Meridien — Restaurant in Centerville

Three of my friends and myself went to Meridien for their second day soft opening last night and it was great! Things were a little hectic in there and we enjoyed the majority of the food. I think if we return in a month or so, it will be 5 stars across the board. We were seated in two very comfortable couches in the lounge area and immediately had our server introduce herself. Unfortunately I forget her name, but she was awesome at adjusting to our group dynamic and individual personalities. We had checked the drink menu online and were a bit confused as the drink descriptions did not neccessarily let us know what liquor was in said beverages. Fortunately the menus in the lounge were very descriptive, so that was a relief to not have to ask about every single drink. Our drinks arrived quickly, our food orders were taken after they all arrived and showed up just as fast. One of the owners stopped by our table and others to introduce herself and seemed to genuinely value our honest feedback on the experience. The pricing was almost exactly what we expected, which was great as we were looking for an upscale experience with under upscale cost. Look to spend about $15 for a cocktail and under $20 for appetizers ($20ish being an absolutely awesome Churrasco dish and other dishes much less expensive).

One of my friends and I both lived in the pacific northwest and we were reminded of the "happy hour" culture in Portland and Seattle where you can find unique places like this lined up for blocks.

This will be in our group rotation of places to stop for happy hour in the future and we have already let our friends and families know to check it out. I wish these folks well as I can appreciate new restaurants popping up in uptown centerville, but I am a bit biased since I can walk to...

The first thing that struck me was the menu – a veritable time capsule from the early 2000s. I started with the Crab Rangoon, which at $12, promised grandeur but delivered disappointment. You get three baby-sized pieces that could barely satiate an ant. They offered a trio of super salty fries, presumably to diversify my sodium intake. If there's a secret society of salt enthusiasts, this place would be their mecca. Flatbread made an appearance on the menu, and I cringed. It looked like a cheesy kids pizza. The eggplant sandwich was the next experiment. Spoiler alert: there was hardly any eggplant. It was like playing a game of hide and seek, but I never found what I was looking for. Charcuterie board had slices of ham and summer sausage and a few cubes of pepper jack from Kroger. The pièce de résistance was the grilled romaine lettuce salad. Riveting, really.

To top it all off, the prices were astronomical for what you get. I didn’t bother with another martini – I didn’t need more salt in my wounds. The place was eerily empty on a Saturday night, which should have been my first clue. It felt like amateur hour.

If you want to relive the early 2000s and enjoy an evening of culinary mishaps, this is your spot. Otherwise, save your palate and...

This is another great addition to the Uptown Centerville area. I'm blown away buy some of the reviews complaining about portion sizes. It's called SMALL PLATES!! You are supposed to order everything on the list unless you are by yourself.

Anyway, we really enjoyed our first visit. The food was great, the wine was amazing, I got a pour of 18 year old Elijah Craig, and we got to meet the owners. Very nice people! They are still making adjustments as they just opened a week ago.

Our service was excellent! They have music but the people noise sort of drowns that out. I'm not sure there is much you can do about that.

We got the charred romaine wedge. It was excellent! The crab rangoon was very good and the sauce they make for it was really good. Lots of ginger. The veggie flatbread was on a tortilla which I wasnt a huge fan of but the flavors were really good. I loved the scallops! They had an excellent sear on them and perfect in the center. They just melt in your mouth.

I think they did an excellent job rejuvinating this place. They gutted it! I think it turned out great! We will...