Eddie Merlot’s

Awfully expensive for a sub par meal. The drinks come out in warm glasses and then the appetizers show up after dinner is served. With so many choices why would you spend on a place that has servers that are uninterested and bartenders that use warm glasses from the washing machine. Pass on this place

I can’t speak to the standard menu items because I’ve only been here for the Mother’s Day buffet. I would suggest they stick to the menu items.
The wait staff was not very friendly. Our bus boy/​waiter didn’t fill water up until asked and we had to take our own dirty plates off the table. From what I had, the carving station tenderloin was good and the sweets were decent. Everything else I tried was cold and bland. At $ 40/​person, I’d like a warm meal. I would not recommend going here for their brunch buffet.

First time at an Eddie Merlot’s. The steak and crab cake were prepared great. The décor and ambiance is awesome. I dined at the bar and experienced exceptional service. I’ll be back!

This was my husband and I first chance of dining out being on a gluten and dairy free diet. Our server Ted was so kind and aware of all the details that we needed served to us. Dinner was awesome and we will for sure return.

We are members of Eddies and we’ve never had bad service or a bad meal. Excellent entrees and side dishes.

I spoke with the GM, Kurt Yedla and agreed to give Eddie Merlot’s another try. My after-​visit email to Kurt follows:
Kurt,
Thanks for coming out and meeting us at our table when we arrived. You and your crew delivered a knockout tonight! The food was absolutely amazing. Luis was spot-​on with service… Always there when you wanted him, but totally unobtrusive. Outstanding. The place looked great, and the atmosphere was really enjoyable. Kevin is still a rockstar out in front. We can’t wait to visit again!

Always had a great experience. The hostess is super-​nice. Complimentary bread is hot, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with butter. I usually ordered I think the prime burger or the super prime burger or whatever it is called! You can pick the cheese. I like it around medium-​rare-​plus. It blows my mind how good it is. I am not even a burger person, but it is so flavorful and gourmet, it blows my mind away whenever I get it. I think I would get the truffle fries with it.

There were 5 people in our group none of us were impressed and two of us were downright disappointed. I ordered stroganoff and what I got was a stew that did not even resemble stroganoff as I have always known it. There was nothing subtle about the seasoning. The physical environment is very nice. The quality of the food did not match the price point. I won’t be going back.

I’ve moved here since 2015, I love this place! The drink, the food, the service NEVER disappointed! Love it! Must try them!

In the great northern burbs, in Lincolnshire there is a Steakhouse where they affluent and «mature» flock to, and that is Eddie Merlot’s It is located in a strip center, and someone non-​descript, unlike the nearby Wildfire, which the younger crowd heads to, or the silly expensive, Flemmings and Sullivans that the expense account crowd patronize. But you know those senior diners, they know where to get the better food for the value.
Eddie Merlot’s deserves every one of those $$$, but it is a good value because the food is very good, and dependable. The prime bar food, burgers, sliders etc, are great, as are the steaks and seafood. Mostly standard steakhouse fare. The steak frittes with a wedge salad is a very good value. The bar area is warm and clubby, and there is live music on weekends.
I may even like it better than Wildfire, far from the maddening crowd, and you can get a reservation on weekend.

Great food. Had spinach salad with candied bacon and hot bacon dressing… umm – need I say more? Filet mignon was cooked perfectly and accompaniments were also good. Had sea salt chocolate cupcake for dinner – yum!

This is really 3.5 stars, but trying to be generous. Giving extra points for nice light music, and very pleasant atmosphere. It is quite expensive though, so beware: it will lighten your wallet, guaranteed, if you opt for full dinner. Service was fairly nice, on a bit slower side. As for food, it is good, but not outstanding for the price we paid. Lobster bisque was creamy and rich, as it should be. Steak frites was ok, on a salty side. Mixed grill, New Orleans style, was also adequate, but not «agh, so yummy» moment. Wine list is not extensive, but rather diverse. Next time we will simply sit in the bar for music, drinks, and appetizers. That is what our friends are doing on a rather regular basis.

In addition to this Unilocal review, I emailed my concerns to the restaurant manager and received a prompt reply requesting to talk. On the phone, he apologized more than once and said this was, indeed, unacceptable service for any restaurant but especially for an upscale steak house. We had a pleasant conversation. He had already spoken to his staff, many of whom were shocked at this type of service, and was planning to talk to our server one on one that day. He asked me to give them another chance, mailed a $ 100 gift card out and asked that I let him make our next reservation; he wants to stop by and meet us.
Nice recovery!

Went here last night to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday and because I had a gift card here, so we figured we would try it out. We thought we were being seated in a «special» place since the room only had one other couple, even though my seat felt like I was in the middle of the room! That quickly changed when a bunch of larger groups started to get seated in a tiny room, it got so loud in there we couldn’t even hear each other!
Now to the food. For starters my boyfriends scotch arrived with a winged insect in it, which was rectified but still, that’s gross, and I ordered my Waldorf salad with no grapes and it showed up with grapes. Overall though, our salads were decent even with the grapes. I ordered my 10 oz filet medium well and it came to me medium rare. Took forever to get someone to come to our table so I started eating it and by time I got to about ¼ left I finally got the rest of my steak recooked.
They did give us a free cupcake desert which was yummy, but overall it was a very unsatisfying experience and we won’t be going back. It was an almost $ 200 bill (which we were given no kind of «discount» for all of the mistakes). When you are paying that kind of money for a nice meal there shouldn’t be that many mistakes.
Bummer, because I really wanted to like this place!

Overall we loved our meal at Eddie Merlot’s and were happily surprised by the level of professionalism of the staff, how good the food tasted and how much we liked the ambiance and pleasing décor.
The only thing we did not like was the price. $ 38 for the least expensive filet and $ 45 for the lowest cost ribeye is just too much — especially considering they do not include any side dishes.
The charcuterie and cheese options are very nice and come served on a high pedastal stand — almost too high for us to see! The cheeses and sausage were delicious but what was most surprising was a sweet miso and honey (?) spread that was so savory it almost tasted like mushrooms and was a perfect complement to the cheeses.
Two of ordered off of the Chef’s Creations menu which for $ 27 includes a protein and a starch or vegetable.
The braised short ribs with mashed potatoes and diced veggies was a solid entrée but did not wow us with its flavor. Perhaps we are too accustomed to red wine braised short ribs which have a more intense flavor profile.
The short rib stroganoff was very unconventional with large 1 ½ (or 2) by 1 ½″ chunks of short ribs that were tender. The sauce which had the traditional stroganoff flavor was tossed with the chewy handmade papardelle. There was not a large amount of sauce and the noodles were only lightly coated. It was very rich and well worth the price.
The Vanilla and Cognac Brownie was the least favorite part of the meal. Hot fudge was poured over the brownie and then the cognac heated and poured over all of it. Unfortunately the alcohol and cognac flavor did not dissipate at all so it was strong in spots and non-​existent in others. The brownie was okay — not super rich or buttery, really it was more like a cake. The crème anglaise was not authentic — it was too thick and almost like an icing — and there was not enough ice cream for the amount of brownie/​cake.
All that being said we’ll return to enjoy the lounge menu which is much more affordable and we won’t order a $ 17 dessert!

The food quality was excellent. They had a good deal with the $ 27 short rib with potato and wedge salad. The meat cut right down the center. All was filing. The cocktail was strong, I sipped on it for an hour.

Eddie Merlot’s place has good interiors and a nice «feel» to it for a more intimate dining vibe. The place wAs packed for a Friday night so we sat at the bar area first to finish the Bulls game. The bartenders were nice and attentive although I would have to comment on one of them, since I honestly think she was a little bit too chatty with customers while mAking shots for her and her fellow bartenders. If it is more of a casual sports bar, it would be maybe a little acceptable but we were at a fine dining steakhouse. Moving on, our table ordered Ahi Tuna salad, a Filet Mignon, New York Strip Steak and a Bison Rib Eye. We had Brussel Sprouts and mushrooms for our sides. Everything we’ve had were cooked perfectly and tasted delicious. The bottle of wine we had was also really good. So we went back to the bar area after eating, to watch the rest of the Blackhawks game and stayed there for a while. Again, the inappropriate bartender wouldn’t stop talking about her personal life and we could see the annoyed looks from the other servers as well. We got the check and I always go through the items on the bill, they charged us a soup that we didn’t order, for $ 10. I told our server, and he said «I’ll ask my manager to take it out.» What?! Come on now. It was obviously done on purpose, nobody who knew what was going on acted surprised nor apologetic. I was furious! They expect people to just look at the total bill and add the tip? Not nice! Nuh uh! That’s why on my tip for this place, make sure to read your bill and make sure they do not charge you for anything you did not order.

We come here quite a bit for work. Let me walk through a typical meal:
Appetizers: Bacon-​wrapped Shrimp is amazing. I wish they were a little more consistent with how they cooked it — I’ve occasionally gotten ones that are a little two crispy for my taste. The calamari is also great — not over breaded and served with a delicious array of sauces.
Salad/​Soup: The caesar salads I’ve had have been great. Be forewarned — they are fairly large! Lobster bisque is good — not the best I’ve ever had though.
Main: I’ve had a number of the steaks here but always turn to the bison. It pairs perfectly with the parmesan fries and I highly recommend the combo for a newcomer!
Dessert: The banana fosters is what I come to this place for. It is incredible. The cognac brownie comes in second place. Both are prepared table side and fun to watch! Always been disappointed with the cappuccino I order with it.
I’ve always found the service here good.
The reason I only give it three stars is because of how hit-​or-​miss your meal here can be. For the price, every dish should be excellent — but they’re not.
The entire experience to me feels a little cheap. The table settings and décor are a little tacky for my taste as well.
Either lower the price or increase the quality control. Then I’ll think about raising my rating!

Tonight was a perfect dinner at Eddie Merlot.
I decided to take my wife and daughter to dinner. They have never been here, so I decided to make it a special night out for them.
We were seated promptly at our reservation time. Isabela was our waitress and did an AWESOME job. Thank you.
I started with an Old Fashion made with Basil Hayden. It had a little too much ice that watered it down. Our waitress immediately fixed it and it was perfect.
My daughter had one of their special martinis, the Berry White. It was really good.
We started with their Filet Pot Stickers and a Shrimp Cocktail. The pot stickers were great. The Shrimp Cocktail was served with dry-​ice where the show really made the experience. Check out the video I uploaded.
My wife had the Merlot Iceberg salad and I had the Ceaser’s Salad with anchovies and chopped egg. Both were great. The warm bacon dressing was great.
For entrees, my wife had the double pork chop. It was done perfectly. Melted like butter. It really was wonderful.
I had a medium New York Strip. They served it at the perfect temperature. The quality was great. My daughter had the short ribs. It was also fantastic. They really nailed the food.
We will definitely be back. Great evening. Thank you Isabela and Eddie Merlot.

What can I say about this place? Should I mention that Ashley and I had our wedding reception here last Saturday night? Should I talk about the amazing service by their manager Kurt and the servers Nico, Brad, and Miguel? Should I mention that the executive chef came to our table to ask us how everything tasted?
I don’t think I should mention the most amazing filet mignon I’ve ever had. The silky smooth mashed potatoes, the perfectly steamed broccoli, the lightly dusted Caesar salad, and the cedar plank honey glazed salmon, were definitely on the menu in the Garden of Eden.
No, I won’t mention any of that. But I will mention that Eddie Merlots made sure every second of our wedding night was exactly what we wanted. Everyone who came to our wedding said «this was the best dinner I’ve ever eaten.»
The atmosphere is definitely luxurious, but it’s not pretentious. It’s very elegant without making the customers feel as if they’re unwelcome if they didn’t wear a jacket.
Like I said above, what can I say about this place besides, «it was the best meal I have ever eaten.»