mert's heart and soul

yummy!!!. if you are ever in charlotte, nc and have a taste for soul/southernfoodits a must!!!

mert's isn't necessarily what you'd expect to find in the middle of uptown, but man thefoodis excellent! it doesn't lack that casual southern character that makes you feel at home, especially with all the waitstaff in t shirts and jeans.
my girlfriend and i came in for lunch, decided on our orders and were pleasantly surprised when thefoodarrived in just 2-3 minutes. with nearly all of thefoodmade ahead of time cafeteria style with just a quick sear needed to finish off some items and no finishing touches for most others, you might worry that the quality suffers but it did not in our experience! i ordered the salmon cakes with collards and mac & cheese and she got the chopped bbq with green beans and mac & cheese. the salmon cakes were amazing.. no other way to describe it, just order them! the remoulade on the side makes them even better too. the chopped bbq was very good as well. for the sides, the collards and green beans were both tasty choices but the mac & cheese stole the show. so gooey and cheesy, classic baked macaroni & cheese like mom/grandma used to make. the cornbread was good but nothing special. i would have guessed that the salmon patties or mac were what mert's was famous for rather than the cornbread tbh.
overall, thefoodwas fairly inexpensive and came out very quickly, but the taste was amazing and the portions were very large. add on the fact that the waiters were friendly and that's about all i ask for in a restaurant experience!

my mother, aunt , and i ate here today. i've eaten there plenty of times before, however today, our waitress gave us horrible service. after bringing our cornbread, it seemed as though she forgot about us, to the point where we sat there with watered down sweet tea. finally got our order minutes later. we waited about 45min for ourfoodwithout being checked on. complained to the manager and received no apology. i loved their service until today!

omg...... love love it........this place is southern comfortfoodat its best. so very pleased that we ate there today. foodwas just as good as anything my grandmother or my mom would cook. and they both are fantastic cooks. customer service also great..... our waitress was victoria.... she was very helpful about the menu and took excellent care of us. thefoodreally took me back to my grandmother’s home and that was always the best place to be

my girlfriend and i, along with another couple, were in town for a show the night before and were about to head back home the next day and stumbled across this. we’re all foodies so we were looking up places to try out. some real hole-in-the-wall type places. and we could not find any. every place we came across was very modern and fancy schmancy and there’s nothing wrong with that but wasn’t us at all. then we found this place ... y’all ... my entire soul was happy finding this place. we placed our order to go but my girlfriend and i had to use the bathroom while waiting and their hostess was nice and pointed us in the right direction but just walking through that place took you back in time to after church when they had the dinner plates for sale and everybody was lined up to get one and a piece of cake with a lemonade to go lol. it felt like there wasn’t any air circulating in there, everybody had on church clothes and was fanning themselves, kitchen wide open so you can see the cook throwing down, and old timey picture hanging up. if you don’t feel at home when you come to this place then you gotta find somewhere else to go. the cornbread alone tasted like it was made by somebody’s old southern baptist grandma and i am perfectly fine eating all that cornbread. it’ll get you right. everything else on the menu’ll get you right too. all in all, in the midst of so many modernized and gentrified places to eat downtown, mert’s is the hole-in-the-wall, southern comfort, good eatinfoodyou’re probably looking for. don’t miss out y’all!

if you like soulfoodin a welcome joint, this place is great.  food was hearty and they don't skimp, so bring a healthy appetite.  i enjoyed the chopped bbq and mashed potatoes while others at our table had a good representation of their menu.  nobody was disappointed.  check it out.

this place is great. atmosphere is unique and thefoodis really flavorful. we will be bringing visitors to this place when they come into town. fast service, friendly staff.

this is the second time that i have been to mert's. both timesfoodwas prepared excellent. i had wings first time, the seasoning was just right. second time had catfish, it was good as well. atmosphere is also great. i will definitely done here again in the future.

had breakfast once and it took 35 minutes. i was disgusted but said maybe because it was busy that's why they were slow and ourfoodwas cold. tried again, this time lunch and it was worse. everything had a strong vinegar taste. no flavor and again ourfoodwas cold. they bought me my side dish and 15 min later they bought my food. they had to reheat my side again. we will never go back there. they no nothing about southern cooking or hospitality for that matter

thefoodwas fine, i had the salomon cakes with yams and mac and cheese, the corn bread tasted better than 2 other soulfoodplaces i have visited recently, the cashier at the door listed the deserts out to me soo fast that i gave up on adding the non nutrient to my meal because she told me a total before i could follow up with a decision or question, i ate take out

overrated. thefoodwas ok. nothing to rave about. the best thing about my dining experience was the corn bread. won't be going back unless i'm in the area.

overall it's a great place to eat.foodis good and staff is friendly. occasionally you'll get an older waitress who doesn't give a darn and a chicken breast 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 soulfoodgenerally, 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 fried chicken (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 soulfoodfor 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 soulfoodspot 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 fried chicken is 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.

bloody mess. went to merts in charlotte and was given bloody chicken. nicely fried on outside but inside dripping with blood. cabbage taste like fish grease instead of being steamed.foodwas very bland. do not go here

visiting from illinois, felt deceived. not 4 star worthy (2 at best). service okay,foodis avg. tried the red beans n rice w/turkey (ok, not spectacular), catfish (seasoned ok), beef ribs (ok, but fatty), grits (they're grits, you can't go wrong there), greens (ok), blackened salmon (ok). overall, just an average meal. left scratching my head by the 4 star rating... don't be fooled!!