Comfortable cheerful room with great service. Food selection has something for everyone and good drinks choices. Convenient location for Marda Loop area. read more

FOUL language at the bar and bar staff does nothing. Came for a happy hour drink and a guy came in chatting with the bartender. Every second word out of the guys mouth was an f bomb. We mentioned it to the bartender he simply shrugged it off. Not acceptable. read more

Had a lovely evening here for girls night! Was a vibe Scallops weren't my favorite.. but the salad with salmon was amazing! read more

We came here before an event for some dinner and drinks. The server could have checked on us a few more times as we wanted to order more food and get our bill..the short rib penne sauce was good but the dish was full of onions and not a lot of short rib. The caprese salad was delicious, but the tomatoes were unripe. Meatballs were good. This place has potential but service and food could be better read more

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The atmosphere is great and the service is friendly but my goodness is the food so,so disappointing. I've been here 3 times and I don't think I'll go back because each and every meal has been bland or basic and VERY over-priced for the taste and quality. The half-priced wine nights are great but I'm pretty sure my Moscow mule was made with ginger ale, not ginger beer. I really hope one day they upgrade the menu! read more

We had a great lunch here at Merchants! The gluten free pizza was super good and the smoked meat sandwich was delicious! We definitely will be back again when we're in town! The drinks were also all amazing. Highly recommend checking this spot out! read more

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Staff was nice, food wasn't great. The cheese was too heavy, the bread was super saggy because of the extremely thin consistency. They added too much tomato sauce as well. The "basil" that they put on my pizza was dried out completely and tasted like paper. The basil was also cut into thin strips, as an outcome of that, I couldn't taste the flavour which was disappointing. The way the basil was cut was a super odd choice. I understand maybe they were trying to be creative, but it did not work. I was charged $23 for that pizza. Not worth it. There's way better food and pizza you can buy for the same price and much better quality. Food: * Service: ***** read more

Merchants Restaurant & Bar - a pizza in a box - Bars Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

This place is more of a 3.5. Been here twice. Both times service was really good, hence the extra .5 star. Our group was well-looked after and our servers were genuine. For a neighbourhood restaurant, I quite liked it. The pizzas are tasty, the truffle mushroom one is the best of the bunch. Several wines by the glass to choose from, though beer selection is more limited. My friend comes for the prime rib special on Saturdays. read more

Merchants Restaurant & Bar - Bars Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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Is it a restaurant or nightclub? The music was so loud I left early because it was so loud with the boom boom music and everyone trying to converse with one another read more

Update (Nov 25,2017): I have now deducted 2 stars from my first visit. The service like last time is appalling. No one greeted us when we entered, and we sat at our table for 10 minutes or more before my wife got up and went to the bar requesting service and a glass of water. This initiated service finally. I ordered a beer, and we waited another 10 minutes for that, all the meanwhile several other tables were seated and already enjoying their first cocktail and appetizers. We ate the prime rib special which was quite tasty. So where they lack on service they make up on food. First Visit: Atmosphere inside and patio were decent. Wait staff were ok. Took awhile for water refills and when my partner informed them the men's washroom was out of paper towel, it was never addressed the entire time we were there and used the facility. On to the food and drink...well we had a couple pints and appetizers, and the service was quick and really comparing it to any other restaurant, the portions a tad small for the price. But really appetizers seem to fetch entree prices now a days. We tried the oysters which seemed fresh, and the charcuterie board which was fun, but expensive at $26. read more

Merchants Restaurant & Bar - Bars Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

we went to Merchants last night to have a nice meal and watch the hockey game. We ordered the ribs on the appetizer menu. $18.95 and got this small pile of slop with a couple bones in it. So disappointed. Then ordered the large salad $18.95 and got a bowl of lettuce, three cherry tomatoes one thin slice of cucumber and two cups of dressing. horrible. Would not recommend the food here. ever. We live in the neighborhood and come here often and are usually disappointed. Not sure why we keep coming back. Convenience I guess read more

The food is very good. The noise level and inattentive service made for a mediocre experience. Visited on a Wednesday night which featured half price bottles of wine and meant the bar half of the room was full and noisy. The caprese salad was a generous portion and the balsamic glaze was very tangy. My guest had the French onion soup which was customized to exclude gluten. I had the braised beef ribs which falling off the bone and served with a great sauce and mashed potatoes. Both were deemed very tasty and good value. We did experience some difficulty in trying to order wine and the front of house staff at the door seemed disorganized and did not notice for some time that a table had opened up. I would try again on a different night. read more

Brittany was amazing. Very attentive and nice. She was very helpful and knowledgeable with the menu

I like this place alot. They always seem to try and help find a spot for you. And dont seem to mind if you bring the kids- you sit on the restaurant side rather than lounge side but they dont look at you like you brought in the germs (like they do at Earls in Mission). Food is fantastic. And larger portions that lots of places that would be about similar price point. And lots of great specials. Its a great spots and always hoppin. A bit of a cougar bar some nights but cougars need wine too (lol). Great spot and I only imagine other neighbourhoods wish they had one and not a lower end feeling pub. read more

If you have been to one of the previous incarnations in this space (Wolfmans and Union Station) you are in for a real treat! The new owners have completely renovated the space, installing a restaurant side and a vibrant lounge side. The bar is big and welcoming and there is a solid selection of beers on tap and even better, they have Wine on TAP! This is a relatively new concept, but is quickly gaining respect. Tap wine keeps longer than bottled, you can serve any size quickly and most importantly, it's Eco friendly! No bottles to transport around the world! If you are looking for a new spot in Marda Loop, give Merchants a shot! read more

Merchants Restaurant & Bar - Great logo, great bar! - Bars Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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When we arrived, we were one of about 3 tables with people. Some more people arrived after us, yet it took forever to get our brunch. When it did come, the eggs were stone cold. The waitresses were kind of appalled that we wanted to send it back. I was shocked that even the manager was so blaze and unapologetic. Sorry, but not interested in paying for cold eggs. The food looked good, but there is enough staff here and very few patrons that this should not happen. read more

Merchants Restaurant & Bar - Blah blah breakfast. Looks good but came out stone cold. - Bars Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

First time here as I moved to the neighbourhood. Had the spaghetti Carbanara pasta, very dry. Not much sauce or flavour. The server was full of attitude and made me feel bad for mentioning it. Nice atmosphere. read more

I can't quite put my finger on it but I don't like Merchants. Maybe it's just, at this price point, I would rather go to Earl's where I know the quality of the ingredients can't be beat for the price. Merchants has swept up the folks who used to hang out at Fergus & Bix before FB was kicked out of its Marda Loop location by a greedy landlord who thought he could replicate the success of FB himself in the form of the Mad Rose pub. I digress. Back to Merchants. Sorry, I just can't get excited about it. It has the same menu as everywhere else, lesser quality waitstaff, an older, on the prowl clientele and tiny TVs for watching the game. In short, I don't know you would go here given the alternatives. read more

Table for two. We had drinks and appetizers. Really disappointing because the very small portion of Calamari was overcooked. The Tuna tartar came with 6 chips. The flavour was good but the tuna was tough and def not enough chips. No water refills and it was such a warm day, couldn't flag our server. The cocktails took way too long to arrive. Overall disappointing. One star for atmosphere. Management...where are you? read more

Worst service in the city. Almost like they couldn't be bothered ! Seemed to have an attitude and answered (polite) questions almost combative. The saving grace was the evening server that came in at 5. Food was edible. read more

I live in the neighbourhood and have enjoyed having a resto/pub nearby for both business meetings and also social get togethers. I have been coming here since Merchants opened and have enjoyed both the service and the food. The reason for the bad review however is that we came in on a Saturday night with a group of 16 adults. (all between 40 and 50 yrs.) to have dinner and drinks. Probably a $2000 tab for the evening. We were seated as we arrived and the server asked the first group seated to not move the tables. As people arrived they ended up pushing tables together. When the server returned to the group with menus, she lost her temper and spoke in a very derogatory manner to all 16 in the group and then went and complained about us to the supervisor. The issue in the end is that the server felt that we had crossed a line by moving one table 3 inches to a point where she was going to treat us like a group of preschoolers and then complained about us to the manager. At that point we decided to leave and go to a nearby pub which welcomed us with open arms. The manager at Merchants treated the issue as a non issue and seemed to be fine with our party leaving. In the end it was a disrespectful and confrontational response that forced us out. Never going back and it's likely that none of the others will either. read more

Good food, if a little pretentious at times - ie/ the "deconstructed" steak sandwich would be a lot better as a sandwich, rather than a nice little piece of steak sitting on two pieces of garlic toast. It's the "pile it high" presentation style that was so fashionable a decade or so ago. Unlike some of the reviewers here, I've never had a serious problem with the service, and we've been here many times. It's touch on the pricey side (Calgary standard), and a bit loud. The music needn't be blaring so often, but it usually is, so make sure they don't sit you right underneath a set of speakers if you want to have a conversation. BTW, those speakers are placed over every second table. There are redeeming qualities here: The patio is wonderful on a sunny day. And the specials are great; particularly the Buck-a-Shuck oysters twice a week. I wouldn't go out of my way to visit Merchants, but my father-in-law lives a couple of blocks away and as a neighborhood haunt it's perfectly acceptable. read more

Its been a while since I have written a review but I'm in town and felt the urge! I went to this very busy bar again yesterday. Probably been about 3 or 4 times. What makes this place great is the wine, great selection of beer and above all the friendly service. You just get the feeling that its a very well organized place. Food is pretty good too and comes out in good time. read more

I've been here a few times and always have high expectations due to the awesome patio and restaurant layout but the food usually seems to fall short. When it comes to drinks-the cocktails taste like watered down juice and hard liquor so stick with beer. Appetizers- the meatballs are pretty good. They have lots of flavour but are not too spicy. Brunch- BLT is standard and comes with crispy hashbrowns. Pizza- truffle mushroom pizza was good but some pizzas came out with almost no prosciutto Overall the service is good. Servers were friendly and able to make recommendations. But from my experience the food is just so so. read more

Literally sitting at Merchants right now. Hungry af. The "kitchen" is apparently closed and can't even microwave me some friggin fries. Honestly, could ya open the kitchen por favour. Gracias. It's 10:45 pm. I need bread. read more

Fun atmosphere but the food is over-priced and the 2 times I've been there was mediocre-tasting at best.

I'm actually still in awe of how terrible the service and food was this evening.. Server had an attitude the second we sat down, maybe because I told her I was just getting over a cold and wasn't drinking alcohol for that reason, who knows.. The night went on, I ordered the steak sandwich, which isn't an overly thrilling entree, nothing special, steak was tiny, bread was stale. My friend ordered the beet salad which really took the cake. Looks like a bunch of spinach thrown on a plate and watered down with a vinegar dressing - beets were hard and it was extremely bland, no taste whatsoever. $20 for a salad is ridiculous. What was extremely immature was how our server reacted once my friend sent the salad back. She questioned her like she was lying about the terrible taste, then took the plate and went to the back, mumbling something to one of the servers on her way. Not even the feta could save that salad. Management really needs to address the unnecessary attitude of your staff, and maybe up the service and amp the food up x 10. First time here and won't be back. Save your money! read more

I come here a couple of times a month usually after an afternoon meeting. Finish up the business then go to Merchants to catch up. They have a nice happy hour food menu with some small plates you can share. Good selection of wine and usually a good beer on the rotator tap. Staff is great also, always familiar faces they seem to have very little turn over. read more

The dish boy Bobby is phenomenal. Squeaky clean plates. You should definitely give him a raise. DEFINITELY RETURNING.

My first 5/5 review ever! Everything was superb! The service was quick, effecienr, and attentive...we were checked on by our own waitress and another member of staff: it was convenient yet non-disturptive. The food was excellent. I was starving and our group ordered a decent variety: no one had 1 negative opinion of anything. The flavours were awesome and delicious. There is enough room between tables to have some privacy. Overall, amazing experience and we WILL be back. Thank you to the staff and chef! Parking is a struggle but if you show up for Happy Hour, there is plenty of close street parking! read more

I love that merchants is nice and close - in the hood however Sunday all pints are 5 bucks which is sweet, what's not sweet is that it's a 12 oz pour even though the usual draft pour is 16. That's not a good deal . read more

Had 6 people and spent over 400 bucks One person didn't like the pizza and didn't eat it. Wasn't offered a substitute and charged 22 bucks for the shitty pizza. Bad business!! read more

Came here on a Sunday and had the pint and pie for $15. We chose the mushroom pesto pizza to share and it was really good. Loads of flavour, plenty of cheese and a nice thin crust. We also got a happy hour cheese and meet board which wasn't very exciting. Overall we really enjoyed the experience and will definitely be back for the pizza. Our waitress was very attentive and friendly but the food and drink were quite slow to arrive. It was busy though which was nice on a Sunday evening. read more

Was sat on the patio. Water and menus brought by the hostess. No server came by to take order. Tired to flag numerous servers down to take order and no luck. Shame the menu looked good. We walked out after 20 minutes. read more

The service is terrible! The server never put my order in,y food came when everyone else had their bill and then when we asked if it could be discounted the server became extremely rude. I've never had such poor costumer service in my life. I ended having to leave without my food because she refused to get a manger. I will never go here again. read more

This was not worth the $100 bill we got at the end of the night. Our server, Sydney, started out well, but became nonexistent as the evening wore on. We ordered lettuce wraps for an appetizer, and the lettuce was limp and not chilled at all. The chicken that came with the wraps was dry, although the sauce was quite good. The appetizer was brought to our table very quickly, but it took our server a long time to come back to take our main course order. At this point, we were wishing we had only ordered a glass of wine so we could just pay our bill and leave, but our bottle was still quite full, so we hoped the rest of our food would be better. We ordered the mushroom and truffle pizza and the butternut squash. These were a huge improvement over the appetizer, and the pizza was a good size with enough leftover to take home. This is when our server really did a vanishing act. She took our plates away, but never came back with the pizza and our bill. We waited and waited, and finally went to the front of the restaurant to find someone else to help us. The food was pricey and the service was slow. There are so many other places that have better food at better prices with a staff that's more attentive. We won't be returning. read more

Not bad. A tastefully decorated restaurant bar; very open and bright. But more importantly, a very attractive selection of items on a relatively short menu. Here's my take, thus far: Frito Misto...2 Stars. A generous portion of fried calamari, prawns, cod pieces, and vegetables. The seafood and vegetables are well coated but a bit over fried. If you like it crunchy and/or drinking beer then it'll be fine, but it's difficult to enjoy the seafood behind all that crust (let alone, over-cooked seafood). Also, if you're watching your sodium levels then you'll enjoy this dish, otherwise, you'll be disappointed. There's virtually no seasoning on the fried items; all I could taste was the plain fried batter. The herb yogurt dipping sauce didn't help either; it was much too light. Had the fried items been well seasoned then I would've welcomed the lighter sauce. But having both items being tasteless just didn't work for me. You'd be better served running up the street and grabbing some tzatziki from OPA!, if not their calamari, too. Lobster Fritters...3 stars. For taste this appetizer gets 5 stars, but unfortunately, only 1 star for presentation....the fritters just don't look very appetizing. I was expecting something golden brown but they were much darker in color...thought I had ordered a plate of meatballs, instead. But fortunately it's a different story after taking the first bite. The lobster, corn, and herbs were all dancing in my mouth, incredibly flavorful. What looked like something so heavy ended up tasting so light. If they could just work on the exterior, these fritters would easily be 5 stars. Pork belly sliders...5 stars. Simply perfect. The bun has a nice subtle sweetness that's always welcoming to any cut of pork. At first glance, it appears to make the slider look tall and unmanageable, but the bun is so delicate and fresh that it'll conform to your fingers. It also possesses a nice light crust and density that holds well and doesn't fall apart after each bite. A perfectly cooked and sized cut of pork belly resides in the middle and topped with smoked provolone, Asian pickles, and a perfectly balanced sauce. You can taste the horseradish in the sauce but it's just enough to let you know it's there and doesn't overwhelm. I hate horseradish, especially wasabi, but this sauce was just perfect. This is one of the best sliders I've had the pleasure of trying. The side of potato chips that comes with the sliders were also very good. They're thick like tortilla chips but just as crispy. They were under seasoned but some folks prefer it plain; this is one item you can always add salt to later. ***pork belly slider update...they've now added fried onions in the sliders, which is a nice addition, but seemed to have gone with frying the porkbelly as opposed to braising them. It's fine but just not as tasty and tender as the braised version. Short Rib...3 stars. You get two nice cuts of short ribs (off the bone) on a bed of parmesan mashed potatoes, all topped with sautéed pearl onions, cherry tomatoes, and mushrooms in a red wine demi glaze. The short ribs seemed a bit over cooked...they reminded me of reheated leftovers or a plate that's been sitting around too long. The thinner ends I can accept to be a bit dryer, but the thicker ends were only slightly better...there was just very little tenderness and juiciness to the meat when you sliced into them. Being the star of the dish, the protein was a major let down. I'm hoping this was an anomaly cause I love short ribs. The mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables were as good as it gets. The glaze was light and savory for being wine-based. This is one dish I'll have to revisit simply cause it's short ribs and I can't imagine it being served like this all the time. To be continued... Lobster BLT...5 stars. Merchant's version of the lobster sub doesn't have much lobster (small slices here and there), but then again, it's not a true lobster club. What they DO offer, a "lobster salad", is actually very good. Aside from the bits of scattered lobster, which you do taste, the rest of the salad is made up of shredded crab meat (I think). The lobster salad, along with house made maple bacon, greens, and tomatoes are all nicely laid out on a toasty brioche bun. All the ingredients worked well together, especially the bacon. This was a very tasty sandwich! Looking forward to trying other dishes, in particular, the duck tacos. read more

The waitress didn't seem to mind handing me the Rustica pizza with 5 scorched parts. They were kinda like charcoal briquettes accenting what was otherwise a reasonable looking pizza. I pointed out that the pizza wasn't ideal. She offered to take it back but I said I'd just eat it. I was starved. No compensation was was offered (like reduce the charge or pay the drink). The unburnt parts were actually flavourful. Trying to settle the bill was challenging . The waitress went off shift, which meant she went to the bar inside the restaurant. The settlement for the bill was handed to a second waitress. I told her I wanted to settle the bill, she dropped the bill off and went away. I waited for about 10 minutes and no one came by. My guest and I decided to prompt action. I went to the bar to find someone to pay. I spoke to my first waitress (sitting there) who then tried to find someone else. Then the bar tender came over with a machine. I said I was very displeased with the whole experience. She said she'd get the manager and she quickly walked away. Then the second waitress came back, turned out to be the manager, and I told her the service was terrible and for the first time in my life, I'd leave a 0% tip (normally, I leave 20%). She said she was sorry, but she had six tables on the go. I said, no excuses, customers don't want to hear excuses. No compensation was offered. Bottomline: Mediocre food and careless customer service... not going back. read more

Merchants is essentially a copy/paste. Big Yawn. Watched a Flames game at the wood on Saturday night to the sound of techno music. Terrible. The ham, pineapple and jalapeno pizza was decent enough. The draft beer selection was super generic. I'll pass. read more

I really like this place in general! Good wine, good ambience and the service is not bad! ... The gnocchi poutine is delicious! The tuna tartare was great as well, and the mussels delicious!! The oysters were great too!! I definitely really like going there! read more