mert's heart and soul

the friedchickenwas awesome. i also had the mac and cheese as well as the black eyed peas, both were very good. they serve you a huge hunk of cornbread with your meal and it was good as well. next time i will make sure to save room for dessert. they have a bar full of cakes that look very good.

overall it's a great place to eat. food is good and staff is friendly. occasionally you'll get an older waitress who doesn't give a darn and achickenbreast that's half the size as the one you got the last time you were there. also, it's not too expensive even though you're in uptown.

solid soul food generally, but probably a bit over rated. this place serves some pretty good low country/country cooking dishes, at reasonable prices at lunch, not so reasonable at dinner - the prices at lunch run $7 - $9 for an entree which comes with 2 sides and corn bread. this is not the quietest restaurant, nor the cleanest, for that matter. the service is hit or miss in my experience

the friedchicken(1/4 dark meat for $7.05 at lunch) is very good, the beef ribs ($8.25) are good not great, and i love the salmon cakes ($7.25 at lunch). the fried catfish is good and well priced at $7.75, and the whiting is even better at $7.55. the fried green tomato app is nice, not as tart as some, but still good. the collards are not to my liking, and i've tried them several times.

the shrimp and grits ($7.89) are nice, rich and creamy, though a rather small serving. the bbq pork ($7.30) is not really a favorite of mine - the meat is tender, but lacks any hint of smokiness, and the sauce is sweeter than i care for.

all in all not a bad place to grab some soul food for lunch if in the area, and a visit to see what it is all about should be considered but once is probably enough. this is just not a destination soul food spot despite the hype,
there is better available in the charlotte area.


-----06 jun, 2011-----

nice downtown eatery. this place serves excellent low county/country cooking dishes at reasonable prices - at least the prices are reasonable at lunch, $7 - $9 for a entree which comes with 2 sides and corn bread.

the friedchickenis excellent, the ribs are as well, and i love the salmon cakes. the fried catfish is good, any of the po' boys are worth trying. the fried green tomato app is nice, not as tart as some, but still good. the collards are not to my liking, and i've tried them twice.

the shrimp and grits are nice, rich and creamy. but, i was disappointed in the shrimp creole, was bland and watery. service here is excellent, even when this place is busy, which it always seems to be. the ambiance is homey, though it can get a little loud.

tip: park in the deck at the holiday inn next to mert's. that's the only deck they validate tickets for.


-----24 feb, 2014-----

ate there tonight for my second time. first time had sausage & red beans. it was good. tonight my sweetie and i had friedchickenand bbq ribs, mac & cheese, potato salad, and black-eyed peas. cornbread comes with the meal and we also ordered soul rolls. thechickenwas ok, nothing extraordinary. price's is much better. the cornbread and the soul rolls were excellent and worth another visit. the other sides were not remarkable. mert's was packed tonight, but the service was still fairly good. overall, the joint is ok, not great.

overrated. obviously they are doing something right for someone but not for me. the shrimp and grits i received on my last visit were terrible. for decent soul/comfort food i go to thechickenbox cafe, nana's, united house of prayer, or dish. i don't know why mert's keeps getting the best of award from cl.

so so ... very over rated. don't get me wrong. it's a nice place and the service is good and friendly but the food has a long way to go.

my wife and i drove into charlotte ot give them a try. my wife ordered a grilledchickensalad while i stuck with one of the brunch specials,chickenand waffles. being a soul food restaurant, what could be better?

given that my wife liked her salad, mychickenand waffles left much to be desired. both the waffle and thechickenwere grossly overcooked. the waffle was very dense in texture with no height to it at all. in other words, it was very flat. it was also cooked to almost a very dark brown.

the corn bread is very good but they may want to cut back a bit on the sugar so that it tastes a bit less like cake. still very good, warm with butter on it.

chicken was very tough and dry with a very hard crust on the outside. you definatey needed a knife to cut these babies.

being on almost a diagonal from the performing arts centers, the decor is rich in posters from off broadway shows. it's a nice decor and very homey. as i mentioned earlier, service is good although i would have liked a refill on my tea at some point.

at some point, i'll give them another try but right now, restaurant did not live up to my expectations or their reviews.

scramble eggs were runny. service was terrible.chickenwas good so were the home fries.

i had beef ribs and frieschickeni thought the leg and thigh quarter was from a pigeon the i wouldn't even call them beef ribs it was bones with sauce


-----21 feb, 2013-----

i had the rib andchickencombo i jab betterchickenat bojangles the ribs where just bones with bbq sauce on it it was not what i expected

mert's has soul. did you grow up in the south? delicious fried chicken, pork chops, corn bread, candied yams, and greens? this uptown restaurant is anything but uptown. the sweet tea is intoxicating and if you combine it with lemonade....you have a tiger woods. once you are stuffed with any of their wonderful entries, just try any of their homemade cakes or cobblers. there isn't any white table cloth here. your arteries won't thank you for the experience, but your taste buds will remember the tastes for a long time to come. try the buttermilkchickentenders with some honey....omg!.....and on sunday they have a morning brunch that just kicks it up another notch.

fabulouschickentenders, amazing cornbread!

delicious! two forks up! had the salmon cakes with collard greens and mac and cheese. all great! the cornbread is truly homemade. we also had the friedchickenwith stewed okra and tomatoes. thechickenwas fried to perfection, most and flavorful. the okra and tomatoes was to die for. we will absolutely order it again!!!

good. went to dinner here a couple of times and the food is good. the cake is also good as well, although they were out of cake the last time i went. their friedchickenwings are good and so is the corn bread!

excellent. this is my 3rd time going to merts after a falcons / panthers game. after eating tailgate food all weekend, this is the spot to get your veggies and good sweet tea. thechickentenders are seasoned perfect and the green beans and mac and cheese are really good. see you in 2012.


-----20 nov, 2009-----

atlanta falcons to charlotte. i was in town for the falcons/panthers game and wanted some home cooking. the place was packed with locals at 12:45pm, that was a good sign. the saturday menu isn't as big as the weekly menu. the veggies are really good, i stuck with the friedchickenand was a good choice. i also was able to sample the smoothered friedchickensteak and shrimp creole and both was very good.

the cornbread was a meal by its self. this will be my normal stop when i come in town.

minnie. i had a complaint and thought they were not going to address it because it had been a couple weeks since but must say they rectified the situation and i said that i would compliment them if they did and now i am.
thanks, merts.


-----29 aug, 2011-----

minnie. husband and i ate there for the first time 2 sundays ago. the waitress suggested smotheredchickenas the special for 8.95. when it came, it was onechickenwing covered in gravy. he complained and was brought a couple morechickenwings with gravy on them. and really, the amount was 9.99 for his.
the part that makes me frustrated is the inability for them to apologize. they just looked at him when he paid our bill. and i wrote to them via email and have yet to hear back. if i do, i will write another review and let everyone know.

pretty dead to be soul food.chickenwings were good but everything else wasnt. got sweet potato pie for dessert and terrible. everything i wanted cost extra. i'm pretty sure they charged me extra for condiments. well maybe thats a stretch but thats how i feel. if you want great soul food go to lawan's.