Mert's Heart And Soul

Nothing better than to find a local restaurant that has a great menu with even better flavor. Must have:CornbreadSoul RollRed Beans and RiceBlack Eyed PeasOne of my all time favorite spots. But but...gotta come at the right time. It gets packed.

Yup! Mert's was it!!! Food came out in like 3 minutes smoking! It was Restaurant definitely fits the food.Service was quick and efficient!

This isn't the same place that I remember from 2019. We had an out-of-town guest come in and she was looking for soul food so we came to Mert's as it's a Charlotte staple. I got a chicken breast, yams and mac & cheese for my meal. The yams had good flavor, but were watery. The mac & cheese was ok. The chicken had a long, black piece of hair on it so I sent it back. They were very nice about it and offered to remake my meal, but they had to re-fry the chicken and it took 10 minutes. The new chicken, although tasty, wasn't a full breast. They did comp this part of the meal. Others in my party got the soul platter and the fried catfish. The cornbread was good. Overall, lunch here was just ok. Nothing I'd have to come back for anytime soon. I appreciate the service recovery. The manger was really nice.

A relative came to visit from NY, we decided to get some good soul/southern food. There were over 4k googles reviews so we decided to dine in on a Sunday afternoon. I hate to say this but neither one of us were impressed. We ordered the soul sampler, the only thing worth eating were the fried chicken wings and cornbread. For our entrées, she had the chicken tender salad and I ordered shrimp and grits. My meal wasn't terrible, but it had wayyy too much brown sauce for my liking. We also had a side order of mac & cheese. I was expecting traditional, baked mac & cheese, instead it resembled krafts stovetop. I had high hopes for this establishment, but it wasn't for me

I have been a huge Mertz fan for many years and this was the first time it didn't taste like it normally does. I literally order the same thing every time: beef short ribs, mac n cheese, cabbage and cornbread.This go round the sides weren't flavorful at all, I tried adding salt and pepper and that really didn't help much. The beef ribs were okay, good but not as good as I'm used to. This was a doordash order but that wouldn't affect the flavor, so I'm thinking it maybe was a bad day for the kitchen. I hope things improve so I can go back and enjoy it how I used to.

We went with a group of 8 and were happy to get seated right away at 5 pm on a Friday night. Small place with lots of cool music and vintage music posters and photos. Service was so-so. A few times we wondered where our server had gone-at one point after waiting a long time, giving us our check without asking if we wanted dessert, which we did, so then had to wait again. The cornbread and the fried green tomatoes were excellent. The fried chicken was as expected-fried chicken is fried chicken I'm coming to learn. The collards were great!! The green beans were good if you like them soft and overcooked-which I happen to like. The desserts were stellar! Old fashioned cakes from the past: we shared German Chocolate, Red velvet and Chocolate chocolate. All were moist and delicious!!

This place gets 2 stars for the service, the atmosphere, and the cornbread.I was really hoping those negative views exaggerated, but they did not .I'll start with the good.. they validate parking I ordered the salmon cakes for my appetizer and they were mediocre at best. I had the catfish and chicken leg quarter entree with potato salad and green beans. The catfish was actually cooked well and tasted good. Everything else was a waste of time. The green beans were overcooked and had ZERO seasoning. Chicken also had zero seasoning. Aside from the fish none of this food is making it to the cookout, family reunion, or repast. At least the music was great while I tried to force my way through this meal lol.If you are looking for food with soul in it, go elsewhere.

This was my second visit to Mert's in many years. I can honestly say that not much has changed. The interior of the restaurant has not changed, nor has the food. I ordered the salmon cakes with collard greens and yams. As a sweet potato girl (they were not yams), I found them edible but didn't taste fresh (as in that day). The salmon cakes lacked flavor. The greens were actually not too bad. A small number of tables were occupied, so service was swift. My friend had fried fish, and both meals were delivered to us in less than 15 minutes! The fish did not look appetizing. The meals were served with cornbread. It looked delicious but I didn't have any. I won't be back for many years, if ever. I still don't know what all the talk, is about.

Great soul food, always flavorful & hot (Ive only been twice, but has been great both times). Family friendly restaurants with loads of playbills and posters on the wall, good family atmosphere. Service is always great and friendly as well.

DISAPPOINTED here from NJ for the long weekend and came across this place. Party of 7, service was horrible, they all had attitudes. 7 Adults and not one person enjoyed their meal. No seasoning, small portions, NO SOUL at all. 4 of us had the beef ribs that were very fatty, the collards were hard with no flavor, the cornbread was bland and thur was nothing candied about them. the coke slaw was soupy. If you're looking for authentic soul food, this is absolutely not the place!