The Merrywell

Selection of Sauces at The Merrywell

 

I love all things American. I have never actually been to the US (see you in Feb 2014 for my honeymoon), but there is just something about America that really interests me, especially the food. I have been to Misty's Diner, TGI Fridays & Big Boy BBQ in the pursuit of all things American.

 

 

I heard of The Merrywell a couple of months ago but the opportunity came today to have lunch there. After spending time going through the menus I had my heart set on fried chicken & waffles.

 

A friend & I got there at 12.30 and there were several tables available. The one thing that I found really confusing was that there is no one to seat you. You have to line up at the counter, order your food and then find a table. There seemed to be a lack of direction.

 

Once we got up to the counter I enquired about the fried chicken and waffles. Turns out they only serve it in the upstairs restaurant and at dinnertime. Wah! So I ended up choosing the K.F. Club Sandwich which contained chicken, bacon, cheddar, tomato & mayo. My friend ordered a Greek Salad. We both got fries on the side.

 

 

I have to admit I was slightly disappointed to not be getting the chicken & waffles. The website does seem to be confusing as there is an upstairs lunch & dinner menu listed and the waffles appear on the front menu on the website which I assumed was their normal menu. It would be good if the different menus were clarified a bit more clearly on the website. The downstairs section is more of a take-away/fast food type service whereas the upstairs section is more of a restaurant. It seemed that the upstairs section wasn't open for lunch service even though the website indicated it was open on Friday. As previously mentioned the direction seemed to be lacking. Anyway onto the meals....

K.F. Club ($15) & side of Fries ($5)

 

The K.F. Club sandwich (more of a burger to me) was really tasty. The chicken was freshly cooked and was quite juicy. It was fried chicken but it did not have the greasy, disgusting feeling that KFC would have. The cheddar was perfectly melted on top. The bun was really soft as well. I really enjoyed this sandwich but I felt that the portion was slightly small, considering the price.

 

The fries were very ordinary. Whilst there was nothing wrong with them, I think I could have done without them. I think next time I will try the onion rings as I have heard good things about these.

 

Greek Salad ($9) Additional $5 for grilled chicken

 

I am not much of a salad person (read: I never order a salad) but my friend decided to go with the Greek salad. I have to admit that when it came out, I even thought it looked good. There was a large piece of feta (apparently in Greece they never crumble the feta) and there was some pita to go with it. My friend said that she enjoyed it, but to me it is a Greek salad which you cannot really stuff up. I did notice that there were no olives in this Greek salad.

 

Overall, I enjoyed The Merrywell but I felt that the customer service did lack slightly as the staff at the counter seemed to lack any interest in what they were doing. I also did find the different menus confusing. Separate ones for upstairs and downstairs and different ones for dinner and lunch. I am really keen to return for dinner so I can actually try the chicken & waffles which is what I originally wanted to go for. I have also heard wonderful things about there desserts in wither shot glasses or jars and as I am a sucker for these sort of things I know I would love them. I am keen to return but I don't think it will be for the downstairs lunch service.

 

 

The Merrywell

Corner of Clarendon St & Crown Riverside

www.themerrywell.com.au