Eddie Merlot's

Recommends

jessicaandshane

Joined 7 years ago

PERFECT FOR VALENTINE'S DAY!. My husband and I have come here the past two years for Valentine's Day. We also went for Mother's Day. Each time, we have had excellent service and wonderful food. Their caesar salad is the best I've had anywhere and the steak melted in my mouth. My husband ordered a baked potato that was almost bigger than his steak. We got dessert to go. Chocolate cake is to die for. The carrot cake is amazing. The red velvet cake isn't perfect, but wasn't too bad either. Great wine list too!

Doesn't Recommend

whatshappening

Joined 5 years ago

Stick with the carrot cake - I can't testify to anything else, your honor.... I dined in at EM's unexpectedly Friday night. As I drove by Ruth's Chris (which had a line out the door), I was excited to see whether the same business was brimming out of EM's. Maybe this should have been a sign...

I arrived and the restaurant was fairly empty with the exception of a few seated tables all toward one closing section. I had planned on reading while waiting for service but the lighting was too poor. The restaurant atmosphere is calming with mauves and browns and pleasing to your senses followed up by well selected music. The staff was friendly and my waittress Molly was attentive. I knew to try several things on the menu because I am soon to relocate and did not want to miss out on local fare. However, I was told EM's is expanding to Northbrook - beware...

For appetizers, I ordered the sampler. The barbecue bacon shrimp was badly overcooked and although the crab "cakes" were Maryland style, there wasn't much flavor to the lump crab and the ball format was a weak in presentation. The calamari batter was tasty but very little black sesame was on it and it was luke warm at best.

My dinner timely followed and was the prime aged 20 oz. bone-in ribeye Oscar-style with the sauteed spinach. My favorite cut is the ribeye due to the fat content and texture when it is cooked just a hair above medium rare. However, I was SADLY disappointed with this steak because I was chewing - and chewing - and chewing FOREVER! The aging process is surely not long enough. I have eaten many a steak prior to this and this by far this one wasn't good. What bites even more is that after informing my waitress, she told me that they had heard that complaint before.

The one redeeming factor - after all that food, I ordered the carrot cake to go. The next day when I got back to it, I inhaled it. The cream cheese frosting and all the raisins, carrots, and walnuts in that cake were perfectly blended. I should have just ordered a whole carrot cake for dinner.

Recommends

wundrwomynn

Joined 9 years ago

Worth Every Penny!. My husband and I came here for my birthday. When you make a reservation, they ask if it's a special occasion and when you arrive, the waitstaff already knows. We started with the crabcakes (OK, not the best) and tomatoe/onion/bleu salad (fresh and delicious). They are one of only 2 places in Indy that use "prime" steak, which is the highest grade possible and we could definitely taste the difference. The meat melted in our mouths and had wonderful flavor. Good, attentive service and tabelside bananas foster capped off a marvelous dining experience.

Doesn't Recommend

indysommelier

Joined 9 years ago

Overated. I had heard good things about the Fort Wayne restuarant; Indianapolis was disapointing. After waiting 20 minutes to be seated, we found that the staff was very unattentive and lacked knowlege of wine and the chef was unskilled in the preparation of lobster. After the lobster was brough to the table, it took 15 minutes to get the wait staffs attention to ask for drawn butter. The filet was mediocre, although appropriatley cooked. On a positive note, the crème brule was good, but who can't burn cream.

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Sophisticated steakhouse specializing in hand-selected, dry-aged steaks.. In Short
With a menu that is hand-selected and expertly prepared, it's easy to see why Eddie Merlot's has been a welcome addition to the fast-food friendly north side. The upscale steakhouse specializes in dry-aged steaks that are flash-seared on high-heat grills. The award-winning wine list is among the best in the city, with over 50 exclusive labels available by the bottle or by the glass.

Recommends

julieross

Joined 9 years ago

sales manager. The bartenders are great and will rememeber you by name if returning. We have been there several times on business and have enjoyed our great food and live entertainment. This is the place to go if looking for great food and service. The shrimp cocktail is delicious and the filets mouth-watering. We have been to their Ft. Wayne location which is excellent and out looking forward to them opening in Chicago.