12 Facts About Eddie Merlot's Steakhouse

If you've heard of Eddie Merlot's, you are probably yearning for a seat at the upscale steak and seafood restaurant. With lunch, dinner, lounge, and happy hour menu options — it's an elegant spot that fits a variety of occasions. The menus are expansive, offering many mouth-watering appetizers (filet mignon pot stickers, anyone?) and endless options from salads, soups, prime steaks, and wagyu as well as chef's favorites. Beyond the quality food, Eddie Merlot's is known to have excellent service, luxuriously decorated dining rooms, and even live music on weekends.

Although this chain isn't as popular as other high-end steakhouses, like Ruth's Chris or Morton's, it definitely deserves a spot at the table with the best steak restaurants in the United States. We dove in to find out more about Eddie Merlot's and uncovered information about the quality of its food, its special rewards club, and everything you need to know before scheduling your next business meeting or family celebration there. Making its own mark on the steak and seafood restaurant world, Eddie Merlot's is definitely a restaurant worth paying attention to.

The founder of Eddie Merlot's, Bill Humphries, is a wine connoisseur, so it's no surprise that his business name includes the red grape variety used to make one of the world's most popular wines. In a 2018 Facebook video, Humphries said he initially was going to name the restaurant after himself but didn't like any of the options. One night, he said he was enjoying dinner and a wine tasting with fellow board members from a worldwide corporation. The group drank seven bottles of merlots that night. Humphries said after he won the "credit card flip" to pay the bill, one of the board members, Humphries' good friend Ed Lively, said, "Billy, you can order my merlot anytime." Humphries replied, "From now on you're Eddie Merlot." And thus, the name was born.

The first Eddie Merlot's opened in the small city of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Humphries wanted to pay homage to his evenings with his friend and aimed to create an atmosphere that elicited great conversation, endless wine, and great steak. The exterior of that very first location set the precedent for the others that followed. It has a classy, upscale white stucco with a porte cochère in front. Just seeing the restaurant from the outside, you can tell that it's not your average LongHorn Steakhouse or Outback Steakhouse. This steakhouse has been made for elegance from the very beginning and has a unique and catchy name to match.

Eddie Merlot's has been around for more than two decades. The first location opened in 2001 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Slowly and steadily, other spots have popped up across the United States. There is one more location in Indiana now, in the capital of Indianapolis. Other larger cities that have an Eddie Merlot's are Boston, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Pittsburgh. The restaurant fit right into the scene of city dining — offering a sophisticated ambiance and high-quality food.

What's interesting is that the other six locations of Eddie Merlot's are located in smaller towns. Although the restaurant is modeled after and reminiscent of big-city fine dining — Eddie Merlot's was able to successfully bring that style to the suburbs. It's clear that the residents of these suburban towns are enjoying this high-end steakhouse because the online ratings are positive across the board.

No matter the location, each restaurant features warm interior lighting, grand chandeliers, white tablecloths, and excellent service. In advance of a restaurant opening at a bustling area in suburban Ashburn, Virginia, Jenny Boyd, Eddie Merlot's marketing director, shared the company's statement on Patch.com, "Eddie Merlot's is a place where hospitality and the comfort of our guests are our highest mission; we pledge to provide the finest personal service, highest quality of foods, freshest ingredients, in world class facilities for all of our guests to enjoy a memorable experience."

Eddie Merlot's is considered fine dining, which comes with a lot of rules that don't make much sense these days and should probably be broken. On the other hand, we agree that your attire should definitely match the elegant vibe at Eddie Merlot's. The restaurant's website explains its dress code: "In an effort to ensure all guests have an exceptional experience while dining with us, we maintain attire standards to help achieve an elevated atmosphere. Hats, tank tops, flip flops, team athletic attire, items with offensive odor, images or language and overly casual or revealing clothing are not permitted." Rules like this can sometimes be a great excuse to dress up, which can make your overall dining experience even more enjoyable. Take out that pair of heels or nice suit jacket that's been collecting dust and have a great night!

Whether each location upholds this standard, however, is questionable. One Google Maps reviewer of the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, location commented on the dress code not being followed, saying, "there were 2-3 tables worth of people walking in and being seated that were wearing dirty T-shirts, like they just got off a construction site. That really took the air out of the 'fine dining' that you're trying to portray when paying $200-$300 for dinner." We personally wouldn't feel comfortable sitting in an elegant restaurant in flip flops or a dirty T-shirt; however, you can't control everyone around you, can you?

If a restaurant's slogan includes "primed age beef," it better be good! With Eddie Merlot's, that is definitely the case. The restaurant serves only USDA Prime beef, which means it has outstanding marbling and comes from young, well-fed beef cattle. This is the highest rating that a cut of beef can get, and according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 10% of beef graded in 2024 was considered prime.

Each cut of meat at Eddie Merlot's is hand-selected by the chef after a 21-day aging process and prepared to the diner's specifications. The customers' experiences seem to align with the quality of the prime aged beef. One customer who visited the Boston location shared on Yelp, "Everything was amazing, probably one of the best steaks we have had in a long time in Boston. It literally melted in our mouths. It was so tender."

A Reddit user shared, "I've yet to have a steak better than the one I had at Eddie's. Goooood, good stuff." We're glad to see that the efforts that Eddie Merlot's puts in for a quality steak are appreciated by the customers.

Although Eddie Merlot's is primarily known as a steakhouse, it does indeed have seafood in its slogan as well. The menu lists tons of ways to get your seafood fix. Starting with the appetizers, you have options like crab cakes, calamari, shrimp dishes, oysters, caviar, and even a seafood tower, which includes lobster tail, crab legs, shrimp, tuna poke, and more. If that isn't enough for you, you can always get one of the entrées.

Dishes include ahi tuna steak, Faroe Islands salmon, Chilean sea bass, mojo shrimp and scallops, cold water lobster tails, and king crab legs, all prepared in uniquely delicious ways. They are very much worth getting if you prefer seafood over steak. 

Customers who have visited the Boston location of Eddie Merlot's shared their opinions on Yelp, repeatedly mentioning how fresh the seafood is. One of the most popular seafood items we've seen customers rave about are the oysters. Users on Google Maps describe them as incredibly fresh, tasty, must-have, and even to die for. If you are set on having a steak for dinner, make sure to take advantage of these delicious seafood appetizers during your visit.

If you're taking a trip to Eddie Merlot's, don't expect to pay Texas Roadhouse prices — that chain goes the extra mile to deliver an affordable meal. Eddie Merlot's is a fine-dining establishment, and everything from the decor and ambiance to the service and food quality aims to be of the highest caliber. With that in mind, we believe the prices are pretty fair. 

For context, we compared prices at the Boston location of Eddie Merlot's with a similar-level steakhouse in the same area. The steak prices don't include sides or sauces, which are charged separately. At Eddie Merlot's, a 12-ounce filet mignon will cost $72, and a 16-ounce New York strip steak is $62. The most expensive steak on the menu, the bone-in ribeye, costs $89. Sides range from $9-$26 each. At the Boston location of Morton's Steakhouse, a 12-ounce filet mignon will cost $65, and a 16-ounce New York strip steak is $64. Lastly, the most expensive item is the bone-in ribeye at $73. The sides range from $13-$35. Overall, Morton's is a bit cheaper; however, it is fairly close in price.

Now, there are other steakhouses that charge much more. Some spots around the country will charge well over $100 for a cut of steak. Given the quality of the food, the service, and overall experience, we think that Eddie Merlot's is a fairly priced high-end establishment.

Bringing together the warm, elegant decor of every Eddie Merlot's location is a large, glass wine cellar. These cellars are usually a focal point for the dining room and feature hundreds of bottles of wine. They add a classy and sophisticated vibe to the restaurants and probably entice many people to learn more about the wine they're ordering with their meals. What's inside these wine cellars is even more impressive. Eddie Merlot's is said to have an extensive wine list that varies by location — ranging from 75 different wines by the glass to over 250 wines.

Considering the fact that founder Bill Humphries is a wine connoisseur himself, one would expect the selection to be top tier. We noticed that reviewers on Google Maps, Yelp, and Tripadvisor all share their appreciation for the wine list. People say that they love the variety, the quality of the options available, and the staff being extremely knowledgeable about recommending the best wine for each dish. Eddie Merlot's has a national beverage director as well as beverage managers at each location who curate the wine offerings so you know you're in good hands.

Who doesn't love a restaurant with a fun, innovative cocktail list? Eddie Merlot's definitely falls into that category – offering some classic options as well as unique cocktails, too. The cocktail menus vary only slightly from location to location, so you can expect most of the same drinks across the chain.

Many of the cocktails jumped out at us when reading through the menu. The Blackberry Peppercorn Smash seems like it would go great with any type of steak. It's made with Angel's Envy bourbon, Aperol, blackberry purée, fresh lemon sour, fresh mint, and cracked black pepper. Sounds absolutely delicious! If you're eating seafood, perhaps the Sake Sunset will be for you. It is made with sake, Grey Goose vodka, Midori, pineapple juice, fresh lemon sour, club soda, and bordeaux cherry. One last interesting standout is the Carajillo Con Tequila, which would be great to finish off your meal. It has Espolón Reposado Tequila, Licor 43, cold brew espresso, fresh orange, and chocolate dust.

The great thing about Eddie Merlot's is that you can simply drop in for a cocktail if you desire. There is a lounge and bar at every location, allowing you to relax and have a high-quality drink without the commitment of a full dinner.

Loyal customers love to be rewarded, and that unfortunately isn't as common a practice among sit-down restaurants. Eddie Merlot's does things differently, however, and it keeps its customers coming back for more. What used to be known as its Platinum Club is now called the Prime Society. A free program to join, it can get you many perks at Eddie Merlot's.

The base perks of the Prime Society include receiving 1 point per dollar spent at the restaurant. This is all kept on your account, and you can accrue points over time. Eventually, these points turn into cash rewards. There are many increments of rewards, and it starts at 350 points, which equals $25, and ends at 14,000 points, which is equal to $1,000. The points expire after 12 months of inactivity, so make sure that you don't go a year without a visit. Eddie Merlot's is also among the many popular restaurants that offer birthday specials and anniversary rewards.

Whether you want to host an important business dinner or a special celebration, Eddie Merlot's may be the place for you. The restaurant staff goes above and beyond for special events and doesn't just stop at the food. Staffers can help coordinate floral arrangements, entertainment, and decor and will even assist with finding accommodations for your out-of-town guests. Although these services are typical for event spaces, they are much more rare among restaurants.

As for the food, there are many different options that you can choose from to customize your private dining event. A typical lunch menu for your gathering includes appetizers, main entrées, and desserts that costs $49 a person. For dinner, there are four options that the host can choose from, and they range from $79 a person to $159 a person. Those menus include appetizers, a salad or soup, entrées, sides, and desserts. Eddie Merlot's also offers a beverage package for events that can be customized to your needs. Considering the fact that Eddie Merlot's locations are all aesthetically beautiful, offer great food, and have accommodations for events, we truly think this a great option for any type of celebration or meeting where you need a large space.

If you like the idea of serving Eddie Merlot's food at your next big celebration or event but aren't too keen on hosting it at the restaurant, you're in luck. Eddie Merlot's offers catering services, which can expand the scope of events that offer its delicious food.

It's incredibly easy to place an order for Eddie Merlot's catering services. On the website, you can choose a date and a time and then select the dishes you want in your order. There is even an "ASAP" option, which has us wondering whether you can order a large amount of food the day of your event — but according to the website, you can. If it's a particularly large order, you may want to call first.

There are small and large sizes available for appetizers, salads, entrees, sides, and desserts, though options are somewhat limited compared with the full dine-in menu. For steak, you can only choose between New York strip, ribeye, or filet mignon. There are other meat options, however, like lemon Dijon chicken, salmon, and sea bass. Sides include mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, Brussels sprouts with bacon, asparagus, and broccoli. Overall, we think this would be a great option if you need high-quality food for an event, but perhaps not for something that you would expect there to be a large variety of options.

Everyone loves a happy hour, especially if it includes high-quality food and drinks offered at significantly better prices than what's available at other times (though selling more drinks isn't why happy hour was initially created). For Eddie Merlot's, we can confidently say that this is a happy hour worth going to.

Each location has something slightly different. At the Boston location, the food prices are reasonable — especially considering the fact that this is a big city, where prices tend to be inflated. The most expensive items are $20 and range from a crab and avocado cocktail, lamb lollipops, or a lobster roll. For $15, you can get a cheeseburger, filet mignon sliders, or onion rings. For $10, the options include ahi tuna wontons, loaded potato chips, filet mignon pot stickers, prime french dip sliders, or house fries. These prices are typical for a regular happy hour, but knowing that they come from a high-end restaurant makes them even more impressive.

When comparing the happy hour food prices to the prices of the same items for dinner, there is about a $5-$10 discount for each item. For drinks, Eddie Merlot's offers a $5 discount on craft cocktails as well as $8 glasses of wine. We're always a fan of discounts, so you can count us in.