Eddie Merlot's — Restaurant in Sycamore Township

Sooo…tonight some friends and I went to Eddie Merlot in Cincinnati.

Friend one started w/ the king crab and corn bisque and for the entrée, one of the chef’s favorites that came w/ either a house or Caesar salad. Entrée chosen was the Filet del Mar, which consisted of a 4 oz. Filet Mignon, Crab, Shrimp, Dijonnaise, Fingerling Potatoes, Cilantro Dust. Salad of choice: Caesar. Friend one at first enjoyed the bisque, however after the third bite, was no longer a fan. It was felt that it was too corn forward and friend one is not a huge fan of corn in that fashion. The entrée was thoroughly enjoyed. In fact, friend one was left speechless. The filet was cooked perfectly and the dijonnaise was everything, though the shrimp could have been prepared better. They came off as being steamed and could have benefited from being grilled. Friend six also ordered the Filet del Mar and enjoyed it as well. Also felt the steak was cooked to specification and the dijonnaise was very flavorful. The house salad was enjoyed.

Friends two and three ordered the chef’s favorite of the New Orleans Mixed Grill which consisted of 4 oz Filet Mignon, Blackened Shrimp, Andouille, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Friend two enjoyed the shrimp and especially the mashed potatoes in the dish. It was felt the steak was cooked well however, did not care for the sauce that was on the plate or the andouille sausage. Friend two started w/ the classic wedge and thought it could have been a meal in itself. Friend three thought the meal was exquisite (wicked). The steak was cooked well, the andouille sausage was the delicious and the potatoes tasted homemade. The house salad was enjoyed as well.

Friends four and seven opted for the salmon. Friend four’s was prepared on a plank and was delicious. Though the highlight for friend four was the appetizer of oysters on the half shell as well as the king crab and corn bisque. It was felt that the bisque was the best they ever had. For dessert, friend four ordered the peanut butter cup to-go. Friend seven’s salmon was blackened and was delicious but again the highlight was the appetizer of the crab cakes recommended by the server. Friend seven also ordered the carrot cake to-go. Friend seven praised friend one for choosing this restaurant for its ambience and delicious food.

Friend five ordered Mojo Shrimp and Scallops which consisted of Sea Scallops, Colossal Shrimp, Poblano & Corn Rice, Parmesan Cheese, Cilantro, Parmesan Crisp. Everything was good, however, the turn off was the parmesan crisp. It tasted like burnt toast.

As an appetizer, I started w/ the filet mignon potstickers. I can see why they are a signature item. They were delicious. I also had the king crab and corn bisque. The sweetness from the crab and the corn balanced well w/ the creaminess of the bisque. For me, it was one of the best I’ve had. I also decided to go w/ the Filet del Mar. I have to say, that was one of the best cooked steaks I have had in a very long time. For a medium well temp, it was still tender and flavorful. Although it stood on its own, one of the many enhancements (offered for an additional charge), would not have hurt the steak at all. The potatoes were really good, nice and creamy. The sausage was good as well, however, the shrimp unfortunately was lacking. For it to be blackened, I was not getting a lot of that flavor and they also were not hot enough, temperature wise. As a side (all sides are ala cart), I got the brussel sprouts w/ bacon. They did not rank high. For me, they were not roasted enough. Seemed more steamed than roasted. Friend one felt that they were perhaps cooked too quickly so that they were not roasted properly.

All in all, I am a fan of Eddie Merlot. However, dinner would have to be reserved for a special occasion. It is quite pricey as the enhancements (toppings) for the steaks as well as the sides are all a la cart. It could also run you a pretty penny for a nice cut of steak. So if you are trying to impress, (no jeans please), keep Eddie Merlot...

I should first say that I typically do not post negative reviews and follow the advice of Thumper “if you can’t say something nice…”

We went to Eddie Merlot's for my birthday dinner on 08/12. We requested a quiet table and were seated in a room adjacent to the main dining room. When we sat down, I noticed a hole in the white tablecloth and mentioned it the server. He remarked that we should find something to put over it so as not to look at it and that Aramark provides linens and it will probably not make it past their quality control when it is sent back to clean. I'm not a server, but if it were my table I would have either moved the party or changed out the table cloth immediately. First impressions are everything.

Our drinks and appetizer were good. My husband and I both ordered the Chef’s favorites- Filet del Mar (medium rare) which included a house or Caesar salad for a fixed price. When our entrees were served, we both noticed that the filets were well done – no pink at all inside or out. We showed our server and he agreed that the steak was over cooked. He returned both entrees to the kitchen after mentioning that ours was the second table to return our steak to the kitchen that night. The manager offered us free dessert which I honestly would have expected because they knew it was my birthday, and anything else we wanted. I just really wanted a filet cooked to order. The second attempt of my filet was cooked on the outside, RAW on the inside…sent back AGAIN. My husband accepted his as is and wanted to eat. When the THIRD filet arrived along with 2 managers hovering over me to see if it passed inspection, it was overdone, probably put in a microwave because it was cut where I had sliced it to check before. I have never in my life had to return a steak to a steak house more than once and I think I have only ever had to do that one other time in the past 30 years. For the price, I expect far more out of the kitchen, not to mention that Carlo and Johnny’s is located less than a mile south and Tony’s Steakhouse is about a mile north of this Eddie Merlot’s location.

I ate 2 bites of the third attempt filet and after all of the drama I asked to box up my leftovers. We accepted the dessert to go and were ready to get out of there. We cook very well and could have made this meal at home – and I would have cooked it to order the FIRST time!

When we received our check, I noticed that we were overcharged for our salads which were included with our meals as stipulated on the menu and NOT a la carte. An attentive server would have spotted the error and avoided making a bad situation worse. My husband asked to speak with the manager again after the server blamed the POS system. How many other people overpaid for their meals? The manager said he was sorry but didn’t really offer to do anything. I shared that I bring clients to this location since my office is near by and this type of experience would be extremely embarrassing to me (and them) if it repeated when entertaining business guests. I have been to the restaurant many times and never had an experience like this. I am disappointed at the lack of attention and frankly lack of genuine concern from the management. I’m sure the nearby competitors will be happy to have my business. Buyer beware… and check your bill before paying to make sure you are not overcharged. Eddie Merlot’s…you better get it together or you will be the next Cincinnati restaurant casualty.

31AUG2023 - I followed up the "response from owner" as suggested and have yet to hear from anyone at Corporate. It seems like the customer service problems are systemic, from the top down. I'm disappointed to take this restaurant out of my rotation, especially due to the convenience when we entertain business guests. I hope my comments lead to improvement in quality...

I recently visited the Cincinnati location on 2/19/22 as a guest for a birthday dinner. The reservation was for 5p, I and another guest arrived at about 5:10p. When we walked in, I noticed about 4-5 Employees huddled at the Welcome stand, looking uncomfortable and they just stared as we walked in. They did not greet us at all. I looked over and saw about 5-6 members of my group standing off to the side in a small area. By the way that we were not greeted, spoken to at all, and looked at uncomfortably, I could tell right away- that we were not welcomed.

A member of my group stated they were told, all members of our party had to be present before we could be seated. At this point, there were 8 of us present. A member of our group asked to be seated, since 8 of us were present, and she was told all members must be present. My friend stated the majority of our party was present, and we would like to be seated. An Employee then stated, they had to wait for a table to be prepared. This confused me, because the reservation was for 5p, and it was already after 5, so I would think the table should've already been prepared.

After a bunch of whispering from the huddled Employees, we were finally led to a table all the way in the very back of the restaurant. Keep in mind our reservation was for 5p, its now about 5:20p - as we were being seated, the Employee that lead us to our table stated " we will need this table by 8p, because we have another reservation". I was highly offended by this comment, and the audacity to feel that was needed to be said to our group.

Our Waitress was very monotone and gave us no engagement I could tell that she was just doing her job with our group- no more, no less.

We did not receive any bread until about 25-30 minutes later- after two other tables that came in later than our group had already received their bread.

We asked a Server to take our group pic, and he agreed. As our group began to assemble, our Waitress came over and I saw her whisper to the Server and ask him what he was doing. They were whispering, but I observed that she said to him -just hurry up, and then she took the camera and pic herself.

We finally received our meals (mine was not hot, and barely warm). About a quarter way through our meal, the Waitress had already brought out our checks out and had put them in the window sill. I do not expect for my check to be printed until I am at least asked if I would like desert, or asked if I am ready for the check.

Needless to say, this was not a good experience for our group. The coldness and non-engagement of the Staff was appalling. And to tell us that there was another reservation at 8p and the table was needed by then was unnecessary and told me everything that I needed to know- If they must have us there- order our food quickly and go.

I submitted a formal complaint on the company website and the Manager called me the next day and gave me an excuse for why everything occurred, including stating its their policy to bring out the check right after food is given at the table. This was not a good experience for me at all- I can't recommend this place and will...