The Meridian Room

I heard this place closed… Super bummed :(

I’ve been trying to think of the perfect review considering I’ve been coming here for years. And when I mean years, I mean I’ve been a fan of this place for so long that I remember when they broke my heart and decided to close and I remember rejoicing in 2008 when they decided to reopen. Meridian is just a solid joint. Great good, good drinks, and even better people. It really is that simple. I’ve never had a negative experience whether I was noshing on their delicious Gingerbread Pancakes or grabbing my staple Three Cheese Grill Cheese with Tomato and Avocado with a mix of Regular and Sweet Potato Fries. Meridian is always welcoming, and relaxed. It may not be jumping like it was years ago, but you know, that’s quite okay with me.

This is an awesome little bar nestled in Fair Park. Great drinks and stout pours. What really took me by surprise was the incredible food! Typically i don’t expect much past mediocrity from bar food, but this place is top notch. This place, combined with a few others make me miss living in Deep Ellum. Do yourself a favor, and stop by for a drink and a Guiness Steak Sandwich.

I wasn’t sold on the Meridian Room the first time I ventured there. The décor is lacking, and the chairs on the patio are a little rickety. I tried a cocktail and didn’t care for it. So first visit, shrug. However, my friend is really fond of this place and it’s one of what? Two? places that serves food on the block so we’ve ended up here a lot. Luckily, the food is great and the service is top-​notch. Last night I tried the burger trio. For $ 9, you get a beef patty slider, a pulled pork slider with red cabbage, and an ahi tuna slider also with red cabbage, and fries. The sliders were perfectly cooked. The bread was warm. Just enough red cabbage. My friend orders the grilled cheese every time she’s there and can’t stop raving about it. Seriously, the food here is much better than I would have ever expected when I walked in. Go try it!

Had the bartender make me a Cider with Guinness on top. Sometimes called a black velvet, but the original black velvet was made with champagne! I guess since champagne wasn’t as affordable they’d use something cheaper, usually cider. «Poor man’s black velvet!» Guy sitting at the bar suggested it and enlightened me with the history of this yumminess. Never a dull moment here! I’ve been coming here over the years and can say this place still has a cool vibe. Food is pretty good and the prices are pretty standard. I’ve been here when a band was performing and the sound in this building was pretty rad!

The Story: I was brought here for a few late night business meetings, I was being mentored by a local DJ, which was so dope. He only had great things to say about MR, so we went. When we walked in using the back door, bumper stickers were on the walls, live music was playing, so it definitely gave me the underground feel of NYC.
The Food/​Beverages: Sensational! I had the Veggie Burger and greens with balsamic dressing that was absolutely to D-​I-​E for. I literally swiped my index finger across and around my plate to get the last drop of dressing, not to mention my v-​burger was scarfed down and not a crumb was left.
The Vibe: I loved it. Again, live music. Intimate for one on one. Not crowded, but it was between the hours 10pm and midnight, so I guess a crowd is not to be expected.
Parking: Decent. I am not a fan of gravel.
Service: This is a bit tough, the few times I’ve gone, we sat ourselves and the waiter came over and took our order. We weren’t suffocating from the waiter appearing at our table every 5 seconds asking if we need anything, that kind of service is annoying to me. It was actually nice to be perfectly frank, the waiter came over during perfect times, which showed me that he was very observant. When my glass was half way full he came over and brought a new drink.
Price: Moderate. Depends on the persons budget though.

Okay, so the food was not spectacular, but I have to take a second to talk about the service here.
After riding the Dart train down from Plano to Fair Park with our 4 year old to see the Chinese Lantern Festival, we got alllll the way to the gate before they told us it was closing early due to the wind (jerks). It being FREEZING, we decided to get dinner somewhere nearby. We looked for a family friendly place and after seeing pancakes on this Unilocal page, we decided to go here since we have a picky eater on our hands. She seemed happy that she could have breakfast for dinner even though she wanted to see the lights.
Get inside the Meridian Room only to discover that they only serve breakfast on Sunday mornings.
We almost had a melt down, but my boyfriend begged the waiter to talk to the chefs, and they ended up making pancakes just for her. That waiter got a fat tip, and we walked away happy that we didn’t break ALL our promises (oops).
Their beer list was impressive and I think we’d like to go back for drinks sometime when we don’t have the kiddo with us because the service was so wonderful.

Sad to see the demise of the Meridian Room under bad ownership. How hard is it to do the little things, like keep your back door from jamming by fixing the latch, clean the restrooms, update the menu, and just generally keep the place clean. It’s like a dingy film has settled over everything. I miss the old days when this place was run by the Libertine folks, who actually knew how to run a bar, and not into the ground.

I was in the Meridian Room Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, and was sorely disappointed. At one time the current menu was fresh and exciting and I enjoyed eating there but didn’t often because of cigarette smoke. Now I am working at Music Hall and for convenience between shows I decided to grab something there. There were several of us there from Music Hall. There was one bartender and one cook. Both new at their jobs. It took 45 minutes for the food to come out. One of us sent the food back as inedible. I had ordered fish and chips. I got two tiny, tough pieces of fish, two shriveled up things that I guess were hush puppies, and about ten french fries swimming in grease. It was disgusting.
Several of us got our meals comped which was appreciated.
I blame the management for this horror. The State Fair is in progress right across the street. The Music Hall always has a show going during the Fair and the cast and crew has always been referred to Meridian Room for good, convenient dining. I will not be referring anyone. The management should never have two brand new employees alone running their establishment without a lot more training than these two had, especially with the Fair and a show going on. Management needs to pay attention to the events around them.

So I’ve been here several times now to fill my tummy with delish food and cold bevvies. I like it more than I used to.
I have now tried their brunch and had the gingerbread pancakes which made me feel I was biting into an über soft gingerbread cookie. Delightful! I’ve also tried a couple of dinner options. My fave was the portabello mushroom on focaccia with sweet potato fries followed by the chicken pesto on focaccia… What? I like focaccia! The grilled cheese in all it’s melted glory seems it would pair well with the jalapeño soup. Meh, not so much. The soup was bland and boring. Nothing like the Libertine’s jalapeño soup. I also really like their jalapeño hummus served with warm pita slices. Very satisfying… and that’s my update! Go try their food. :-)
The loo? Well, that still needs work. :-\

Now here’s a divey bar — with some excellent brews. We came here after a fabulous time at Stampede 66 for some late night beer. Stayed until closing time. No hassle from bar staff. In fact pretty knowledgeable.
Well worth a visit if you want to be very casual.

I do not think I’ve raved about the Guiness steak sandwich. It’s hands down one of my favorite sandwiches in Dallas. Please don’t ever change it. The horseradish sauce and the au jus make this sandwich.
Recently learned that Thursday’s are keep the pint glass night, and last night we got these awesome Harp glasses (they don’t have Harp on tap, though, these glasses were sent by mistake… so score one for me!).
PS — for anyone that is reading this let’s petition to let Nate make his jalepeno cornbread. Tried it once not to long ago, and it was delicious.

The Meridian Room is TINY – it can fit about maybe 50 people in a squeeze, and there were only a few tables to accommodate our six-​person group, but it makes for great conversation, especially because the music isn’t booming in our ears. I could hear everyone at the table (which is rare!) and didn’t have to shout over anybody (which was a little disappointing).
I got the sliders because I wanted to try the burger, tuna, and pulled pork. I was blown away by the beef slider. At first, it looked simple enough – small brioche bun, lettuce, tomato, a single ring of onion. But when I bit into it. Oh man. The beef was nicely salted, and was just so full of flavor that I instantly regretted starting out with it (I like to save the best for last).
Pulled pork is a great choice, and the Meridian room does a good slaw, which I usually hate eating but enjoyed this one.
The tuna, unfortunately, underwhelmed me. It wasn’t seared at all. It was pretty fully cooked, and the ginger slaw was good, but didn’t give enough flavor to the tuna.
Also, switch out your fries with a soup, salad, or sweet potato fries if you want to spend the extra dollar. The fries were not seasoned very well and just tasted like bland potato.

I’m in a good mood today so I’m giving Meridian 4 stars instead of 3. I’ve had some experiences there that could best be described by quoting Angelica N’s review of «very meh». But I’ve also had some really good experiences too. Yesterday was one of them.
I had the stuffed chicken, it wasn’t really stuffed, more folded over than anything but it hit the spot. The dirty rice that came with it tasted great (really great) and the cabbage salad or slaw or whatever that came with it was great after I salted it a little.
Drinks could have been stronger, the Cucumber Breeze was lacking the best ingredient, Hendricks Gin. More Gin please.
Service generally leaves something to be desired, but gets the job done.
I’m glad Meridian Room is around they offer a similar experience to Libertine with a few menu items that you just don’t find at the other place and the cocktails are better.
Parking is a breeze and the location is very easy to get to!

Awesome spot!
The Meridian Room not only has a nice selection of beer, but their menu is awesome as well. The perfect place for going out to drink a few and eating some quality food at the same time. I’ve been here a few times, and staff has been very friendly and accommodating every time!
It’s your normal bar-​like atmosphere. It seems as if the majority of the clientele are people who live in the area, which gives it that «Cheers-​Everyone-​Knows-​Your-​Name» feel.
On my latest trip to the Meridian Room, I had the jalapeño hummus (which I get every time I go there, no matter what!). It’s real smooth and has a lot of jalapeño flavor, not too much of a kick, but you get the pepper flavor. It’s served with warm pita bread… so good, I highly recommend it! I also got the tuna steak sandwich! Very good stuff!
If you are down by Fair Park, definitely stop by and check them out!

The Meridian Room is everything the Dubliner used to be, minus the skanky, pond scum layered bathroom floors.
The food is good, fair beer list, and typical Dallas prices for for both. It’s got a good vibe happening here: good bartenders, interesting patrons, and a decent playlist.
One of the great things about the Meridian room is its location. If you go to the Music Hall at Fair Park for a show, sneak over to MR during an intermission for a quick drink.
In the summer, sit curbside in the summer and wave to the friendly police men on patrol. Or jump the fence to Fair Park and have an alcohol infused excursion. If you don’t mind fleas and The Homeless.

½ price food Wednesdays!
Great bar food. Great breakfast. Great bloody marys. Great beer selection. Great atmosphere. Friendly bartenders/​wait staff. Everything about this place is great. Great parking lot in the back is a little gravely and sometimes has glass in it, but there IS a free parking lot, and that in and of itself is grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeat!

Hands down the best bar food you are going to find in Dallas. I can’t even begin to describe the amazing food adventures I’ve taken my mouth on there.
Their drink menu is also fantastic and very weird in a good way.
My only criticism, though not enough to lose a star, is that it takes way too long to get a check split up, regardless if it’s busy or not.
That being said, Meridian Room is the best bar in Expo Park.

I used to frequent the Meridian room a few years ago before they shut down, and after spending lots of time getting to know other bars in Dallas, this one has fallen by the wayside for me. There’s just other places I like better!
The food here is very «meh». Nothing awful, but nothing spectacular. Stay away from the crabcakes, though. They’re definitely not worth $ 9.00. I don’t care for their fries, either. They are often soggy with grease instead of crispy… eww! Cheese boards here are decent, as is the Pesto Linguine. As far as drinks are concerned, Meridian gets higher marks. They have a nice beer selection, and their mojitos during brunch are seriously delish!
The wait staff here is very laid back and friendly, and are pretty prompt. It can get busy though, during their half-​price food nights on Wednesday, so if you’re going to this, get there early. I will agree with a previous reviewer… their bathrooms are gross, and their toilets don’t always flush.
If you come here, brunch is a fairly good bet. The quality of the food is better, in my opinion, and like I said before, their mojitos are killer!

Yum. Dined here for the first time tonight! Boyfriend had the pulled pork plate and looooooved it. I had the trio of little burgers, which I very highly recommend, especially if it’s your first time here and don’t know what to go for. The burger was super, the pulled pork was fabulous and the little tuna burger was good, nothing extraordinary but definitely good. The buns on the sliders are delightful! I opted for the jalapeño soup instead of fries, but I wish I went with the fries. The soup was ok, just not really my cup of tea. I could see how others would gobble it up. It was spicy, just not as flavorful as I had hoped.
Food came out super fast, service a little bit slow, but it was quite busy by the time we were done and wanting our bill, so all is forgiven there, I’m a former server, I get it. Now, as a former server of other places… remember on Wednesdays you’re getting half price food… just a little PSA, be sure to tip on the original amount. Servers are working just as hard if not a little bit harder on ½ price food nights.