Francois Duprix grew up in the kitchen, learning to cook from his mother and nurturing what would become a lifelong love of food. That love led to him owning his first restaurant in 1984, and several since, with Merlot opening in February 1998. “My idea of food was to always keep it as good and simple as possible,” says Francois. “But I think a restaurant is not only about food. It’s a blend of quite a few things like atmosphere, service, and food.”
The atmosphere created at Merlot comes from Francois’ attention to detail, from the décor to the music. The walls are decorated from his own collection of posters from French art galleries. “I wanted to have a plate in front of you and an atmosphere around you that you really enjoy so you leave the restaurant happy,” he says.
I love this restaurant. This tiny bistro is one of my fave places to celebrate special events. The atmosphere is intimate, cosy and great for dates. Was introduced to this place by my chef mentor who considers this place his "local". Ever since then, I have considered this place my "local" as well. The food is traditional bistroesque food, escargots, grilled calamari, steak frites with bearnaise are all good. Service is very good to excellent depending on how busy they get. Reservations are necessary on most popular evenings. You should try this place you will be very happy you did.
We have been twice - both busy Friday nights and have always had great service by the waiter. The female bartender who served us cocktails at the bar while we waited for our table was not very friendly or welcoming though.
Last time, my calamari was overcooked so I sent it back and it was removed from the bill without fanfare.
Decor is a bit dated and the tables are very close together, but it is a neighbourhood bistro after all.
It definitely is a "Gem"...
In response to Lila M (A "Jem" with poor...
In response to Lila M (A "Jem" with poor service): I worked at Merlot, and I know firsthand that the servers are very service oriented. I never heard anyone complain because someone didn't order wine, or appetizers, or dessert or coffee. This restaurant has been packed every night for over ten years, and most of the staff have been there since the beginning. If the service was poor, the restaurant would not be so successful, and the staff would not still be there. Also, the food does not take longer than 15 minutes to get to the table. Duck confit and chicken take about a half hour to cook, so without an appetizer, it is a longer wait. In my experience, surly and condescending was never a part of the service at Merlot. I am sad for this person.
The entire night was lovely. From the greeting by the lovely owner, to the service by the young waiter, top the scrumotious food and wine, the evening for my mother's birthday dinner was a hit! My mother (a light eater at the best of times) ate EVERY morsel from her plate. We plan on going back again for more.
I live in the area and have always seen but chose to ignore the Merlot. BIG MISTAKE. It was my second choice for my birthday last month and I was pleasantly surprised. Second visit was just aas good. The duck confit was excellent, the potato was just Ok but the Flan for dessert was excellent. As with the first time, service was quick and always with a smile, not just to me, but seemingly to everyone. It is definately one of the best French restaurant I have been to outside Paris. It is not ideal for a first date as it is has very close seating, but that's what you get at a Bistro, so its in keeping with expectation. The prices are unbelievable reasonable, especially when compared to the quality food.
Warning, not many restaurants really require reservation though they always like to say they do. Here, you definately need to make a reservation.
Merlot will definately be seeing me a lot more.
This is a place we have been going to on and off for 10 years. They have remained true to themselves - cosy, excellent chef, friendly staff, inexpensive, always busling. We try other places and keep coming back.
I am a huge fan of steaka nd frites and Merlot is the best place in Toronto to get this dish. The flank steak they serve is always nice and tender which shows they know how to really handle the cut. The service was good even though the servers were overworked (maybe an extra waiter would help). Only downside is that the place is a little small and the tables are very close. There is no privacy and holding a conversation is a little difficult. Otherwise it is a dining delight!
I've been to Merlot 5 times because it's minutes away from where I live. Every time I have been there, I've had to wait quite a long time for the food to arrive, but when it does, it is excellent.
4 out of the 5 times I have been, the servers have been horrible. The only time I had good service was when the owner herself, a charming woman, was serving.
The poor service ranged from being barely greeted, a disapproving frown when I declined wine and then a larger frown when I declined coffee or dessert later on, a condescending attitude when a question was asked about an appetizer..... and so on and so forth.
I'm not sure why the service is so bad. Perhaps it's because they are always overworked because it is so busy, perhaps it is because I look very young and servers think I won't tip well. Whatever the reason, I put up with the surly servers and come back for the amazing food and only the food.
Fantastic food, served on HOT plates (a sign of a...
Fantastic food, served on HOT plates (a sign of a good restaurant), the braised rabbit just melted in my mouth and my partner's steak was cooked to perfection and very tender. Fantastic service. It was a Monday night and the place was full! Great atmosphere. Loved the french posters covering the walls.Thankyou.
I would like to comment on the review below by B...
I would like to comment on the review below by B. Gulyes: Please disregard this persons review as they are clearly lacking the required intelligence to do something as simple as a restaurant review. First of all B. Gulyes, the food here is French (just so you know). Secondly, you said your Stellas were poor but the bartender immediately replaced tham for you after fixing the keg - what is so horrible about this? do you expect the bartender to constantly be sipping each tap to ensure they never run out? Thirdly, so what if the wrong steaks were served to the wrong people at your table - clearly you can sort out the solution to this problem on your own - you're not dining with the queen. Lastly, you sound like someone who likes to complain relentlessly - i'm surprised you had such a problem complaining about how the steaks were cooked at the time. Smarten up. Merlot is fantastic - amazing food, great atmosphere, friendly staff, good wines and beers and all for a very good price. Trust me - go here.
excellent resturant, prompt service, wonderful atmosphere.
the food was impecable, considering it was on a pre fixe menu that night (valentines).
the dessert was extrememly good, which was a citron tarte.
i would definately return
Fairly busy evening for them when we visited. My...
Fairly busy evening for them when we visited. My wife and I arrived early and so ordered a pair of Stella's while we waited for the rest of our party to arrive. Both beers were flat and skunky but the bartender accepted them back and replaced them willingly after a keg change.
There were lots of interesting appetizer choices - I had the grilled tomato and goat cheese which was delicious. My wife and I both found the dinner entree portion of the menu to be rather uninteresting. Absolutely nothing jumped out at us as something we just had to have. My wife eventually went with the Tortellini which she said was fine. There were a great many specials available and I went with the rib-eye steak in peppercorn sauce as my entree. Nicely cooked with a very tasty sauce. However two others in our group also ordered the same thing, one medium well and the other rare. The server gave each to the wrong person. The person who got the rare steak had difficulty eating a near raw piece of meat but was reluctant to send it back to the kitchen for the usual reasons.
An ok dining experience but there's lots of competition in the Italian/Euro bistro cuisine genre so given all the above, we see no reason why we'd return.
Service Good and friendly.
Food was well prepared and presented.
All made with fresh ingredients.
It was busy and a liitle short of staff, Tuesday night with probably more customers than expected.
A Good Experience and will go again.
Merlot offers traditional French bistro cuisine, with a menu that stretches from dishes typical of south-western France such as duck confit or cassoulet, to those of northern France. For Winterlicious, the menu options include moules "Pernod", onglet steak "au poivre", chicken merguez "sauce diable", and a flan à L'Alsacienne.
