The Merchant Kitchen — Restaurant in Winnipeg

Out of all the Academy Hospitality Group concepts, this one failed to wow me and left me disappointed. With a family-style menu inspired by Latin and Asian street food, I expected bold flavours, well-executed dishes, and a satisfying dining experience. Unfortunately, the execution fell short on multiple levels.

One of the first things that stood out was the portion sizes. They are incredibly small. If you are dining with someone, expect to order at least 5-6 dishes to feel somewhat full. The majority of the menu consists of "street bites" which are mostly finger foods and tacos instead of actual meals. Even the "large plates" are underwhelming in size. If you have a big appetite, this is not the place for you.

We ordered several dishes, hoping for a standout meal, but most missed the mark. The grilled corn for $15 was a major disappointment. If you are looking for an authentic grilled corn experience, go to Mexico, where you can get delicious elote for about $2. Here, we received a single cob dressed with chili, lime, cilantro, and cheese. The dramatic tableside slicing did not justify the steep price. $15 for something so basic was not reasonable.

The $22 tempura shrimp was another letdown. 3 tiny shrimp for that price felt like a rip-off. The quality was reminiscent of something from the frozen aisle at a grocery store. The dan dan noodles were overcooked and soggy. Proper noodles should have texture and bounce, but these lacked integrity. The Thai fried rice was the only dish that was somewhat decent. But it could have been better. Instead of just tossing bland, defrosted prawns on top, they could have incorporated them into the frying process to absorb the flavours.

The biggest disappointment was the Korean fried chicken, which came with 10 pieces. When we asked the server for their most popular dish, they recommended it. Unfortunately, it was borderline inedible. The chicken was raw on the inside yet over-fried on the outside. The flavour was confusing, with sour, sweet, salty, burnt, and spicy notes all at once. The house brine was likely the culprit, resulting in an unpleasant and disjointed taste.

The one redeeming factor was the cocktails. They were well-balanced and enjoyable, but when drinks are the highlight of the meal, that is not a good sign for the food.

Service was another issue. The wait time for food was incredibly slow. I even had to pull out a granola bar from my bag to snack on while waiting. The server quickly informed me that outside food was not allowed, which was ironic given how long it took for our food to arrive.

The atmosphere was also underwhelming. There were candles on the tables, but none of them were lit. We expected the server to light the candle to create a nice ambience, but they never did. It felt like a small but noticeable detail that was overlooked, adding to the overall lackluster experience.

Overall, this place left much to be desired. The concept of blending Latin and Asian street food is fantastic, but the execution was poor. Portions are tiny, and most of the menu consists of finger foods instead of proper meals. If you enjoy hearty meals or do not want to spend a fortune ordering multiple small plates, this is not the restaurant for you. Slow service, overpriced dishes, and an underwhelming atmosphere make it hard to justify a return visit.

Would I recommend it? Unfortunately, no. There are better options for this type of cuisine, both in terms of...

This place might've been a great place but my first experience has left me very disappointed.

Pros: The food was ok although, it might've tasted amazing to me because I was starving by the time I finally got my dishes. Prices were average - high. Great atmosphere and setting.

Cons: Don't come on a busy night with a large party. That was the root of my bad experience. There was about a dozen of us on a Friday night. Con #1: We were there for the Dine About feature but my Sister-in-Law wasn't asked any questions regarding it when she had made the reservations. When we got there and asked about it, we were told that since we didn't pre-book or state that upon reservation, we were only allowed 4 orders off the menu. Ok, this could've been due to lack of communication. We'll move on. Con #2 and what irritated me the most. While most of our party got their food on time, myself and one other person, for every course, got our dishes long after everyone else in our party had finished their dishes. They attempted to wait for our dishes before they began eating, but after a while, their food got cold & couldn't wait any longer. That's how it was the rest of the night. Husband noticed that other tables were being treated the same way. Guys: if this is a new way of serving so that one table didn't wait hours for their food, this is a terrible idea. To have to watch my friends eat while I waited for my food because if I didn't insist that they eat without me, they would've had cold food by the time mine came out.

I scored this 2/5 because experience really matters to me and I had such a terrible one. The food was great, everything else was awesome... but I just can't look passed the terrible service. I wish the server or the manager would've maybe came by to explain why only a few of us were waiting an insane amount of time while everyone else ate, I could've looked passed it. But no attempt to communicate to us doesn't sit well with me.

The Merchant: your food has the potential to be delicious, I LOVE the space but please, work on your service so that I...

Service was very friendly. It was difficult to hear due to the full house from the Jets game. Had a reservation at 6:00 but were not seated until past 620 (closer to 630). No apology for the wait but was politely informed that they were waiting for the table to pay their bill. They serve q water, sparkling or still. Nice touch. I had heard mediocre things from my friends, so I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor. Everything tasted at minimum good. The Thai fried rice was interesting, having a crunchy texture. The jerk flavoring in the chicken taco was weak, but good for those who might not be comfortable with too bold a jerk flavor. I would say definitely skip the seafood platter. 3 jumbo shrimp, 2 scallops and 3 small breaded Oysters was $42... i included a picture. The platter is huge but the amount of food wasn't too scale. We were told it should feed 2 but she had seen one person eat it all. I wasn't hungry, but I felt like there was so little food, I could have eaten it all. The flavor was fine and if you have the money to burn, sure try this, but it wasn't a must have for me. The coconut flavored rice underneath the oyster was the most interesting component to this dish. Food came out surprisingly fast considering the number of people in tonight. The decor is interesting. It made me think of a Japanese restaurant in Seattle I had been to. The space is unique. It was packed tonight due to the Jets game. As other people have mentioned, serving sizes are small in comparison to price, but I figure you are paying a premium for...