Merchant Madison

I went to the Merchant for a birthday party and they accommodated us very well. Waitstaff was very responsive and professional. I had the whitefish dinner and the food matched the expectations from the atmosphere and waitstaff. They also have a happy hour with certain happy hour drinks everyday from 3-6 which was nice too. Parking: When it's busy downtown you have to use a garage which is fairly close.

We sat outside and the service was extremely slow on a Tuesday night. Appetizers came out before waters and drinks. Waitress forgot about us towards the end of the meal. That being said, the food was pretty solid. The cheese curds and crab fritters were very good. The steak frites had a lot of fat on it for what your paying for but did taste great.

Ended up here last minute because Graze restaurant couldn’t open tonight. Glad I ended up here. The cheese curds were good (not the best I have had, a little to crunchy on the outside and very chewy on the inside). The main dish was the special - quail with tomatoes, onions and croutons. The quail was grilled perfectly, absolutely delicious. The croutons were rock hard and a strange addition to this dish. The main reason I give this place 5 stars was the goat cheese panna cotta. Wow!! I loved that, need to get that recipe. Seriously one of the best desserts ever! Service was nice and all the staff was wearing masks. Thank you!