The newly opened Merrywell restaurant in the Crown Complex, on the corner of Clarendon Street and the Southbank Promenade will tempt you in to its clutches between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM on weekdays as they promote a "Happy Hour" special, which includes your choice of a selected burger and a pint of mysterious beer for the tidy sum of $15. This offer has been too good to refuse on numerous times and I was happily wrapped into the restaurants warm embrace.
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| Gluttony. A sin that gives you so much pleasure (Se7en) |
The menu is very American influenced with what can be described as comfort food, body armour and sides of ammunition. If I ate here frequently I would have to double the time that I spend in the gym to compensate I fear. Between the tasty burgers with very sugary buns, melted cheese and bacon on the chicken offering, just as sweet onion rings served in a basket and alcohol-infused ice cream drinks are placed in front of you, this is really a glutton's paradise.
After eating what I can describe as an American curry at the Local Taphouse in St Kilda, which was their form of "chilli" I was hoping to get a cup of chilli from Merrywell since if they are a true higher end American eatery, that they would be able to get this Texan parcel correct. What came out was bolognaise just without the spaghetti in a paper cup. I thought it was truly bizarre and was disappointed. The burgers and onion rings never disappoint though.
There are two bars downstairs. As people order food at the bar along with drinks, split bills and negotiate for a peace agreement in Syria all at the same time at the bar, there usually is a wait. Every time there has been a substantial wait especially as it seems they have not integrated PayPass technology. They have cans of Tecate beer behind the bar, so I have learned to become a patient man as they are rare to find in Melbourne as hen's teeth.
The restaurant is a great place to meet people and it is amusing to "people watch" from one of the high tables in the corner that looks out over Clarendon Street and of course Southbank Promenade. There is a staircase that leads to more tables upstairs and also attaches to one of the gaming areas of the casino. Like at the Common Man, there is always good background music playing which adds to the generally relaxed and informal vibe. I shall always remember Jon Bon Jovi's classic Blaze of Glory playing over the sound system as four rather large casino security staff escorted an equally large and very vocal woman down the stairs and out the door of the restaurant. She was giving them hell and they effectively removed her from the casino via the eatery. I thought that was strange but it made for some excitement for the day. Goin' out in a blaze of glory indeed.
Link to review
The West End of Crown Casino, Clarendon Street
http://www.crownmelbourne.com.au/themerrywell
My Rating: 12.5/20
Service: 3/5
Ambiance: 3.5/5
Quality: 3/5
Value For Money: 3/5
Comment: Good place for people watching
Twitter: @epicurean3006
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When I posted this diatribe, 77% of the reviewers liked Merrywell on Urbanspoon. I like it about 77% of the time also when I am in the mood for cheerful (but not) cheap food however I am not usually happy waiting to get drinks for a long period of time or bolognaise pretending to be chilli.
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