Merwin’s Wharf
1785 Merwin Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44113
Merwin’s Wharf Menu
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Address :
1785 Merwin Ave
Cleveland, OH, 44113 - Phone (216) 664-5696
- Website https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/Main/Merwins-Wharf.aspx
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Tue
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Brunch, Lunch, Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
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Marissa P.
Location is good because you're right on the river but overall you're better off going somewhere else for food. I had perch sliders and there was more bread than fish on my plate and the slaw was OK.. Not worth the price and service was wayyyy too slow.
(2)amy d.
I had been waiting to check it out. So, Friday night I stop after work on the way home. Had to research how to get there, or you can call. The property was beautiful like most Metro Park sites are. The bar maid Nema was very welcoming. Started with the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, yum. Then had a caprize salad, it was good. Then had a pear martini to top off my experience. First Class. You have got to visit this gem of a place, you won't be sorry.
(5)Mary Kay M.
only had to wait 10 minutes for a table on Thursday night at 7:50pm. Problem is we waited 50 minutes for food....2 salads and a chicken sandwich. After waiting this long, we decided it was time to leave and go get dinner. very disappointing
(2)Karl S.
Yesterday was our second time since they opened. The location is great...however the service both times was very slow with the servers not really knowing the menu well nor what was available. In addition they were out of very basic items like pickles and Cole slaw which is one of their specialities. This is a great place to have a drink and food at the bar but there are much better places for good food so close to Tremont.
(2)dawn l.
My husband and I have been to merwins several times. Always good and the thirsty dog tasting put it over the top. Check it out!!
(4)Cara L.
One word...BRUNCH! Wow! I am in love with their brunch! About 6 of my friends and I came for brunch on a Sunday. I always love eating in large groups because my friends share their food and we can all try a bunch of dishes. We ended up ordering a smorgasbord board of items! To start if you love Bloody Mary's this is your place (check out the photo)! The recommended one is "The Merwin's Mary" it's a charcuterie board in your drink! I ordered the Espresso Martini and it was delicious! The coffee flavor did not over power my palate and take away from the taste of my food. A few of my gal pals ordered the Hot Chocolate and said that it was delicious as well. The food...The Food was fantastic! No one had any complaints and that is what makes a fantastic brunch spot! We ordered the Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes, The Egg Sandwich (that has the best crispy pork belly on it), Chorizo Hash (served in a cast iron skillet) and the Creme Brulee French Toast. An ordering tip: If you like sweet potatoes get the sweet potato and black bean hash- you will not be disappointed!
(5)Liz C.
I really wanted to love Merwin's Wharf but my experience was so-so. Without a doubt, the atmosphere is what is driving people into this new hot spot, and I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, the food is probably what's keeping people from coming back in for a second time. I came in on a Wednesday, and was met with a server who seemed distracted with what appeared to be only a few tables outside. Also, there was three people in my group and two out of the three dishes we were interested in getting had already run out--I remember one being the walleye tacos (which I was told was a popular dish). Since the menu isn't incredibly extensive it was a bit disappointing that the few things we wanted were already out. I got the black bean burger which was good for the most part, but I really fell in love with the macaroni and cheese with chorizo that one of my guests got. Perfect consistency and delicious flavor. Our drinks were good for the most part, a little pricey though. I already plan on coming back to test it out one more time, because the concept is great and the atmosphere has really lived up to the hype.
(3)Rachel D.
I can't believe how terrible the service is here. I want so bad for this to succeed because it's a fabulous building and location and has a great patio and of course I love the Metroparks. But I've had 2 absolutely horrible experiences and I'll never go back. The first time I went was right after it opened last year. The hostess and the bartender were downright rude and the service was really slow. I figured I would give it one more chance this past weekend and now I know I'll never go back. We were told an hour to get a table. It was 2 hours before we were sitting and another hour before we got food, and it was less crowded than many other bars/restaurants in the area typically are on a Saturday. Getting a beer at the bar was very slow and bartenders completely ignored customers who were trying to order beers. The hostess and the waitress were extremely unprofessional. When this place does close, someone else will buy it in a heartbeat and manage it better and will make it into an extremely successful business. If the Metroparks don't get it together, that's gonna happen sooner rather than later.
(1)Jim P.
Great views from the deck at the bend of the Cuyahoga river in the flats. Food was good and portions were fairly generous but the menu is uninspired. Service was slow at 6:30pm but as the crowd thinned out it improved somewhat. Unless you just want a drink at the bar, make a reservation for dinner. I had the catfish and my wife had the salmon and both were tasty. Beer selection is good and cocktails were well made. Prices are high for the quality.
(3)Janet S.
This place is all about the atmosphere. Cleveland MetroParks made a classy move bringing in such a stylish place, but improvements need to be made. Sitting on the patio next to the water is just wonderful. The only problem is you can never get a table. It is always a 1to 2 hour wait. Not sure if it is too few tables, the staff or the slow kitchen that makes the wait so long. Maybe it is that people just don't leave because the atmosphere is so charming. I'm not sure, but the wait to get seated is much too long no matter how good the atmosphere is. We finally sat at the bar to decrease the wait time and our service was just o.k. It always seems strange that if someone is right in front of you tending bar that they don't see that you need service. It's really crazy. The wine was OUTRAGEOUS in price. Wow, I have not seen such high wine prices since we were in a five star restaurant in Atlanta. The food portion size was very small and the price was high and the wait was very long, so.... for these reasons we will not return. There are lots of other great patios by the water in Cleveland with much better prices and good food. So Sad!
(3)Mike M.
Here's the math: +7 stars for scenery&ambience -5 stars for the poop on a stick quality of food It's a non profit so whatevs. Just go for drinks and hanging out in cool spot. But stay away from the poops on sticks.
(2)Bradley W.
A hipster joint with a friendly vibe to families. The local parks department runs this river front bar/bistro with a great outdoor patio that wheelchairs can navigate. I was waiting for Leslie Knope and her staff to come out and serve--but the staff was ultra-friendly and very professional. It was a great place to welcome nightfall and have our dinner as the crew teams when up and down the waterway.
(4)Dana S.
Love the pretzel and the view! They need better side choices especially for the kids!
(3)Laura M.
Absolutely Beautiful patio! The Metroparks has done a stellar job with this location. From fabulous food and drinks to and outdoor patio with life sized Jenga and corn hole to fire pits. With a beautiful view of the river the atmosphere is a 10. While I cannot say enough about the location lets get to the libations. While a little on the pricier side the bloody mary was top notch and the mimoa's were just as delicious. If you are a fan of Bloodies this not one to miss, topped with olives, salami, cheese, and much more this packs a bit of a kick. Our server was out of this world and super attentive. He offered to take a group photo of us and made sure that we were well taken care of from start to finish. I opted for the egg sandwich and while messy was absolutely delicious, and the side of braised pork belly was tender. This is one establishment that brings food and the outdoors of Cleveland to the forefront.
(4)Aj J.
Awesome location, building, amenities and idea. But the service is very bad... Seems like they have never worked in the industry. Everyone seems so scattered brained and lost. Had a reservation at 8:15 did not get seated until almost 9pm. 20 min for drinks, then another 20 min to take our order. Food was very bad compared to most regular old bars. They need to keep it simple. Take notes from Hooples across the river who does simple good bar food... I really hope the Metro Parks figure this out because the place could be a real awesome place. But Right now Ill only be back for the location every once in a while.
(2)Edward A.
I didn't know there was a casino in the flats. From the previous reviews( half rave about the food and atmosphere, and the other half cringe at the poor service and mediocre food) i'd say my wife and I hit the jackpot. We waited for 10-15 minutes for a table on a Friday at 5 PM, then enjoyed excellent service, with prompt delivery of tasty fish tacos, and a very fresh salad, and reasonably priced beer and wine. You wonder how much the inconsistent service and food has to do with the restaurant being run by a government entity- The Cleveland Metroparks. The Metrroparks run some beautiful, well maintained golf courses, have done a great job rehabbing Edgewater Park, and keep the Metroparks clean and inviting all year long. I could just see if the City of Cleveland ran Merwin's. They would bring you a glass of water, tell you it's taken care of, then on your way out the door they'd hit you with a $164,000 charge on your bill. Or, if Cuyahoga County ran the restaurant, they would have 100 waiters for 25 tables. Waiters who only serve salads, some who just serve drinks, others for entrees, and some who supervise. If the State of Ohio ran the restaurant, there would be a gas well drilled in the middle of the dining room. Hopefully, our next visit Merwin's, our visit is as good as our first.
(4)Lynn F.
We came here on a weeknight, so it wasn't overly crowded. There were no outside tables available, so they sat us on the edge right by the patio. Total bonus because it felt like we were outside with the open concept they have going on, AND we still felt the air conditioning! Service was great from start to finish, and it's a really fun summer atmosphere. I don't know if I can really see myself coming here in cold weather, it seems more like a summer place. The food was excellent, though I think the prices are a little high which is why they only get 4 stars. I had the cuban and my husband had the fish tacos. Both were really great. I also upgraded to fries and added a side salad and it was worth it. Again though, the upgrade for fries was a little much in my opinion. I think the Metroparks did and are doing a great job with this place!
(4)Pogo C.
Don't call it Moscow Mule if you don't have copper mugs to serve it! The drinks are over charged, blend tasting!
(1)Diane B.
Went on a Friday afternoon at 1:15. The restaurant, view and the area are beautiful. We were thinking "what a great place!" The lady at the front desk with short dark hair gave the longest drawn out reason for how long we had to wait for a table. Her explanation was so long that several groups in front of us simply walked out in frustration. She was trying to say that they only take reservations for some tables, but not all, and they only seat some people as walk-ins and it's first come first serve. She said there were 8 groups that came in at 11:30 and 4 of the 8 groups were still there at 1:15, so she didn't know how long until we could be seated. Never in all my years of dining out have I been given such an explanation as to why and how long it would be until we could be seated. In any case, we decided to wait and ordered a drink at the bar, and waited on the outside patio for them to ring our cell. We were called at 2:00 and we ordered by 2:15 and didn't get the food for what felt like a very long time. It was then that I understood why the people who came in at 11:30 were still there at 1:15. Once the food finally came, it was very mediocre. I had a salad with "local greens" and "organic grilled chicken". Well, the lettuce was head lettuce and I have no idea if the chicken was truly organic. It was very mediocre and not a $14 salad...maybe a $6 salad. My husband had the fish tacos and he enjoyed them. Although he was told they were spicy and they were not. Their service staff needs a lot of work. It's been open for a year now, I hope they start getting it right! They do have late hours and a big selection of beers, so it might be a great summer evening place to go and hang on the patio. There is no docking, so motor boats are not allowed, unfortunately. Oh, and they do not take American Express.
(2)Joe D.
Not really a review, but I looked at the website and was excited to see a "Wharf" on the water...the strange thing is that they don't feature seafood. I can get the feature foods here at almost anyplace downtown. Rating it 3 stars because of style of food, not because of quality, which I am sure is good
(3)Brian E.
Nice place, cool location Good food & nice drink selection 3 stars because they told us an hour wait for outside but there were 6 unused tables Also didn't have the large garage doors open on a beautiful day. Needs better managment
(3)Alexis G.
I don't even want to give this place one star because that's how terrible it was. First off, it took us about half an hour to find the place. Even the GPS was at a loss. Then, we get there, and it's a 30 minute wait, around 3:30pm (we set out for this place from downtown Cleveland at 3pm). There were plenty of tables open, so I didn't understand that. Once we were finally seated, we got our drinks, the waitress took our order, and then our waitress disappeared. Never came back to get us refills. Four empty glasses sat on the table for about twenty, maybe thirty minutes before we finally flagged her down for refills. She looked completely at a loss, like she had no idea what she was doing. We were seated at 4pm and didn't get our food until 4:55pm. During that time, our waitress only ever came back to our table the one time that we flagged her down. When it was nearing 5pm, we flagged her down yet again to ask if we were ever going to eat. After that, she really disappeared, and we were sure that she walked out. Once we finally got our food, (served by another waitress. They called in reinforcements at some point) they gave me a salad with this gross chunky bleu cheese dressing when I'd asked for ranch. No big deal, I'd just ask them to switch it out, right? Nope. No one ever came back around to check on us, see how we were doing. My bruschetta burger was plain and gross, and my mom's chicken sandwich (that she gave half to me, because I couldn't finish my gross burger) was ridiculously dry, you could barely swallow it. The sandwiches were all $10-$12 and came with chips or slaw, and for an extra $2, you could order a side salad (which is what I did). I felt jipped because, not only did I never get the salad that I wanted, I didn't even get chips or slaw, so I paid $10 for one small, boring, nasty burger. There were three hostesses (why are there so many?!) that kept walking around but they refused to make eye contact with any customers (believe me, I tried). No manager came around to ask how everything was. Our waitress barely paid us any attention. Turns out she didn't leave, because she brought us our bill, and waiting for our bill was another ridiculously long wait. She comped two of our iced teas after we told her my salad came out wrong and no one ever fixed it, but I still wasn't pleased because I was still hungry after spending $10 on a meal. I know the restaurant is new, but it's the little things. The restaurant wasn't overly busy while we were there. As a server, there's not a whole lot to do between your table ordering and then bringing out the food, besides checking on your tables and making sure everyone gets refills. Had she made an attempt to check on us at least once, or at the very least, been very friendly and apologetic, that would've been nice, but she'd barely stay at our table for longer than a second or two before scurrying off without even looking at any of us. Do not go to this place, and if you do, give it a couple months; if the place is still even open by then. I never bother to write reviews for anything but I was so appalled by my dining experience here that I had to go all-out and let people know how horrendous it was.
(1)Ryan E.
Service was terrible. Waitresses had no clue what they were doing. Food was sub par. Limited menu. Not going back again. Good luck finding the place with all the closed roads/detours.
(1)Steven J.
I can't believe the metroparks serve such delicious food. The soft pretzel appetizer is as thick as my arm and about twice the size of my head. It's crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside and comes with three dipping sauces. Best shared with a group of four. The fish tacos are amazing: the ingredients taste so fresh and flavorful. The view of the river is beautiful and the staff are very friendly. Totally worth a try!
(5)MJ S.
Amazing Thai flavored mussels. They'd only been open for a week, so you can't really judge the food just yet. The atmosphere and location is fantastic. Can't wait to go back once they've been open for a little longer.
(5)Tom P.
Great place, great addition to cleveland, need to get service end straightened out , very poor
(3)Laurie S.
I would absolutely recommend the catfish dinner! It was amazing. Perfect- a light crunchy coating, served hot and with fresh chips and coleslaw. They have a large patio on the cuyahoga river within the metro parks. Great Way to relax on a Sunday afternoon. Not the best service we have had but certainly some of the best food.
(4)Becky V.
I liked this place mostly for the music (great classic rock favorites), ambiance and a blueberry barbecue sauce I still can't get out of my mind. If you sit on the patio you're almost right next to the river and get great views of the city and glimpses of the lake. The dining area is very spread out (large tables great for groups) and our server seemed to have a huge section to cover which affected the speed of service and attentiveness for refills. Everyone was very nice and the food was good - I'd definitely go back. Ask for the draft beer where some of the proceeds go back to the Metroparks!
(3)Regina S.
Merwin's Wharf is on its way to being the go-to destination for brunch-going, summer-loving Cleveland boaters, boarders, and rowers. PROS *Spacious! Merwin's Wharf square footage is big...I don't do numbers, so I will just compare it to Town Hall. They have a patio that wraps around two sides of the building, along with a couple of fire pit areas. A walkway/overlook deck wraps around the patio. Inside the restaurant, there is ample room, including a separate room for private events. You could get lost in this place! *Dog-friendly. Happiness oozes out of me when I am allowed to bring my child aka my dog with me to a facility. I'm not sure if dogs are allowed inside (I didn't ask), but they are more than welcome outside on the patio. *Friendly service. Our hostess and waitress were super friendly. Without even asking, they brought out a dog bowl of water for my pup. *Human-powered watercraft docking. There are plenty of places to drop in your paddleboard, kayak, canoe, etc. right along the dock that spans the width of the restaurant (and probably even a little longer than that) *Location, Part 1. Because it's located on the river, sitting on the patio really makes you feel like it's summer. You can see ships sailing, rowers rowing, boarders boarding...you get the jist. CONS *Location, Part 2. Okay, Cleveland. Your river may have caught on fire in the past, but it looks like nobody cleaned up after the blaze. Across from the restaurant, on the other side of the river, was a giant pile of trash. The water itself looks like a river of ... you can fill in the blank. The riverfront, in general, just needs to be cleaned up in order for water sports to really succeed along the Cuyahoga. *The food was just okay. We came during lunch/brunch time and I got a Caesar salad. It wasn't terrible, but it was not really that great either. I also got a mimosa that tasted too much like just orange juice. *Other than the rowing area, nearby skate park, and handful of other restaurants, there's not much else down this way. And I wouldn't walk down this way by myself in the dark - definitely becomes a shady place at night, in more ways than one. BOTTOM LINE On the next sunny day in Cleveland, walk your dog and significant other down to the wharf and grab a drink on the patio!
(4)Wendy B.
Great for the kids- giant Jenga, right on the river with plenty of boats rolling by and trains up on the bridges. Food was ... Eh, ok.
(3)Kate W.
I waited for my third visit before writing a review in the hopes that some kinks would get worked out. I'd rather give them 2.5 stars but since that's not an option, I'll round up for potential. It's discouraging arriving at the hostess stand and being told it's a 45-60 min wait when there are clearly a number of open tables in the dining room. I'm assuming this is because they are short staffed and want to be able to give diners their full attention. Unfortunately, the service is still really slow and the quality isn't consistent. In my recent (last Friday) party of 4, 3 of us ordered burgers served with fries. We received 3 very different versions of fries--to my left was old and browned fries served as a very sparse portion, across from me was a scorching hot and maybe not fully cooked but large portion and I had fries that looked perfectly done but were cold and bland. With that said, I'd still order the Fiesta Burger again. As others said, the ambiance can't be beat and it's a prime spot to watch the barges and party boats. The local beer choices are also positive--I love Fat Head's Trail Head and always feel better ordering it since some of the proceeds go back to the Metroparks. The outside fire pit and fire place are really nice features. I'm okay with cutting them some slack due to it still being a rather new operation but I hope things improve sooner rather than later. It's a great place to bring out-of-towners and with the holidays coming up, I want to be able to show off this gem to my visiting friends.
(3)Chauncey W.
We love trying new places! We were very excited! But very disappointed when we left. Our food took over an hour. And our starter came out the same time. We sat at the bar and watched our burger sit in the window while our drinks never got refilled. My burger bun was as hard as a turtle shell. Our biscuits and gravy brunch was very hard. I asked our bartender if this is what its suppose to look like. He responded "yes its biscuits and gravy." Obviously I know what Biscuits and gravy looks like. The salad we got instead was very delicious. The people beside us left due to the kitchen staff touching all the food, that was already plated, and then touching their faces. I would recommend not sitting at the bar or going at all. I hate complaining! Ive been in the food service industry for a very long time. The manager was very polite.
(1)Ed S.
The Metroparks are getting into the restaurant business in a big way. I've stopped for happy hour and lunch on Saturday and find the food to be well prepared and tasty if not adventurous. The giant pretzel is quite good,but you'll need four people to eat it. Experienced bar staff and excellent cocktails. Awesome location and when the Columbus Road bridge is finally (ever?) opened this place will be jammed all summer long
(4)Jeremy S.
Great view, however inexperienced and overworked staff. It took 30 minutes to even be recognized then took forever to get our food. I ordered the fiesta burger and my wife ordered the bbq chicken sandwich. My burger was ordered medium and came out completely overcooked and hard to swallow not to mention that it tasted like cardboard. The toppings were good but was overshadowed by the horribly cooked burger. My wife's chicken sandwich was tasteless, overcooked and dry as well. The slaw was good but nothing to write home about. Overall this place has potential, given better cooks and wait staff. Definitely not worth the drive from Berea. Probably won't go back.
(2)Sean G.
Sunday brunch visit. Probably the only thing the Metroparks doesn't excel at. Kitchen is disorganized when busy and has a hard time keeping up. Quality of food suffers as a result. Wait staff has to hover at kitchen window hoping their customers food will emerge. Bacon undercooked and greasy. Hash browns underwhelming and greasy. Nevertheless service was outstanding and venue is great. Oh well, can't have it all, even in the Metroparks.
(3)James M.
They have 2 awesome apps, however both I thought could be improved. The vegan nachos were great but I would have enjoyed more on regular tortillas. The soft pretzel is the best ive ever had, but the dipping sauces were just okay. The place is really cool though
(4)Beth S.
Went there on a weekend 5 days after opening. Was a bit crowded and made more so by a rain storm that forced diners that were eating outside to be seated inside. In spite of this, the restaurant handled it very very efficiently. Quick turn time between placing order and getting food. Hand cut fries and good burgers. Kudos to Cleveland Metroparks. Cool building and outside on the river with outdoor fireplace. Good idea with garage doors to swing up for summer.
(5)Eric C.
I don't normally write reviews but I felt I had to pass this along... I should have read the other reviews before agreeing to eat here. I went with a large group so when they gave us a 2 hour wait time I was understanding. We sat outside on their very nice patio and things looked promising. That's about it though... We ordered several appetizers. When one of my friends picked up his order at the bar and he walked it out to his wife and she told him it was the wrong item we both returned it to the bar to get it resolved. The bartender took the order back and put back into the kitchen and before I knew it, it was being resold to a different customer. I could not believe my eyes. We should have left at that point but for some reason we didn't. We finally got our table 2 hours and 15 minutes later, which was understandable. I will even mention that I met the chef when the table was being set and he wanted to thank us for waiting and he said once we sit down, he would send out a free appetizer. I thought things were looking up. Crazy though... They sent out a huge pretzel, which ironically was the dish we brought back and was resold, and between 12 people, we didn't finish it because it was not very good. After trying to figure out what I wanted off of their limited menu, I ended up with a chicken sandwich which was so so. Service overall was slow and not attentive and management didn't seem to be in it to win it. I will not be returning and would steer people clear of this place. The metro parks are not ready to enter the restaurant business and they should stick to what they know, parks. Good luck if you ignore this warning.
(1)Laura H.
We had the Cuban sandwich and previously chicken ceasar wrap. Both were very good. It's a great view of Cuyahoga river and nice atmosphere. Great service
(5)John T.
Good Ohio focused micro brew selection, and generous happy hour tasting menu. Plus you cannot beat being down on the Cuyahoga!
(4)Jenna H.
3 stars, although I'm not sure I can form a solid opinion about this place quite yet. It's in walking distance of my apartment, which is great because I read a lot of reviews about it being hard to locate due to closed bridges, etc. So, I cannot speak to that. The building itself is really nice-- lots of seating, great open atmosphere and a good sized bar. The out door seating is superb-- again good size, great view of the river and city skyline, comfy couches and cozy fire pits. My major complaint is that they do not take reservations unless you call in advance and have a larger party. I make a point to make reservations well in advance anywhere I eat because I know how crowded Cleveland restaurants get on the weekends and I do not like to wait. Upon arriving, the hostess let us know that it was an hour wait inside and 2 hours for the patio. Huge bummer because it was around 8pm on a Friday and I was STARVING. On the plus side, we found a seat on one of the outside couches and were able to be served from there. We had the chicken wings, which were mediocre and seemed like they needed to be cooked a little bit longer. My boyfriend had the fish tacos, which were decent ( he let me have a bit) but a little watery and needed a bit more flavor. I had the perch sliders which were pretty darn good and something I would definitely get on my next visit. Overall, fairly good experience for a brand new establishment. But, I do think the place has potential to do better in due time, hence the 3 stars. The staff was nice even thought I think they are still trying to get the hang of things. I doubt I will be going back on a weekend until they take reservations. Major kudos to the Metroparks for utilizing this building and the space so well!
(3)Lesley K.
The first time we came here was right after they opened last year. We waited an hour to be seated despite there being multiple empty tables. They said they didn't want to overwhelm the kitchen. I get that - I worked in food service for years. Once we were finally seated the service was okay, not stellar, but it was okay. We placed our orders - I had a chicken sandwich which was pretty good and my husband ordered a burger, medium rare. Neither my husband or myself has ever sent food back but his burger came out WELL done. The second burger they sent out was fine. We decided to give the place a try again since they have been around about a year now - figured they would have worked out some kinks. Our experience started off positively. The waitress was friendly and we were seated right away. I ordered a chicken caesar wrap and a side salad - all good but the salad was really small. My husband decided to try the burger again and this time ordered it rare. It came out mid-well to well done. I told him to send it back. The second burger they sent came out CHARRED, so when the waitress asked how it was we told her but kindly said it was okay, it wasn't her fault, and she didn't have to do anything. She sent the manager over who offered to send another burger but at that point we were over it. She took the burger off our bill which was nice but I would certainly hope they would after all that. So while I sat eating my meal, the waitress proceeded to ignore us and the fact that my husband was now sitting there with an empty water and an empty beer. She brought us our check and hastily said "no rush" then realized my husband had nothing to drink and asked if he wanted another beer. Again, we were over it by that point and just wanted to leave. She picked up our check, brought it back and said "thank you" and left abruptly as if she couldn't wait for us to leave. We were as nice as we could be and stated multiple times it was not the waitress's fault. The food experience was bad enough but to top it off with a rude waitress who made us feel like it was our fault was the icing on the cake. Will not be going back again and do not recommend.
(1)Steve B.
Visited Merwin's Wharf today for brunch after hearing great things and found myself quite underwhelmed. We arrived and put in our names for a table and were told it would be an hour wait and they would text us when a table was ready. We weren't quite prepared for that, but took the time to walk around the area a bit. There are various benches / couches / etc. where you can park yourself while you wait for a table, but the hostess neglected to direct us to them...we did hear her telling another couple about them later as we were leaving, though. Walking around the building we noticed that while we were on a 1-hour wait list, there were 11 empty tables, inside and out combined. It's always disconcerting to be told there is a wait and then find out that literally half the restaurant is empty. After about 30 minutes we sat inside hear the hostess station and killed time. My wife went up to the hostess station after we'd waited around 45 minutes total to get a look at the menu, and was told "Oh, your table is ready we tried to call you but you didn't answer." I had been looking at my phone for the 15 minutes prior to that, and not so much as a peep, so they clearly wrote down my number wrong. Aggravating, but mistakes happen. They seated us outside on the mostly empty patio. We started off with waters and I ordered the Hemingway's Day Off, a rum drink that boasted Navy Strength rum, a touch of lime, seasonal fruit, and basil syrup. Sounds perfect for brunch outside! Eleven dollars later I got a martini glass filled with pulpy lime juice that perhaps, in another life, had been briefly introduced to someone named "Rum". Hemingway would have beaten someone senseless for serving him that. It took about 25 minutes for our food to arrive (again, in a half-full restaurant that should have come out a bit faster) and it was about 50/50. My wife's Egg Sandwich ($9 - we ordered from the Brunch Menu) was fantastic, although being a vegetarian she skipped the pork belly which I did want to try. It came with Black Bean Hash, which appeared to be a child's order of french fries from McDonalds, cubed and thrown back into the fryer, and served with about 9 black beans mixed in for garnish. I ordered the Biscuits & Gravy ($12) and was disappointed to find two incredibly small biscuits in a tiny cast iron skillet with almost, but not quite, enough gravy to cover them. My side order of Wharf Hash was the same disappointing french fry concoction, which the menu states is "cooked in bacon fat and herbs" although I can't imagine how you could do that without imparting some kind of actual flavor. The bacon fat alone should have made them delicious, but they were dry and tasted like vegetable oil. The chorizo gravy on the biscuits was quite nice, and the biscuits themselves were alright, but it was a side order masquerading as an entree. If they had been incredibly delicious, I'd have been fine with the small portion. If they had been bountiful, I'd have been fine with the mediocrity. But they just didn't have enough going for them for me to ever want them again. It seems clear that Merwin's Wharf is struggling through some growing pains. During the meal I counted 5 servers to 13 occupied tables, while people at the door were being turned away left and right with a wait time that ranged from 45 minutes to 2 hours. As we left I heard the hostess blaming the kitchen for the delay, saying "they got a big rush and couldn't keep up". Considering how few people were seated and ordering it seemed suspect that the kitchen couldn't keep up. It also seemed like bad form for a hostess to throw another group of the staff under the bus instead of just giving some kind of "we're just a bit short-staffed today, so our wait time is longer than usual" answer which covers the bases, lets your guests know there will be a wait, and doesn't put the blame on anyone specific. Treat your kitchen right! Our server, Katie K. was fantastic, attentive, and quick. Although since she couldn't have had more than one or two other tables I guess that made it easier to be...we tipped her well since she clearly wasn't going to make any $$ on volume today and headed out. The location is nice, and will be better once the rest of the Metroparks trails are finally connected to it. The menu isn't bad but needs some fine tuning to make it really shine. The wait staff is going to need better volume of tables if they're going to make enough money to want to stay there. The bartender should be shot. We're going to check back in 5 or 6 months and see how it goes but for now...caveat emptor.
(2)Erin R.
What a pleasant surprise this place was! We came here for lunch on the recommendation of someone at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium. We had just finished our visit and wanted something nearby and on the river, family friendly, reasonably priced, and, of course, delicious. We had never heard of this place and were intrigued when we were told it was owned by the Cleveland Metroparks. I'm so glad we checked it out, because it definitely has everything we were looking for! PLUS free and easy parking. We were originally quoted a 45-minute wait, but the hostess took our phone number so we went to hang out in front on the river. It's right next to a bridge, so we got to watch the bridge raise for the Goodtime III to come through. We only ended up waiting about 15 minutes; they called to tell us our table was ready, as promised. The hostess was very friendly. We sat on the patio where we had a great view of the river. We got to see a few more boats pass, including one of those massive shipping barges. Fantastic atmosphere - very casual. Giant jenga sets and a large stone fireplace with couches for lounging help to create that laid-back air. Our waiter was very friendly, and drinks and food came out fairly quickly. Amongst my group, we can vouch for the tastiness of the apple bacon grilled cheese, the beef & mushroom melt, the fiesta burger, and the Cuban. All were delicious! Half of us got the house-made chips (huge slices of potatoes fried to a tasty crunch!), the other half sprung for the upcharge for fries (so fresh - perfect for soaking up malt vinegar!). We had a few kiddos with us, who also enjoyed their meals: cheeseburger & chips, and Mac & cheese (served in a small cast-iron skillet - parents beware!! Cute presentation but terrible idea to give a kid a hot cast iron skillet! I just poured it onto the plate so she could eat it). These kid portions were HUGE!!! GREAT value!!! We didn't partake in any adult beverages at this meal, but they had a decent selection of craft beers (tap and bottle) and wine. I would love to come back in the evening some time and relax in front of that fire with a beer!! We will definitely be returning - especially now that I've looked up their brunch menu. Looks amazing!
(4)Bill T.
I like this place. The parking is good. The view is good. The drinks were good. The food was good (not great) but I wasn't expecting great. It is a nice place to stop and have a sandwich and have a cold beer on an afternoon. We started with the heirloom tomato salad. It was colorful and flavorful. I had a BBQ chicken sandwich and fries -- both were good and had lots of flavor. My wife had the same. We will be back.
(3)Andrew T.
The challenge with this place is the location as due to Cleveland's brilliance in choosing a time and a place for road construction, driving to this location can cause road rage. But let me tell you, the concept here is great! This place has a huge parking lot, so parking will not be an issue. They also have a large boardwalk with boat docs, similar to Shooter's minus the fear of being shanked. I have to say that I feel that some of the instances where others have documented horrible food reviews may have in fact been attributed to the restaurant just opening up and that is really no excuse. But every restaurant is going to have growing pains. Also, our group of 4 had some of the better burgers, and calamari that we've had in a long time. The drinks were reasonably priced too. Now the main attention getter here is the fact that you're sitting on the water. For those of you homers that think Cleveland is the greatest place in the world (relax, I'm with you on this one) I was so excited to see this sort of restaurant open on the river. It's what Cleveland needs. For those of you that live her by default i.e., boyfriend, lover, school, work, etc. give this place a shot. It's pretty cool
(4)Christy C.
Last time I was here with a group of friends in the summer. We sat outside and had drinks (no food) and enjoyed the atmosphere, which is still a 4 star rating. However after eating lunch there today, those 4 stars were quickly reduced to 3 based on the food. It was a little colder this time around so we sat inside, the inside was beautifully decorated with Christmas decorations and the scenery still amazing. I ordered the black bean burger ($10) with cheese ($1). The brioche bun was fresh and chewy and the basil aioli had great flavor, but other than that it just wasn't that good. The patty itself had a pasty consistency to it and lacked real flavor. Morning Star black bean burgers are a million times better tasting (and cheaper). I added a side salad (extra $2) with the artichoke balsamic vinaigrette. The salad was an average salad with tomato, lettuce, croutons, carrots and cucumbers...small and uneventful. The dressing was pretty good though. My boyfriend had a Caesar salad ($9) with chicken breast (extra $5). It was a head of Romaine lettuce cut in half with parmesean cheese and Caesar dressing drizzled on top. He really liked the dressing but said the chicken although had good flavor was too dry. The salad was served on a small plate which made it very difficult to cut the large wedges of salad without it falling off your plate. This definitely was not a $14 salad. Overall the server was friendly, service okay, food overpriced but not overly flavorful. I still love the location of this place and will come back, but most likely only for drinks and maybe appetizers on the patio when the weather is nice.
(3)A.J. A.
Is an ok place. Pricey and service shotty. Don't let the name fool ya either, this is NOT a seafood restaurant. Family of 5 for lunch, (3 kids. Teen and preteen) no alcohol, no dessert... only four entrees (wife had an appetizer pretzel and side salad).2 meals were 1/2 rack ribs, a burger, & a salmon dinner... $130.00+. Service was lacking, had to wait long for soda refill... then she brought a ice tea back instead (I had a coke). She didn't hear me as she walked away when trying to tell her wrong drink. Then she disappeared for 15 minutes. Seating around bar, bad idea. The bar crowd, hanging over our table, bumping chairs... to the point I intentionally put a empty seat at end of table to push them back a little. Every time got up hit person standing behind me with my chair. Food was fare. Not horrible, but not good either. We will not be return customers. However, we did get seated in 10 minutes. (After being told 55 minute wait) Only reason not a 1 star. Family of 5, very busy day (event going on on the river), nice view, nice ambience. .
(2)Dianne N.
Had lunch here today and had a fabulous experience. The service was great, the food was very good and the ambiance was spectacular. This is truly a hidden gem for Cleveland. Sitting on the patio made you feel like you were on vacation and watching the Nautica Queen go by while having our drinks. This is a definite "return to" place!!!
(5)A J.
I really wanted to love this place but sadly they don't deliver on quality. The atmosphere is great, however it is easily overlooked with the low food standards. We ordered the veggie club, however the 2 slim cucumber slices, one red pepper peel and tablespoon of sprouts do not constitute a veggie club. I don't typically send food back but the club was just ridiculous. Please do not advertise it as a veggie club and serve more bread than veggies. I will say the manager offered a dessert, however I didn't order or want a dessert so I do not understand why it was delivered to our table... Yet continue to charge for the veggie club, or rather the 3 slices of bread served. Great venue but poor poor food standards!!
(1)Jennifer C.
What Merwin's Wharf lacks in food quality, it makes up for in atmosphere! Large patio situated right on the Cuyahoga River; it's a great spot to watch kayaks, barges, and everything in between float on by while you sip your drink. The food is fairly average here; nothing to write home about. The portions are small for the price and the flavor is rather bland. The avocado ranch dressing leaves much to be desired and I had a hard time figuring out what, exactly, about the Southwest chicken salad made it worth $14. This venue is better suited to lunch or for after-dinner drinks. So while the food is lackluster, it's really the location of this restaurant that is the star of the show. What a unique experience!
(3)Michael H.
Maybe that's what you get when a park tries to run a restaurant but man they move slow. Makes it not worth the effort and the view since it is so poorly run.
(1)Jennifer T.
Ok. So I know this ace just opened about a week ago and they may b working out some kinks... But I just could not give it more then 3 stars based on the food mostly. The location is tricky to get to since roads r closed and so many changes happening in Cle that my gps was giving me a hard time even w/her "recalculating"....once there it's a great location and they have their own parking lot! Bonus for the Cle area. It was a nice Friday summer night and super busy. At 6pm there was a 30 min. Wait for the inside and a 2 hour wait to sit outside, by 7 it was a 3 hour wait for the patio. There r only like 7 tables outside. But don't fret, it's fine to b inside too since they open all the doors in the back to the outside anyway. Staff was nice, but they were severely understaffed. Once we were seated, it took forever for everything!!! Not sure if it was just our waitress or what, but it was painful and one person w/me said they felt like a prisoner in there at one point. Onto the food. For an app we got the calamari. DON'T do it! It was small super rubbery and tasteless despite the peppers. U will b disappointed w/it. The grilled chicken on the Italian sandwich was gross. It had these burnt "grill" marks that seemed fake. It tasted and smelled really bad! Our server apologized and she asked if we wanted something else so we got a burger medium-well. It came out w/the same weird burnt smell and it was charred and so burnt tasting we couldn't eat it. It came w/a side if homemade chips, that must have been sitting for so long because they were not crispy, but flexible and chewy. The side salad we had was good and so was the ranch. Now, the best thing was the Lake Erie perch sliders w/their slaw! Omg! Loved every bite!!! We will go back to try some other menu items. It's a great place to go drink w/some friends. However, we will avoid any grilled items! Hopefully next time I can leave an updated review with more stars.
(3)Jason L.
I was extremely underwhelmed. I've been several times, to eat and to drink. The prices are high, the portions are not large, and the food is merely acceptable. The crowd is kind of yuppy so I'm guessing the place mostly caters to the boat-owner types that won't think twice about dropping twelve bucks on a sandwich or a burger. For me however, I did not feel that the food was a good value. On the plus side, the restaurant was very clean, the decor nice, and the service was good. The patio is nice also. The main advantage of this place to me, and the main reason I'm giving it three stars instead of two, is because it's accessible from the water. I was able to paddle up in a kayak, pull up to their dock, and carry it up to shore and go to the restaurant. So I give this restaurant 2* plus 1* for location. It's a convenient place to stop sometimes if you're paddling on the river and get hungry or thirsty.
(3)Susie Q.
NO BISCUIT FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!! Visited on 11/3/14, party of 2, it was about 11:30 am, brunch was had. I ordered The Standard Breakfast and my friend had Biscuits and Gravy. The room is very nice, the outdoor patio is nice as well but it was too cold on this day to sit outside. The Standard Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs (eggs are done any style) with sausage, bacon and I had the Black Bean and Sweet Potato Hash. Aside from some of the hash being undercooked, it was good. My friend was satisfied with her Gravy & Biscuits. I looked on the menu for toast or biscuits as a side, but, nothing was listed. I asked the server if I could purchase toast or a biscuit and she frowned, said no, but said she would ask. She returned shaking her head, "no, I'm sorry, we don't have a toaster (?) and all of the biscuits are allocated for the day." I asked her how they know how many biscuits they are going to need for the day. She didn't really answer. I was thinking to myself that customer service would probably dictate that you take care of the customer who is in front of you at that moment. If they run out of biscuits at the end of the day, then you just inform customers, "sorry, we are out of biscuits." But to tell a customer NO who is right there in front of you - was really wrong, my opinion only. And whoever heard of a restaurant with no toaster? Seriously. The manager (he looked like the manager but did not introduce himself as such) came over after we were done eating and asked how everything was. We said everything was good (which it was). I mentioned to him that I had asked for toast or a biscuit to accompany my dish and he said, "well, we're still working out the kinks" which didn't make any sense at all. Cleveland is a food town, first impressions are everything. YELP! has lots of semi-negative reviews for this place. I swear the "we're working out the kinks" reply has been noted in previous reviews in this forum. The competition for patrons has to be fierce, negative reviews don't help...there are plenty of other places to eat.
(3)Lauren M.
Delish!! My mom and I came here for a nice relaxing dinner. We loved it!! The food was amazing as was our service (Patti was awesome!) we had a caprese salad, chicken cesar wrap and the grilled cheese! All awesome!
(5)Katz B.
Great location, riverfront view w/o having to deal with Shooters-type crowd. They have a relatively good beer list, which also seems reasonably priced, however their cocktail list descriptions sound far better than the actual (and over-priced!)drink that is placed in front of you. The first drink I ordered was their variation of a Salty Dog - ruby red vodka, with a splash of Cava & salted rim. It wasn't a bad cocktail, except that the bartender wandered around the bar like he was lost trying to find everything to make it. In addition, I don't think he bothered to chill the vodka first before adding Cava so it was lukewarm to start. For the second round, I ordered something called Lemon-Thyme which was supposed to be gin with lemon, thyme simple syrup and soda - what I received was basically a glass of lemon juice, after a few sips I had to go back & ask the bartender to please add a little more ice & soda. It did little to improve my $12 drink. I didn't try any of the food, I'll probably return to do so, but I will definitely stick to beer the next time around.
(2)Dean K.
Can't beat the setting. On the river. Beautiful building, open airy inside, patio and large fireplace out. Freighters, pleasure craft, kayaks and racing sculls from the CLE paddle club next door. Sat at the bar. Chaos on a busy but not crazy evening. A nice and earnest but overwhelmed staff. If management is good they will staff better and get better and 4-5 stars follow. Fish tacos very nice. Decent looking food around. Complicated drinks (want a pantry with your Bloody Mary? Pickle?) a real chore, so waiting for your soda or that guys beer may take 10-15 minutes. Forgotten orders. Calling out looking for who ordered what. Nice crowd so no problems but that can't last. I'll be back with kayaks and hope things are better!
(3)Crystal A.
I wish I could keep this place to myself but the secret's out. Merwin's Wharf is my new favorite spot with a view in CLE. The Cleveland Metroparks did a fabulous job designing both the interior and exterior of this river front gem. Garage doors open onto a wrap around patio that includes a wood burning fire pit and a gas fireplace, tons of tables and comfy couches. Rowers, freighters, kayaks and other boats provide regular entertainment as they pass by. The food: My husband and I both had the sockeye salmon special and our friends both had the fried perch dinner. Everyone was very happy with our selections and the prices were good. The beer selection is decent - I think we are spoiled because so many places have a huge craft beer list these days. The service: We sat at the bar while we waiting for our table and the bartender was great. For dinner, our waitress was prompt, helpful and pleasant. The only SUPER annoying thing about this place is the they refuse to take same day reservations. Really. When I called twice to clarify this unreasonable rule, I was given some sort of nonsense without any real explanation of why this is their policy. If tables are available, why don't they take a reservation? We had out of town company and 14 of us wanted to eat here but without a reservation there was no way we were taking a chance and having to wait 2 hours for a table. I know that the Metroparks aren't used to running a restaurant but common sense should tell them that if they have open tables and people want to sit at them, they should do what every other normal restaurant does. Other than that one gripe, we can't complain. I'm almost looking forward to summer ending just so I can snuggle up by the fire.
(4)Jessica I.
Three stars is about right. There's a lot of potential here (great space, wonderful setting, decent menu). It's not quite fully realized yet due to some service issues (sluggish but friendly servers and a somewhat surly hostess on our visit) and food missteps (rubbery calamari). This place is still pretty good, and well worth a visit thanks to the strength of its location. I hope it improves so the whole experience matches the atmosphere.
(3)James H.
I'm only giving the place a 2 because it looked nice inside and had a sweet view on the river. First drink order, including our waters, took over 15 minutes to come to us, and we weren't even given the opportunity to order yet. All the food was just so-so, my chicken sandwich was simply a decent sized grilled chicken breast, on a sheetz-style pretzel bun, with Frank's Red Hot splashed on it, and a bland 'blue cheese' sauce. The menu overall was tiny, prices looked reasonable but not for the portions of quality of the food, and when we had to pay the checks, it took our waitresses 5 trips to the table and an additional 45 minutes or so before we could close out.
(2)Charlene S.
Please get your act together. Agree that this is a great area and atmosphere for enjoying the river. Which occupies your time while waiting and waiting and waiting. We were told an hour wait from a hostess that needs to make eye contact and just be nice. We sat within 30mins outside. order food. and then we waited more than an hour for the food. Food arrived - told 3 different people we need silverware. We ended up getting it ourselves from the bar. Three of us ordered the fish tacos which ended up being very hot & spicy. Told the server (who was extremely nice). She said it was her favorite dish and she didn't think it was spicy and she hated spice. There was very little fish in the tacos itself. Our guess is they were short on the blackened walleye -used another fish and added Sriracha sauce. I would return for the atmosphere and risk the food again...but not until next summer when you can enjoy the outdoors. not sure how they are going to survive the winter. But then again if its less of a crowd they may be able to up their service skills.
(2)Christine B.
We went a few weekends ago on a Sunday when they had the clam and lobster bake available. Excellent service from the bar and the wait staff. The food was amazing! I was reluctant to order the giant fresh pretzel as I'm not a huge pretzel fan but forget everything you know about pretzels and order this thing! With sides of beer cheese and mustard it was redic!!! Also the mussels and siracha wings were fantastic. OK, I'm gonna run out of adjectives soon! At our table we ordered the clam bake, a lobster bake, and Walleye tacos. All were soooo delicious!! The Manhattan clam chowder that came with the bake was out of this world. I'd come back just for that! With just enough chorizo to give it a little kick...I ate every drop of the generous bowl. We left with very full bellies and a huge smile on our faces to have found this new gem on the river! Way to go Metroparks!! PS- we would have loved to eat outside but they'll need propane heaters for that. The wood burning fire pits are nice but not to eat next to.
(5)Melissa D.
What a great and fun place. Right on the river with a great view of downtown from it's spacious and comfortable patio with two fireplaces. Inside is comfortable and open with a large bar as the centerpiece. The detailing is exactly what you would expect from The Metroparks. There are historic pictures and information about Cleveland scattered around the walls. Very fun and interesting. They have a full bar with several rotating taps and a decent bottled beer selection. Prices on drinks are reasonable. The bartenders were friendly and helpful and while they were slammed last night due to a large special event going on, they were professional and fast. We sat at the bar and had a great view of the kitchen and the food coming out. The presentation of food is very pleasing. The menu is small but covers appetizers with a pretzel the size of platter to mussels and sandwiches and burgers. We had the Freighter Frites as an appetizer. They were not your ordinary frites. They had chorizo, real cheese melted on the fries and lime sour cream topped with some house made pickled red onions. Fresh, hot and tasty. After that we ordered the Lake Erie Perch Sliders and the a.m. burger. Both were large portions, cooked perfectly and tasted great. I would higher recommend the perch sliders served on a cornmeal bun with sriracha tartar sauce and house made pickles. Since we had the fries as our appetizer we opted for the house salads as our sides. The salads were not too small and had a great variety of greens and toppings. The dressings we chose were artichoke balsamic vinaigrette and honey poppy seed. Both were fantastic.
(5)Alessia R.
The food is exceptional. Chef Nick Lanzo is creative and such a nice guy as well. Our server, Katie, was such a sweetheart and was attentive without being overbearing. She made good suggestions and never let our waters become empty. We have always had good meals and service here and plan to come back as much as possible. It's a hidden gem on the river! Can't wait for the summer and their new menu starting in May! And their patio will be my favorite hot spot come warmer weather!
(5)Doug P.
Came here on a Friday night after a long week of work & frankly I was tired and not really in the mood to go out........well, that quickly changed once we arrived at The Wharf. What a location! And the Metroparks really did a nice job with the layout of the restaurant and the patio with two fire pits/places. We got drinks on the patio while we watched the crew sculls go by and then a big o'll freighter too! Fun to watch. Our friend ordered food which looked pretty good - the chorizo fries were ok - and he seemed to like his sandwich. Server was pretty nice but she had a limited idea of what the bar offered. We will definitely be back soon! My girlfriend had the great idea that the next time my brother & his family visit us from the faaaaar East side they would love this place, especially my niece & nephew. The Metroparks just keep getting better!
(4)David D.
I just had dinner here on the 2nd day of it being officially open. There's no other place like this in Cleveland! You have a great view of the green Irish bend jungle, the Cuyahoga River and a river boardwalk. Watch rowers, guided kayakers, the Good Times, Nautica Queen and 600 foot freighter ships navigate the Cuyahoga as you enjoy a great selection of food, beer and wine. Look for the Great Blue Heron standing still in the Cuyahoga, the huge family of geese eating the grass. Sit next to an amazing outdoor fireplace or sit around the fire pit which will be great for Cleveland's cooler months. There's plenty of room at the bar and ample indoor seating. Garage doors open to enjoy the summer weather indoors. Great unique photographs of Cleveland adorn the walls. I'm excited to dine here more often and invite others to see the flats rebirth, with the new East Bank being built near Ernst and Young, the towpath surging closer to the lake, new housing and brewery being built on Columbus road, Cross Fit Cleveland, Bike Co-op, Cleveland Rowing and the restored Columbus road bridge is being installed this week. Great things are happening in Cleveland!
(5)Alex B.
Jennifer T. nailed this review. Read hers. They are working out the bugs on the food and service. Give it a few more months. The setting and facility is great and deserves a 4-5 star rating. Forget eating there for now.
(2)Allison J.
Beautiful space and area. Not a single table umbrella on the patio which I disliked but maybe that's just me. Our party of 6 was seated on the patio around 2pm on a Saturday and was then left to sit there with no attention from a server. Not even an acknowledgement of "busy be right with you". After 15 minutes with no one even taking our drink order we decided to take our business elsewhere. Overall disappointing, not sure if/when we will try again.
(1)Martin R.
Worlds smallest mussels, half of the shells empty. Perch with no flavor. Hard dry chicken in the salad. No repeat visit to this place for sure!
(1)James W.
I would probably rate this a 3.5 if that was an option. The scenery is wonderful. Everything is obviously very clean and contemporary since it is a new building. We sat at the bar and ordered the fiesta burger and a Cleveland lemonade. The burger was good, but I was hoping it had more flavor and pop to it. The Cleveland lemonade was a little too strong for 2 in the afternoon, but the bartender did offer to fix the drink for me. Overall this is a nice place to go to, just not as much wow factor as I was expecting.
(4)Jeff M.
Overall this is a really good restaurant and location, but appears to still be working out some kinks. Food/ menu/ bar - The menu is pretty simple but is more than sufficient for the setting on the river in the flats, and frankly anything more complex would likely exceed their current capabilities. We had a regular burger, a fiesta burger, a black bean (veggie) burger and the Lake Erie (walleye) tacos. Each of us really liked the quality of food (fresh vegetables, gourmet breads for the buns, everything cooked precisely as ordered). Chips as the side were homemade, fresh and crispy - not the best or most flavorful homemade chips you will find but a very solid effort. Two of our plates came out missing a few of the appropriate toppings, but our waitress identified the issue before we did and promptly fixed it. Minor infraction, happens everywhere, and I attribute this more to the management / startup issues (see below) than the food quality. The bar was well stocked, had a decent (not great, but pretty respectable) selection of micro brews and draughts. Overall, the food was a solid four stars, maybe four and a half. Prices were reasonable and very fair for the food quality and restaurant location. Beer prices seemed a touch on the high side for the type of restaurant, but not significantly so. Whoever is running the kitchen (and to some extent the bar) understands this restaurant's identity and is executing the plan very nicely. Venue/ location - If you're looking for a rustic, authentic Cleveland venue, with a nice view and close proximity to downtown, ohio city and tremont, this is it. The riverside patio with small boardwalk is awesome, and the general location is very convenient to the rest of the city. I can't in good conscience give the location five stars (it sits a stone's throw from at least three strip clubs and is surrounded by heavy, partially abandoned, industry). Given that it sits on a scenic bend in the river and all of the windows and the patio face the river rather than the badlands that lie behind it, the location is a solid four stars. But if you attempt to walk there from Ohio City, just be prepared to really immerse yourself in a true flats experience. Management / service/ startup issues - The hostess was probably the worst part of our night at Merwin's Wharf. She was looking down at her phone as we walked up and until we prompted her while standing right in front of her. Not a good start. Without looking at anything (no list check, no glance around the restaurant), she informed us it would be a 1/2 hour to 45 minute wait. We did not mind grabbing a beer at the bar and taking in the sunset, so we opted to wait. When we got to the bar we quickly noticed that no one else appeared to be waiting for tables, and at least three prime tables were open on the patio and had already been cleaned by the bus staff. We inquired with the bar tender whether we could take one of the open tables. He seemed confused why we were still waiting but told us the hostess would have to make that call. The bar was nice enough that we decided to just order food there, and as we did our buzzer went off (about 10 minutes after we got there, not 30-45). The hostess sat us at an inside table, told us none of the patio tables were available. We the watched her walk outside to notice how many tables were still open, but she just shrugged off the error and did not offer us a patio table (those patio tables remained open for the next 30 mins or so). As we went to cash out our bar tab to transfer to our table, the manager swooped onto the bar tender's computer and decided he needed to do a bunch of things at that moment (several other stations were open), so we stood waiting for our tiny bar tab for another ten minutes while the manager finished up his tasks. After we wrapped up at the and bar finally got to our table, the confusion continued. We had two waitresses that night. The first seemed very new and lost, but pleasant. She was quickly replaced by another waitress who seemed to have a good amount of restaurant experience and was very helpful and efficient. No less than 6 plates were smashed on the floor during the hour we were there. This appeared to be the result of a poor plate stacking location choice - placing tall stacks of plates on an exposed shelf between the kitchen window and the busy pathway that connects the bar, kitchen and server stations. I get that accidents happen and the plate smashing did not bother us much. But this seems like something a restaurant manager would only need to see once before relocating the plate stacks. Overall it appeared that the restaurant manager & hostess situations were generating the biggest issues we had with this restaurant. This category gets a one star, but could be improved very easily and quickly.
(4)Jennifer L.
The Metroparks get an A+ for picking out and designing this location. They food is pretty good, if they aren't all out of it. I've gone 3 different times and each time they are out of at least 3-4 entree items, which is almost 25% of their smaller menu. They really need to work on their inventory control. Additionally, the majority of their wait and bar servers act like they just started. They don't know what's on the menu or who to make their signature drinks. They really need to work on their training protocols.
(2)Shank S.
I've only had apps and drinks here so I can't comment on the food. The apps are good nothing special. But the location is great, and very popular. I've taken my family and friends several times and its great to grab a beer and play jenga.
(3)Jayme K.
Wondering what to do on a lazy Saturday or Sunday? Come to Merwin's Wharf! This is def a new hidden gem to Cleveland. We came here for lunch following the Flea last Saturday was definitely impressed. They have indoor and outdoor seating along the river bank in the flats. Part of the outdoor seating is first come first serve (high top-bar style seating) where as the other is huge tables with umbrella's. We had to wait about 35 minutes to sit outside, but well worth the wait. To start off, their drink menu is out of this world... rum runners, 3 types of Bloody Mary's, cheap bottled and draft beer- list is endless. We bypassed the apps, however we are already planning on coming back for the loaded fires! For lunch we split a burger and the chicken, back, cheese sandwich. The burger was just ok- typical a little overdone. But the chicken sandwich was AMAZING! I highly recommend it. The fires were also to die for. The only complaint was that their was only 1 waiter for the whole outside- def need more out there for better service.
(3)Dena M.
Service and food need help. How can such a new place have stale chips? Love the location. I hope it improves!!
(2)Susanne S.
Had a really fun time having an after work dinner with a friend. Service was attentive and friendly; we were moved inside with no problem when it started to rain. The house wine was excellent, as were the salad and Perch Sliders I had and the Thai Mussels my friend had. The Vegan Nachos we started with could have been crisper; I'd recommend separate bowls for the dips/ chips and thinner, more healthy pita chips, but the bean hummus was fantastic. This is a nice, more tranquil atmosphere, which feels nicely tucked away. Parking is well designed and there are little bridges between the sections. A definite go to spot to unwind, enjoy scenery and good conversation.
(4)