see other drinks going out in martini glasses that were a bit fuller, so I don’t know.

We chose to split the charcuterie board as our starter. This was the best part of the meal. Nice selection of meats and cheeses, though the price was pretty insane 45CAN (32USD). Still, everything tasted nice.

For our entrees, I ordered the duck breast with Brussels sprouts and cherries and my husband ordered their pasta special. My duck dish was really a disappointment. The duck was the toughest I’d ever had, very chewy—the kind of meat you chew and chew and the piece never gets smaller. The Brussels sprouts consisted of THREE single LEAVES of the sprouts. And add to that the dish was so overly salted it was almost inedible. I’m a home chef and like things well seasoned, but this was way over the top. Husband’s pasta was cooked perfectly, but again the dish was so over salted he didn’t finish it. We took the leftovers back to our AirBnB but threw them out.

Also, our server had no personality at all and wasn’t very attentive. C’est la vie.

Sadly, that was our last attempt at dining at an upscale restaurant while in the St. John’s area. We had great experiences at more casual places that served fish and chips and burgers. We are foodies and were so excited to experience some great restaurants while on holiday. The Merchant Tavern discouraged us from spending our tourist dollars on any other fine-dining spots.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 2

Awesome perfectly prepared steak frites. Steak cooked to perfection and crispy fries.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Steak Fries

Had my wife's birthday dinner just now and the service and food were an absolute 10 out of 10. James our sever was fantastic and the head chef really made our birthday supper an extra but special.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Steak Fries, Fries

This was a spectacular meal and experience. It was high-end dining that truly delivered. We shared oysters, 2 entrées and a dessert and all were so delicious.
Local oysters with NS sparkling wine 👌
Cod with cream sauce, veg and potatoes was balanced and perfectly cooked.
Sausage with partridge berries, mashed potatoes and greens was the epitome of fall flavours and enviable textures.
Both with a glass of Chablis that complimented both.
The Chef visited us to tell us more about the food and inspirations, what a nice touch.
Blueberry and lemon Tirimisu for dessert was just so yummy and inventive.
Shout out to amazing service from our server/bartender (name?) and of course lovely James. 🥂

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

To be totally fair and honest...the burger was just good.. a glorified big mac. Which is the next best thing to bernards in my opinion.
Server was nice..it wasnt his fault...he didn't cook it..but...
But when you look forward to a night out with your date after working all week..its upsetting. Lets get to it: Rigatoni...crunchy and chewy. And I'm not sure what that minced meat stuff was but it wasn't what you'd expect from a restaurant of this type. It wasnt "al dante " and I know how the cooking styles of pasta can vary. This was just too under cooked.
When approached by server "Andrew" and asked how the meal was I was honest and respectful. I don't like to be rude but Rigatoni had only 2 maybe 3 noodles gone from the plate. Still...had to pay $95 with no mentions of any discount for the troubles.
I don't even want any compensation for any of this anymore. At this point I litterly just want to spare someone else from this happening to.
I'm sure the rest of the food was delicious for the majority of people and that's great. This is just my experience.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 3