Meritage A Brasserie

07/29/2008 Posted by OOH

Meritage is beautiful restaurant. The food is spectacular & the service is attentive. I think it is one of best locations in Saint Paul. The decor is simple, elegant & comfortable. The food is fresh, creative and perfectly prepared. A great place for a romantic dinner.

Pros: Food, Service, Ambience

Cons: it can get noisy at times

06/19/2008 Posted by dave0318

My mother and I went ot this restaurant on a wednesday night before a show at the ordway. The place was empty at 6:30 and I hate eating in an empty restaurant. We both ordered fish. They were both average. I asked for a glass of red wine when my fish arrived and the waitress made a point ofcorrecting me that i was eating fish and i should order white wine. I felt that was extremely rude. I don;t like white wine and I thing that I am capable enough to order what i want when i am paying. The best thing I had was a mojito before my meal arrived. Like I said.... totally average. probably won't return

Pros: Drinks

Cons: Service

06/08/2008 Posted by pollysigh

Four of us dined here on a recent Friday night. Based on only this one visit, we all agreed that this is a fine culinary addition to downtown St Paul. The saffron mussel soup, an amuse bouche for only $3 and served in a demitasse sized cup, was splendid. The sweet pea veloute, a soup wonderfully flavored with ham, was very nice. A first course of sea scallops ceviche, scallops sliced horizontally and served in a mild lemon sauce, met with everyone's approval, although no wasabi could be detected by anyone; it might need a bit more acidity. Among us, we had two halibut and two pork chop entrees. The halibut, a fish easy to overcook, was perfectly moist inside with a sugar and snow pea puree and cippolinis. Very good. A minor quibble: the advertised white truffle emulsion was evanescent and neither added nor subtracted from the preparation. The pork chop, ahhhh, the pork chop, is not your mama's nor any roadhouse's version. All of us agreed that this pig would've been proud; as it is, the chef should be. A wonderful sauce and mascarpone polenta made this an entree worth returning for. The hazelnut mousse cake and chocolate torte ended the evening on a fitting note. The ambience of the restaurant reminds one of a French bistro. It's a rather small place with no noise-softening surfaces at all. The result, like so many restaurants, is an annoyingly high decibel level. Why not aim for something in between silence and 80 decibels? Our Gallic waiter was pleasant and prompt and paced the courses well. I can't resist a comment now on the screaming child issue described in previous reviews. I'll never understand parents who bring humans to fine restaurants who are too young to use a toilet without assistance (maybe that should be the criterion). Since I wasn't there during the incident, I can't address this individual case, but I would ask such parents: Are you that inconsiderate in other aspects of your lives? I'm guessing, yes.

Pros: Fine provender on our first visit.

Cons: Too loud, like so many.

06/03/2008 Posted by juancarlosparamo

I read all the reviews so far , and I noticed that there was no half way; they were really bad or really good. Listen, anyone who has restaurant experience feels that the costumers often times are very critical (most of the time with no reason); in the other hand the dinners feel like they can say whatever they want because they are paying costumers (and they are right); but let's try to be fair and objective. I have dine at Meritage 2 times. The first one i had the Cassoulet, which is a dish that I personally adore, and it was on the dry side and when I was asked how the meal was (by the Chef himself) I told him what I felt about it and he appologized; he didn't give me a discount nor I asked for one. I ate the whole thing. On my second visit I gave it another chance and this thime was just spot on. What I am trying to say is, please do not make an opinion based just in one experience; Im sure there is other things on the menu you might like better; sometimes it is just luck. A skilled kitchen will put every plate the same way every day, but lets be real; all those that praise about places line jean Georges, Danube, La Tour D'Argent, Maxim's etc should know that they staff at least 25 people for one kitchen. here is not the case, one single cook has to make so many dishes in one night that is very hard to control everything; I am sure even Mr. Klein can make a mistake or two. That is the reason why all of you should give Meritage restaurant at least 3 chances before you make a definite desicion to not come back again. Are any of you perfect at what you do? I don't think so; the difference is that you don't have 150 people crituque you at the same time 2 times a day for 6 days in a row. These are just a couple of fine people that love what they do and they are just trying to make a dollar or two to make their quality of living just a little bit better and unfair, unjustified, irresponsible reviews like yours can hurt them very bad. Rafael P.

Pros: Ambiance

Cons: No more Valet parking during the week days

04/16/2008 Posted by theadorablewa

One thing you need to know about restaurants is that they can get heated (no pun intended). The chef is not only the head of the kitchen but is also an owner and he needs to yell sometimes. It may not make sense and sometimes it may not be called for but after the shift is over, everyone is friends. He probably was concerned with guest satisfaction. Lunch anywhere is something that can't be controlled. you have one hour to get about a hundred plates out to people and must do it efficently. My point is that he needs to yell sometimes. Its not personal and he has good intentions. Also, this is nothing like A Rebours-i could tell you stories but i wont't. The food here is amazing and is some of the best in the tc. Accidents can happen and you should give the place another chance if you have a bad time. The waiter can be the best representation as well as the worste for a restaurant and shouldnt be used to judge the place. Sometimes one bad table can destroy your day and its hard to bounce back. You are putting yourself at the critism of others. Some waiters can't bounce back but they shouldnt be the only means to judge a restaurant. The food is what matters the most. Servers that arent what they should be can be excused. For the server they are talking about however, i advise you evaluate your appearance-you are given a job where you can make alot of money. Dont ever take it for granted. Take pride in yourself and your work and if you cant find the iron, go to the dry cleaners.

Pros: The food, the servers (except one--shape up buddy), the overall place

Cons: self proclaimed critics who are tarnishing an amazing restaraunt- look at the good instead of only the bad sometimes

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04/14/2008 Posted by stpaulfoodlover

I'm not sure what some other people here are talking about. I have been to Meritage 4 or 5 times and it has never dissapointed. The food is is among the best in the Twin Cities and would fit with the best of any city in the country. The prices are reasonable and varied. I have had lavish multi-course dinners there, and also just dropped in for a tuna tartar taco (amazing!) and a burger and spent less than $25. The wine list is killer too, with lots of interesting selections at much less markup than other local restaurants. I have seen the chef and his wife every time I have been there and they are always working to make sure everyone is happy. The waitt staff seem to genuinely like working there and have a real passion for and knowledge of the food and wine. On our last visit I tried an unbelievable veal and sweetbread dish while my SO had snapper with artichokes. Our server informed us that they were both new to the menu and said the chef would welcome some feedback. Well, the veal was incredible. Tender, flavorful and rich. It was the best dish I have tried in a long time!. The snapper was just as flavorful but light and clean. It was amazing that the same kitchen was putting out such great food at different ends of the spectrum with such aplomb. The dining room is great too, with lots of energy. Everytime I have been there they have been busy and the room has great "buzz" We are lucky to have this place in dowtown St Paul. We cant wait to return for another great meal at Meritage!

Pros: great food, great service, great atmosphere, wonderful wine list

Cons: hard to get a reservation on Saturday nights

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

04/13/2008 Posted by sylviastar

I would suggest saying au revoir to this French restaurant in downtown St. Paul. My co-workers could hear some heated "discussion" from the chef(?) and another member of the staff during our lunch--we were seated near the kitchen area but I would expect more professional behavior from a restaurant that touts itself as "fine dining" ...granted it was lunch, but still my co-workers and I went to lunch to escape the office and not to hear some poor staff member get yelled at. The food was good but nothing special. Cute decor, but my co-worker told me it's almost exactly the same as the old A Rebours space. It just didn't do anything for me.

Pros: Nice decor.

Cons: I don't like to hear people getting yelled at while I dine.

04/12/2008 Posted by lalicious

I went to Meritage a month or so ago and had a decent time. The only problem I had is that I asked for my venison entree medium rare as well as a guest I was with. Both of our Venisons came out medium well and I was so hungry I ate part of it. When the dryness and gaminess set in however I couldn't taste another bite. I showed my server, who agreed that it was completely overcooked and how horrible venison is when it is overcooked. The manager never came over to talk to me and so my other guest, who was too embarrassed to say anything, just threw a napkin over hers and didn't eat it. When we received the bill, the waiter simply stated that the manager/owner took off something like 50% because I ate some of it. Not only did she not come over and address the issue, she made me feel like I did something wrong or that I was trying to hustle them for a free meal. I simply did not want another entree because my table almost done eating and did not want to make them wait. Anyway, we ended up getting some food up the street and I will not spend my money there again.

Pros: nice servers, decent ambience

Cons: bad management, overcooked food

04/11/2008 Posted by mrspowell29

My partner and I recently dined here before we attended a production at the Ordway. We were disappointed to say the least. My partner was reluctant (due to the reviews--professional and on citysearch--being across the board) but I wanted to give it a shot. I wish I would have listened. The ambience of the restaurant was lovely, but that is the end of my positives. Our waiter seemed to have knowledge of the menu, wine list, etc. but he was very...how do I say this... greasy. His shirt was wrinkly and his hair looked as though it hadn't seen shampoo in a very looong time, and he smelled like cigarette smoke. Maybe not the biggest deal, but it stood out to me as the most memorable part of the dining experience. The food was average and the bill wasn't outrageous. I didn't hate it, but I would not recommend it either.

Pros: Lovely location

Cons: Everything else

04/08/2008 Posted by someonewithknowledge

I apologize for the grammatical errors...im in a hurry and want to set things straight. This restaurant is amazing. Kathy Jenkins plays favorites for whoever gives her the special treatment aka Doug Anderson. funny how you reviewed nick and eddy after a whole month and a half that it was open yet reviewed meritage the DAY THEY OPENED. Also you wrote things repetitively...do your job don’t go off past reviews. Finally to the people who had a bad time. things happen. that’s life. don’t be ignorant and think you know everything about what it takes to work fine dining. I know what it takes and sometimes accidents happen. Russell and Desta try to make it right when it does happen. Those that think this is anything but a great restaurant know nothing. Lastly to the woman with the kid, you were lying because I was there and I was a diner that night. You can’t actually believe the things you say. You sat there and let your child wail away thinking the problem would correct itself all night. Would you do this at a movie theatre? A play? A library? Most of those things don’t cost a lot of money. Dining does. How would you feel if you put up a hundred dollars of hard earned money and went out for your anniversary only to have a baby scream and wail all night? If I were you id stick to Applebee’s for know. Use common sense and not stupidity. selfish people like you disgust me.

Pros: Everything. The owners, the kitchen and the wait staff...especially the val kilmer look alike

Cons: nada

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