This place really gets me, but they miss the mark on so many basic things too.
Let's start with the good: really really delicious food and creative, fun drinks. Their menu also has a vegetarian option and their lunch includes deli sandwiches. They also have a brunch which I haven't made it to because it's only Farmers Market Saturdays. I tried looking up the brunch hours on their website, but it was quite confusing since different pages had different days/hours on them. I've had dinner here twice and lunch once, trying the Tagliatelle pasta for dinner and a portabello mushroom deli sandwich for lunch. Both were quite good.
According to their website, they are no longer open for lunch (they open at 3pm for happy hour).
Most recently, I've frequented Merchant for their weekend nights, when they always have a DJ. Sometimes the place is packed and it takes 20+ minutes to get a drink (drinks take a little longer to make when you shake and stir EVERYTHING...). Other times the DJ is soso and Merchant's true "attitude" comes out.
Recently, I was there on a night DJ Nick Nice was playing. He played some pretty awful music and refused any requests. I thought he might mix it up since nobody was dancing, but no luck there. I'm deducting one star for the DJs alone: it's not hard to find a DJ that plays a variety of music that everyone likes.
Their prices on food and drinks also seem to be a few dollars high than all the other comparable bars/restaurants in Madison. I guess you're paying for the fancy wallpaper?
Try it if you're new to town, but go early in the evening and get their Moscow Mule. One of the best in Madison!