City Merchant Restaurant

Liked this restaurant as the food was tastier than I expected and also kind to my waistline. My partner had visited this place before and recommended it to myself, which I’m glad that she did. Meals were averaged priced, and am looking forwards to returning again.

Well i came here with my mum and brother for lunch, we ordered from the lunch meal which is a starter and a main for a fair price. I started with muscles of the moment and they where delicious came in a lovely fishy cream sauce, my mum and brother had a spicy tomato soup that was creamy and not too thick but was full of flavour with a chilli kick to it, we had the fish of the day which was seebreem and that came beautifully presented with a bed of green beans and broccoli (boiled) and the mash potatoes where amazing yes i know its mash potatoes but not many places can hit the mark i would give this place a visit if your a fish lover great setting friendly staff wow i will be back.

Wow is all I really have to say. I have eaten in here downstairs just for a meal with my husband which was amazing and I have eaten in here with a party of 12 in the upstairs area. The food is out of this world and the service is wonderful. They often have excellent deals on 5pm

Every time I come here it seems to be the same story, our first choice was too full and we opted for a plan B.
Meats are okay to good– acceptable nothing too special. I do think their seafood is on the better side, its just the quality of cooking is not so great. Dishes are relatively boring, and flavours are okay at best. I have to give credit to their oysters though, I’ve had them to start every time and enjoyed them a good deal. They give the option for raw or cooked with different sauces. Sometimes on a given date, the specialty board shows more options for that oyster. In the evening, the upstairs has a beautiful flow of candlelit atmosphere & energy. I think by now I’ve had dinner in every part of the place. and the downstairs left and right areas provide offer quieter intimacy. Service is moderate and friendly reception at the door. The place is good and most nights its a relatively good meal. It just lacks that bit of extra. whether it be the food, ambiance, creativity etc to make this a four star. I can enjoy it, but I won’t be so eager to suggest it firsthand. Makes this place a solid three stars for me.

Went for a dinner date with my Dad and managed to get through 3 courses but only just. We had oysters to share and as we must have been looking bemused a young waiter came over and explained what we should do. They were delicious and only ever having had oysters from the shell before I really enjoyed them with diavolo sauce, tabasco, vodka and lemon.
We then each had a seafood platter and each item was better than the last — and it was delicious!!! Highly recommended and I will return to have this again.
The grand plate for dessert consisted of smaller portions of just about all of the desserts on the menu and again was very tasty.
Writing this I am now planning my next visit and am getting hungry already :)

The food here is nice, and the lunch prix fixe is a pretty good deal in a city where the prices of meals can sometimes be high. Good seafood here, lots of different fish dishes, including ones using fish that I’ve never heard of, like coley, which is apparently similar to cod. Didn’t know that, but you will if you come here, depending on what fish is on sale that day. Sorry I can’t say for sure if they’ll have coley, but if they don’t they should have something else pretty good.

The service ok, funny old man, not so happy at the reception, waiter slightly dominating and a bit unlikable.
Food, oh dear…
Bread costs you 2.5 or something like pounds, it is a good bread but still. The food was let me say good for a person that food is just to fill his belly.
My steak was dry, chewie and pretty cold. It taste like not much. Fries were not really great either.
The glasses felt in hand like made for warriors, very thick wine glasses, nearly annoying.
Not a go for me… give it a try thou, maybe you’ll get the better day.
Cheers!
Well, after the small complain, well they asked, the manager has come and apologized and said is not usual. Maybe it was a just a bad day. Maybe the chef wasn’t the best… Anyway… Give it a try

Voucher deal hit the spot!!!
We happened to have a voucher from «5pmdeals» — a 3 course meal and glass of wine for 2, all for £20. Given that the food and service were fantastic, this was a fab deal!!!
If you like fresh fish dishes then this is your place, but there’re plenty other options. I’d certainly recommend the salmon scotch egg with lemon curd sauce to start — simply wonderful. My main was venison burger with what they called game chips — in fact they were crinkle cut crisps (the only small let down of the night). The burger was succulently fantastic. Our other main was breem linguine carabonara — another hit. Oh, the wine was a smooth and creamy sauvignon, or blanc variety.
Even without the voucher this dinning extravaganza would be within most budgets. It did seem to attract the older clientele that evening, but it was an informal and relaxed evening and with fantastic service I can’t ask for much more :)
Visited February 2014

A quiet Rainy Tuesday night in Glasgow not so in City Merchant we arrived early as we had enough of the shops. Steven greeted us warmly and it was no problem to be early he seated us at a window table for four although there were only 2, me & the wee cuz a big plus already I do not like skimpy tables for 2, fusspot that I am.
We had booked through
£12.50 for two courses plus glass of wine, so I had a glass of very nice red & wee cuz her usual rosy with ice.
I had Aubergine Stack & wee cuz had Mussels in a piri piri sauce both were delicious and very well presented. For main I had Pollock with petit pois franciose & wee cuz had coley with potato salad again beautiful presentation and very tasty. I had dithered quite a bit overwhat to order for main course, it was no trouble to Steven and he very patiently described a few dishes to me to help me choose.
I was pleasantly full but not so for wee cuz she opted to have chocolate & coffee cake with puff candy ice cream, she reported that it was one of the best desserts that she had ever tasted.
All in all a great dining experience and one we will repeat again.

I dont understand why this place is not better rated within reviews. I thought it was top notch!
Went for a family dinner on a saturday night which we pre booked.
The atmosphere is warm and feels family run. The waiter we had was very helpfull in recommedations. I couldnt decide between the bouliabase or a seafood stew and he advised me of everything in each and asked what kind of things i like and how hungry i was as the bouilabase was supposably very big! I opted for the stew which was creamy and filled with fresh fish and shellfish. We has langoustines to start which were meaty and plentiful. The bread was great to mop up the saffron stew. My party also tried steak dishes which they loved.
We got a few bottles of prosecco and it is the nicest i have tried in a long time! Would love it if Tesco sold it but I cannot find it anywhere. They also sell cocktails which are good too.
Great shellfish and seafood all washed down nicely with an amazing bottle of prosecco. Lovely waiting staff and the owner was very helpful on recommedations. Will definately visit again and I went back to buy gift vouchers for a Christmas gift so other people can try this place.

I visit this restaurant often and am always delighted. The food, service and atmosphere is excellent. Highly recommend

had dinner with my mum after a really lovely spa day nearby the service was quite slow but they were really busy & the poor waitress that we had seemed to be struggling to handle the pressure. The meal itself was nice but we had to wait 45mins for our starters and a further 30mins between courses overall it was a nice meal but they didn’t quite have enough staff on to cope with the customers think we would probably try this restaurant again as it did have a lovely atmosphere :-)

I came about this restining from looking through websites of Glasgow restaurants I had not yet been to. As it hapens, The City Merchant has a nice website which looks very fresh and stylish. I did end up here for lunch a few days after that, and having three couorses at £15.50 it might be a bit more expensive than a regular lunch menu from anywhere else but having said that it is probably just about rigt and I am being a bit cheap. It is certainly worth it with items like venison, crab, haddock, chicken breast, and all served with vegetables and potatoes, there is something for everyone.
You must try the cooconut rice pudding with mango purée. Scrumptious!

So disappointed!!! Everything was lacking, atmosphere, service and above all the food was average!

I went to the City Merchant yesterday as part of my team at work’s Christmas Lunch. They were able to accommodate 35 folks on one long table… which was really nice.
I had a smoked chicken cesar salad to start with… which was just right — a nice balance of creamy, crunchy, fishy & er… chickeny. It was lovely.
My main was a traditional Christmas turkey… with all the trimmings. Again, lovely.
I finished with an individual Christmas pudding and a black coffee.
My only criticism of the food was the size of the portions… but then I like my grub. I easily could have eaten more but was satisfied with what I got.
A big plus for me is that they serve Cobra Zero non-​alcoholic beer… which means I can join in but without the alcohol.
All in… nice! Its a fab wee place… very accommodating staff… nice ambience.
Will go back with Olly.
Tx

That’s some goood food…
I came here for an inpromptu lunch with my boyfriend and my friend, and they had a very affordable lunch menu — considering it’s a Merchant City located restaurant, and that their evening menu meals are on average £20 a pop.
It was nice and busy — even though we were eating really late at about 3.30pm — and therefore had a comfortable vibe. The service was warm and friendly, and our food arrived in no time. While there was little vegetarian options, which was a bit disappointing, what I had was very very tasty. My friend had some luxury fish & chips (all the best chip shop taste without the grease, she said) and my boyfriend tucked into a very interesting looking venison burger, which he said was the best burger he’d had in months.
Of course, it is first and foremost a seafood restaurant, which is evident in the evening meal, with oysters, langoustines and scallops all on offer, and for a crippling/​treat main course, you can always opt for a seafood platter for £35.
Overall, not bad at all! And bloody filling too — well worth the price as far as portion sizes go!
Watch out on those hardwood floors though — we saw a lady in enormous heels take a very dramatic tumble on the slippy surface. Yeah, I laughed a little too…

This is first and foremost a family business. The Matteos have been running this restaurant for a number of years, which has its pluses and minuses. From the start it has specialised in seafood, with a strong slant towards both Scottish and Italian influences. The upper end of the menus is very good and reliable, particularly specials, while on occasion the more basic choices can be a bit hit and miss. There is a great atmosphere in the evening, with a good buzz, but it can be a bit too businesslike at times. Nevertheless this restaurant is a good sound choice, and not as relentlessly modish as some Merchant City diners.

gorgeous cosy place, great food.

If you love seafood then you must try the City Merchant! It’s a lovely little restaurant in the heart of the Merchant Cityas the name suggests. It has a welcoming homely atmosphere and the staff are very friendly and efficient. However, the best thing about this restaurant is the food, which is simply sublime. The menu offers a good variety of freshly prepared dishes which are a little pricey but worth every penny. I would suggest reserving a table as everytime I have been to this restaurant it has been very busy, which is always a good sign!