MER RESTAURANT in Epping Forest

Great takeaway if you like exotic meals curry goat jolloff rice n jerk

Our church had a youth program a few weeks ago and Phillipa and Nathaniel catered for the team. They served us with professionalism and packaged our food with care. I loved the food and it seems so did everyone else. I would highly recommend Mer Restaurant to everyone. For the quality of the food, it’s really affordable.

Had the pleasure of trying this catering business at a wedding and loved everything about it. From the starters to the mains. It was great

Disappointing and highly unprofessional catering service

I attended a 30th birthday party catered by merfoods and I must say the food was 10/10. There was a wide range of delicious options available. I was extremely happy to cuisine from different countries. The service was great. The food was prepared and served on time. Her staff were very polite and professional. I would definitely recommend mer foods.

do you know how heartbroken is it to see your sister crying at her wedding because the caterer does not answer to anyone and has 5 hours of late? That’s what Phillipa caused, and this behaviour of her was very unprofessional and disrespectful as a human being. MER RESTAURANT disappointed my sister and her husband in the worst manner possible. The owner & caterer, Philippa, literally blackmailed them, the very day of their wedding! This is just cruel, to ruin someone’s special day for nothing. Writing a bad review isn’t enjoyable to me. I’m actually sad to do it but plenty of money and happiness were wasted because of the trust we put in MER RESTAURANT. I do not recommend.

I honestly don't know why it has taken me over a year to do this review. Merfoods catered for my 30th birthday party and even though I was stressed as I wanted everything to be perfect, they were very understanding. They arrived there in good time for the event and having prepped previously, it made the process a lot quicker. My guests absolutely loved the foods and for a ghanaian to cook moi moi (a nigerian dish) and my aunty loved it to bits. I wish I could give a million stars. The food was so good that my mum used Merfoods to get some foods when she didn't feel like cooking. On the day of my birthday, the service was so smooth and I even got a little surprise. Thank you so much to Philippa, Nathaniel and the entire Merfoods team. You truly made my 30th landmark birthday one that I will never forget in such a hurry. May God bless you in abundance and I pray that God will continue to increase your business. This is truly a gem that you have created.

As the Bride, I have to say that the whole experience with Mer Foods for our wedding was stressful and unenjoyable. The initial conversations were amazing and with the google reviews we had seen at the time, my husband and I were very confident that this vendor would deliver the quality of service we wanted on our big day. Unfortunately, once the first deposit was made, everything went from 100 to zero. Philippa kept adjusting the terms of our initial verbal agreement, had to be chased by our planners for months before finally signing an agreement, and afterwards still didn’t respect the contract terms including payment timelines and arrival time on the day. On our wedding day not only did she and her team not arrive on time (they arrived almost 5 hours later than agreed), she also refused to take calls from my husband and I, walked into the venue less than 30mins before the ceremony was scheduled to start and created a big scene. In addition, the food was not served to all tables and her servers were unprofessional. It was very embarrassing for ourselves and our guests, and I spent a huge chunk of my wedding morning crying because of the uncertainty around the catering and zero communication. We trusted her and she really disappointed us. It clearly appeared that she didn’t want any sort of accountability and wanted to run all things catering related at her own pace and convenience. Coming from Canada we did not have the chance to meet her and our planners were our primary contact in the UK and showed us all proof of their communication with her. It was definitely a constant chase everytime we needed to get any information from her. It is very unfortunate that things panned out this way. Mer Foods might have been great for other clients in the past but we can only speak about our experience and interactions with her, and will definitely NOT be recommending their services. Hopefully this is a learning experience for the vendor and they do better in the future.

I went to a youth event where MER restaurant were catering and had the pleasure of trying their amazing food. The jollof rice was so flavourful and the chicken was grilled to perfection. The food was served in takeaway containers paired with a soft drink at a very affordable price for the amazing quality. I enjoyed it and can honestly say it was one of the best jollof recipes I’ve ever had. Could be nothing less than 5 stars from me, would definitely recommend.

Mer foods catered for my daughter's 30th birthday. Not only was the food amazing, and tasty Phillipa and her team were very polite and professional. I.would use her and recommend her anytime, any day.

Mer foods catered for my sister's 30th birthday party and it was outstanding. The buffet was kept topped up until all guests had eaten. Tasty, hearty and filling and compliments all round. The set up was also excellent and added to the ambience. For a family run business, they are certainly high caliber. Thanks mer foods

Poor customer service experience with this caterer. She needs to do better managing her clients. She turned up late and was rude

Hi, I am the planner. We booked merfoods because Philippa and her husband they seem to be very professional and they seem to be able to be the right fit for what we were looking for however, over the course of planning there was multiple miscommunications frequent chasing Philippa for contracts for agreed menu items which cost the bride and groom to loose faith in her Phillipa personally told me when I went for the food tasting that she would arrive at the venue around 8 AM and she confirmed this with the other coordinator via the vendors registration form that we sent out . Also what was presented at the food tasting was not what was presented on the wedding day On the wedding day, she did not arrive at the time that she said and she did not communicate that she had changed her mind and decided to arrive later. once I made contact with her, she confirmed that she would be arriving at 1 PM and I questioned if it was the right thing to do because of traffic and just familiarising herself with the venue. Because if she had arrived earlier we would have had contingencies in place for all the things that went wrong The bride called Philippa and she hung up on the bride which made her cry I called Phillippa and she YELLED at me but she assured me that she will be at the venue on time It gets to 1pm and we did not hear from Phillipa until she arrived at 1:37pm and she yelled at me for constantly calling her to find out where she was because she had not communicated she would be running late. She yelled at me in front of the venue, of my staff, the guests and the bridal party and even threatened to assault me if I had any questions for her She served the canapés late, we had communicated that the canapés would be going out at 3:00pm and she did not serve until 3:40pm and the presentation was abysmal Her staff did not wear gloves and at a point I witnessed one of her chefs sneeze on his hands and go back to preparing food She was made aware that her staff would have to take orders and they did not bring paper or pen to take orders, her staff took orders on their phones and took them wrong to the point myself and my manager had to intervene to gain some control. Her staff also crowded the bar and were taking shots and recording themselves on social media Upon reflection, it is clear that merfoods catering excels in buffet style and as a restaurant however that does not excuse the level of unprofessionalism and lack of health and safety procedures Please see screenshots of all communication and contradictions in her responses to other reviews

very big lack of professionalism

Run from this caterer. Was booked by a friend for her wedding and the owner tried to blackmail her to ruin the wedding (she ultimately did) if she didn't pay the remainder of the bill before the actual service, mind you 90% was already paid in advance. So unprofessional.

Ruined a wedding by arriving late and not properly serving the guests The couple is waiting for reparations

bad service for a wedding !!!! 😠😠😠

Mers catered my friends wedding. Absolutely horrible. Punctuality-0, service-nil, communication-0,rude and aggressive behaviour, Missing menu items….Almost ruined the day. Mers catering services… Trash !! You guys really need to do better.

Never use this caterer for your event! They catered my friend's wedding and almost ruined it. They arrived super late, didn't serve what was ordered and their staff were extremely rude to guests. Food was only half decent. They need to seriously improve their service

Amazing! Amazing! The food was delicious and awesome service. Catered for nearly 300 guests for a 70th birthday private hire and they were excellent! From prep to presentation was spot on, very organised and timely. Our guests were well fed and complemented every meal. Thank you for making the celebration special. Highly recommended 👌🏿

Mer Foods catered for my wedding and I just want to start by saying a massive thank you to Phillipa! From the first consultation we were provided with great professionalism, advice and effort that stood out for us which is why we decided to use Mer Foods as our caterer. The many options that was provided for us, the canapes, the above and beyond service was amazing. The food tasted amazing ! The variety of food catered to our different cultures; Congo, Ghana and Trindad & Tobago. The guests loved the food also and discussed how much food there was which also made our day. Definitely would recommend and will use them again in the future for further events.

Mer Food is an absolute gem! We stumbled upon it through our connection with the owner and oh, what a delightful discovery it has been! The Jollof meal we ordered was an explosion of flavors, leaving us utterly speechless. The packaging was impeccable, reflecting the care and attention to detail put into every aspect of their service. Not to mention, the affordability of their offerings is truly commendable. But what truly sets Mer Food apart is the warmth and sincerity with which it is served. Each time we return, we're greeted with the biggest smiles, making us feel like part of the family. Mer Food has become our go-to spot, and without a doubt, we'll keep coming back for more. MER Food Papa nono 💪

Never knew about this restaurant till recently on Deliveroo. The food comes in a very good portion. Very good prices for the food. Will be returning any time I am craving some good hot food. Keep it up guys.

I ordered the Jollof with chicken and plantain and was pleased with the flavour and portion of the food. Spoke with the owner, great customer service. Will definitely order my lunch from here now.

Nice food bigger portions ov meat would be abit better

Can’t fault the food. Will definitely order again

Tasty, nourishing and generous portion of food. Highly recommended. Compliments to the chef!

Ordered the jollof rice , tsofi and plantain and I must say…. The jollof rice was divine , the tsofi was nicely flavoured and plantain was crisp. I will definitely be ordering again. Great food! Must try!

I found this hidden gem on Uber eats and I have ordered several times now. The food is absolutely delicious. I always order here when I am craving African food now☺️ an the staff are lovely. They ring to see if I have any allergies and are very considerate. Highly recommend. Thanks guys🖤

So happy with my food delivery today. First time trying this place and we had ordered a curry goat, and jerk chicken both as meals and we were satisfied with portion and flavour. Thank you! Il be ordering again

Thank you for a beautiful meal. I was really looking forward to Caribbean food and Iv tried you for the first time! Il be ordering again

Ghanaian food at its finest. We hired Mer Foods for our wedding, which was one of the best decisions we made for our big day. All our guests loved the buffet selection, and a few even went back up for seconds :). We also had a pre-wedding day food tasting, which was absolutely superb. I'm glad to say that the food was just as delicious on the day. Overall, we couldn't be more happy with the service provided.

They should stick to just African food. Its definitely not too good with the Caribbean cuisine.

Amazing food and amazing people. Always a good meal from here, highly recommend!

We had Mer cater a 50th birthday party at our home. Everyone loved the food and the Mer team were excellent in setting up. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them for your party or event. PS, the goat curry is very good 😊

I didn’t enjoy the taste of the curry goat and there was only 3-4 pieces of plantain.

Food came on time, amazing as always, very tasty filling and the worker so polite! 5/5! Will 100% order again, never disappoints!!

Excellent food and very helpful staff. Thank you.

Absolutely amazing 10/10, Please do me a favour people, if you want to order some soulful food worth the money order from these guys, this is my new comfort food.

I have to say ive been eating this kind of food for most of my life and this meal has blown my socks off, i will definitely be ordering from here again... if you havent tried this place please forget everything else and order from here.. 10/10

This is the first time me and my husband have ordered from you and I have to say your food is amazing 10/10 I definitely will be ordering again from you many thanks

The food was lovely, came on time Staff very polite Very pleased :) will order again

Omg what a find!!! Amazing food. Great customer service. Highly recommended A**** in every way.

We’ve seen many reviews online about Mer and decided to order from there. Food was absolutely stunning! Service great too, food was on time and hot and they also gave us a complimentary canned drink. I am just not over how delicious my chicken stew was! It literally fell apart when cutting. We will 1000% be ordering from here again! Thank you Mer.

absolutely brilliant, they take their service to the next level. well done.

Amazing food Amazing service Definitely recommend!

Amazing experience, great food and great service. The Tsofi was on point and I recommend you to try the red pepper sauce

Recently discovered this restaurant. And it's nice to have a bit of diversity of food in the Waltham Abbey area. Customer service is delightful very friendly and I felt well looked after! The food was also lovely and tasty I tried the Joliof rice and Jerk chicken which was a nice combination of African/Carribbean food which went together very nicely. And the food was very well presented and the food portion was great... It would be nice if maybe they would add extra to the Joliof rice such as shrimps etc.. but overall very happy and you now have a new customer!

Hired Mers to cater for my brother’s funeral, they were very lovely people. However they were over an hour late and didn’t call, I had to contact them and ask where they were, I understand the weather conditions weren’t the best but as professionals they should have planned ahead as it snowed a few days beforehand. Also they forgot to put out a vegetarian dish which we paid for so a few off the guests didn’t have a main dish to eat. I had to ask for a refund for the missing item which i find very unfair but was only offered a tiny amount of what we paid for. Disappointing as we paid a lot off money. The food was decent, portion sizes were good.

Excellent food and great customer service, good portion sized meals too!

Food is superb!!! Curry goat, tender!!! Wings, fire!!! Great value for money, big portions. Friendly customer service. Not just for a Friday/ Saturday night.

Regular customer on Deliveroo! Love the food. Happy I discovered them Judith xx

Amazing Ghanaian food! We ordered the jollof which came in a lovely sized portion for £10 with rice and yummy small potatoes! Also we had a small beef side that was delicious and had a real kick! Great if you love spicy food :) We collected a takeaway and they were very friendly and kind upon collection - thank you we will be back :)

Amazing food and service, they even called about spice levels

My friend first introduced me to this restaurant by ordering me some food and I love it! My husband and I have since bought food from there. The staff are so friendly and welcoming not to mention the food is delicious and comes in great portions.

The staff was super friendly and the food was great. Will be back !

Really friendly staff and delicious food. Will definitely be back!

Once again new african joint in the area, exciting times🙌🏾 Imagine the food did not even make to me. After an hours + wait, i received a phone call that what I ordered was not available. Uber delivery driver had been outside waiting for 15 mins. Does not take an hour to find out if you have food available. The options offered suggested they microwave. Not today, i tried to support but got knocked back. Never again!!! A waste of time!

Delicious food and good vegetarian options too.

Amazing food and a very friendly staff. If you are looking for authentic and fresh African food in the area, this is the place to go. It was my first time and I can't wait to eat their food again.