The Merion Inn

My whole experience was excellent! Piano player playing in the background the entire time was just wonderful. We had the claims casino for an appetizer and it was fantastic! I had the Merion stuffed lobster and it was to die for! Best meal I’ve had in probably forever! It was also my mothers birthday which they brought a cupcake with a candle out to her while playing happy birthday on the piano! Definitely will be back, 5 stars for sure!!!

The food was excellent! However once tables started filling up around us our waitress was busy servicing them and it took — no lie — 20 minutes for her to cash out our bill. That was ridiculous! So that’s why I rated it at an overall 3 stars. I’d go again because the food is that good — but perhaps just eat at the bar.

Located a few blocks from the beach, the Merion Inn is a must eat restaurant in Cape May. Quality cuisine and prepared wonderfully. Can’t wait to visit again.

Best seafood meal I’ve ever had. Fillet mignon was amazing & waitstaff was great. Little pricey, but worth it.

My wife and I ate here celebrating our anniversary. Overall it was ok but I wouldn’t say it was anything special. I came here based on the recommendations of both Unilocal and my hostess.
I had the Merion surf and turf and the lobster was where I felt this fell short. My wife went with the price fixe and she ordered some type of chicken that I felt was slightly overdone.
The experience felt very rushed and although the food came out quick it felt like they wanted to give the table to the next waiting group.
I would recommend it for one time but I will not visit again.

We returned to the Merion Inn last week to celebrate my mother-in-law’s 70^th birthday. After not being overly impressed with our meal last year, I must admit to some initial trepidation about going back. However, I have to say we had an absolutely fantastic meal! The service was friendly and accommodating; the food was quite delicious; and, they even dimmed the lights, played Happy Birthday on the piano and brought out a cupcake w/​a candle on it without anyone asking! They made our evening very memorable, and we are looking forward to returning very soon :)

I returned to the Merion last Friday evening. We had a party of 4 and were seated right away. I had the filet mignon and it was cooked perfectly to my liking. The green beans that accompanied the filet were steamed just right. All of our meals were excellent! We even ordered dessert and It was fabulous! Please check out this local Cape May gem, you will not be disappointed! Theres live jazz on Tuesday evenings and solo piano music on the other nights.

Went Wednesday night. Been going there since I was a kid 40 years ago. Get to Cape May every couple years and still the best dinner of the week. 5 adults and everyone loved their meals.
Piano player was a true pro. No negatives when it comes to this place.
If you love the tradition of Cape May, you will not be disappointed with the Merion Inn.

We had an amazing dinner last night. I was especially impressed. Since I am watching my weight, they had locally grown vegetables grilled. You could order them alone or add a large variety of protein choices for a small added charge. I chose grilled salmon for an extra $ 5. It was delicious and very satisfying. My husband and son had the prime rib. They said it was tender and tasty. We have been there before. Last night was the best.

The Merion Inn is a nice establishment. It has all the makings for a nice atmosphere and a good meal. Some nice piano music, a nice big bar to relax for a drink before dinner and a pretty good menu.
But for some reason, it just didn’t click.
It IS kid friendly, which is good for me and my son who likes steak, but on the kids menu was a 6oz filet mignon for $ 31. That just led me and my wife to order 3 adult entrées.
I got the Lobster Imperial ($ 31) and my wife and son both got NY Strips ($ 33). Mine was good. It was rich but the portion just seemed a little short. The steaks were good and done as requested but the sides were lacking. We both got potato cups which were supposed to be like twice baked potatoes but seemed more like mashed potatoes in a cup. I also got the rice pilaf side which was about 3 fork fulls.
The mushroom flatbread appetizer ($ 13) was different and really good.
The restaurant is not BYOB like a lot of other (and arguably) better restaurants in Cape May. I read some other Unilocal reviews critical of the staff, but they were all super friendly tonight.
In the end, it wasn’t a bad meal. It just felt lacking when it came to seeing the bill. I doubt I will go back, but I won’t dissuade others from going there. I think it’s one of those places with a very wide range of opinions. all with solid merit.

This is second year in a row we ate here with our large group of 13. Service was excellent and service was prompt and courteous. Steaks were cooked to perfection, scallops and seafood off the charts and desserts were yummy. We will definitely be back next year. The live music added a nice touch

I’ll go four stars on this one… Stay away from the surf and turf if your hungry… The lobster tail is only half the tail stuffed and the 4oz. Steak was more like 2−½ oz. For $ 50 my son was very disappointed and left the restaurant still hungry. We had a party of 7 and everyone else’s meal was amazing. Salmon was excellent. The Santa Fe crab cakes are out of his world and the 6oz. Filet was perfect. The crab imperial was wonderful as well. In closing I will say that the clams casino were the best I had ever had. If you stay away from the surf and turf with the petite filet you should have a wonderful experience.

The Merion always has nice ambiance. I was disappointed though with the Piano Player. He plays beautifully, although he didn’t know the words to our most favorite Sinatra songs. I had the scallops with the lobster rolls. it was delicious. The dining room is dark with candles… just has a warm feeling to it… the waitress was nice. We miss our old piano player but with time I’m sure he’ll learn the words :)

I should be more generous with my stars: 3.5! This place is for old fogies. Boring crowd with a traditional ambience of a time in the past. Although the food was“good” it wasn’t exceptional. Service was fine, not awesome. Presentation was lacking: you get your food on a thick white plate sans garnish or flair. There’s a piano player near the bar which ads to the fun, I suppose, but «would I return there?» is always my review question and the answer is no: life’s to short go do «fine» and «adequate «, especially when the entrees are between 30 and 35 dollars.

Sort of an old fashion atmosphere with a piano player. Food was very good. I was particularly fond of the Express Meal which was a smaller portion but comes with a salad and dessert. I had the crab cake which was very good and a perfect portion.
My husband had a scallop special served with lobster rolls – Asian influenced. He said it was delicious… gave it a 4.5
We would definitely come back and would order the same meals.

Our fave place to eat dinner in cape may. Charming old victorian house, cozy, pianist, good food. The soups, salads and especially the prime rib are excellent. The service is usually good, except for one time which the restaurant immediately attended to & rectified (rude server replaced). I love the atmosphere in here! You can dress up considering the style of restaurant but hey, this is the beach! I’m even quite fond of the valet, he always takes time to be friendly and appreciates [the love of my life] my car. I have migraines frequently & I can still usually eat here as the light is dim, it doesn’t get very loud and the food is so good, nice & comforting. Very classy place. I’m really attached to this place.

Well shame the place has gone down hill. We are locals have always love the place. We had a bad experience last year and really never went back. This year on opening night we decided to give them another try. We ordered a few apps the Dim Sum which were amazing and clams casino. We asked for a roll for the sauce for the Dim Sum and we were told that there was an up charge for a roll. I mean two drink and two apps for $ 46 and they can’t afford a roll. They know we are locals. We support them year round. That will be our last time going back when there are so many other amazing places in town

Nestled just before the Washington street mall I have walked past this place thousands of times. Since I come to Cape May off season it is usually closed but on my last walk through I saw lights and thought, hmm let’s try this tonight. So I checked it out on Unilocal and it seemed worth it (and since I was staying at the Marquis De Lafayette this was less than a 2 block walk!)
This is a converted house and feels like it. The space is small-​ish and with the band setting up right in the bar area I can see how this is a problem in season to move around (like you might bump the bass player on the way to your chair). The bar only seats maybe 20 (I am a single guy so eating at a table by myself is. er depressing so I choose the bar usually). This really screams old school, it most reminded me of a 20’s themed bar. The bar had a prow type of carving (naked lady facing the ocean on your bow). the atmosphere was great even though I stuck out like a sore thumb, easily 20 years younger than most of the crowd (aside from the families eating at the tables). The décor is simple and wooden, not trying to appease any era or fad, just straight forward. Oddly enough I sat down next to a guy who looked just like our Governor but there was no mystery traffic jam getting here so I knew it wasn’t him :).
I don’t fit the usual look here, I wear a beat up jacket (because it is comfortable) and no jewelry (because I was robbed at gun point in NYC some 25 years ago). But the bartender paid me perfect attention. I started with a Stella (because they had only a few options on tap — plenty of wine options).
When I had walked by an appetizer had caught my eye and I ordered it. Fried oysters with a remoulade and sliced jalapenos. Hard to eat in civility. with a knife and fork I wound up looking like a fool. Your best bet is to grab the thing and eat it in half after spreading the rem over the whole (and adding the jalapeño slices). Without the Jalapeño this did lack bite and I asked for more which they gladly provided (fresh sliced with seeds, no BS, no pickled lazy garbage). The only problem was that the bottom of the dish was layered with course salt and when I was attempting to eat this with knife and fork I slipped into this rock zone… holy crunch bite pow batman… they could do without the salt flat under the dish, other than that it was awesome.
For my main course I was torn between stuffed flounder (crap imperial) and flounder francaise. I chose the flounder francaise as this is a classice and I wanted to see the execution at this highly touted location. At this point I ordered a top shelf gimlet and it was prepared perfectly (once again the bartender was excellent, he even prompted me that he was checking on my order when it really had not been too long).
So my food arrives. Looks great like your typical old school presentation. Huge protein portion, veggie side (green beans) and a ramekin of starch. The flounder crust darker than I would see on high end francaise and I was right (slightly pan burnt). The green beans were mighty toothy (I like my veggies with crunch but man this was near raw). The whipped potatoes were divine however (sure, whipping potatoes with cheddar should not be rocket science but these were flawless). The francaise sauce was way too thick and a bit too acidic (not melt in your mouth with a tinge of lemon like awesome francaise is). The fish was cooked adequately but again the execution on the pan frying was not great.
I imagine in season this might be better but hey they were open. I dug the old school atmosphere but man this place must be a pain during the summer if you do not like cramped spaces. I will try it again but I was not bowled over.

I liked this place so much that I went there two nights in a row. I left one place the first night and ended up here. I would have come back a third time, but I was on a date with «7-​Minute Abs» and was at his mercy.
The atmosphere is lovely. The dining room has very romantic touches, but you can sit and the bar and not feel left out. The locals and the bartenders are very friendly and accommodating. They have addictive cheese chips at the bar, which tasted good after the 2^nd glass of Pinot Noir.
The first night I had their Fried Oysters special and I was in heaven. They melted in my mouth.
The second night I had a larger meal, since I’d gone on a 46 mile bike ride in the wind that day. I started off with a salad with roasted pears and had the vegetable couscous. I was stuffed. There was also a jazz combo there that night, so there were lots of people to talk to.
Mark and Gordon were very helpful and accommodating. I plan to return there on my next trip to Cape May.

Have only been here for drinks and they make them the way I liked them, strong and cold.
Would be willing to add a star or two once we had dinner.