It was a cold evening outside but a deliciously cozy environment inside! I was in the area for work and this was a great place to wrap up my stay. There are a variety of cocktail and other drink options, including for someone who doesn't drink frequently. And the food! My colleague and I each ordered seafood meals and cleared our plates. I think the grilled lemon was an especially nice touch. read more

The Mercantile Social - Halibut with couscous - Seafood Near Me - Halifax, Nova Scotia

Unfortunately this restaurant relies on its exceptional location and decor to attract patrons instead of offering great food and service. Halifax has so many good restaurants that it is surprising Mercantile is still a float. If changes aren't made to improve I can't see this restaurant surviving. read more

Great spot with great service and the meals were delicious. Lovely wine selection. Cool ceiling art. Great for a romantic night out.

This restaurant was great!! Beautiful views of the bay, food was SO good!!! Big portions, perfectly cooked. Service was outstanding! I had the dog by scallops and lobster bao buns. Others at our table had fresh oysters, chicken sandwich and duck- all great reviews!! read more

The Mercantile Social - Lobster bao buns - Seafood Near Me - Halifax, Nova Scotia

Came here as part of our RideSolar pedal tour for drinks only ... and we found the best bartender ever - Brett!! Started with drinks and beers ... then found (the now obsolete - no longer available) Patron XO Cafe where Brett introduced us to mini-Guinness shots with them. So totally awesome ... we had to do 2 rounds!! read more

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We visited and got seated really quick on a Friday night, the service was good. The food was extremely underwhelming (Chicken Brie & Press Burger) It was dry, extremely bland and tasted like it was reheated 10 times. Overall definitely not worth the price. The cocktails were also not anything special. The atmosphere was great. Wouldn't go again. read more

We chose the Mercantile Social because it was close to the Budget Car Rental garage. I was hoping for seafood chowder, but they didn't have it. Instead the Mr and I split a cup of corn chowder, which was decent, and a hamburger that was amazing! The service was friendly and efficient. read more

Reliably excellent food--I recommend grazing the appetizer menu; you can't go wrong. Really good wine list. Service is superb, and the view is incomparable. read more

The service at this place is very good, I want to preface that anything negative I have to say it has nothing to do with the service because we had an excellent hostess and excellent waitress, and they both made us feel very welcome. However, you don't just go to a restaurant for service, you also go for the quality of the food and the drinks if that's your thing. The drinks were decent, but that was the last thing that was decent. I ordered the $40 caviar and it came as three potato pancakes about the size of a drink coaster that it looked like someone accidentally spilled some caviar on. The pancakes were cold and mushy - disappointing. My partner's pasta with a lobster tail (it was the smallest lobster tail I've ever seen) came to $50 and it wasn't very good. Star of the show was the steak which was more rare than medium-rare but was excellent. Like lots of hospitality industry establishments, they are understaffed and doing the best they can. I would go back but I hope they find a way to improve the food, otherwise it's just a good (albeit expensive) watering hole full of beautiful people. read more

The server Guesepth(?!) at 2000hr on Sept 24th was inhospitable and ungracious towards us. He practically ignored us, didn't clean our tables from drink condensation, replace our used napkins when we visited the washrooms, and didn't ask us if we enjoyed our meals or wanted another beverage. His attitude was palpable and not imagined. "Aversive racism" is the term (please look it up). We've been to hundreds of mid to high-end restaurants and know what service is like from 1-10. So we would give him a 3/10 for just bringing the food and drinks out. It was a Tursday evening and the restaurant was only about 25% full. We did not feel like he cared about us as guests of the establishment. If people are going to be spending $37 on subpar halibut we should at least feel good about it. We did not enjoy the food. We did however, enjoy the drinks and the surroundings. The server ruined the rest of it for us. A young manager named Charlotte didn't help make us feel any better and compared the places we had already been to, and had good service, with her own "horrible" experiences at those same establishments. Then she insulted us be offering to give us the meal free after we told her that the server needed re-education. We did not go to the Mercantile for a free meal. We went for an experience. If the server and manager do not know what people go to restaurants for they should be fired. They ruined our experience. It was my friends birthday in a few days and thank God we didn't go there on her birthday. read more

the food, atmosphere, and service is true maritime hospitality. in the heart of the city a neighbour restaurant that feels like home. if you go ask for Jeff as your server. He is knowledgeable, experienced, and is hospitalit. read more

Slow slow service even though we didn't go at peak hours. Food wasn't up to par at all for what we were paying for, small serving sizes, and the food is bland and tastes like it was reheated in a microwave. Two stars for the cocktails and the view of the waterfront, but don't waste your time with the food. read more

I loveeee this place! I visited twice while I was in Halifax (which speaks volumes as I rarely do this when traveling). Absolutely stunning inside and out. So well thought out and the attention to detail is amazing! Of course we had to try the famous digby scallops with more than a couple dozen oysters.... delicious and extremely fresh! Definitely worth the visit. Also, the happy hour is fantastic for food and drinks. read more

How disappointing. From the moment we sat down until we left it was disappointing. My husband and I were so excited to be going out with friends we had t seen since before COVID. We were greeted kindly and seated immediately - we had a reservation. And then the rushing began. The server was very nice but we hadn't even gotten our coats off when she asked if we were ready to order. We said we would let her know. Two minutes later she was back, we hadn't even looked at the menu. We ordered drinks. Two minutes later she asked again. And again. So we stopped catching up and ordered. We were still eating our appetizers when our mains came. We felt so rushed. The onion rings were good. Oysters were fresh. husband had truffle penne. He said there was zero truffle in it. He said it was awful. He didn't eat it. He would have said something but three meals came to the table and we sat and waited for the fourth meal to arrive. It was 5 minutes at least. Our friend kept saying for us to eat but of course we wouldn't. I had the seafood trio. It was just okay, the seafood was over cooked. It wasn't a great night. We won't be back. This is our third time there and even the other times we went it was just 'meh'. Sad, the people seemed nice. There is something missing. read more

Excellent service, delicious food, and great cocktails. The ambiance is the perfect mix between modern and rustic; a suiting place for any occasion. I got tuna tartare to start and the tomahawk steak for the main; both I would get again in a heartbeat. For dessert I had the beignets (fried pastries drizzled with caramel and dashed with icing sugar). I had to order those twice because they were that good. Highly recommend checking this place out, I will definitely be returning the next time I'm in Halifax. read more

Unfortunately a very poor level of service. 3.5 hours before we were done. Over 2.5 hours before our food arrived and no acknowledgement or compensation for anything. We approached management who had their backs up and said don't spit in my face. However their was no spiting just men treating their clientele with disrespect. Would not recommend and in fact our local friends are owed an apology for taking their out of town friends to a supposed well renowned restaurant. Which it failed to be. read more

Fantastic setting overlooking the waterfront. Food was delicious. My husband had the burger and said it was one of the best he's had in a while. Service was great. Will return for sure. read more

I cant say enough positive things about this restaurant ! My bridal party brought me here for my bachelorette, the service and food were out of this world ! Will definitely be back in the future. Thanks so much to the amazing team and especially our amazing server ! read more

Three of us headed here for a birthday supper tonight. I've gotta say it was a big disappointment. Service was terrible and the band was too loud. The food was sub-par. Do not order the Thai curry as it has no flavour. The pecan crusted haddock was okay but the plain rice and red cabbage added nothing. The seafood trio was just okay. The entire experience left me feeling meh. Wish Martin's kitchen had been open. read more

Good location big patio, it was chilly outside, we asked if they could turn the heaters on.. didn't happen so we moved inside, food and service were less then spectacular.. read more

I am from out of town attending a Dalhousie convocation. i dined alone on a sunday night. i sat at the bar. the facility is really good. food and beverage service good. Next to me - two ladies either " industry" or " friends of the restaurant". i was minding my own business but they were swearing away so loud and so crude. they were overserved cheap or comp drinks and free food. I get industry nights , but on a quiet Sunday night they should not impact other diners.. it was completely crude. read more

Great food, service and atmosphere. it was an amazing experience for everybody in our group.

Brussel sprout app was amazing, and so was the flourless chocolate dessert but NEVER order the tofu on the salad. It was exactly why people say they don't like tofu. Tasted like cold cardboard grilled the day before. Worst I've ever had. read more

Went today for lunch with my husband Very nice decoration ! Food not good at all, many excellent options in Halifax but this restaurant is not of them read more

I am very hesitant to write reviews to places I don't enjoy my experience at but this place was so bad to the point I had to share my experience: Venue/environment:5/5 beautiful venue, very modern decoration with classy finishing Service: 0/5 the server was rude, very persistence for us to order then got the order wrong and once we tried to correct him he got offended and the service got worse from there, he knocked my drink off the table and didn't apologize which is very surprising given that he would probably would like a tip. The mystery was reviled when we got the bills and they had 18% included with no option to remove it. Food: 0/5 how do you mess up a burger, especially when you are charging a 20$ for it. The bread was soggy, the meat flavorless and the sauce was so bland. I liked the idea of pork belly being added to the burger but the combo was so bad as the sauce didn't tie them together and the result was very weird combination on my taste buds! And that was one of the only few times I didn't finish my burger read more

Amazing evening with Maya the bartender. Good was outstanding but the creations from Maya set the world apart. Her personal creation of the Gentlemen's Christmas drink was beyond amazing with a balance of Bourbon and sweetness. Biggest surprise was new found friendship. read more

I have been coming here for a couple of years and while the atmosphere is wonderfully unique and inviting and the service is very good, the food - under a new chef or promoted sous chef - has become absolutely inedibile. I cannot udnerstand how the owner and management has not worked it out. The chef sucks! Not only that...but when food is ready to be delivered to a table the chef shouts " PICK UUUUUUUUP!!!!!" every five minutes. It is totaly obnoxious to listen to out in the restaurant. Such a pity this has happened to a once great restaurant and no one seems to have noticed. read more

Went to this place last night for Mother's Day. Not disability accessible, couldn't eat the onion rings because they were on a stand/skewer contraption which made it difficult to remove them - never thought food would be an issue with my disability. They were stacked so the grease ran down and made a puddle of the bottom ring. The one onion ring I could get off was quite bland, tasteless and the dipping sauces served with them were nothing to write home about. You would be served better food from a fast food reataurant. I had also ordered a Guinness which was served in the wrong glass, more something you'd serve a large cocktail in. The Guinness was bittersweet with surprising shocks of what tasted like pure sugar - a possible issue with the hoses. My partner is a Dublin man who grew up within walking distance of the the Guinness Brewery, my father was a German master brewer so beer is something that I have to know and unfortunately, the bartenders there are being told to serve things incorrectly. After not being able to finish the Guinness and unable to get the onion rings off of the weird skewer thing they were on, I made one more attempt at giving this restaurant a chance and ordered beniets from the dessert menu. I've heard incredible things about the pastry chef but unfortunately she only did prep and didn't complete the cooking process. The beniets were deep fried but in oil that was obviously too hot and although crispy outside, were raw on the inside. Our server apologized and got the chef, Carlos, to come talk to me. He comped the meal (proper thing because nothing was eaten and/or unable to be finished) but became very condescending and told me I just didn't know what I was talking about. I explained that I was there for Mother's Day, how I knew there was an issue with the beer, explained my disability and therefore my issue with the onion rings and tried to show him that the dessert was raw inside. He accused me of threatening his staff but I hadn't, in fact the barista who was tending to me had a good laugh with me about the onion rings and apologized for the state of the Guinness, she was quite lovely as was the majority of the rest of the staff. Carlos told me I had no idea what I was talking about and then as I was leaving he began yelling that he was calling the cops to have me removed. Yes, I'm loud but I'm also hard of hearing and asked to be shown some respect. The icing on the cake: because of my complaints, my daughter and her partner were both fired from this restaurant. My daughter walked away when I was talking to Carlos and her partner was in the back doing his job. It's a shame, I met the owners from many years ago when my cousin married into the Jost Vineyard family, they're good people but they have a chef who is ruining their reputation. That saddens me that they had a head chef threaten to call the cops on a disabled woman and fire two young, innocent, hard-working people because they're related to the woman who dare make a complaint. read more

What an amazing spot! Stopped in with some friends and was completely blown away! The unique ambiance was breathtaking, the staff was top-notch and the food was AMAZING! I highly recommend the Tomahawk Platter! read more

Absolutely outstanding, food is excellent, along with the service and atmosphere. We had just arrived in town and had no reservation, the hostess was so accommodating, she went and looked to see if anyone seemed close to leaving. We got a table within a few minutes, things just got better from there. Delicious flavours, cocktails and great service. Can't say enough great things about this restaurant. Highly recommend. We went back 3 times over a week. read more

Went for brunch with some friends and will probably never go back. There were probably 3 tables in the whole restaurant and our food took almost an hour. Beverages were extremely slow and our server was rude, unpleasant and seemed like she didn't want to be there. To top it off we waited around 30 minutes for our bills with all of our dirty plates and glasses in front of us. Will not be returning. read more

Great place! A little expensive but lots of local fresh seafood. Oysters were awesome and so was the ceviche.

I can't say enough positive things about this restaurant! This was such an amazing dining experience. The atmosphere and drink selection were great but what made it stand above all others was the fabulous cuisine and the attentive and engaged staff! We enjoyed it so much we went back again a second night! The Mercantile Social will be on our list for all future visits. Don't miss an opportunity to treat yourself to this amazing dining experience. read more

my husband and I are "frequent flyers" of the social for a few years now and have always enjoyed the service. unfortunately, just recently we brought friends of ours here for the first time follows our rave reviews and the experience was very disappointing; we waiting over 30 minutes in between our appetizers and our main courses and our mains were cold... usually such better service, may not be back read more

Stopped in here because we had a gift card to try the place and we were pleasantly surprised. The restaurant aesthetic was charming and well thought out. The drink menu was extensive and had some local choices, which I enjoyed. The lunch menu all sounded tempting but we were both feeling tacos and got two different types to share and they were delicious. The fries were seasoned perfectly and my salad was impressive and creative with beets and goat cheese, well constructed and again a pleasant surprise. The patio was well designed and the day was perfect for an outdoor lunch. Finally our server was a highlight. Lovely, considerate and tastefully funny and really made our experience better. We'll be back! read more