First thing that stands out about this place is the variety of food available. The appetizers in particular are good. On the other hand, the cocktails need a lot of work. They came out bland and unbalanced which is a bit of a surprise, considering this place is a distillery. The entrées didn't sound as good, but still tried the pasta. Ok, the toasted Merchant Angel Food Cake with homemade fudge...one of the best slices but would be better with fresh berries rather than chocolate sauce The place itself is loud & the wait staff could be better. read more

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Overall the food was tasty, only complaint was the wait times. We waited longer than they said for a table, only for it to still not be ready so we ended up sitting at the bar. With 4 bartenders working the bar section we still waited a very very long time to even place our order. Once the food came, it was delish and the best ranch! Would've liked our experience better without the wait. read more

Merchant Tavern - truffle burger and fried artichokes - Gastropubs Near Me - Akron, Ohio

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Let me start with the good. The food was delicious, fries were crispy, pretzel was soft, and everything had good flavor. Now... the service was terrible. Our server came out with waters right away but that was about the only good. Took 10 mins to have her come back to our table so we could order apps and then another 15 to get food put in. We came around 5:30 and wanted to get things on the happy hour menu. Unsure if she wasn't checking in to delay that or not but it was frustrating. Food took 30+ mins to come out and in that time our server never came to refill drinks or anything. We finally got all our food at 6:30 and then got drinks refilled, frustrating when you can't even find your server for the majority of your time. Music wasn't too loud, the place was about half full and many tvs. We have had better service so I guess it's just hit or miss. read more

Food and drinks are amazing. Love the outdoor patio. One negative is they don't allow to substitute fries for another item.

Good food , local culture .very supportive to the community. Not a lot to do around here or places to go eat. It in a one horse town. The people are very friendly,middle class working people. read more

First time in at the Merchant Tavern and I had a pretty good experience, the service was fast and our waitress was really kind. It was kind of dark in the restaurant which gave it that tavern vibe. We ordered the poutine fries as a starter, the BBQ pork belly on these fries was AMAZING and wish I could have had more of it. I wanted there to be a menu item of just the pork belly because it was honestly the best thing we ate here. the fries were okay and the cheese was cold so it for sure was not my favorite poutine but I would order it again just for that bbq pork belly. The salmon salad was good, the lemon vinaigrette came on the side which I appreciated. There was not a ton of flavor for the whole dish but it was refreshing and a solid size piece of salmon. The Hell Fire burger was spicy and most of the flavor came from that sauce, was not a super juicy burger from what I could tell but it looked good and a nice looking bun. The fries were good, not super crispy but they are decent fries as a side for the burger. If i were to go again I will be trying mel's killer steak sandwich, it looks DELICIOUS! read more

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Our server Haylee was fantastic! Good atmosphere and good food, too. Also, most of the pints were fair price at $6. I would recommend checking it out. Cheers! read more

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WOW burgers were phenomenal many varieties. Grilled perfectly tender tasty and not greasy. The drink menu was pages and pages beers, wines mixed drinks with in-house gin and rum. We had cheese curds and sauerkraut balls both excellent. We arrived about 6 pm Wednesday the place was packed and we braced for a wait but got a table for 4 in a minute. Our server was prompt arriving seconds after we settled. She was attentive but not pushy. I wish I could remember her name, 19 brunette, I would ask for her next time. The place was large but split into sections making a cozy atmosphere. read more

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The food was delicious, compliments to the chef. However; while I ate at this restaurant, the owner chatted with me. He put me off to such a degree that I will never return. read more

Great food and service. Enjoyed the pretzel do wish the cheese sauce was a little better but to each their own. Would come back when in the area again. read more

Stopped in for dinner before our show at Weathervane. Great atmosphere, good food, and even though they were busy the service was amazing. Our server, Dillon went above and beyond. Just be cautious of the hellfire burger, the sauce is so hot that its practically inedible( burger was cooked perfectly, just recommend getting the sauce on the side) Also, skip the fries they are a bit on thebsoggy side. Everything else we had was great though. read more

Merchant Tavern - Gastropubs Near Me - Akron, Ohio

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10/10 food and service. Loved the lighting and music. Every dish we ordered exceeded expectations and the drinks were phenomenal. Would highly recommend trying their towpath spirits and cocktails! Always a hit here read more

Merchant Tavern - House salad, pork tenderloin salad, burrata, Moscow mule, cardamom Collin's - Gastropubs Near Me - Akron, Ohio

Service was good, food quality was somewhat mixed (didn't love my bourbon salmon sandwich, but wife liked her grits and salad ok), overall......just fair. The interior was nothing special imho, and was pretty loud inside. Music volume for a Sunday afternoon was a bit too high. Price/value for the experience was on the high side. Parking lot was tight. Service was very good but we are not necessarily compelled to return. read more

Thai mussles- with bacon, ginger and shallots! 5/5 this was amazing! My favorite thing we tried. Seafood hushpuppies- not exactly what i expected. It was good but not great. 2/5 Calamari- the aiolis they used on these spectacular buttermilk fried babies is so tasty! 5/5 Shrimp n lobster gratin- there was onions, bell peppers and loads of cheese. The bread was perfect for serving this dish to make it less messy. 4/5 Steak- we order medium and it was cooked as we ordered. Great flavor for both the steak and the delicious smashed tatters. 5/5 Shrimp and grits- the shrimps were huge! Not over cooked which is easy to do with shrimp. The grits has a slight smokeness from the gouda cheese and i believe pork belly was a topper! 5/5 I HIGHLY recommend getting a reservation for this place. We walked in and waited about 45 minutes. Avoid the hassel, and prebook your party. read more

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Had really good service and the food and drinks were exceptional. We had my husbands birthday dinner there and it turned out great.

I'm a regular and been meaning to post / review for some time - what I love about the Merchant is the consistent quality of the food and drinks along with the friendliness of the servers and bar team. I've had some really great food here. And the bartenders follow the recipes (which are well done) to the tee, so the end product is consistently good. Lots of TVs in case you want to catch a game out. Great place, highly recommend. read more

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Everything is great here. The food is consistently good and there are interesting specials. The staff is friendly and helpful. It's easy to make a reservation. We cry if we decide to go last minute and can't get in. read more

Excellent service! The drinks and food were phenomenal! Burgers were cooked to perfection. And the fries were amazing! Highly recommend.

I would highly recommend this place but only if you can eat outside and enjoy the river view and the atmosphere of being outside. The service and food are very good. Being able to eat outside is the attraction to this place. read more

Got to come here with friends; it was a good good time but.... Finally got to come here, we've tried before but FYI, they're closed on Mondays! Parking lot is a HOT MESS! I don't really know how they manage when they're busier, because the parking lot is so small. The lots next to them have clear signs about what business-customer can park there, or be towed. One friend risked being towed, another parked across the street and one was able to find a spot in their tiny lot. Inside is a bit dark, but nice. There are a couple of dining set up. As soon as you walk-in there's a bar, the off to the left is a bigger, more open dining then there's a small room that can accommodate smaller groups. There's a window to their distillery, where you may see someone occasionally checking the equipment and product. The food was good, poutine was delicious with some crunchy pork belly, merry cheese and savory gravy. It's big and heavy, we split it between the group, maybe a descent size for 4-6 individuals. Grits we're "delicious" according to one of my friends (licked the plate clean). The BBQ burger was good, and the Sinatra was okay. The Sinatra burger was a bit dry, the t eh ciabatta bread was just too much bread. Maybe if it was a bit toasted (olive oil and pan toasted?) it would have been better. Overall, we were okay with the experience. I would come here again, if somebody suggested it. read more

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Came here on a recent weekend evening for a dinner after a nearby movie. Place was not super-busy, but apparently the kitchen was significantly short-staffed so the food service took five-ever to arrive. Our server tried to keep us updated, offering some bread and butter and keeping our drinks refilled while we waited, but it was a super long wait. My wife had an entree salad, which she seemed to enjoy. I ordered one of their signature dishes, the chicken philly sandwich with a side of fries. The fries were hot, fresh cut and pretty tasty. The chicken philly was less than stellar with slightly undercooked onions and dry-ish grilled chicken chunks. Maybe an au jus dipping sauce would have helped the sandwich along? Not sure. I am hoping this was just an anomaly evening as we'd heard good things and I'd be willing to give them another try. read more

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Our server was fantastic the food was great my hamburger was out of this world fries were yummy . A very extensive wine beer bourbon selection. Definitely will go back. Only thing I wish they would print a larger version of their menu. read more

Yet another disappointing dinner. His self made alcohol (Rum) tasted like medicine. Why can't the owner just sell Bacardi?? Burger and Fries are OK, but way too expensive for the quality. read more

The good and drinks are amazing here, but the staff really makes this place shine. You are greeted with a smile on a busy night and the host/hostess did not seem overwhelmed although they were busy. There is a large amount of bar seating here which is not first come first serve. The bar is sat by the host which works out very well. We sat at the bar which was full but didn't feel crowded. The drinks were made well with their in house spirits, Towpath. The appetizers we had were the sauerkraut balls and calamari, both great. For dinner we shared the pork chop and subbed mashed potatoes for grits which were a bit spicy. Pork chops aren't in many menus these days so we figured we'd give it a try and glad we did, it was excellent! As far as noise level and atmosphere- it was moderately noisy, i could easily carry a conversation. Not too loud at all. Good place for a date or night out with friends etc. This would not be the first on my list for a family meal with kiddos, unless maybe for lunch. read more

Stopped in after seeing a show at the local playhouse... busy place... great food. Hostesses were very friendly and sat us outside on their patio. Food was delicious. The Mac and Cheese is a definite. Service was lacking as we were forgotten by our server... otherwise it would have been five stars. Manager was nice and courteous and took care of us... without this it would have been 2-3 stars. Would return. We all have bad days. read more

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We made reservations 4-5 days ahead of time and were called the day of our reservation and told our party of 14 at 2 tables would not be seated together and that we needed to cancel one of the reservations. Talked back and forth with the restaurant several times, waited on the manager to call us back, which he never did. We kept reaching out because they called at noon and our reservations were for 4:30. We ended up being told that they were not going to be yelled at, when that never happened and that my deposit would not be returned because I didn't give them 12 hours. How could we when they called me 4 hours before my reservation. When I insisted my deposit be returned, the manager hung up on me. Will never go there again. read more

Dear Yelpers, Nothing special, nothing bad. Just a quaint little diner to stop in and grab a quick bite. They have a great selection and the cheese curds are a good appetizer to start with. I wouldn't recommend the Towpath Bourbon. It's a local distiller from Ohio and unfortunately it carries that metallic after taste similar to other Ohio bourbons. The burger was pretty good. I got the sauce on the side which made it a touch dry, but I'm glad I did. That sauce is literally just heat. Very little taste and would have for sure made my burger pretty unbearable (and I'm a spicy food person). But the burger was good, cooked well, and still had plenty of flavor. Your friendly neighborhood foodie read more

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Great service! Awesome food. Burger heaven! Friendly people. Clean. Comfortable. Totally going back. read more

Merchant Tavern - a hamburger and a bowl of soup - Gastropubs Near Me - Akron, Ohio

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This is one of my husband and my favorite restaurants. The burgers are incredible. There are also a lot of gluten-free options available. We came here for Valentines - I called four days before and they were still able to make a reservation for Saturday night for us. My husband and I both got small salads which were HUGE - we definitely could have split one. He had the burger and I had the roast chicken with orange sauce over mashed potatoes. Everything was delicious. The staff are helpful and the food never disappoints. read more

Merchant Tavern - Burger - Gastropubs Near Me - Akron, Ohio

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Group lunch and was happy to see many beer/wine/cocktail choices on menu. Started with sauerkraut balls and pretzels. Yum! Most of us had burgers and salads. I enjoyed the salmon BLT which was recommended by server. Open and airy and good space between tables. Lovely staff. read more

Love the food here, especially... Very close to where I live so I find it convenient to stop in

Thursday was the last visit to to this establishment forever. We has a party of five for dinner. The hostess would not seat anyone until the entire party arrived. The last time they would not accept reservations w/o a credit card and there was a $10 charge for a no show. With restaurant dining on the decline these folks should be happy anyone shows up. BTW the place was virtually empty at 4:50PM Went down the road to a much better establishment called Papa Joes, a favorite. See ya, don't wanna be ya! read more

My first time trying this place. I thought the dining room area was really cool! Glad we made a reservation because we were seated right away. So many options for beer and cocktails, we chose burgers for dinner and were not let down! The "sinatra" was really good and different. The server Haley was friendly and helpful - we will be back soon!! read more

We had a great dinner. The cheeseburger was one of the best we've ever tasted. Apple salad was fresh and delicious. Grilled chicken on it was excellently cooked. The bacon and gouda on it were so good with the apples and cranberries. Server and hostess were very nice. Great atmosphere. We plan on returning. read more

Merchant Tavern - Build your own buger - Gastropubs Near Me - Akron, Ohio

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Highly amused (and definitely impressed) with the dichotomy of this place. Want burgers & fries? Basic beer? Got it. Salmon? Salad? Calamari? Homemade sauerkraut balls? Craft beer? Bourbon? They have that too! Lauren was our waitress and she was great! Polite, attentive, and friendly with quick service. Wish we lived closer and could visit regularly!! Great 'upscale' sports bar atmosphere. read more

Good, solid meals and apps. Great service. Great beer list, and overall full bar. I took my parents and my teenager, and there was something for everyone. read more

We had the opportunity to visit the Merchant with another couple this evening. I'm 73 years old and have never left a restaurant review until this evening. We were seated and enjoying a glass of wine and ordered The flat iron steak - the waitress suggested rare but I asked for medium rare - our meal came out and my plate was red with blood. I tried a few bites but it was way too rare for my taste. I asked the waitress to send it back but it came back as bloody as the first time. The manager, Anthony came over and said that was the way they served this meal and he wouldn't do anything to correct the situation. I asked that he take it off the bill and he refused . I paid the bill and left - We have enjoyed the Akron dining experience - in general - until this evening. All I asked was that he remove my meal from the bill, Anthony refused to do that. If you are looking for a lovely dining experience - I would encourage you to look further than this shithole read more

I want to start by saying that up until this point, The Merchant was one of my favorite restaurants in the area. The food and ambiance were always great, though admittedly the service usually left much to be desired. By that, I mean that the waitresses are always the same cookie cutter breed of rude young woman who seldom checks on your table and acts like your presence alone annoys them except when they come around to collect their tip. Regardless, I chose to look past it because the food was great. For the past 10 or so years, The Merchant was always at the top of my list when it came to birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's Day, celebrating milestones, or receiving people from out of town. I've likely given this restaurant several thousand dollars over the years as well as the money of my immediate family, extended family, and friends. I told everyone who would listen that this was easily one of my favorite restaurants, but after my experience this weekend, I will never come back. Not only will I not be back, but I'll be actively turning my family, friends, and business colleagues away from here. This past weekend, my entire family and I came in for a reservation on Saturday night and got in without issue. The girls at the hostess station were kind and accommodating. At first, our waitress seemed at minimum agreeable too, but once she took our orders, she disappeared for probably 30 minutes. Having not seen her for a while, my daughter decided to go visit the bar and order a drink. Once up there, an older male and younger female bartender unsurprisingly treated her like she was bothering them, but then took her order. Our waitress then walked up from behind and confronted my daughter saying that she should have just ordered at the table. The female bartender had already begun making her drink and my daughter explained this, so the waitress sort of walked away mid-conversation. The bartender came back with the drink and said that it would go on our table's check, but my daughter had taken cash up with her to just close it out; she then looked at my daughter like she had three heads and got the attention of the male bartender. The male bartender then walked over and said with an attitude that "they guess" that's fine. There was an older gentleman next to my daughter at the bar who looked at her incredulously, wondering similarly why the workers were behaving this way. She returned to our table with her drink and we thought that was that. When our entrees came, many of our plates were as delicious as I'd expected, but several people at the table, my daughter included, were hesitantly disappointed in what they received. One of my guests and my daughter received sandwiches that were on ciabatta, and it was pretty apparent from both of them that the bread was old. Ciabatta typically has a crusty outside and a soft, tender inside with air pockets; this bread was stale, firm, difficult to bite through, and the "crust" was rubbery. My guest simply ate his burger forgoing the ciabatta completely for the sake of politeness but my daughter's steak sandwich was inedible. The steak slices were almost completely rare, there was little cheese, peppers, onions, mushrooms, or garlic aioli. Even with as "wet" as the rare steak was, it didn't even penetrate the stale bun. My daughter thought that she'd gotten the sandwich before, but this was clearly not the same. Whether she was mistaken on which sandwich she picked or not, this was not acceptable. We let the waitress know and while she suggested that the kitchen re-plate it with different bread, this sandwich was too far gone to be salvaged, not to mention cold. Having only one bite out of it, we were hoping to get her a different sandwich or maybe a burger, but the waitress explained that we would have to pay for this horrible shoe-sandwich as well as the burger. They have a policy where they do not comp something simply "because you don't like it" and she was getting visibly irritated and rude with us. Trying to explain to the waitress that different bread would not save this sandwich, she got the manager to come over. After waiting 20 minutes for him to slowly meander over, we tried explaining similarly to him, and he got equally as short with us. After getting increasingly frustrated, we said that we could not in good conscience pay for this sad excuse for a sandwich, and he had the audacity to threaten to call the cops on us for not paying for the sandwich. We did not yell, we did not insult them, and we didn't even further escalate the situation, yet their answer was threatening to call the police. At that point, we knew that these are not the kind of people that can be reasoned with. To add insult to injury, we saw a busboy and other workers snickering, talking, and staring at us, so we paid the bill and left. Maybe the owner will see this and make some changes, at least I hope. Without good food or service, what do you have? A permanently closed sign. read more

Have been here several times. I've tried a few dishes, and each have been unique and tasty! Good beer and service too! If you're in the valley go here if there is a parking spot open! Don't park at the building next door unless it's after their operating hours though! They tow. read more

For one the Service was good, the waitress was attentive and pleasant. Now to the food. I ordered the country fried pork, which was one of the best dishes i've ever had, it was amazing.My wife ordered shrimp and grits, which was good but nothing to write home about. Ambience was fine, very crowded, but did not seem so, if that makes sense. Overall would definitely recommend. read more