Merchant Madison

I really enjoy Merchant. We’ve only ever been here for appetizers and drinks. They have an extensive drink menu and have never been disappointed. Their bartenders are super fast and friendly and easy on the eyes which is a plus. They have a really good cheese and meat board and their warm olives with ricotta is tasty as well.
It is usually busy here but the bar is large and we can usually snag a seat. If you don’t get a seat it can be hard to find standing space as their dining area is smaller and goes right up to the bar.
There clientele can be a bit uppity and pretentious. My husband would probably give this place a 2 stars because of that aspect plus the crowdedness. One time there was women saving a seat for someone which is fine. She said my husband could sit there until her friend got there. We were thinking maybe 5 minutes which was fair enough to ask too and he didn’t mind moving. But then a half hour later she asked my husband to move, we were done with our drinks and moving on anyways, but really? That’s not the the bars fault but its just the kind of people you might find there. Its fun to come here on a girl’s night before dinner and a show otherwise I drag my husband against his will.

One of my favorite restaurants to go to in Madison. Love, love LOVE this place. Their craft cocktails are awesome as well. Best Moscow Mule around!

The food is great and worth checking out. They have a large drink menu, but prices can be steep. The bartenders can across as snooty and pretentious. There is a small dance floor and they have DJ’s, it’s hit or miss on how great the music and dancing will be. It is pretty dark inside and it can be hard to see the menus. If you’re looking for a nice dinner go earlier, it tends to get noisy later in the evening. They have a good happy hour if you’re looking for drinks during the week.

Some people like dancing there. I felt weird about the size of the floor, some pillars or columns in awkward places, and the odd DJ at the time. That was years ago so who knows how dancing there is now.
That said, the drink selection is vast and fun to go through. And I overall like, not love, their food. They know how to make and remix prohibition cocktails, which are some of my fave drinks ATM, so very pleased to drink there. They do the thing a lot of places do of having it be very dim or almost dark, and I just can’t a place that does that very highly.

Great atmosphere, food and drinks! Had the Old fashioned and Side Car, yummy. Kristin was fabulous, thank you! Busy during restaurant week but handeled very professionally.

I’ve been hearing good things about Merchant’s cocktails for a while, so decided to check it out for restaurant week. The cocktail menu did not disappoint, each description I read sounded amazing. The restaurant was so dark, though, that I had to hold my candle up to to the menu to read it, and even that was still difficult. I love ambiance and candlelight as much as the next person — but I also like being able to read my menus and see my food.
The food was quite good. I rarely order chicken in restaurants because it is so often overdone, but the chicken was moist, delicious and paired beautifully with the flavors of the sauce and side. The farro pasta was the perfect winter dish and both of our appetizers (carpaccio and ricotta) were a great start to the meal.
Servers were friendly and attentive. Overall a solid meal and I will definitely return, if only to work my way through that cocktail list.

I do love cocktails, but would never consider myself extremely cultured in it. Merchant, however, always makes me feel more comfortable than I expect.
I’ve been here for drinks four times and lunch once (lamb sliders. Delicious!)
No matter how busy the bartenders are you can still get an honest recommendation on your cocktail. Love it here!

I really want to like this place, but it’s just ok. I’ve been there several times. Drinks and food both look great on the menu, but the actual result is pedestrian.

First we went to the bar area and couldn’t find a seat, so we went ahead and had the hostess seat us because the whole place is pretty small and they were pretty busy. We had the Tuesday special «Cheap Date Night» where you get two preselected entrees, one preselected bottle of wine and one preselected dessert to share for $ 40.
Atmosphere was cozy and trendy… industrial mixed with rustic. dim lighting… very nice.
The service was great, no complaints.
The food was ok. No real complaints. It was white fish with the skin on, some cubed potatoes, lettuce greens and and some type of vegetable straws. All with a nice sweet but light sauce on it. The dessert was a deconstructed s’more. Only a light bit of chocolate was on it, mostly just a large toasted marshmallow and small graham cracker… not too impressive. The entrée wasn’t enough to keep you full all night but was at least filling for an hour. We had the cheese curds. They were typical fried cheese pieces and were ok. The cheese stayed soft in the middle so that was good.
Overall, it was a good place to visit and I would go back but would not eat the same thing.

Was in Madison for a weekend and wanted to top it off with brunch at a place that used to be one of my favorites.
Couldn’t get past the hostess, who could barely look up from her coffee and who wanted to sit us at an odd corner table seated on top of another couple despite the restaurant being empty. Her excuse — we have reservations. Guess what, I was one of them and she knew that.
Walked over to Grave and got seated in minutes by a smiling attentive hostess. Sorry, Merchant but you may need to get over yourself a bit.

We had the bisque soup and Farro pasta. The soup could have used a little more flavor but the pasta was excellent. Great ambiance although too dark — and I’m still in my 30s… I had to use the flashlight on my camera to read the menu… Great spot though!

A great place to enjoy the food, cocktail, and the atmosphere.
The meat cuisines are so tender and flavorful. Plenty options of cocktails and they all taste pretty good. Desserts really good as well.

Merchant truly makes the most interesting and best craft cocktails in Madison. Their cocktail bible is chock full of clever names and weird descriptions to go along with their drinks. They always have a couple pages of seasonal specials, where you will find drinks mixed with homemade shrubs and syrups made with local ingredients. Where else are you going to find corn-​raspberry-​rhubarb syrup mixed in your drink? I got something last night with multiple gins and yellow chartreuse. Most cocktails will run you $ 9 – 12 but they’re almost always delicious. I did have one chai-​inspired drink in February which came with sweetened cinnamon whipped cream and separating cream isn’t a great look on a cocktail. But 9 times out of 10 I am totally pleased.
They have specials each night of the week, like a burger + beer on Mondays for $ 13 and Fish Fry Fridays. Their Thursday nights with live music could use some work. Don’t get me wrong, I am a musician and I love music. But The Merchant is a rather small restaurant, so having volume levels to a point where you cannot hear what your friend is saying while you’re inches away from each other and shouting is unpleasant, to say the least. Maybe it’s changed since I last experienced that, but I just avoid the restaurant completely on Thursdays.
That said, Merchant also makes delicious food. They cook their steaks perfectly, cheese curds are so yummy with excellent batter, their pasta is made in house, I adore their frites, and they just nail their desserts. Try any crème brulée if they have one on the menu. Last night, my friend and I shared the s’mores ice cream dessert which had graham cracker and marshmallow ice creams, a Valrhona chocolate sauce, and a bruléed marshmallow. This was insanely good.
Not a cheap place, but definitely worthwhile. Try to go earlier to avoid the young Epic crowd ;)

Merchant does the craft cocktail scene well. I have yet to eat here, but have come for drinks on many occasions.
I was primarily a beer drinker until I discovered some amazing craft cocktail places like Merchant in the area. The drink menu itself is extensive, and they have drinks easily separated out by liquor. If you’re a connoisseur or just a fan of a certain type of liquor, you can easily find some options without having to read through all of the drinks. The bartenders are also helpful if you have questions, they know how to shake a cocktail and are quick to ask if you want another.
You can easily spend a lot of money here on just drinks alone, but this is where you should order those craft cocktails. It’s a great place for before or after dinner drinks. Bar seating can be limited when they are busy, but it’s really just a toss up on the night. If you check in on Unilocal here you do get a $ 1 off a craft cocktail. Not a huge discount, but better than nothing.
The food looks good, and they have a brunch menu that they only offer during the summer. Also, they do have patio seating which would be great on a summer night.

The food is solid. I just wish they would change the menu a bit. If a restaurant is based on local produce the menu should change drastically with every season.
My favorite thing on the menu is the Ploughman’s platter (meat and cheese board). This has constant variation, interesting types of pickles and something extra.
The drinks are really delicious but the club atmosphere is not what I am looking for on most nights.

Merchant Madison is good but far from great. I felt strangely underwhelmed and unimpressed by their weekend brunch.
AMBIANCE: The vibe is upscale cocktail bar meets American brunch. Dark space and brick walls were brightened up by fresh florals.
FOOD: I ordered the Merchant Omelet at $ 11. Basically it was an omelet with kale, with a side of mixed greens and huge roasted potato wedges. I enjoyed the kale in my omelet, and that was the selling factor that pushed me to order this dish. The mixed greens were lightly tossed in balsamic, but it was so faint I couldn’t even tell. With the right ingredients, I feel like I can reproduce this dish, which is a carnal restaurant sin in my book.
I also sampled the Steamed Mussels, Cheese Curds, and Hand-​Cut Fries. Steamed Mussels were good, but not special. Cheese Curds tasted too buttery for me — I suppose it was the buttermilk ranch, but I felt it was too much. Fries were normal — better with regular ketchup than their malt vinegar aioli.
DRINKS: Their craft cocktail menu and spirits selection is very extensive, which sets them apart. $ 1 craft cocktails with Unilocal check-​in. I got to sample a few cocktails, and though I wasn’t the biggest fan of all of them, they all tasted unique. My favorite was a cocktail my brother got, which was a lemony mix of IPA beer and liquor. I think it was the Scotch Hopper, but I am not sure. Their cocktails are definitely their unique selling point.
SERVICE: Our server offered our party of 14 the option of separate checks, which I thought was a nice gesture. Usually, large parties have to ask about this, and with larger parties it’s typically not even an option due to mandatory gratuity.

I dined her for Restaurant Week because I thought the menu looked fantastic. For $ 30, you got an app, entrée and dessert. Add a class of wine (limited selection) for $ 7. Overall, great price. For my app, I ordered the Butternut Squash soup which turned out to be one of the best soups I’ve eaten. It was amazing. For my entrée, I had the steak frites. Steak was nicely seasoned, flavorful and the fries were perfectly crispy. Toe end the meal, dessert was ice cream s’more. The gram cracker was flakey and complimented the dish very well.
So, all be told, overall the meal was good. Where Merchant loses points are the following”:
— Slow Service: our dessert was melted by the time it got to our table. The waiter clearly forgot about. She approached our table and realized we were without our dessert. We had waited a good 10 minutes for it to arrive. Realizing it was a little bit busy, I blew it off but c’mon… we had ice cream brought to us melted! Ruined the moment.
— $ 4 for ice tea that does not come with a refill! WHAT?! $ 4 for water with a tea bag in it? Stunned! My BF asked for a refill. I guess I should thank the waitress for letting us know that refills were not free. I have never dined at a place where A) refills were not free besides booze of course, B) you paid $ 4 for some damn ice tea. I asked my BF if the ice tea was at least good. He said he has tasted much better.
— Tight places: table are too damn close to each other. Hard to hold a private conversation. One of my, if not thee, biggest pet peeves I have with some restaurants. Not matter how good the food is, if I have to basically share table space with other diners, I will not be pleased.
I am not sure what to make of Merchant. If you’re a drinker, you will love Merchant as their alcohol selection is virtually overwhelming. There is a drink for you somewhere in the 15 page book of booze. Food wise, there are better options in WI that support locally owned farms and businesses.
Sorry, I just cannot get over the fact that ice tea is $ 4 and does not include refills. At least have ONE free refill. I am truly shocked that Merchant apparently thinks is OK. You almost feel robbed. That alone would make me not want to come back. It is just… well… wrong.

I had dinner at Merchant on my first trip to Madison and I loved this spot! The food and drinks were excellent, the service was great, and the space was modern and fun.
I loved my Moscow Mule cocktail, the cheese curds were amazing (get them with both the ranch and hot sauce on the side so you can experience both flavors!), the olive appetizer was good, and my pork paparadelle was absolutely delicious!
The service was quite good, and we appreciated the fact that the waitress was very patient and came back multiple times to take our order, since we were yapping away and took a while to decide on what we wanted.
The restaurant is centrally located, spacious, and was packed on a Tuesday night.
Great spot!

Okay Merchant, you’re up to bat. Several Unilocalers highly recommend you so we showed up with high expectations. Specifically we heard a rumor that the buffalo style cheese curds were incredible. Were they?
We showed up to Merchant around 8pm for a slightly later dinner than usual. It was quite packed and loud by the time we showed up. The host was sitting and disengaged, but he was able to have someone seat us immediately at a 2 person table wedged in the corner by the kitchen.
The décor can be described as a pirate ship cabin that has been redecorated by a hipster. The walls have fleured wall paper and the light fixtures remind me of something out of Pirates of the Caribbean between the paper lanterns and the lamp covers made out of old carboys with the bottoms cut off. Even the drink menu had an old canvas map feel to it. The entire north wall is lined with craft liquor for sale, which is nice because sometimes you just need to run out and get a bottle of Pastis but can’t find it in a liquor store. I’d describe the atmosphere as a very trendy, kind of hipster bar. Unfortunately, it is quite loud so don’t expect to have a good conversation inside.
During our visit I had the opportunity to order a fantastic porter that was on rotating tap, the buffalo style cheese curds, the Friday night special (fish fry), and a key lime pie.
Let’s start with the cheese curds; I was sorely disappointed. The cheese curds were fairly standard but when ordered buffalo style they come with buffalo sauce DUMPED all over them. The first one I put in my mouth honestly reminded me of a buffalo boneless chicken wing, not a cheese curd. The breading was mushy, and you couldn’t really taste the cheese. We were so disappointed by the addition of this sauce that we ended up asking our server for a cheese curd without it on the side. The curd without the sauce was quite good. We’re going to have to come back again to truly get a feel for the curds at Merchant because we cannot judge them on their buffalo style curds. If you really want to try the buffalo curds, ask for the buffalo sauce on the side.
Merchant also offers a HUGE list of craft cocktails. My wife ordered the Lee Ralph, a rum and fruit based cocktail. It was quite smooth so much so that it didn’t taste alcoholic. If you’re a Unilocaler, make sure you check in to get $ 1 off the cocktails!
The main course, my fish fry was very well done. It was fresh water perch, served with a house tartar sauce. I do not really like tartar sauce so I can’t say much about the sauce, but my wife said it was really good. I ended up asking for a bottle of malt vinegar, which is the only way to truly eat fried fish, in my humble opinion. The fries that came with the meal were VERY salty, but the acid of the malt vinegar paired well, toning down the salt. I really liked the coleslaw, surprisingly. I’m not the biggest fan, but this slaw was very good. It entirely lacked balanced by having tons of vinegar on it, but it paired well with the salt from the fries. I actually liked the overpowering acid in this case.
For dessert I ordered the key lime pie. I’m a bit of a key lime pie snob, and this pie has HUGE potential. The filling was incredible, and it had the right about of whipped cream on top. Sadly, there was way too much crust on the pie. The ratio of filling to crust was weighted toward the crust. There should always been more filling than crust. Either the crust needs to be thinner or the filling needs to be thicker. I don’t want every bite to taste just like graham cracker.
The service at Merchant was fantastic. Our server was very attentive in refilling water, asking how things were, and asking if we needed anything like more drinks. She even took care of my ridiculous requests for a single cheese curd and a bottle of malt vinegar. Merchant, kudos on quality service. We felt very taken care of, even when I was being slightly ridiculous.
I also have to mention, Merchant, props on your wine list. It is rare to see such a diverse, interesting, and well put together wine list. It’s even rarer to server so many of the wines by the glass. I appreciate this touch.
Overall, I really liked Merchant. It had some short comings, but I think I will be a repeat customer. We need to give the cheese curds without sauce another try and explore more of the menu. It pains me a bit to only give Merchant 3 stars because I want to like it. I appreciate the atmosphere, menu diversity, drink quality, and the service. I cannot over look all of the small flaws in the food. The food left me wanting a little bit more.

Can you give six stars? I’m giving six stars.
If you ever meet me, you’ll know within an hour that merchant is one of my favorite restaurants I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Everything about every meal and drink I’ve had here has only been positive.
To start: service is always top notch. Chefs and cooks are competent and accommodating; if you have any questions about diet or ingredients, servers are always willing to find out for you. Speaking of servers, ask for Kristin if she’s available. I wish I could give her a review too, but I’ll just say, most honest, competent, and one of the best servers I’ve had the pleasure of being served by.
In my last review, I went into deep detail of every meal I’ve had here. Overall, I love the mussels here. Decadent, creamy (no dairy!), almost tart perfection with mussels and onions cooked just right. Mussels weren’t my favorite food until I came to Madison.
Drinks; I’ve had many and let me say, they’re all amazing. Go with your gut; if you think you’ll like it, you’ll most likely love it. My favorite is the sharknado, and pear’s sake is a close second. Desserts; red beet chocolate cake, hand’s down. It’s a large dessert, so I definitely recommend sharing.
Surprisingly, I’ve never had to wait for a table. Most of the time I have a reservation, but the few times I’ve come here without one, I’ve been seated within ten minutes. I can rave about this place all day, which i do to many of my out-​of-​town friends. Come here for a drink ($ 2 off for happy hour), or come here for the fun servers and the good food. You can bet you’ll run into me here!