Merlo on Maple

We've really been wanting to try Merlo on Maple for some time so when we saw the $59 Gilt city, 8 course tasting menu, we were sold.

It was the perfect date night out. The ambiance in this place is great - it's quiet, ultra romantic and gets you away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The server we had was fantastic. She was attentive and knowledgeable. When we asked for a few wine recommendations, she was spot on and even got us to try something outside of our comfort zone. Had we been ordering off the regular menu, I'm confident she would have given us some great picks as well.

The food was fantastic. The courses were well thought out and each new plate built on the last. The only thing we weren't fans of was the dessert - it was some kind of molten cake with (I believe) grand marnier and something else. It was just plain awful which was such a sad way to end the night. I did take a bit of comfort in seeing that it isn't offered on their regular menu because I would have been sorely disappointed to pay $10 up for that dessert. But, the rest of the meal was fantastic. Our favorites were the pappardelle in a bolognese meat sauce, the grilled eggplant, and the tortolinni.

We're already counting down the days till we have enough excuse to come back!

Food was okay, wine was okay, price was okay (for this type of place) .. Nothing particularly spectacular or horrible ... a middle of the road upscale restaurant ..

Don't get me wrong- this place is not bad.  However, its also just not great and at those prices, you expect great. I specifically remember thinking 'wow Buitoni tastes at least as good as this'.  

We started with the Minestra di verdure e legumi, which was actually very fresh and delicious. (best part of meal) For pasta, we ordered Pappardelle di farina integrale con pomodorini scoppiati e fiocchi di burrata and Tortelloni ai funghi porcini.  I really did not like the Pappardele. It was a wheat grain pasta and very chewy and unpleasant.  The Tortelloni was marginally better but still not great.

I doggie bagged over half the meal and I still haven't touched in 4 days later.