Eddie Merlot's

I went to the soft opening of Eddie Merlot's last night and I was thoroughly impressed. This place is going to be a nice addition to downtown Louisville. The staff were all on top of things, the food was better than I hoped for, and I really enjoyed the whole vibe of the place...except for maybe their muzak.

We tried a little of everything on the menu: Cheese Plate (a little pedestrian with their cheese choices and accompaniments, but still tasty), Shrimp Cocktail (which comes on dry ice for a neat presentation), Calamari that was out of this world, and Spinach Dip (the only thing all night that I didn't love). Salads were great! Perfect blend of toppings for flavor and the dressings were all fantastic. Entrees: trio of Medallions - cooked perfect with a tasting of their steak toppings, a bison filet that looked amazing but I did not taste, however was told it was fantastic, seabass that made me salivate, and the Black and Bleu Scallops (one of my new favorite dishes in the city).

Desserts were a decadent feast. Several table side options and their cakes were slices to feed a family of four and are very delicious.

Cocktail menu was also wonderful. I found a Pineapple - Jalapeno martini that was just short of a perfect cocktail, not sweet at all with a good, but not overpowering, hint of heat. I think I will find myself there drinking these quiet often. My only complaint being they could have been chilled more.

Other than so minor hiccups (it WAS a soft opening) this place had an amazing staff that did a phenomenal job. Everything was A++. I WILL be back, often.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks for the review, Amy, and for being the first to report in from Eddie Merlot's. I know there's a lot of interest in it.

Sounds great. We've got a special evening planned soon and this place has been on our Radar for quite some time. Your review makes me think we've made a good choice.

There's the review. Sounds great. I read this when it was announced that they were opening here. This is from Business First.

http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2010/01/11/daily35.html

It's an interesting strategy that they target women.

Women are target demographic
That’s by design, Humphries said.
Female executives are an important demographic, along with baby boomers with annual salaries of $100,000 and above, he said.
Competitors tend to cater to men, but Eddie Merlot’s has developed “a huge following of females” because of decor, size of portions and non-steak offerings, such as duck and seafood, Humphries said.
“In today’s business world, we go after female professionals.”
As part of that strategy, Humphries plans to open a number of Eddie Merlot’s this year. In addition to Louisville, Design Collaborative currently is working on new restaurants in Denver and Minneapolis, Dick said.
Humphries said he projects the Louisville operation will open in July or August, depending on the availability of contractors.
He declined to disclose total revenue figures for the Eddie Merlot’s operations, but he said the per-unit annual gross revenue target is $5 million.
“With the recession, that has dropped a little bit,” Humphries said. “But that’s the goal.”


Read more: Eddie Merlot's coming to Fourth Street | Business First

I dined there tonight. Everything was wonderful, from start to finish. Our server's timing was perfect and he was very knowledgeable. My husband & I split the crab cakes & caesar salad. I had the the 6oz filet (cooked perfectly) w/ the scallop addition & my husband had the 8 oz filet w/ bearnaise sauce. We saw other tables with mouth watering cheesecake & carrot cake, but we were completely stuffed by dessert time. We finished off with a pot of french pressed coffee which came with sides of cinnamon sticks, shaved chocolate, & whipped cream. The atmosphere was very sophisticated yet relaxed. We are looking forward to our next visit.

I went last week for dinner, then again last night to check out the lounge area.

Things I loved:
Shrimp Cocktail - served in a dish with water and dry ice underneath to produce a smoking effect. The horseraddish/cocktail sauce is very good.
Filet - cooked perfectly and was excellent.
Lobster Mac and Cheese - killer.
South of the Border Burger - huge prime beef burger with pepper jack cheese, chipotle ketchup, avacado, pico de gallo mayo...this thing is no joke.
1/2 priced bottles of wine on Sunday and Monday of any wine they serve by the glass.

Things that I probably won't get again:
Lobster Mashed Potatoes - not nearly as good as the mac and cheese. The mac and cheese had chunks of lobster, the mashed potatoes had more of a lobster cream.
Mushrooms - they were just regular, ol' mushrooms. Didn't compare to, say, Z's Maker's Mushrooms.

The chairs at the tables in the lounge area are extremely comfortable. I'd say I'll end up in there more often than the restaurant area.