Merry Time Bar & Grill
D
Left: The $5 happy hour burger at Merry Time is seasoned and
prepared well.
An old-school dive with an awesome happy hour burger
Despite a Bloody Mary that comes with a
steak, the Merry Time Bar & Grill’s gem is
its $5 happy hour burger. It’s one of the better
deals — and the best burgers — I’ve found
in my short tenure as the Mouth. It’s also em-
blematic of the place.
The Astoria stalwart is a dive, and that
didn’t change when Terry and Todd Robinett
bought it late last year. The restaurant is dark at
almost any hour of the day. It’s cavernous and
carpeted. A mash of old beer adverts and by-
gone sports memorabilia line the walls. There
are loads of TVs, and they turn the sound up
when local teams play. Pinball machines rattle
and clink, video lottery slots twinkle, and pool
balls clack.
Despite its dank, aged veneer, the Merry
Time isn’t dingy (let’s not talk about the bath-
rooms though). Staff take care of the interior
surfaces; it’s necessary because as much as
the Merry Time is a watering hole, it’s a place
people come to eat — and the happy hour
burger has to be a big reason why.
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“cooked to medium temperature.” And in case
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you want it cooked? While allowing that I
wasn’t afraid of a little pink, I opted to let the
cook decide. What I got was ideal.
At $5 the happy hour burger comes a la
carte, stacked teetering, held in place with a
toothpick. The presentation accentuates the
innards — with a slice of tomato, onion and
shredded lettuce it isn’t a king’s ransom of ac-
coutrements. (For that, see the Merry Monster,
$12.) It is, however, well seasoned and pre-
pared. The handmade one-third-pound patty
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just pink in the middle.
With it, I added an order of calamari ($3)
also from the happy hour menu. (Available
from 4 to 7 p.m. every gosh darn day.) They
were real, not reconstituted, and though the
calamari could’ve been left in the fryer a mo-
ment longer to crisp the breading, I’d take ‘em
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I had a microbrew (also a dollar-off during
happy hour). All together — the burger, the
calamari and the beer — were just $10 before
tip. I left feeling almost as if I’d gotten away
with something.
My second trip to the Merry Time coincid-
ed with a Beavers football game and, despite
the Oregon State team’s sorry stature, a num-
ber of logo-clad fans turned out (then mostly
tuned out). As such, wings were in order, as
well as a Po Boy. As she did each visit, Jeanie,
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14 | October 1, 2015 | coastweekend.com
I began with the wings. The eight of them
($8), in classic hot sauce, lacked distinction.
Mostly supple with occasional snippets of
crispy skin, they tended to be small. The sauce
was elementary, likely a base of Franks Red
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the accompanying celery. And as the wings
come only in paltry orders of eight, I can’t
recommend them for a hungry group. They’ll
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The Po Boy ($9) was another story. On
Jeanie’s recommendations I had it with prawns
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fries. The fries, she told me, were house cut.
(The tots come frozen in bags.) In both cases
she was dead on. The fries, with skin, reminded
of actual potatoes, and the breaded, deep-fried
shrimp were a delight. Indeed, I embraced
everything about the Po Boy — the slaw and
creamy remoulade, lightly crisp shrimp, and
the neatly stacked slices of bright tomato and
sharp pickle. The tastes came together so well
— until they fell apart. The toasted, buttered
hoagie was woefully thin, and the innards kept
escaping. But when I took the time to arrange
the perfect bite, my goodness.
I returned once more, needing to experi-
A Po Boy sandwich, featuring delightful deep-fried shrimp, is a
good meal paired with house-cut fries. Watch out for the thin
hoagie roll, though.
led jalapeño, green olive and lemon.
In the meantime I received the salad, along
with porter vinaigrette dressing. The veggies
ence that Bloody Mary that came with a steak. — mostly mushrooms, onions and a few red
$JDLQ-HDQLHZRQGHUHG+RZZRXOG,OLNHLW peppers — were fresh off the grill, resting on
cooked? “Chef’s choice,” I said. “Let them do a bed of spinach and sprinkled with gorgon-
their thing.” To the order I added a salad, the ]ROD)RUWKH¿UVWIHZELWHV,ZDVLQORYH7KH
Grilled Veggie ($9), which was highlighted GUHVVLQJ ZDV LWV RZQ WKLQJ QXWW\ RQO\ KLQW
ing a vinaigrette in the aftertaste. With the
both by Jeanie and the menu.
First came the drink, which was as adver- mushrooms and caramelized onions it was
WLVHG KRUVHUDGLVK IRUZDUG DQ HDUO\ EXW QRW quite hearty, savory and gave the impression
overwhelming spice. I appreciated the pint of heavy protein. As I went, though, the luster
glass (by itself the drink is just $5), but was dulled. The grilled veggies — and there were
disappointed the steak did not come atop as loads of them — were covered in oil, and
a garish garnish (but one can dream, no?). In- that oil eventually coated the spinach, giving
VWHDGWKHUHZDVWKHXVXDODJUHHQEHDQSLFN the dish an unappealing sogginess and shine.
Though the initial dive perked me up, it didn’t
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Finally the steak came. It was bloody, with
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I wouldn’t need any dressing, save for maybe
a bit of salt. Upon further inspection, though,
the top sirloin proved a little bland, and need-
ing of a lift. For the most part, the cut was
lean, and in tandem with the cocktail it might
make a rather compelling breakfast of cham-
pions on game day — albeit for a particular
kind of champion.
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Merry Time isn’t about cheeky innovation. It
ain’t cute. It’s gruff, blustery and old school.
The focus is value — both of cost and prepa-
ration. And that being the case, I can’t imag-
ine veering too far from that excellent happy
hour burger. (Though that shrimp Po Boy isn’t
Story and photos by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA • mouth@coastweekend.com
shrinking either...)
mouth
OF THE COLUMBIA
COAST WEEKEND’S LOCAL RESTAURANT REVIEW
Merry Time Bar & Grill
Rating:
995 Marine Drive, Astoria
503-468-0852
merrytimebar.com
HOURS: 8 a.m. to midnight Monday to Thursday; 8
a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.
to midnight Sunday. Happy hour is 4 to 7 p.m. every day.
PRICE: $ – Most entrées around $10, but happy hour
deals abound.
SERVICE: Fun, friendly and prompt
VEGETARIAN / VEGAN OPTIONS: A few salads and sides
DRINKS: Full bar, soft drinks, coff ee
KEY TO RATINGS
poor
below average
good & worth returning
excellent
outstanding, the best in the
Columbia-Pacific region
