My husband and I came here for lunch on Sunday the 7th April.

We both really enjoyed the experience.
Staff were very friendly and helpful. Having worked in customer service for many years I was very pleased with the service.

Meals were very reasonably priced and also delicious. They came out within about 10 minutes of ordering. The place wasn’t packed, but there were still a reasonable amount of customers in, so it was good to see fast and efficient service.

Would happily recommend to others and can’t wait to try something else on the menu.

Was heading to the movies today and was in need of a late lunch and was pleased to see a restaurant that was open with no surcharges.

My friend and I both ordered the fish n chips and advised them that we only had half an hour before our movie started. The food was out within less than 10 minutes and it was amazing! Probably the best fish n chips I have had in a restaurant in a while.

Definitely great to see a place serving good food with no surcharges on a public holiday, oh and they had a special on the fish n chips as well!

We will be back! Thanks for a great late lunch guys!

Had high hopes of a good meal on the 21st, which was a Thursday and was looking forward to their special that night: Angus Steak 350gram $18.90 served with hand cut fries and your choice of jus, garlic butter or hollandaise from 5.30-9.30pm (so their ad claims).

First disappointment after we arrived at 7.30pm, was when, after being seated, they informed us that they had “run out” of steaks and therefore could not serve the special. Tat to us is ludicrous as it is tantamount to false advertisement. The ad clearly states that the special is available from 5.30 – 9.30pm.

We elected to have burgers instead but a friend in our party of four had her heart set on a good steak; so she ordered on at regular price. This came (medium rare) but was as touch as leather; huge disappointment! Her meal was eventually swapped for a burger as well and offered at no charge to her.

Service was mediocre and serving staff were not attentive. One of the worst dining experiences I have had. What a let down!

Love coming here for a drink and dessert before going to the movies! The Creme Brulee is to die for! Always have friendly helpful service when I come here, nothing bad to say at all:) The food is always fantastic and the drinks are awesome. Oh and not to mention the best aioli I have ever had!

The views from The Merchant are great, looking out over beautiful lakes and nice scenery. The Merchant is a local for us as we frequently head down to get a nice beer in the sun after work. We went down for dinner their last month and were really disappointed. We hate it when we order a starter and the main comes a couple of minutes after so we specifically asked the bloke taking our order to bring the main out 15-20 minutes later. To our surprise the main came out less than one minute after our starter & the squid wasn’t cooked properly so we complained to the closest staff member. The reply I got was “oh s**t I’m sorry bro, I’ll tell the guy who took your order to come apologise”. The guy who took our order at the till then came out and said “s**t I’m sorry mate I accidentally pushed the wrong button on the till & that’s why it came out together” he then tried to shake my hand. The service from the younger staff was very very unprofessional and pissed us off. I requested to speak t a duty manager and she was fantastic. If it wasn’t for her I would be giving a 1-2 star rating. The lovely woman refunded our meal (including drinks) and told us to ask for her next time we go back and she will ensure everything is perfect, we had a chat to her about the staff there and whilst she was very professional she also had a good chat with us about work & uni etc. We still go back there for our weekend drinks etc but now move on somewhere else for dinner instead!

I ordered the chicken fillet burger which comes with guacamole, bacon, chips and aioli. I asked to substitute the guacamole with caramelised onions which was no problem. However my burger arrived without bacon, which they apologised for and brought over a while later. Overall the burger was far too much bun and not much filling, especially chicken, which probably covered only half the burger. The aioli that came with the fries was nice and garlicy. The waitress was polite and the barman was friendly. I wouldn’t repurchase the meal, especially for the $19 cost.

Came here on a Wednesday night and it was incredibly busy. There was no one to greet us when we arrived to the restaurant, we were lucky that there were already other members of our party at our table. It took a while for someone to come and take our drinks order, and one waiter twice tried to deliver food and drinks to our table that wasn’t ours.

Wasn’t overly impressed with the dinner. There were 6 people at our table and 4 ordered chips. All 4 of us were only able to eat about a quarter to half of the chips because they were overcooked. I was also super disappointed to find out that their “$12.50″ burger special was just the burger. If you want the chips (which you’d normally get with the burger), you have to pay extra. So the Wednesday burger special isn’t really a special if you want the chips, it works out to the exact same price. My partner and I found our burgers a bit bland and it took a good 30-40 minutes for our food to come out. When the waitress started clearing our table, she took 2 plates and then we had to ask for the rest of the table to be cleared later on. We didn’t bother to complain about the chips because it had already taken so long for our food to arrive we were all hungry and just wanted to eat.

I had the dark chocolate mousse for dessert and it was just brilliant. Not too rich and just the right size.

All in all, I’d would come back here, but probably not for dinner.

What a tremendous place to sit outside and enjoy the weather and a delicious meal.

I was really taken aback with the beautiful flavour in my ‘Summer vegetable stack’. The name of which I thought sounded a little dull to be honest… but then I read the ingredients (namely eggplant, goats cheese, olive tapenade, etc) which won me over instantly.

It was a hit. A gorgeous sauce of bell-pepper surrounded the stack, the colour of which was so beautiful (almost a flouroescent orange nasturtium colour – just vivid!). And the flavour – it was so perfectly seasoned, it was really great!

Great value – it was $12.50 off their Lunch menu. I also liked that the Coke Zero that I ordered came in a glass bottle (less guilt re the environment, etc).

The venue is quite big inside, but I chose to sit outside and enjoy the view out across the human-made lakes, to the tree-covered hills. If I wasn’t in the middle of a work day, I would’ve been quite happy to settle in there for the afternoon, plying myself with wine and catching a few rays. The outdoor tables are separated by tall planter boxes, so it makes them quite private from each other, which I liked too.

Also worth mentioning, are the ladies loos, which smelt floral and were pristinely presented. Well done the Merchant!

Staff were also chipper and efficient.
This has got to be one of the top spots in the whole Upper Harbour area

We met a friend at The Merchant, loved that there is heaps of heaters outside, lots of yummy dishes to choose from and they offer blankets to keep warm. Entree & mains were really good, we were all happy with the meals. Staff were really friendly and quick to help.
Only downside was that we ordered a bourbon and diet coke and it seems he had been given normal coke, as my partner is type 1 diabetic this made is blood sugars really high which is dangerous. Only other comment I would have is that we had been sitting outside having a pre drink and were super comfy but had to go back inside to order and pay, would have preferred to order at the table and have them taken our credit cards?
But we will be going back

I met a friend here on a Sunday, it wasn’t too busy, so a nice atmosphere. The re-fit looks great, and service was OK (1x lovely waitress, another OK, but not overly friendly) the reason for the 3 stars is the food. We ordered a bread and dips, which was good, apart from being served 1x dirty side plate, however, after asking how many prawns were on the entree size ($16.90) and being told the waitress was more than happy to ask the chef, she returned stating 6x prawns on the entree size. Upon receiving the dish, we were served with a meal comprising a few pieces of melon, a Potato Rosti and 4x prawns. For 16.90 we definitely expected more, especially after being told we would receive more.
Overall: Food: disappointing, but I would go back and give it another chance, as the service was OK and nice atmosphere.

UPDATE: May 23 2012

Have since been back to The Merchant (twice) and have been pleasantly surprised, food is good, and service, outstanding. It’s amazing what good service can do for a place. We will definitely be back.

Have been to The Merchant Bar and kitchen on numerous times, as a stop off from shopping, with my husband for a lovely evening, with my children, and with the girls for a lovely meal, each time the staff have been very friendly and made our time there very pleasant, The food is beautiful and i always seam to go for the salt and pepper squid haha, They have a loyalty club and send you a $50 voucher on your birthday!! now how many places do that? will be in this week with mine, thanks guys keep up the great work

My husband and I had been to The Merchant many times before but the last time we went will be our last time ever. We have found them to be pretty good apart from having to usually wait a while for our meals but we normally went there when we knew we were not in a hurry We went there for lunch during last week and were not only treated rudely by the waiter but also we were requested to give a credit card before being able to order food. We have never been asked for anything like this at another cafe/restaurant.. When I gave the waiter my Visa Debit card he got quite indignant about the fact it was NOT credit card. The whole experience left us with a very bad taste and we told them to forget it and went the to the cafe next door where we had a nice lunch. As a successful business owner in the hospitality industry I could never think of treating a customer the way we were treated and we will never be wasting our time going back to that establishment.

Lamb salad was so good. Will definitely be back to grab this again when I’m next out in Albany.

We recently dined at the Merchant for my daughter’s 21st. I wasn’t sure when she said she wanted to go here for her 21st as it is a bar, however, the service was great, and the food was really good with an option for the 11 different people (9 adults, and 2 children) who dined with us, they even had options for our Gluten free guest. I will certainly be going back, as there are several other things on the menu I would like to try. It is also well priced. Thanks Merchant

We waited 45 mins for the food, along with 2 other tables when it wasn’t a busy period at all. When we asked the waiter how long the wait was he looked flustered and said he would ask and come back to tell us, which he didn’t. When our pasta came the gnocchi was just drenched in olive oil. The cook chopped up lemon (including the skin) and cooked it to eat whole pieces. My spaghetti was undercooked and I kept tasting hard chunks. I couldn’t make myself eat it anymore and returned it, at least we didn’t have to pay for it and the waitress was apologetic. Terrible food and such long wait. Won’t return again.

Food was divine, we got service with a smile, very friendly place, everything was clean and modern and we will sooo be back. Thanks for an amazing experience at The Merchant Bar & Kitchen.

Food was great. Service non-existent. Manager didn’t seem to care. Had more service at mcdonalds.

I have been here about 5-6 times, for dinner, lunch or just nibbles and drinks. Every single time I have been super impressed with the service, smiles, delicious food, and all-round amazing experience. My favourites are: Caramelised onion tart, rump steak with kumara side, and the creme brulee with blood orange sorbet.. 10/10, my favourite restaurant!

First time I’d visited the Merchant but won’t be the last… Staff were friendly, food was yum & good value for $, & beer was nice and cold…. awesome outdoor deck too… Great way to end the day after shopping!!!

A stylish, funky bar with good food and friendly staff. Will be back for sure!

Ordered the Chicken and Bacon burger last week. Absolutely beautiful! Definitely will be going back again to try out the rest of the menu!