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| - Went to Merchant twice this week. I like the idea of the urban grocery, and that they sell most (all?) of what they use in the kitchen. The design of the place is very de rigueur for restaurants these days; tall, open ceilings with a very gastropub feel and an attempt to be warm & modern with upper-middle class pricing...but also a little loud. I think that Merchant fits most of these except the design seems a bit more confused to me. That may be due to the fact that they're trying to squeeze three things into one, but other similar places you'll find more attention to detail in terms of tying the place together. This is just the first week or so of its evolution though, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they do.
The kitchen looks very nice, though it also seems like a crowded place to work in. It's nice to see that they didn't skimp on things like an overhead hood that other restaurants have left out in order to save costs. The kitchen seems designed well enough to get the food flowing out in an orderly manner too. Again, something you don't always benefit from in Madison. The silverware station creates a chokepoint near the bar which will be annoying for servers and bar patrons sitting near there. The bar and lighting is nice, but the lighting is a bit bright for the kind of drinks they're serving and the thing they're obviously going for---a return to older mixologies with modern speakeasy twists. The bathrooms are nice enough despite a decidedly Georgia O'Keefe take on Paisley.
The first time, a group of six of us went over for late night after work. They had stopped doing food, so they brought out some complimentary fennel carmel corn and roasted nuts. This was a nice touch, but the fennel is completely missing in the carmel corn, so I would just change the name entirely as to not mislead people (or use a lot more fennel). The roasted nuts were pretty tasty, though a lot of the spices fell to the bottom of the bowl. It was a nice find at the finish though! Since we were there for drinks, I looked over the menu and here's what I found:
1) A solid beer list, but sadly, only a few on tap. The bottle list makes up for this in variety, but the pricing here is out-of-control in places. For instance, a bottle of Bell's Two Hearted is $5. I can get a pint of Two Hearted--cheaper--at a couple of nearby establishments. Needless to say, I will never be drinking a bottle of beer at Merchant. I drank a couple of Bells Double Cream Stouts, which were good, but I hope to see them try a lot of other options here too. Central Waters' Bourbon Barrel Stout is amazing, for instance.
2) A solid wine list with someone behind it who has done their homework in terms of where to source each varietal from. It's true that one can find hidden gems everywhere, but this wine list gives anyone who chooses to drink wine a very intelligent and researched selection. Each selection is not the finest one can find from each region, but it's nice to see an informed wine list and it stays within reason on pricing.
3) The mixed drink list is impressive and everyone I spoke to who was drinking one (and I tasted them all too) was happy. The Last Word, The Judge, The Last Pale Light In The West, and The Brass were all very good drinks. Of course, there are those drinks that seem to be on every similarly-themed place's menu these days (Sazerac, Corpse Reviver No. 2) as well. I like that they've got their approach to an Old Fashioned as well as a "Wisco-Styles" option. It seems very fitting, and I'm sure each variation is equally tasty.
The service was very good, helpful and accommodating for a group of people who came in relatively late for some drinks and to check the place out. The bar also did well, despite having a "learner bartender" at the helm. All in all, a very satisfactory adventure.
My second visit was for dinner. The staff seemed a little overwhelmed by everything just looking at how things were flowing, but that's normal for a start-up. Actually, we were seated quickly, and our server got us rolling with some drinks. For starters we had two of the toasts (truffled white bean, ricotta & pine nut w/smoked trout) which were very good. The sunchoke risotto was missing something, but tasted very nice if you got every ingredient into a bite. The brussels were amazing! The bucatini w/sausage was good but a little oily and similarly lacking an ingredient to tie the dish together. The beef bourguignon was good, but not spectacular...though it was my favorite entree. Nice knife work on the vegetables too. Overall, a good dining experience, but I'm waiting for 'the' dish that brings me back there. Our server was working his first night (hired on the spot even), and he was great.
I will be back for sure, and it's honestly between 3 and 4 stars, but I went for 3 since I'd like to return after they've had time to sort things out and to hone in on everything they're trying to do.
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