Eddie Merlot’s

Great food & amazing service. Another great spot in Louisville.

Enjoyed appetizers, cocktails and live music in the bar area. The ambiance was fun but still low key for a date night. Hats off to the bartender, she made an awesome dirty martini extra dry. Yum yum.
~Mrs. J

Recently I attended an education meeting which included dinner, lucky me :). We started with appetizers of bruschetta and scallops, then I selected caesar salad and a filet entrée which was served with sides of potatoes and asparagus. My meal ended with my favorite dessert-​crème brûlée. The service was efficient and the food was all very acceptable. I can’t say that anything about my experience would beckon me to return but for a sponsored dinner, it met my expectations.

What a great place! Loved everything! Classy bar, tasteful furnished restaurant, great and very professional service and the food was just amazing. Probably not the place for vegetarians but if you like a good bite of meat, that’s the place to go in Louisville. Perfect location to take out your business partners.

The moment you walk in the door you know, this will be a great experience. The food is incredible but even better as the staff and presentation is superb.
Don’t miss out on their desserts! There are no bad choices.

It’s been almost 4 years, so I figured it was time for a review update. Happily, Eddie Merlot’s remains an excellent restaurant in my book!
I visited recently for a small family celebration, where we wanted a delicious and upscale surf and turf restaurant. We made reservations for an early dinner, and am I ever glad that we did! The restaurant began to fill up shortly after we arrived, and by the time we left there was a cluster of people waiting for tables in the vestibule.
We were quickly seated and greeted by our fantastic server, Karie, who took our drink orders. I enjoyed a blueberry mojito, which I would highly recommend to anyone who likes mojito, sweet drinks, or just wants to try something new. We skipped appetizers to save room for dinner, for which I ordered the New Orleans Mixed Grill. It offered a little bit of everything — some filet, some shrimp, and andouille sausage with garlic mashed potatoes. Salads came first, and I enjoyed a crisp Iceberg Wedge with Bleu Cheese dressing.
My entrée was fantastic. I ordered the 4 oz filet medium-​rare, and it sliced like butter. There was so much variety between the filet, the cajun shrimp and the andouille sausage that my tastebuds were more than satisfied. Another diner at the table got the tempura sweet and spicy shrimp from the appetizer menu as an entrée. It came with a generous serving of shrimp over a crispy bed of cabbage, presented with a takeout box and chopsticks. I was able to try a few shrimp and would not hesitate to order this as an entrée for myself in the future as well. Our sides of mushrooms, brussels sprouts and truffle fries were all fantastic and complemented everyone’s different meals, even if they were a little late to the table.
By skipping appetizers, we had just enough room for dessert, and split a slice of carrot cake 4 ways. Eddie Merlot’s calls this the world’s best, and while have to disagree and place it second-​best after my own carrot cake, it still had a delicious zing of cinnamon and what tasted like ginger to spice it up.
When our bill arrived, dessert was graciously on the house given the delay in our sides arriving. We definitely appreciated that in acknowledgement of our wait.
Everything about the experience was 5-​star except for the noise level where we were seated. The bar was behind us, and the noise dishes and glasses in that area made it difficult at times to hear the conversation at our table. That aside, this was a wonderful night out, and a place that I will be eager to return to in the near future!

Really delicious steak. The prime ribeye with a fried egg was perfect, and I really enjoyed the bacon wrapped shrimp as well. The only thing I had that I wouldn’t recommend is the calamari. The breading had no flavor

I can’t even tell you how long it took for my drink order to be taken, 10 – 15 minutes? The large party that was being set up as we were being seated had bread and appetizers before we had our starters. I was under impressed and underwhelmed. For the prices that they are charging, the wait staff should be well versed and attentive. Neither which I found were true here. Based on their location and menu, i have plenty of options Ln the east end that will suit my needs just fine. 3 stars is generous. The service was a 2 out of 5.

This is an amazing restaurant, however the lobster was spoiled, but everything else was fantastic! (steak, salmon) and the service was great! They acknowledged that the lobster was giving off ammonia, and they more than made it up to me and my party. Would I go again? Yes, we purchased gift cards for our family members. Great dining experience.

After going to Jeff Ruby’s first, Eddies was a bit of a let down…
Apps — oysters were grainy not cleaned enough
Shrimp cocktail — very good the cocktail sauce was more like a sweet and sour version of a cocktail sauce but still very good
Dinner — I had the pork chops way to much fat and my wife had the filet … Done medium it was very good
Sides — similar to Jeff Rubys
Brussels sprouts with the bacon were not as flavored as Jeff Rubys but very tasty
Mac and cheese — was very good also
Again not as good a Jeff Rubys but tasty

This is a really beautiful restaurant. It is spacious yet feels cozy and warm. The layout is perfect for happy hour cocktails in the front bar.
I have had drinks here a couple of times but never a full dining experience until yesterday. My boss took our team out for Christmas lunch. They are not typically open for lunch but had special holiday hours. The hostess was friendly and the server very patient with our party of 9.
We started with the sweet and spicy shrimp appetizer, the shrimp cocktail and the hummus. All three were very good with the sweet and spicy shrimp being everyone’s favorite.
I ordered the Ahi tuna entrée. The presentation was lovely and the tuna was rare with perfect seasoning. It came on a bed of spinach with roasted garlic and onion straws on top. A great portion for lunch but had this been a dinner entrée, I would have been disappointed. The price was $ 24. Not too bad for quality tuna.
My co-​workers were all pleased with their selections. One person ordered the lobster bisque and though I did not get to try it, it smelled and looked wonderful.
The wine was a bit pricey with the average glass being $ 11. If I come back for dinner with Daniel, it would be best to order by the bottle.

Saturday night dinner at Eddie Merlots and it did not disappoint! Cesar salads were excellent, table bread soft with crusty exterior, and the white wine sangria was outstanding!
I ordered short ribs, cauliflower gratin, roasted vegetables. Other orders were Trio of filet and Mardi Gras special. The short ribs were huge! I actually ordered to share with my friend and I’m glad we did. I wouldn’t have eaten all the food the ribs were such a hearty portion.
4 stars because although the sides were great and the short ribs were plentiful the meat could have used more salt. Also, more sauce the short ribs were braised in.
Not a bad choice for dinner. They also make table side bananas foster. That was a real treat to watch!

Unbelievable cuisine and service. Best prepared salmon I’ve ever had. Four meals and wine, all exquisite.
Only problem, one must take out a loan to go here :-)

This was the absolute worst service I have ever had in a restaurant. Which is unfortunate as the food was really good. But as a result of the horrible service I will never ever come here again, it was that bad. It is not my problem that you are busy. I deserve the same level of service regardless.

After a multitude of visits to a huge range of Louisville restaurants, I am finally able to say OMG! The service was impeccable, food fantastic, beautiful restaurant!
To begin the atmosphere — elegant, columns in entry were done in glass tiles, linen, chandeliers, brass trimmings, etc, the only negative is the host stand sits so close to the front door, that it leaves an extremely narrow space for people to get through but Oh well!
Food — we were of 5 and went a little nuts. Tower of cold seafood which included shrimp, crab legs, oysters complete with fresh horseradish, cocktail, Tabasco, lemon. We also ordered Beef carpaccio — to die for and let’s not forget the escargot again melted in your mouth!
Entrees at the table included 2 tomahawk ribeyes, 2 boneless ribeyes and my trio of medallions with a crab cake on the side — absolutely fantastic!!! Side of asparagus, the Merlot potatoes — oh my! Perfectly cooked to medium rare steak, great hollandaise, crab cake — full of crab! Everyone enjoyed their steak!
Absolutely one of the best meals I have ever had!!!
The only dining negative was they didn’t box my leftovers which I may add was not known to me until they came with the bill and also letting us know they they were bringing an entire dinner for me. That’s the way to rectify a mistake and make customers for life!!!

My wife and I were in Louisville for 2 nights for work recently and we decided to pop in to Eddie Merlots for dinner on our last night there. Ate at Doc Crows (on Whiskey Row) the night before — another great place too.
Gorgeous restaurant and lovely layout and devoted wine room — was lovely and could see it from the dining area — nice touch. Quiet inside, despite having several larger groups in to eat this evening.
We were seated at our table quickly (we had no reservation, just walked in as our hotel was 1 block away) and were greeted by our server Todd. He introduced himself and asked if we had dined there before (which we hadn’t).
We were given our menus to browse and a wine list, which was quite extensive. After choosing our wine, our orders were taken after Todd made several recommendations on the menu for us to consider. These recommendations were definitely worth it, as we both chose from Todd’s knowledge of the menu, having decided to possibly consider other options prior.
The food was absolutely magnificent and beautifully presented. My wife had the pork chop, which was probably the BEST I’ve ever tried — we both agreed on the same point! I had the 7oz filet which was also fantastic and we shared sides of button mushrooms and the BBQ Brussel sprouts (house specialty). Dessert was bananas foster, cooked expertly by Todd table side.
Our evening was seriously perfect. The attention from the staff to detail and making sure that everything was perfect is cudos to the quality of the staff and management.
If we are back in Louisville anytime again soon, I will defiantly be back.
I highly recommend this restaurant, for anyone looking for the ultimate in food, service and attention to details.

Lovely dining experience. Beautiful high-​class restaurant; table cloths, glasses & place settings on the tables, mosaic artwork on the walls, pleasant relaxing color scheme. The service was impeccable. My water glass was never less than an inch from the top before someone was there to bring it back to the brim. I had Roasted Bell & Evans Chicken with baby carrots & Iceberg Salad. I wished I had taken a photo of the salad, as I have never been served a salad like it before. It was a large wedge with all of the toppings placed in piles around the wedge. There was no skimping on the toppings either. The lemon vinaigrette was delicious. My plate had ½ of a delicious chicken on it (too much). The baby carrots were wonderful. Mike had the New Orleans Mixed Grill-​4 oz. Filet Mignon, 2 jumbo shrimp, Andouille Sausage & Garlic Mashed Potatoes. The Filet was so tender & delicious. The shrimp & sausage had a hot spice on them. Potatoes were wonderful. Wonderful dining experience; very expensive. Perfect for special occasions; although, we saw people in jeans & shorts.

Having eaten at MANY prime steak houses in the U. S… This is mediocre.
The dishes were ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ … Here’s the breakdown (IMO, and my guests as well)
Crab cakes = Really good
Escargot w/​biscuit = excellent
Shrimp cocktail = good shrimp, ketchupy sauce. blegh.
Wedge Salad = awesome and clean
Lobster Bisque = way off balance, dull.
Caesar = pretty good, way too lemony. Needs parm!
49 dollar Bison Rib-​eye… Very disappointed. Cooked wrong and it wasn’t rested, so it bled all over the plate.
Filet = OUTSTANDING
Lobster mac = CRACK
Asparagus = meh. Steamed with no seasoning
Mashed potatoes. = oily mess with minced parsley.
Table bread = great, warm, crusty and seasoned well. good whipped butter.
Seabass = outstanding. perfect texture.
Crème Brulee, SO rich, so yolky and awesome.
Cappuccino = perfect.
Peanut butter cup = tasty
The wine list is very «safe «with all of your usual suspects. Orin Swift, tons of overpriced Cali juice. Which is cool and all, but where’s the Bordeaux, Rhone, Burgundy, Tuscany, hell, maybe a little South Africa? Beautiful wine room that you can see from most of the restaurant though.
With these prices, it needs to be more refined.
Service was pretty good.
Apparently there is a Somm? He never visited my table. Oh well, I guess Conn isn’t good enough for a quick check up. I saw him, he saw us… Maybe I’ll ask about the Cristal to get some blood going through him next time. ha!
Probably won’t be a next time.
Knocked one off of the bucket list for Louisville at least.

Great night. I have to admit, this place is a bit more pricey than I’m used to, but I thought it was worth it.
I went on my anniversary during a business trip, so I wasn’t with my wife. Still, they made it a good experience for me and I would gladly go back.
For my food I ordered the triple filets ($ 45), as well as a couple of small plates – filet sliders and bbq shrimp. The filets were perfectly cooked and seasoned. The meat was tender. You could tell that Merlot’s uses prime grade, and the sauces /​toppings for the meat were mostly good. I loved, loved, loved the oscar, as the crab was so tender and good; I didn’t love the peppercorn sauce, as it was surprisingly bland.
As for the small plates, the filets were tender and full of flavor, but lukewarm. The bbq shrimp was amazing – the sauce was perfect, the cook was perfect, the shrimp were large and tasty. .. that may have been my favorite part of the entire meal.
The bread was also good, and my associate appreciated his meal too.

I so wanted to love this place. The mixed reviews made me want to give it a chance and it had so many things going for it. Yet ultimately it failed and I would not recommend it nor intend to ever go back.
First the good points.
Service
The staff was excellent, well timed and professional without being pretentious. Everyone we spoke to was very nice and genuine. They felt comfortable and so we did around them. It was Derby day and we were there during the final race so we had the whole place to ourselves. I mean the whole place, us and 50 servers! That part was really fun and the staff played along with us. It was our anniversary and they made that really nice. When the race came on all the staff whet to the bar to watch and invited us to join them. We felt like we were friends even though it was our first time.
The manager greeted us at our table and was also very nice. They did the little things right and were well trained, a younger boy made sure our water was always filled and just when we needed it. He watched the table discreetly to be sure to clear anything away the moment we were ready without being pushy. Our waiter was attentive without being pushy. and let us go at our pace.
We had a nice conversation about the place, the building and how the place would be packed later that night after the races and that they would be turning people away.
All in all, the service was very good.
The venue
The interior is amazing. Kind of 40s art deco with a edgy twist. Well designed with wood and glass and mosaic art. It is truly a beautiful interior. And huge. We enjoyed just looking at it and could image it as a buy 40s set in a black and white detective movie. It should be used as a scene in a movie.
The bathrooms
nice without being too much, everything you’d expect in a higher priced upscale place.
The background music
Well planned with a perfect mix for the atmosphere, big bands, classic and modern crooners, and mellow jazz.
Ordurves
We had jumbo shrimp cocktail. They were perfectly chilled with dry ice underneath adding to the upscale affect. The shrimp was meaty and firm with no old fishy taste. The horseradish sauce was strong and unique.
Now onto the fails, and unfortunately they were big. All the good stuff above is wasted on the misses with the food.
My wife ordered the lobster soup, it was terrible, I mean really tasteless and worse than store brand canned soup. My wife sent it back and because it was so bad complained to both the waiter and the manager about it. They did take it off the bill as expected.
I ordered the 14 oz Ribeye steak, They age the stakes and when you do it right it can be wonderful. But when you do it wrong it can leave the meat with a liver after taste and I would say it too was lacking in seasoning. A great cut prepared well requires very little but this steak needed it.
For sides we ordered the truffle fries and the signature Brussel sprouts. The brussel sprouts were okay but for one of their signature dishes I expected more. It was undercooked which as most people know will make you gasy and feeling bloated which they did. Broccali you can lightly cook and I like it that way, brussel sprouts no.
The truffle fries might just be me, I’ve decided I just don’t like them. but some places I think they are just okay, here I really did not like them.
The restaurant brought out a red velvet cupcake and like other things it fell short. The frosting was amazing and the swirled chocolate sauce on the plate was thick and fudgy, nice. The cake was hard and dried out and ruined the affect of the wonderful presentation. Almost, but ultimately a fail.
Valet parking
First it’s mandatory, if you want to be near the place you have to valet, the closest parking is several blocks away. It’s $ 15 dollars some nights $ 20 others. The host does not validate even after a very expensive meal. Our car sat out front the whole time we ate and just as we were walking out the door the valet drove it off to the parking lot. We waited 20 minutes for them to run back and get it despite there being next to no business to take care of.
So once lat thing, we don’t drink and that often helps our bill be a bit lower. And though I expected the price to be high for a place like this our bill with no alcohol was $ 175.00 for the two of us, before the tip and the valet parking and the valet’s tip. We would have had a better steak at Longhorns. and despite the fine service and beautiful venue none of that justifies a meal for two to cost over $ 250.00 when everything was said and done for mediocre food.
My recommendation? Don’t bother, don’t wonder if the place is a maybe you should check out. There are so many great places to eat in Lousiville that you could through a dart at a map and do much better. I say avoid Eddie, it’s just nor worth the price nor the quality.