Katelyn Joy M.
Google
I had such a lovely time at Merrick Inn Restaurant! As a lover of history, it especially was nice to get to eat dinner at such a lovely historical building with such deep relevance to Kentucky culture and history.
First, my food was great! It came out super quickly and was delicious with very large portion sizes. I had the Pecan Crusted Pork Tenderloin. it was great and the sauce it was prepared with was wonderful and very unique. It truly felt like some thing that I couldn’t just make it home or get anywhere. It was very worth trying and worth the money. Beyond that, the baked potato was cooked perfectly and the asparagus was some of the best asparagus I’ve ever had. The seasoning on it was perfect, and it was juicy, but still cooked very well. I also had the Pear and Sage Martini, Apple Cider Gin Sour, and creme brulee. They were all delicious. The cocktails really were very great and creative. I loved everything I ate.
My server, Kate, was extremely sweet and so helpful. She went out of her way multiple times to help me make decisions on what I was going to get, and gave great honest opinions on her recommendations. She was very quick, so friendly and welcoming to me, and very professional. I was so pleased with her kindness and service.
I did have a bit of an odd experience with the valet parking, as the person made me feel very stupid for not understanding valet parking (I’m pretty young and not really familiar with these fancy places/valet parking and was just treating myself to a nice meal before moving away from Lexington). They made me feel very bad for not understanding that it was valet, saying “hence the cars all backed in” and some other things. I just didn’t realize it was valet and it hurt my feelings, and I ended up parking my car and sitting in it for about 15 minutes debating on going somewhere else because I was unsure if maybe the restaurant was only for super fancy patrons who maybe would already understand the valet parking, etc. However, I think they realized that it hurt my feelings a bit because they did help me find the other spot and seemed to relax a bit, and were nice to me after I explained that I didn’t understand it. It just made me pretty hesitant on whether I should eat there or not, questioning that I wasn’t the intended demographic.
As I said, the place is absolutely beautiful. It is very historical, too, so if you like to have experiences in places that have a rich history to learn about or that make you feel like you’re a part of a community, this is a really cool place to do that. there are many different rooms, each with different themes or atmospheres. There are some rooms that feel like you could be in a palace, and there are some that feel a little bit more relaxed and have TVs to watch sports on. They even have a lovely and large patio that I’m sure is amazing during the warmer months. I definitely recommend this place, especially if you are looking for a dining experience that feels like quintessential Kentucky. ❤️