Merchantman Fresh Seafood & Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Charlottetown

To set the scene, I'd like to say that I've been a lobster roll connoisseur for quite some time. I've had one in the arguable lobster fishing capital of Canada that is Shediac, New Brunswick, Boston, Nova Scotia , locally using imported lobster as well as now Charlottetown, PEI.

First off id like to speak about the presentation. I wasn't ready for what was about to occur. I ordered this at a downtown restaurant in Charlottetown because it was one of the only lobster rolls I had seen on the menu anywhere during my trip. Excited to get one in, I ordered it and waited. When I was presented with what you see above, I was in awe. Immediately I noticed the variation of lobster meat. Using claw and tail meat, this is a sign that a lobster was used specifically for this roll. Typically with a lower quality roll you will see minimal variation in types of lobster meat, since they are using frozen pre sorted meat. This roll, on the other hand , was no low quality roll. As I always do, my first experience with the roll was an inspection of the bun and roll itself , along with a smell to check things out. No fishy smell, no soggy bread. Things are really getting exciting now. I notice a garnishing of fresh leafy greens and what appears to be parsley and small pieces of celery. All of which are welcome to compliment a quality lobster roll.

I take my first bite.

Overwhelmed with flavor , notes of butter and a crispy yet soft roll, Im unsure whether this is a fluke or a roll sent from god himself.

I take my second bite.

It is the latter. This roll is exceeding any expectations I could have ever laid out. I am in shock at the absolute perfection of this roll. The lobster is sweet and firm yet tender. The roll is of adequate size, soft inner yet crispy outer. No soggy or stale letdowns. The lobster being the forefront of the delivery, I cannot help myself and I finish this roll like a seagull, afraid of any possibility that I do not get to finish this all to myself. I sit there in awe. Reminiscent of what once was.

I will be back merchant man. I will return once more to participate in a victory lap of aforementioned roll.

A 10/10. A rare site to behold. A moment that will live...

Very disappointed. Terrible value and mediocre food.

We went to Merchantman Bar after reading all the great reviews about the restaurant and upon a recommendation from a local. However, after spending close to $200 for three people, we have to say that we were extremely disappointed.

We ordered the calamari appetizer after being told they ran out of mussels, and then a number of fresh and baked oysters, a seafood chowder, chilled lobster platter, a scallop pasta, and a Caesar cocktail.

While the calamari itself was quite tasty, the portion size was extremely small not worth the price it was listed for. Personally, the bright purple/pink mayo it was served with was a bit off-putting but overall the dish was tasty.

The oysters were nothing special and quite bland tasting. The baked versions were also quite disappointing. Being from the west coast, perhaps we are spoiled with our local oysters, which taste much better and a small fraction of the cost.

Next came the seafood chowder, which was quite good. The soup was rich and thick and the seafood was not overcooked but just right. This was probably the best dish of the night.

However, the scallop pasta was very disappointing. At the $32+ price point, while it did come with some large seared scallops, the taste was completely bland. It was as if the chef ran out of salt that evening (much like the mussels). In the end, I had to flavour the pasta using salt from the rimmed ceasar, and putting some seafood chowder in it.

The lobster chill was as expected though very hard to justify for the price point. The potato salad was good, but the 'signature' coleslaw it came with was over-salted and we ended up leaving that dish alone entirely.

Overall, this was a disappointing experience. For the price we paid, both the quality and quantity was largely lacking. It appears to be a tourist trap, and now a few days later, having visited a number of other restaurants, I have to say that there are much, much better options on the Island.

Would not recommend, and do not plan to...

We are here visiting from Alberta, and Merchant Man came highly recommended from a friend’s friend for their Caesar’s. Our friends we were dining with are from New Brunswick and both had never been to Merchant Man but were looking forward to trying it. It was busy there as it was a Friday evening and the lovely young waitress was trying her best to find us a table that would accommodate us and three little ones. We were told that she was going to check and see if their live music was going to be coming as it was 40 mins past their arrival time and if they weren’t coming we could use that table. While she was checking we were going to sit at the table (picnic table) to wait for an answer while also trying to keep our kids out of the entrance way and the manager approached us telling us we were not welcome to sit there as there was going to be live music. We told him that we understood that they were waiting to hear back but we would just wait until he heard back. He was extremely rude and ignorant to the fact that we would just step aside and wait and as we moved out of the way he was mumbling under his breath about us. It was beyond unprofessional and terrible customer service. After experiencing that we chose to just leave as I would rather not spend my money in an establishment with a manager like that. We thanked the young waitress for her time and customer service and chose to go elsewhere. I would like to point out that after we finished our meal at another restaurant there was no live music. So the restaurant lost out on live music, as well as a large bill that we would have had. It was very apparent to me that the restaurant is successful thanks to their lovely wait staff, but the manager could use a lesson or two in manners and respect. I hope someone else is able to enjoy the food and drinks that came highly recommended to us, but unfortunately were met with an...