Merchants Restaurant

This was the first place I took my future wife for dinner. 1990. The upstairs was historic and full of personality. It was magical. We came to the downstairs many times after that. The old building and good food were wonderful. Some years later, around 2003, we came back with, now including our daughter........to find the upstairs all mauve colored and the menu rather snooty. Disappointed. Food was average at best. But the downstairs remained great until a couple years ago when some group of obviously gay men bought it, painted white over all the old historic wood and turned the menu into some buffalo wild wings p.o.s. that's 1 page finger food and 6 pages of drinks. Disgusting to see such an historic place fall to such a low. more

I have eaten on the bar level (1st floor) and it was really good. The drink mixers are amongst the best in Nashville (same owners as Patterson House??)....but most recently I went up to the fine dining floor and it was simply amazing. The BEST steak in Nashville, according to my husband and I had the shrimp & grits. I think its the best grits I've ever had. Merchants is a must in Nashville. P.S. read some of the bad reviews..they're hilarious! Some sad little people out there. more

I worked downtown for years until about 4 years ago and loved going to Merchants especially for the Salmon BLT and always in the past had such a great experience each time I went. Decided to go back and was looking forward too that same great meal. Paid 5.00 too park and then walked into the NEW Merchants...wow who remolded this place? Must have gotten a deal on White paint and ruined the classy look the building had. Ordered the Salmon BLT and it was a shell of what it used too be, everything was different about it even the fries. Horrible meal for 15.00 but I did get some garlic popcorn...classy touch! I will say the service was good but please don't try too pull off the same menu of old, just start selling hamburgers, hotdogs, milkshakes and maybe some nachos with that gooey yellow cheese substitute and that would be more appropriate for the New Merchants. At least you don't have to rely on return business in the downtown area. more

Everything about Merchants is special to me. I love the art, food, drink and service. What more could you want! There is a special blend of warmth and hospitality that greets you at the door and continues during the meal. more

We ordered Blueberry crumble with/buttermilk ice-cream and carmel drizzle. What we got: Hot blueberry soup, about a 1/4 cup of mushy, almost completely melted icecream, and a a teaspoon of crumble. Dear God. How can you mess up a Blueberry crumble and charge $12 for it? Great decor, uniforms, and service, however. Really notably fashionable staff, and a beautiful decor. But you have to want to EAT there. more

Sounds like 99.9% of these reviews are written by the Golden berg boy's buds. Nothing about these reviews says authentic... especially the positive ones. more

After the renovation, this restaurant goes to the top of the list in Nashville, The Bistro atmosphere on the first floor has a menu that is priced right and has many exciting items. The second floor has a elegant menu and great selections. The second floor is for a romantic evening as well as for business lunches. The new owners have gone out of their way make make each customer welcomed and appreciated. A great addition to downtown Nashville. Just wonderful..... more

I am a vegan and i had to deal with incompitant people fromthe get go. it's always the same, no matter where you go. but, the fact that i had to talk to the manager at the beginning and still my meal came out with cheese, shows alot of lack of communication. i told the server, he told the chef; he told the manager... so on.- \r my only deal is i am a server, i want this to go through... merchants has recently been taken over, and by taken over, i mean... TAKEN INTO A BUTCHER SHOP!! THESE NEW OWNERS SUCK SUCK SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\r SO FREAKING BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\r my little sister worked therer for a bit, she got bossed and abused so bad. they tried to make every old emplee quit when those stupid brothers took over the restaurant... my little sis stuck it out for months, but these freaks ruinred her life. not even just physically...they have brought real life prosi's in... so if you wanna enjoy an afternoon.... go ahead, but be willing to pay a pretty penny... littrerally. those people have no shame. they make me sick more

Awesome, we dined upstairs on 7/31/2010. The waiter said they had recently completed renovation, and welcomed us to the newly finished dining area. The staff was most attentive, helpful and answered our questions. As an appetizer we shared an order of Ratatouille Crostini, they were “out of this world”. Salads were crisp fresh and lightly dressed. I ordered the Beef Short Ribs with puréed potatoes and creamed spinach it was “simply wonderful”. My companion had the Filet Mignon which was melt in your mouth. A sampling of a new fish appetizer was provide and enjoyed by both of us. I would highly recommend this once it’s on the menu. We also enjoyed several of their house Martini’s made with Plymouth Gin, Dry Vermouth and Orange bitters. We will be going back. more

The food was very good, reasonably priced. The staff was very attentive and friendly. Wanting to know if everything was good and if we needed anything else. I got the tuna sandwich--large piece of tuna and fries. Husband got fish tacos..enjoyed.\r Would definitely eat there again..... Pros: Reasonably priced, nice atmosphere, quiet, friendly staff Cons: parking more

I took 8 people to the Merchant for lunch on Thanksgiving day. The wait staff acted like they did not want to be there. The turkey was cold and bland, all of the sides were cold. I spent $400 for food not fit to eat. It will be the LAST time I eat there. There are MUCH better places in Nashvill to eat. more

A friend and I went late on a Saturday night for the 2nd floor fine dining. The night started on a bad note when we had to wait several minutes for a valet to show up. The restaurant was not the least bit crowded. In fact, we were the only ones in a section of 10-15 tables (maybe four tables that seated four and the rest seated two) until another group came midway through our meal. The bad night continued when we were seated at a very wobbly table. When we informed our waiter we'd like another table, he tried to fix it with a napkin instead of simply seating us at another table. If the place was packed, I could understand but as I said before, it wasn't. When his efforts were unsatisfactory, he actually acted indignant when we still requested another table. Furthermore, he made no effort to help us move our drinks and menus to the other table. Just told us to sit wherever we wanted as he walked back to the kitchen. Not exactly the kind of service you expect at a restaurant charging $30 plus for most entrees. We ordered the shrimp and lobster fondue appetizer which was excellent. My friend had a salad, which she enjoyed, while I had lobster bisque, which was too salty for my taste. My friend had the Jack Daniels filet mignon and I had the cowboy ribeye, both of which were terrific. We split a Chocolate Decadence cake for dessert and that was very good also. The service got no better during the meal. I was only drinking water and the waiter made at least three round trips right by my empty glass without making a move to refill it. I had to ask several times for more water. The bad service continued when we left. We went outside to get my car and there was no valet there. We stood outside for several minutes looking around for one when one of the restaurant managers came out with my keys after staring at us through the doors for a few minutes. The food was terrific and although I can't imagine the service usually being that bad, I'll never go again. Pros: Great food Cons: Service, parking more

\r We have lived downtown for years and only recently gave Merchant's a try. It's a little pricey so we opted to order cheeseburgers. Wow! They were great! The buns were toasted, the patty big, thick and juicy. Fries aren't so great as they have some sort of seasoning liberally sprinkled on them. Service is typically good and we can usually get seated without a wait, even when other downtown establishments are packed. The booths offer a comfortable dining experience and the seats by the windows allow for people watching. I would suggest declining seating at the round tops on the first floor. It is very cramped and loud. \r \r We have been 4 or 5 times now and the cheeseburgers are consistently good. We have stuck with a good thing and haven't tried anything else at Merchants...for the price, we will continue to get our steaks at Flemings.\r Pros: great cheeseburgers, nice ambience if you avoid the round tops Cons: Many items on menu seem a bit over priced for the setting more

We came here before a show at the Ryman, and we chose because it was the least bar-esq location that we saw on the block. The food was mediocore and incredibley over priced. I had the Chicken Pappardello for 19 dollars and my date the portobello sandwich for 9. As far as the food to price ratio goes, this restaurant failed to meet par. The service was fine, the food...not so much. Pros: Nice atmosphere, good location, good service Cons: Overpriced food. more

I don't know much about the dining experience here (as I got take-out), but I do know about the food poisioning you might get. I have heard many wonderful things about Merchant's as I work just a block away and a few of my co-workers enjoy take out for lunch. I had a Rueben and fries with the 1000 island on the side (i'm not a huge fan of it)....pretty easy sandwich if you ask me. It tasted great going down. It did NOT taste good coming back up 7 hours later. I ate a normal breakfast (the same thing I had the day before) and no dinner considering how terrible I was feeling. I am 100% sure it was the Merchant's sandwich that did me in. I am not one to complain, but how can you mess up salted, cured meat and canned saurkraut?\r \r Unfortunately this incident has ruined my taste for Merchant's. Pros: seems like a cool atmosphere, great location downtown Cons: food made me sick more

We had a wonderful dinner at Merchant's. The food was outstanding as well as the service!! We will definitely eat here again when we come to Nashville. Our waitress Jo Jo was wonderful as well!! Pros: food, service,. ambience, waitress more

I have been to Merchant's on more than one occasion. I have been in the upstairs section, but prefer the bar and grille area. I was completely unprepared for how much they seemed to have fallen apart there. I can't decide if I am more angry about being charged 5.00 for valet parking ( on top of the tip), or maybe the overpriced watered down drinks, or was it the absolutely HORRIBLE service ( waiter could not even come back and get our dessert order for 35 minutes). To top it all off, we were seated on the patio and the plastic chairs at the table next to us and then at our table collapsed! Do you think I even got an apology?? Nope. I think the management at Merchant's really need to clean house and get back to the standards they used to have.\r Pros: Great location for people watching more

This was one of the worst dining experience of my life...no joke. I entertained a party of 8 over the weekend and suggested we go to Merchants. The lack of service, attitude,managment and general deceny was AMAZING. I was completely dumbfounded on how bad a restaurant could be...........now i know. Plese save yourself the embarrassment that i expereinced by taking friends and family there.\r The location is great, the food is okay....................... but the service and management are so completely and utterly unacceptable that you could have a great evening many other places in nashville!! Cons: SERVICE,SERVICE,SERVICE more

My husband and I are new to the area. We went here on a long overdue date. The crabcakes for apps were wonderful. I had the scallops which were amazing. My husband had the pork which he thought was all right. We enjoyed the unusual sides that came with the main course. We sat upstairs (same price) because of the piano man. Next time we will probably sit downstairs as the atmosphere still seems romantic but a little more fun. We will definately go back! Pros: Romantic, Good food, Great building Cons: A little high priced for no salad or bread, parking was bad more

We had our wedding reception upstairs in the pharmacy of Merchants. Everything was absolutely wonderful. The staff was incredibly helpful and friendly, the food was so good, and the restaurant itself is beautiful. I completely recommend this place to anyone looking for somewhere to have a group event! Pros: Service, Food, Atmosphere more