4.4* (out of 5) Food: 5* Atmosphere: 4* Value: 4* Service: 4* Would I go back / Recommend?: 5* (Definitely) Total check/person: $32 03/14/2026 While certainly not our first visit here, it is the first time that I'm finally getting it documented. Tonight we stopped with friends who are neighbors with the owner after Mass. We started off by sharing a Wisconsin "Charcuterie" appetizer (see picture) - which was great to share with 4 people. Each of the items served in the pretzel were great - and we really enjoyed each of the dipping sauces. For our meals, my wife ordered the Chicago Beef (see picture) and I opted for the Mediterranean Bowl (see picture). As we always do, we shared our plates. While both were very good, I was especially impressed with the Mediterranean Bowl - it was so cool, light and tasty! Merll's is a relatively recent addition to the Waukee pub scene and worth a stop to sample some of their great food! If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow. Photos copyright: happyhourdesmoines.com & thefoodanddrinkguy.com read more

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I like Merll's! The service is really good. It is classic bar food. Tons of TVs to watch sports. They have a huge amount of drinks to try at decent prices, and rotating cocktail flavors. I'd definitely recommend pizza, bowls, and cheese curds. read more

My wife and I stopped in to check things out. Service was fair, food was excellent ..... but they have a serious fly problem. The design of the place with a huge opening to the outside is an issue. Went to the restroom before our meal arrived and it was infested with flies. When our food arrived, we spent the entire time swatting flies away from our food. Hate to think about how many flies spent time on our food before it arrived at our table. Needless to say, we will not be back anytime soon. The experience was horrible regardless of how good to food was. read more

It was too chilly and rainy for a bike ride, so we met at Merll's to talk bikes instead. It has a lot of pluses in its location right across from the Waukee bike trailhead, on Hickman, near the old downtown Waukee area. The interior is full on sports bar with tons of TV's, great sized patio, and huge glass windows that can be opened up in nice weather. The food and service were both OK. This is the kind of place I imagine being super fun for a game, but I found it very irritating that the drink menu had no prices on it. They also charge that pesky credit card fee, and do not automatically remove it when you pay cash. read more

Merll’s Pub & Patio - Drink menu - BUT why are there no prices?? - Pubs Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

We were served cold food, one persons meal was forgotten until 5-10 min later, front of house was rude, just an all in all unpleasant experience. In addition they charged us a 4% service fee on the meal for a group of 5. In addition to expecting full tips. read more

WOW. Just wow. The food here is seriously next-level delicious Everything we tried was amazing, and we were already planning our next visit before we even left. Great vibes, great people, and even better food! read more

I tried this place once more. I spent $19 on a chicken sandwich to go. Asked for extra ranch, no one checked my order - I caught this at the time I picked up my order. I had also asked for mayo, which was supposed to be on the side or on the sandwich, I got neither. Th prices are already atrocious, but the service is also shit. I'm done with this place. read more

Merll’s Pub & Patio - Wonton Nachos - Pubs Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

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Service has been slow every time we stop in. Staff at entrance was sitting on their phone. We needed some water refills with our meal but the server never came over or even looked in our direction for us to flag her down or ask for drinks. Our waitress cleared some plates but never came back with our bill. We had to finally walk over to the bar to try pay. Food is mid-our kids do not care for the chicken strips. Ordered a wrap and asked for no tomatoes, but when it came out it had tomatoes. Was a little dry for a wrap. Drink menu didn't have prices. The burnt ends are tasty, and the side offerings of fries/tots/sweet potatoe fries are good. Waitress also brought an extra Long Island tea (3!!!) we didn't ask for or order when the second one was only half gone. read more

How often do establishments get to do a reset on reviews and basically start all over at square one? Busy evening, parking lot full. Dining room nearly full. OKAY LISTEN UP BARS THAT WANNA BE COOL & SERVE FOOD ON THE SIDE! I and all my contemporaries DON'T APPRECIATE HIGH TOP TABLES. There were no booths open, just a couple puny tables with the high chairs. I REFUSED, turned heel and LEFT, took a pleasant 7-mile drive to a much more accommodating bar & great grill that has a huge summertime patio too boot, also. read more

Hands down the best BLT I've ever had, and the soup paired with it just added to it. Absolutely amazing. 12/10. I will be getting this again. The fresh OJ is sooo good alone or with some vodka for a screwdriver. I am an OJ snob and this stuff is next level. You have to try it! read more

Merll’s Pub & Patio - Screwdriver with fresh OJ - Pubs Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

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Decided to try Merll's for dinner in Memorial Day. Glad we did. We shared the grilled cheese with prosciutto and fig spread, which came with tomato soup. Both were very good. There could be more cheese on the sandwich. We also shared the grilled Pastrami sandwich which had ground mustard and pickles. The bread on both sandwiches was artisan and very delicious. The atmosphere was a sports bar. We were there on a light crowd day. We enjoyed our dinner and experience very much. We shall return for more dishes and drinks. read more

Went in for the first time early Friday evening. Great food, drinks and the service was amazing!

Great environment, friendly staff, awesome cheese curds, cold beer, gobs of TVs. Happy hour pricing was great! We will be back someday!

First off, I loved the vibe here. Faux grass wall, tons of tvs you can see from every seat and well-thought patio. I started with a drink called Fruit Smash which I expected to be sweet and fruity, but it was VERY sweet. Definitely not a drink I would want more than one of. We ordered appetizers today: 1) Chicken fingers- came with 4 fingers which were decent size and 2 of 4 of them were tender and had lots of meat, the other 2 were average at best. 2) Sweet potato fries: these were floppy and I like my SPFs crispy, so this was a flop for me. However, they did have "fry dips" which include a marshmallow fluff which would be great for kids!! 3) Wonton Nachos- this is what won points for me. They are wonton chips with chicken (which was chunks of grilled chicken, not shredded) and the chicken was perfectly cooked. It was also had their queso which t has a kick to it and a sweet chili sauce. I think the sweet chili could have been more of a drizzle than dumped on, but that's just my preference. It typically also comes with tomatoes and green onions, but we opted to leave those off. Overall it was good, and I'll be back, but want to try their main dishes next time! read more

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Delicious crab rangoon dip and yummy drinks! Fun but chill atmosphere and great service!! Loved that they had a love island finale party!! Brock rocks! read more

While I understand you are not a GF establishment one would hope the salt would be safe from gluten! You offer GF buns for your burgers but then you contaminate the salt shakers. Use rice not crackers! read more

Merll’s Pub & Patio - Cracker in the salt - Pubs Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

This was my second time here. My dining partner and I sat on the patio. The server was very prompt once we were all there. We did have a drink menu on the table. She asked if we knew what we wanted for drinks. We asked for a couple of minutes, however, before I could ask for a food menu, she was gone. We ordered drinks and asked for a food menu. I asked for a water, it came with what looked like a chunk of dried mustard on the outside of the glass. I get reusing paper menus, but our menues should have reprinted. They were dirty, and you could tell they had been wet at some time. I love a good pastrami sandwich. I tried the Catz. I had asked for the mustard on the side. It came on it with a side of mustard. I didn't say anything, which is on me. The pastrami was cut on the thin side but very greasy. The Nashville hot chicken sandwich I had the time before was way better. read more

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There is only one size pizza, but it was perfect for 2 with an order of Brussels spouts. (Sorry, no picture....we devoured them) The pie was very good. It was loaded with cheese that stretched across the plate when pulled. The other pepperonis were crisped perfectly. The crust was perfectly chewy. Service was very great. We went early in the evening, but with a big game on tv, they were busy! We will add this to our weekly rotation! read more

Merll’s Pub & Patio - Pizza - Pubs Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

Went for Sunday lunch and the food was great! We had the cheese curds and shared a burger that had the BBQ burnt ends in it. The service was friendly and the place just had a great sports bar vibe. Highly recommend! read more

Great patio with table and booth seating. TVs all over the place. They have great burgers! The servers we also very prompt.

Wonton nachos were delicious! Shredded instead of diced chicken would make them even better. Drinks were good as well, although a little pricey. read more

This is a great spot to eat and meet with friends. Great food, good patio, strong drinks! Don't miss it!

Inside is pretty. We ordered two sandwiches, both with fries. One was missing the pickles and the meat was only warm in the center; the outside of the meat was room temp at best. Both sides of fries were very small. Service was good but not great, but we did have to wait to be acknowledged at the door and again waited for our bill. There were many flies pestering us during our meal inside (perhaps the same one over and over?). Unsure if we will return due to the small portion sizes and higher price-points of food items. Deducting a point each for waiting, portion size, and food quality. read more

We tried Merll's, for the second time, this evening. Our first experience was on their opening night, and we didn't feel like it was a fair evaluation during our first visit. Granted, that visit involved a full tray of drinks being dumped on us (literally), the inability to order "anything with chicken" and "appetizers only" being the variables Try #2.... Arrived ..... were seated on the patio (next to a large birthday party).... And settled in. Took about 35 min to get our drinks and waitress never came back. I think she was too focused on the birthday party. The problem being there were 4, or 5 servers, all just standing around. After over an hour, no attempt to take our order, and just an awful loud / gaudy / non family friend atmosphere .... We left cash, and walked out We won't be back. Normally huge proponents for supporting local small business ... especially only 3 blocks from our house, but two awful experiences just doesn't warrant a 3rd attempt. There's plenty of other options nearby and more coming to the area every month. Disappointing but true read more

The wife and I went here for the Iowa State football game. The food was great, service was exceptional and fast, and the atmosphere was amazing! We absolutely loved it and will definitely be back! read more

We had appetizers and cocktails, and everything was perfect. The menu had so much variety and lots of things we want to come back to try. Molly was a terrific server. The owner, Travis Tovrea, stopped by our table and he was so welcoming. It's awesome to have an establishment as good as this that is owned by a local family with generational ties to Waukee. read more

The food is so delicious, and the staff are awesome. The whole place has a great vibe. Every dish I have tried has been delish! Can't wait to come back! If you want amazing food, yummy cocktails and a fun atmosphere, this is the spot! read more

Merll’s Pub & Patio - Wisconsin charcuterie! - Pubs Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

Nice staff, lots of TVs. Good place to watch football. Menu was typical of a pub. Food was good. Not a place with a unique menu. Not a big beer selection. read more

Amazing food and awesome drinks. The hot honey pineapple margarita is a personal favorite. Go in and check it out! Did not disappoint

Maybe get some actual staff with waitressing skills? I've had to ask twice for a drink, repeat my order twice, and the service is slow. For the price of your mediocre food, not worth it. Maybe train your staff to take a notepad with them? Write down an order? Jesus f*^%ing christ. read more

I went here recently with my friends and had high expectations but it was a little underwhelming. First we got in and sat down and didn't get water or menus for about 10 minutes. I get it might be busy but it's took a long time for everything. The waiter was very new to the game and didn't really know how to treat us. The place is very cool in general they have a goat athlete wall which was cool and tons of TVs. I got the Nashville hot chicken sandwich and French fry's and the cheese curds. The sandwich was more sweet than spicy and wasn't the best in the world. The cheese curds were average too. I was expecting more from this place but all around good bar. read more

Service was terrible. Waited 20 minutes and nobody helped. Never going back. After opening day fiasco, thought we would try again but this was last straw. read more

The atmosphere, service, food, and home town feel is just what this community needs! it's not just another Bar and Grill.