Merlin Alderley Edge in Cheshire East

Had a wonderful night her Friday through til Saturday. Celebrating husbands birthday. The staff were fabulous, friendly and super helpful. They made us feel welcome and helped celebrate hubby's birthday lovely little touches to our stay. The food was delicious! The room was gorgeous. The breakfast was also lovely, fresh and beautifully cooked. Clean and reasonably priced. Thank you The Merlin for everything! Treasured memories of a lovely birthday night away.

It was a lovely atomosphere. Staff were very friendly and the food was delicious. Lots of choice.

Bottomless bubbles from my friends birthday. Lovely place, great value for money, tasty food. Will definitely go again!

Visited for Sunday lunch . We were not disappointed. Party of 3 , all thoroughly enjoyed our starters 👍 unfortunately they’d run out of seabass so had to have fish and chips instead . Very generous portion and plates were clean on finishing . The three roast Sunday lunch was delicious too . Creme brûlée for dessert was also good . Attentive service from the Merlin colleagues . Would definitely recommend.

We went to a 70th birthday meal there on Saturday, 17th August 2024. It was held in the conservatory at the front, it was a beautiful setting for what turned out to be a lovely afternoon. The food that was served was piping hot and very tasty. Well worth the price. Beautiful place and the staff were friendly, helpful and couldn't do enough for us.

Delicious lunch served by James Gary and Annie, so much on the menu to chose from so I definitely will be back!

Welcoming ambience, food is specially creative, pricing reasonable for quality overall one of the best - never been let down after many visits.

Before the pandemic, Merlin was always a go to place. Either to go for a meal with friends or just for a few drinks - the atmosphere was amazing, with reasonable prices and great service. I can’t say the same from my last visit, Sunday 28th 2024 at around 3pm. The food and the service were appalling, I was very disappointed. My wife had Olives and Linguini with seafood and chorizo – She said that her pasta was okay but not special, lack of flavour. 10 washed Olives in water for £4 (that’s crazy), at least put a bit of olive oil and garlic to flavour up, show some care. I had the SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS for starter (£7.95) and a PLANT-BASED BURGER (£16.25) for my main meal. The food wasn’t fresh at all. The mushrooms were like an appetizer and microwaved, the croutons were old and with a funny taste. The burger was served with plain salad in a cup (never saw being served that way before), but that’s okay I suppose, the problem was that the burger had a bitter taste, I only had 2 small bites, something was off. It taken over 30 minutes for someone to come over, but it wasn’t to check how was everything, it was to ask if we had finished. I had to mentioned to the server that I didn’t enjoy the burger, that the burger was unpleasant, a bit off and with a bitter flavour. She asked if I wanted something else. We mentioned that we been waiting for over 30 minutes, and no one had come over to check on us (She had passed over us 3 times and saw me look at her, she choose to ignore us – she could see that I wasn’t eating the burger). She than went to speak with the manager and returned saying that the burger would be taken from the bill. The manager never came over to check what was the issue or if there was something it could be done. Obviously, there’s something not quite right in the Merlin. My concern with this latest experience, isn’t the lack of service and care from the server and manager but that the food it seemed to be off. It’s a shame, I used to love this place. Will not be going back and would advice anyone going there to be careful with the food. I end-up eating at home.(picture in garden)

Very disappointed! First and last time. Will not be visiting this place again. Been recommended to visit the Merlin, but the service and food below average. A bit pricey for what it is, do not recommend.

Wonderful staff , happy and welcoming, couldn’t do enough for us ! A real credit to the resturant. Thank you Vicki and Adam

I’ve been to a surprising number of wakes here and it’s always nice. Staff are lovely and the menu has lots of great mocktails. I also still regularly think about a delicious crumble I ate here a few years ago.

Absolutely lovely place. Food was fantastic especially my seabass dish and sauce. Vicki and Gary really looked after us...thanks guy. Defo returning soon

At a wedding there but food was really good

Food wasn’t great, service was rubbish. Staff rather slow and seem a bit lost in running a restaurant.

Had a lovely meal here tonight, we were served by Debs who was absolutely lovely, very attentive to our requests and the food was great also. Thankyou !

First visit as it was recommended. Honestly, it was an awful meal. It tated like it had been sat in the kitchen for a very long time, it was warm, over cooked and dry.Even had plastic in icecream no apology discount or anything. Was happy to pay and get out. Certainly won't be returning

The food and service were excellent. Polite and friendly staff and service speed was just right. The roast dinners were a very reasonable price for the size and quality. We could only manage a main roast but if the quality of that is anything to go by, the starters and mains would be well worth it. The price of the roast was only within a few pounds of nearly every other eatery we could find. I would highly recommend a Sunday roast here and will be visiting again

I went here for lunch today and liked it very much. If you're in the mood for a casual spot with loud music, this might not be the place for you, it’s a classic, posh pub for families. While the prices are a bit higher than your average pub, the quality of the food justifies the cost. I enjoyed the pepper squid with Gochujang aioli and the sea bass fillets, both of which were delicious. My husband ordered crab for a starter (picture missing) and it was really lovely too. The service was also excellent. Definitely would like to come back here in the near future.

Excellent service and food! Gary and his team have accommodated every single request, tolerated our delayed arrival, and made sure that every guest was feeling comfortable despite the language barrier. We cannot recommend this restaurant enough! The ambience of the cube is fantastic, despite the exceptional heat of the day. Thank you so much for another wonderful experience at the Merlin

My Mum and I love dining at The Merlin, such a lovely ambience and the staff are always so warm and friendly. The food is divine and very reasonably priced. We will be back visiting again very soon.

Fab meal with friends and very dog friendly

Food and service was very impressive would highly recommend. We had the 2 for 100 pound menu. Was lovely had the rib eye wow awesome. If any negatives the place could do with a bit of a tlc. But don't let that put you off.

Three of us came for lunch today. We were served by Vicki and Adam who were great. They made us feel really welcome. We all enjoyed the food and will certainly come again. Thank you 😀

Great experience food was amazing 👏🏾 got served by Vicki and Annie and both was polite and lovely

Service was exceptionally welcoming and attentive. Food was perfect as usual. Comfortable ambience. Pleasant decor. I would like you to put the crumble back in the menu and get some bottled Belgian beers available.

Came in for dinner on a Monday evening and had a lovely meal followed by an exciting quiz! Service was brilliant, Jack, Lydia, Adam and Brad were friendly and helpful and the food was spectacular. Will be back next week for sure :)

Went with a group enjoyed it, staff friendly, service good. Sea bass was nice. Although I didn't like the poached pear dessert.

The staff were extremely nice and accommodating, the service was fantastic, the food was amazing and the atmosphere was so nice, me and my partner will definitely be coming back again, this was our first visit to the Merlin and we will most definitely be back again very soon and be making regular visits here

Gorgeous food, will definitely be visiting again. Thank you to Debs, Annie and Scott for great service which was excellent from when we arrived to when we left. 100% recommended

I was ill for 3 days with food poisoning after having the scallops and calamari

This was a lovely experience. The Sunday lunch was first rate and the service was lovely. Debs served our table and she was fantastic! Our daughter is disabled and they did everything they could to make her comfortable.

The place is in need of a revamp as it is very shabby - chunks out of wall and tables were not clean. My chair had stains on it which was very off putting Food was average;Sunday roast was nothing special at all and afterwards I was I’ll with an upset stomach

Thank you to Brad for sorting out flowers and a card + bottle of moet and glasses with heart shape strawberries in them! great experience 100% recommend. Thanks Brad and the rest of the team!!

Best Sunday roast in the area!! Food is top notch and service is great. Would return!

Lovely Sunday Lunch ,Great Service,perfect Table

Called in for a light lunch. It's a really nice place. Staff were friendly and attentive. The carrot and coriander soup is really good. It was served really hot and has a great taste and nice consistency. It is definitely worth a visit. Will try to call in next time we are passing.

Amazing service from Vicki, very friendly

Great nights sleep! Rooms are clean and homely. The shower is good with decent pressure. In the morning, I accidentally ordered the wrong breakfast because I was tired. The waitress just put it right straight away and made me feel better about my tiredness! Would recommend.

The dog friendly shelves in the entrance says much, friendly staff and beautiful building and interior

There needs to be a big review of the menu. CARBS CARBS oh and more CARBS. It’s all chips with virtually everything. The vegetables are none existent and if you do ask for them you get 4 little green beans and 4 tiny pieces of broccoli. No fruit on the menu No fruit at breakfast not even a banana or apple ! No yoghurt. Menu is Great if all you want to eat is carbs! Don’t get me started on the prices they are extortionate for the amount of food you get.

Great Sunday lunch. Offers gluten free options.

Nice place. Decor very tired, in need of decorating!

Lovely welcome, professional attentive staff, great food and service.

Pleasant environment and attentive staff. We all ate dinner, everyone eating the seabass, which was very nice.

Fabulous visit. On my way to holiday and found this great place. The staff are excellent and the chef really does know his stuff. Excellent steak and dad enjoyed his burger. Also as I rate a place on this too, the toilets are superb

Lovely food and friendly helpful staff

We went to the Merlin restaurant to celebrate my birthday. The service was and ambience was good, but we were disappointed with our mains. Both of us had Fish, one seabass and fish & chips. Both were very dry with the fish being over cooked, but given the mussy peas seemed over-cooked it must have meant the food had been sitting under a heating lamp for too long. Perhaps we had spent to much time eating our starters! The restaurant was pretty empty so I have no idea why the rush to cook the mains.

That has got to have been my best pub lunch experience I’ve had in years, friendly staff, quick delivery from order to table and the food was absolutely gorgeous. Tip from me, try the roast trio, it’s fantastic and the Yorkshire pud is massive! Thanks guys :) Craig & Emma

Lovely ambience Great service Tasty food #RecommededbySollyDj This place has a lovely vibe. Perfect for occasions. Food was very tasty. The bowl of greens had many flavours that combined to give a great taste. The chef special lamb and the roast beef were excellent quality and a good experience. Loved the sticky toffee pudding at the end. The service was really good. Lots of parking and a great glass cube up front for parties. (Disclaimer: This review is by an Indian who can eat and appreciate most kinds of food)

We had a large booking of 18 on Sunday in the Camelot suite and everything was perfect. The food was all hot, on time, and all the meals were correct which sounds like basic things but for a big group it can be hard. Everyone enjoyed the roast dinners. It was just an easy, seamless afternoon which made it relaxing for us as it meant we could catch up with family and friends without any stress. Thank you so much!

Once again food and service excellent and waiter Brad very attentive and polite

First time at the Merlin. Lovely birthday breakfast! Recommend the eggs benedict with golden yolks from heritage free range eggs.

A brilliant and lovely place to have a private 60th birthday. The private room was perfect and big enough for our group. The staff were lovely and accommodating and the food was superb, everyone enjoyed their roasts and the pork belly I had was fantastic. Highly recommend.

We held an event in their cube. The communication from the beginning was poor. The amount of food we received for the amount we paid was quite frankly disgusting. The quantities didn’t seem to match up with what we were told. Staff were rude to myself and a few of the party did this to me also. No one came to see how we were. We had to ask for glasses and food to be cleaned away. Then at the end we were summoned to pay but never asked how we had found the time. I would not and will not recommend this to anyone. Which is an absolute shame as the cube is a lovely space! Shame about the service.

Upon arrival the staff were brilliant. We received a warm welcome from Brad who was working in the restaurant and James who was on the bar. Their service continued to be first class throughout our visit. In fact, Brad had helped from the very beginning to book everything in and make sure all requests were met. The food was served efficiently and everyone commented on how delicious it was. A brilliant 2 course lunch menu with lots of variety for all different dietary requirements. Fabulous setting, sublime food and amazing staff. Thank you!

My family and I recently celebrated my daughter's birthday at The Merlin and were thoroughly impressed by the exceptional service. From the warm welcome to the meticulous attention to detail, every aspect of our visit was remarkable. The staff's dedication made our celebration not just enjoyable but truly unforgettable. Their professionalism and kindness reflect outstanding management, making The Merlin a true gem in hospitality. We're already planning our next visit and will be recommending this place to all our friends and family. A heartfelt thank you to the entire team for making our occasion so special.

The staff were fantastic. Vicky and Brad looked after us. Brad was experienced and confident. Very professional. The food was very disappointing for me. Some of our party did enjoy their food. For example the sea bass was delicious however my chips were overcooked and cheap and the fish was grey in colour. The batter was good but overall, really disappointed. My boyfriend chose the seafood linguine which was swimming in oil. He paid extra for just two scallops. We had a wonderful time though and desserts were quite tasty. Our visit would have been a bit of a disaster if it had not been for the attention of the staff. Top notch!

Nurse bowls, with added, protein were excellent, as well as the prime cheeseburger. Annie, our server was fantastic. Friendly, prompt and personable.

The room was clean but they didn’t provide a few of the basics such as shampoo/conditioner and service was mediocre. There was no way to contact reception in the room and didn’t even have a water bottle in the room. I would only recommend staying again as it was clean and nicely decorated

Never had a bad meal here and we go frequently. Staff are amazing too.

Not at all bad but prices for soft drinks are extortionate

Very slow service, 3 hours to get 3 courses. Poor service, no explanation for delay, no one looked after the group in that time, no one asked for drinks order after first round. Kids got v bored. Asked twice for bill and no one brought it. Items were unavailable from the dessert menu. Main courses were disappointing, overcooked fish, tepid steak, mushy peas had crust on. For almost £40 pp, not worth it at all.

Brad and Annie served me for my birthday in August they made the whole thing special from start to finish. Service was fantastic and food was yummy with a half price voucher. Definetly recommend.

Quality of food and service were excellent. No improvement required.

Works party. They couldn't have looked after us better. Brilliant

Was abit disappointed in the food. Veg were soaked in far too much soya sauce which ruined my meal

Absolutely amazing meal at the Merlin. The food and service are always amazing here! Will defo be back soon. Perfect celebration in the festive season

Amazing time in the glass room for a party at night.

The quality of the food is exceptional thanks to great ingredients and fantastic cooking. Very friendly service too.

A group of 44 and we booked the Asahi Cube for the evening. With help from Gary, the planning and execution of the evening was second to none. So helpful and the staff were very friendly. Have had great comments back on the evening saying how amazing it was and the food was fabulous. not one complaint at all ! Thank you :)

Food was amazing as always. We were served by Debs who has served us a few times & she always goes above and beyond.

Had a great evening we had a party of 14. Served mainly by one great waitress Annie Very professional and nothing seemed too much trouble I judge an evening on if it goes quite and it did, breakfast the next morning also went very well the young lady was running about with tea and coffee looked after very well again

Nice staff below par reception food. Pizza topping scraped on then off again 😔 and yo dessert 😱

For a disabled person I found the experience very disappointing as the disabled toilet had no light. Despite the staff saying this would be sorted after two hours the toilet was still pitch black and I had to use the light on my phone to use the toilet.

I organise a meetupof ex colleagues from 25 years ago annually and we usually meet at the Merlin! Food was excellent and we were thrilled to be put in the private room! Vicki deserves a special mention as she looked after us superbly! Other staff were excellent too but Vicki definitely deserved a sepcial mention! We will be back next year hopefully!

Great food, very tasty and affordable

Great place for just a walk. We didn't want food.

We came here for our anniversary. They'd written us a card and put a banner on the table. Food was divine and service great. Would happily return! Thank you

Surprisingly good food. The sauce with the mushroom starter had great flavour and well balanced with wafer toast. The plum jam was perfect with the pate . . . the scallops were superbly cooked, the tempura prawns were perfect and the crumble fragrant. What’s more we could park and had prompt smiling service! Ace!

The roast was very enjoyable and the staff friendly and efficient.. The decor was tired and tatty, curtains not hanging properly, paint worn off the doors leading to the toilets. Restaurant walls and doors in need of redecorating. We parked at the rear of the hotel and the rear of the hotel looks very drab. We enjoyed our meal but will not be returning until some refurbishment is undertaken

Stayed overnight and for an overnight stay, the room was very clean and consisted of everything you would need.Price reasonable and quality of food delicious.

A random midweek treat was a surprise when a £25 main dish leaves me so hungry I break a long standing record of never ordering a sweet, having to order one simply to satisfy the hungry feeling. Overall, spending £80 + , surly more than a scoop of mash potato could be affordable. Excellent surroundings, top notch staff

It was a group booking for 20 of us - a reunion of friends. From the word go Gary and the team were fantastic. We provided our food order selection in advance with names attached. On the day the staff were so welcoming, helpful and polite. The service was slick and the food hot and delicious. Every one of us had a fantastic meal. Thank you .

It was my parents wedding anniversary lunch, the meal was good. However the Roadt half chicken was a little dry and the roasts could do with a little more veg. Also the meringue on the pavlova was very hard solid for my elderly parents to chew. Other than that the service was warm and friendly and we would definitely come back again.

I've used the Wine Cellar Room to host my workshop and Gary and his team were the most kind and helpful to me and my guests.

Fantastic food, lovely staff. Debs was very attentive and helpful, especially about an allergy on the table. Will come again :).

First time eating here and struggled to decide what to have as everything on the menu looked amazing but we decided on sea bass and risotto. We both really enjoyed our meals. Can’t wait to return and try the other things.

Good food. Nice place to relax.

Went for breakfast which was nice. However parents stated the rooms look nothing like the pictures on the website and no fans provided given it was one of the hottest weekends.

Overnight stay for very early flight. Room and staff excellent, had dinner which again could not be faulted. As dinner was fairly early dining room was quiet.

Absolutely fantastic, an amazing day my daughter Michelle's Wedding Reception, cube was beautiful, food amazing. Guy playing his guitar lots of dancing and laughter. The Staff were so attentive, could not of asked for anymore, the whole day was perfect, my daughter looked stunning and told me it was the most special day. Thank you so much for everything.

Food was good quality, I am usually disappointed by restaurant roasts but this was very well made and presented. I would say the gravy was on the salty side though.

Excellent Sunday Roast. One of the best I've had. Nice little place, just on the appoach to Alderley. Will be returning.

Very good posh athmosphere, descent people, fantastic food

Fabulous steak, beautifully cooked. Very surprised it wasn’t more busy given the high standard of food, being a little busier would have enhanced the atmosphere. Would certainly encourage more locals to support this place, sadly we’re not local, otherwise we would be visiting again, and again

Lovely place but food and service really let it down on our visit. Fish and chips were greasy and for some reason they batter and fry the fish with the skin on which just tastes odd. Manager made an odd comments twice when we asked pay separately as we were in a large group. Muttering someone always forgets to pay. Quite rude actually. Value for money was poor which was disappointing when our group was very large.

After a lovely morning out we decided to visit the Merlin for lunch. We haven’t been here for many years and it was nice to return. Our server was Brad and he was great. The food was hot, tasty and very filling. We felt we got a great amount for the price. I had a half roast chicken and my husband a beef pie. Both were delicious. There was plenty of seating both inside and out, we chose inside as respite from the heat. Plenty of menu options, we were spoilt for choice really. Nice country pub feel inside. We’ll try not to leave it another 8 years before our next return!

It's a tired old place to stay.

Wonderful food, extremely friendly and helpful staff, who couldn't do enough for us. Thank you for a lovely family celebration meal, we'll definitely be back!

This was our first visit and will definitely be returning. Debs was great she talked us through the menu and made sure no pomegranate was in my food (I'm allergic), she also pre ordered our desserts to make sure they still had some left. The food tasted really fresh and delicious. Would highly recommend