Merroir

The food is excellent. We will be back. This is the first time we came here and wasn’t sure what to expect but it turned out to be great. The oyster chowder my husband got was exceptional.

Wonderful !!! Great day and fantastic food AMAZING VIEW!!!
Fabulous seaweed salad & rockfish
Cheese tray was fresh and lovely

What a relaxing retreat. The day we went was overcast and spitting rain but inside we enjoyed great service, beverages and food.
As you can guess, we had to have oysters. The day we were there, 3 different types were featured and there was no problem getting 4 of each on our tray. Served with both cocktail and mignonette they were so good we ordered a second dozen. Prices were great as we were at the source!
Next, 3 orders of fish tacos, an oyster «muffin» and bowl of lamb and clam chowder were all devoured quickly and without complaint.
We are looking forward to coming back on a nicer day any enjoying the large area of outside seating.

You don’t just stumble across Merrior as there are no signs leading you to this waterfront oyster bar, you seek it out. We were nearby and knew Rappahannock Oyster Company was close, so we decided to stop. The building itself is very unassuming and space is extremely limited. We were there on a late Saturday afternoon in November and there was a wait, but we were able to order at the bar as we were really just there for some raw oysters. Our bartender was great — friendly, attentive and knowledgeable. My wife is an oyster purist, so she typically only likes them raw and at $ 15 for a dozen it’s a great deal. We ordered the sampler which came with four oysters of varying salinity from mild Rappahannock oysters harvested from the inlet across the parking lot to briny Chincoteague oysters. There are options for those of us that don’t like oysters like myself, such as a cheese board with charcuterie to fancy hot dogs.

Well I was underwhelmed. We stopped, first time, to pick up some shucked oysters we ordered the previous day. It was lunchtime so what the heck we will try the menu. Angels on horseback — as others have said — was a great idea but the small oysters just wilted on cooking so the whole dish was just dry. The lamb stew was just tasteless.
Go for the raw oysters. Otherwise unimpressed.

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Good service, knowledgable friendly staff. Outdoor seating and maybe good for groups outside in the summer.
Food seemed overpriced for the small dishes received. Oysters entrée has 5 and no sides provided. Crab cake with lots of crab and lots of mayo on slice of bread and no sides. Left with a bill for lunch over $ 55.00 for 4 and still hungry. Special of sugar toad fish was just odd. Would not recommend nor go back.
BTW, this is my first Unilocal review.

Seriously amazing seafood! Heaven on earth as soon as you put your car in park!
Everything is exceptional here.
The menu is limited, but it’s local & fresh!
Oysters are the specialty!
Beer & wine menu pretty amazing too! Outdoor seating with a view!

Simply superb! Moderately priced great fair! Can’t go wrong.

I went in with such high hopes and was super disappointed. I am a huge fan of their location in Richmond and pretty much planned a trip around coming to this restaurant. When we arrived it was still pretty early so there were a good number of tables open, so we were able to find an ideal seat. Our server pretty quickly pounced on us so we said we would need more time, we ended up having to wait another 20 minutes before we were able to order. I read that plates were small, so we ordered the following to sample: 6 charbroiled oysters, the skate picatta, the stuffin muffin, the special shrimp/​crab/​flounder roll and the scallop ceviche.
We ended up waiting a pretty long time before we received any of these.
Oysters: these were broiled beyond belief. They were tiny and shriveled by the time they arrived to the table. They were just served with a flavorless drawn butter on the side. We didn’t bother to finish these.
Skate picatta: This one was ok, nothing wild. The portion was pretty big
Stuffin muffin: awesome! It was the best thing we had. I only have good things to say about it.
Seafood roll: beyond bland. It had zero flavor and was 99% flounder.
Ceviche: this was by far the worst thing we ordered. It tasted of vinegar and not fresh citrus. The tortilla chips served with it were straight from a bag and limp. We each had one bite and called it quits.
After eating our below average meal, we just wanted to get out. We asked for our check and our server did not bother to ask how everything was or even ask why the ceviche was untouched. I am not one to ever expect for something to be taken off a bill, as the food has been prepared, but I do expect a server to ask why none of it was eaten.
The gorgeous views do not make up for bad service and bland seafood. I left so disappointed.

Food was amazing & not over priced. Our table ordered lots of food! The cheese plate, shrimp, BBQ oysters, crab cake, scallops & the Angels on horseback which is ham on top of oysters and amazing. The tuna poke was wonderful.
They close at 9pm, which seems early, especially on a Saturday & a holiday weekend. We weren’t asked if we wanted to order dessert & when we attempted we were told that the kitchen had closed. No big deal. We asked to split the check & were advised that it was too late and we should have told her earlier. In this day and age, I feel like this shouldn’t be a problem. We handled it ourselves but didn’t really appreciate the slight tude. There were two other table still at the restaurant as we were paying. The busboy was clearing our table and it felt very rushed.
Bottom line… food is banging, just make sure you get there early & don’t expect to be blown away by the service.

Stopped in with some friends over the weekend having heard that Merroir was a fantastic place to eat. There were a few of us that planned on having some beer/​wine and small plates to share, so the restaurant’s concept looked really promising. Got there just in time for a late lunch and we were sat much faster than we expected. A nice table outside with some shade and a good view. The restaurant is very well liked and while we were there it seemed like there was a small wait to sit the entire time. Not enough to make people turn around and walk away, but busy enough that you know something must be going on to convince obvious regulars to wait for a table in the August sun.
Waitress got our drink order in fairly quickly, but did not ask if we wanted any water. Not to complain about something that some would consider trivial, but it was a table outside, and it was ninety out. Maybe there is some kind of shortage out there in Rappahannock, because the offer never made it to our table. Even when two in our party asked, a glass was brought for them which was promptly drank and never refilled.
Wine list was succinct, but everything on it would pair well with the menu, so we got a few different glasses to all be able to try and share. Oysters to start and they really were the star of the meal. I am not an oyster fan and they were some of the best that I have had since moving to the east coast. Three of each varietal for each of us. Paired with the white wines that we had selected they were splendid. Again, these were the best part of what we had simply because I am not an oyster lover and I enjoyed these!
Second round of food was the Scallops, the Stuffin Muffin, Crabcake, Virginia Cheese Board, Tuna Crudo, Clams, and the Soft-​Shell Crab (who writes a review on one dish at a small plates restaurant? :)). I listed them in order of favorite to least.
The Scallops are some of the best that I have ever had, and the kale kimchee that comes with them is a brilliant pairing. I would buy the kimchee alone…
The Stuffin Muffin is a traditional oyster stuffing that was also a wonderful dish. So much flavor and a tough dish to share because you’ll want it all for yourself.
The Crabcake was a fantastic representation here. I almost want to compile a list of all of the great ones out here. The east coast does not know how great they have it with this dish…
The Virginia Cheese Board is a very unique sampling of state cheeses, but they need to send out more flatbread with it. Even our server commented that the five or six tiny triangles that it came with couldn’t possibly be enough.
The Tuna Crudo was kinda uninspiring. It really feels like a dish that I could find on a chain restaurants summer seasonal menu.
The Clams… Skip the clams. Any time I order shellfish served in broth with bread, the broth should be something that I want to mop up with the bread. It had no flavor to speak of. None. So disappointing.
Then the Soft-​Shell Crab. This dish confused the heck out of me. The only place I have been where the crab appears to have been steamed (this is a soft-​shell) and sat on a piece of grilled bread. I had a bite, but it really wasn’t good enough to bother to try a second bite. The steamed crab pretty much just gushed water (again, flavorless water, maybe he cooked with the clams?) onto the bread below whenever we went to cut a slice to plate. Never had a soft-​shell crab steamed before. Never will again…
Overall, I was very pleased with three dishes, unimpressed by two, and downright mad about two. The clams and the crab are two things that I normally am thrilled about and they were both downright bad.
By all means, if you’re close you should give Merroir a shot. Just be sure to be cautious with your order. Our meal was a mixed bag which cost several hundred dollars, and sometimes folks don’t want to gamble that kind of tab on small plates they may not love.

Amazing place. Friendly, great vibe and oysters are absolutely top… I eat all kinds and can crush dozens at a sitting, the oyster lovers will put this on one of their top lists. Awesome local craft beer and wine and even Kobe hot dogs for those not into seafare. Will be going often!

I wish there is a 3.5 stars for this place, no doubt, it is a beautiful setting, dinning with a view. I flown in with a small jet and landed in the Hemel Airport, which is not too far away. A few minutes by car or 20 minutes walk.
The restaurant is right by the Rappahannock River. I have been to their oyster bar in Union Market in DC, and wanted to see what this place is like. The location is great, with great view. It opens from 11:30 am to 9 pm on the weekday.
There is a large patio which dogs can go too. The seafood platter — the oyster and clams are fresh, but the blue crab and the prawns seems to have been refrigerated.
The bread is great, with lovely crust and great texture. I had the Stuffing Muffin, which is more like a pancake with oyster stuffed inside, the peppercorn cream sauce was the thing that I didn’t like it was heavy and salty. The fish of the day was Halibut and was amazingly fresh.
All in all, the meal was enjoyable and the setting was good.

Love the atmosphere and the grilled oysters were fabulous. Definitely a required stop each time I’m in the area from now on.

Dinner was fine, crab cake was okay, scenery was top notch.
We had ordered a cheese plate, and the cheese was plentiful.
the app was served with pita points, and we did not have enough
to finish the various cheeses. I asked if we could have some more I
received a look of consternation as though that may be a problem.
I said if I needed to pay I would. When I received the check the fine
folks at Merroir were nice enough to charge me four dollars for a piece
of Pita bread cut into eight sections.
I will never be back. Thanks for the gouging.

I finally had the pleasure of dining here. Oysters right out of the rivers. It cannot get much better than this!
DH and I were hanging out in Deltaville for the day. The only place I really wanted to eat was Merroir. So he obliged (ok, caved). We enjoyed several dozen oysters each and some icy beverages on a hot day. We had them mix our oysters so we could try all three of their varieties, ranging from sweet to briny, all delicious.
After we ate, we walked around on the dock to see where the magic is made. Aquaculture is a very interesting operation!

Great view and simple selection of seafood, wine and beer. Crab cakes and Angels on horseback (oysters and ham) were a big hit for our party. Friendly and knowledge staff gives great service. Off the beaten track, but we’ll worth it for local seafood and beautiful views.

A fun little waterside bar. My friend Matt works here so I thought I’d go check it out one Saturday afternoon. Pleasant crowd, great beer selection and lots of tasty oysters!
Come if you’re an oyster fan or love the river.

It’s a bit of a haul to get out to Merroir, but I think it’s definitely worth the trip! I love the fact that the menu is seasonally based — though I’ll admit that I was looking forward to the crab cake and grilled romaine salad people raved about.
The oysters were just AWESOME! The Olde Salts and Rappahannock oysters were some of my absolute favorites. The BBQ Bourbon Chipotle oysters had a really nice back heat to them, which I really appreciated. The Barcat Oyster Chowder was thinner than I would expect for a chowder, but very tasty none the less. The stuffin muffin was so good, we would have gotten two if we weren’t so full at the end.
Our service was really good. Everything we tried both food and drink were based on recommendations.

Great oysters in a fantastic setting. Can’t wait to return and enjoy a nice sunset and more of the delicious menu.