Mercer Kitchen
Category: Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: Manhattan/SoHo99 Prince St
(between Greene St & Mercer St)
New York, NY 10012 (212) 966-5454
- Nearest Transit:
Prince St (R, W)
Downtown Bleecker St-Lafayette St (6, B, D, F, V)
Spring St-6th Ave (C, E)
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
79 Reviews for Mercer Kitchen
Went here for my 26th birthday with about 7 of my girlfriends. It wasn't hard to make a reservation. The food was delcious. They created a fixed menu for us, but the menus weren't ready by the time me and my guest sat down to dinner. They also sat us right on top of the very hot kitchen. We did have a nice time, and above all the food was great and well worth the price in my opinion. I don't recommend going here with a crowd of people. It's probably better for a date or small crowd.
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Wow another place where the most recent yelp reviews are craptastic. I had a very good experience here. But maybe it was because I was here for lunch.
We did a restaurant week lunch here and everything we ate we all loved.
Started with the steamed shrimp salad with avocado and a champagne vinaigrette dressing....this was quite tasty...all 3 of us cleaned our plates.
I had the skate for my main and again this was excellent...it came with sticky rice and asparagus....
Everything was cooked well....the service was very good....we enjoyed the atmosphere although we were wondering how so many people were eating lunch there on a work day....two of my friends had off from work and I ended early but there were so many women....are they the types with rich husbands or did they all have the day off too? Just something we were thinking....
Mercer Kitchen is yummy!
Oh!!! - The Raspberry Lychee Bellini is awesome!!!!!
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Rating 3.5 stars
I was in NY this week for work, I went here for dinner on Monday night. A girlfriends recommendation, the location was ideal for me. In between the hotel and work.
So I went here with 2 of my boss' we didn't have a reservation, arrived around 7:00 and were seated within 10 minutes, we ordered a drink at the bar and then were seated before we even rec'd our drinks.
The place is 'cool' looking, kind of dark...but it was a nice atmosphere. We were seated / crunched around a circle table (made for 2, not 3) this made for some uncomfortableness. Service was friendly and attentive.
The food...we had the beet salad and soft shell crab to start. Loved the beet / goat cheese salad. For my main, I had the skate...and Loved it. The other 2 had salmon and scallops...which they both enjoyed. The portions weren't huge (I'm a mid west girl :) but they were appropriate.
We enjoyed a nice bottle of wine, CA Sauvignon Blanc and good coffee.
It was enjoyable, I'm sure I will be back...because the location fits so perfectly. I don't see as a destination dining place.
Cheers.
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I'm not one to eat salad for lunch, but the prawn and avocado salad with champagne dressing is yummy. Top it off with a glass of sparkling, and a lemon tart with a perfect meringue, and the experience was fantastic. Love the decor, and staff was very sweet and accommodating.
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bad service, bad food, bad overall. This place is so 2002.
grit in my clams, one bad clam, soup brought with appetizer, charged twice for my softshell crab, which was disgusting, overcooked and seasoned with honeymustard breadcrumbs.
have drinks upstairs, otherwise, stay away!!!
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The food is very good. I had a salad with shrimp and avacado that was probably the best I've ever had. I ordered the skate and wished I'd picked something else, but I think I"m just not a fan of skate. The warm chocolate cake was great. Loved the decor. My only complaint is that I felt a bit rushed. We had an early dinner and it was obvious they were expecting a rush later. I blame the rushed feeling for my blunder in ordering the skate! The staff was super nice and attentive, but just a tad intrusive. I'd go back, though--at a later seating. Oh, really good drink menu.
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As the end of the budget cycle approaches and I wrap up a few final weeks at my current job, I have the boon to be the recipient of several "going away lunches" on the company card. Because if you don't use it, you lose it. Most recently, this took the form of a long lunch at Mercer Kitchen.
I've had drinks here before, but always felt like I wasn't classy enough; lunch was equally pretentious. We started with the soft shell crab with tomato and avocado, and Jesus was it amazing. I had the black truffle and fontina pizza, which kind of relied to heavily on the celebrity of the truffles but was still great. Dessert was warm chocolate cake* with toffee ice cream, and I totally ate all of it even though I was feeling sick.
Overall I give it four stars.
Also of note:
my full cup of coffee was served with skim milk. Now I know all the models come in there demanding watered-down milk substitutes, so if that's how you're going to roll, just fill the cup halfway. Because a tablespoon of skim milk accomplishes nothing for anyone.
Due to Mercer's locational endowment (below the sidewalk of Prince St.) it also is the beneficiary of some serious leaks on the lower floor. Their brilliant solution? To hang umbrellas from the ceiling and line them with black garbage bags. In some permutations of the universe this could be endearing, but the one over my table was for "Rush Hour 3". Not so much.
*Can we please come to some understanding regarding the molten vs. warm chocolate cake conundrum? Molten always means a delicious, melty delight, but "warm" can go either way. It's a bi-sexual of the confectionery world. Sometimes it's an orgy of melted chocolate and sometimes it's just cake. I'm sick of being burned on this one.
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Visited a friend who stayed here when she was in NY for her fall fashion show. The hotel rooms are gorgeous of course. I had a thin crust pizza that was delicious. After talking for some time, I looked at the table next to us and hey, Vera Wang and a girl who I assume was her daughter. A place where you'll usually spot the stars but not a place I'd eat at often.
- overall score: 3.5
- recommend: mozzarella appetizer, new york strip
- the duck, though cooked perfectly and generously portioned was not complimented well by the sauce; also there was something that tasted terrible in the accompanying salad
- decent drink list
*Drinks only*
I was pleasantly surprised by the Mercer. After a work event at a nearby gallery, we were looking for a place to sit down and have a drink before dispersing. Much to my dismay, the group vetoed Pegu Club ("too far"), so we headed here instead. I was in the mood for a margarita, and this one was way above par, and even came with candied ginger -- you know this girl appreciates the use of fresh ingredients.
On top of that, our waitress seated us immediately and was professional and super-friendly (but still cool and not creepy -- you know that type). And we saw Spike Lee as he was leaving. Bonus!
Three stars because you can't sit in the sexy little library area, which was reserved for hotel guests but in plain sight of us unwashed masses (can't even sit there when it's otherwise empty). It's also pricey, so it gets judged on a higher standard. However, the Mercer Hotel has the potential to earn more stars based on the food / dining experience, and while it may no longer be the "it" place for NY nightlife, I think it's still a stylish, centrally-located Soho spot for decent drinks and celeb.-sightings on the side.
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Not impressed. Spent new years eve after living in nyc for 1 yr... guess I was impressed then by the decor, the feel, the trendiness, etc.. but cant say I remember the food. Went back 4 years later.. didnt have a reservation and waited around 20 minutes for a table, which wasnt bad bc we were able to get a glass of wine first. Sat down, and turned out the booth/table we sat at, the booth was broke. Im not a tall girl, but the booth had me sunken down so low, the table was almost at my deck!! We had to complain twice before they would move us to a new table. Dont remember what I got, but I do remember when we were paying the bill, we both commented that for the price we paid, it was not one of those memorable experiences or meals... and probably wouldnt go back... but definitely a good place if you arent from NY and want a good vibe, or if you are shopping in the heart of soho!
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I am in love with their Cheesecake here and I don't even like cheese cakes!
It's so weird but I think mainly because they make their cheese cake out of Creme Fraiche - and so it's very light and airy rather than rich and heavy.
5 stars for their cheese cake alone.
Ambiance is great too and I loved their Tuna Spring Roll with soy bean puree.
The burger and fries were okay - a bit too salty for my taste buds.
But still 5 stars because I can't stop raving about their cheese cake here.
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Half tuned in wait-staff, good food.
The bartender was so spaced I'm tempted to give them 2 stars! Let's just say 10lbs less of Marijuana per week and some meds to regrow the braincells he clearly lost and maybe just maybe we would have had someone around who was paying attention.
Certainly an amusing "professional" crowd here. A little on the expensive side. Loved the apps, loved the soups, can't remember the entree because the "shots" of Dirty Martini started to add up pretty fast. Overall had a great time here but I could see how someone would easily give this place 2 or 3 stars. They just seem to be a little disconnected and slightly miss what they are aiming to execute.
Date Rating: 7 (Sit downstairs)
Pick up Scale: 7 (8 if you like hipsters or uptight people in suits)
Strong Suggestions: Don't expect much in service and you'll love how they artfully decorated the interior. Grab a couple of drinks across the street first if you don't want to overspend on drinks.
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If you're looking to wine and dine, for the ritz and spritz of splendor... do indeed grab yourself a seat at this table.
I *love* the presentation/design of this place.. very well done. Plus you can sit underneath the sidewalk and see foot traffic walking over you (because the main seating level is underground).
The food is good and tastes as you expect it to.. from shrimp to oysters to steak or pork (and duck?). I like that, because some places look one way and taste another (sometimes positive, other times the negative "you've been duped")
All in all- high standards, high prices (ish), and a satisfied high when you walk back out that door.
Ugh. We went here for the restaurant week menu, which is always taking a chance, but I could not have possibly been more disappointed. The room IS really cool, but beyond that this place is utterly worthless. A point by point reason this place was terrible:
- they sat us at literally the worst seat at the house, despite dozens of other empty tables
- our server did not actually speak to us ONCE. he would just show up and look at us until we ordered
- the food was completely bland
- half of the salmon was severely overcooked, and the other half was completely raw
- the deserts tasted like they were out of a box
- I puked for 3 hours after leaving.
I've worked in the restaurant industry. I understand that you have to make decisions about who's going to make you money. But that is NOT AN EXCUSE TO TREAT CUSTOMERS POORLY. Or to have bad food for that matter.
Thumbs down!
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"The best sandwich I ever had"
This is the claim I made to my boyfriend when talking about Mercer Kitchen and how badly I wanted to take him there. Well, okay, it's a gross exaggeration but I LOVE the chicken sandwich. It's weird. I don't eat a lot of sandwiches so for this to stand out means something. The famous sandwich has chicken, avocado, bacon, lettuce and a delicious herb mayo. Come to think of it, in my world, bacon on anything is good...
My boyfriend came with me for the first time when we were shopping in Soho and kind of brought me back down to earth. Maybe it's not the best sandwich I've ever had but it sure is delicious. And honestly, sometimes I crave it.
I've only been to Mercer Kitchen for lunch. Every time I've gotten this sandwich. I have gotten other things and split them with friends. The pizza is great. The fries are thin and crispy.
Mercer Kitchen is a great place when you're shopping in Soho for a bite for lunch. My most recent shopping trip there on a Saturday brought me back there for lunch even though I had really wanted to try somewhere else. Well, I left happy.
I have to try it for dinner next. So it may not be the best sandwich in the world...but the food sure is delicious.
Restaurant Week Jan 08 Day 1:
12:04pm: Ran frantically down Prince Street trying to spot Mercer Kitchen as my "watch" (aka my cell phone) read 12:04 and our reservation was for 12pm.
12:05pm: Spot Mercer Kitchen across the street.
12:05pm (a second later): Run across Prince Street without even bothering to look for traffic.
12:05pm (a few seconds later): Still alive. Friend still in tow. Phew.
12:06 pm: Opens door to a nice leather "heat keeper" thing. I don't know what they're called, so it'll be called a heat keeper for now. We tell the hostess our reservation info and she points up downstairs where another hostess takes our info and seats us.
12:08 pm: Opens menu. Sees tiny Restaurant Week 2008 menu. Features:
Appetizer:
-Tuna Spring Roll with soy bean puree
or
-Steamed Shrimp Salad with avocado, mushroom and tomato in a champagne vinaigrette
Main Dish:
-Slowly Baked Salmon maple celeriac puree, pink peppercorn vinaigrette
or
-Roast Chicken with french beans, carrots and mashed potatoes
or
-Niman Ranch Cheeseburger toasted brioche roll, french fries
Dessert:
-Creme Fraiche Cheesecake roasted figs, concord grape sorbet
or
-Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake cocoa, bean crittle, vanilla ice cream
[Thank you menupages for exact names]
12:15pm: Realizes that it takes me forever to make a decision... and decides to order the shrimp salad with salmon and the cheesecake for dessert. Friend orders same thing, except the chocolate cake for dessert.
12:16pm: Goes to town on the roll with dipping olive oil.
12:25pm: Shrimp Salads arrive. Talk about adorable presentation. The dressing had an unusual flavor that was slightly tangy, but just right. The shrimp has a tangy mayonnaise coating. It was unusual, and reminded me of the Chinese version of mayonnaise shrimp. i really quite enjoyed the nice thick chunk of avocado in the center and the diced tomatoes. It really was a great starter and I was glad I ordered something light.
12:30pm: Our light above our head flickers and changes from a yellow glow to a bright blue glow. Ok, that's cool.
12:32pm: Our light goes out. Literally. I wave my arms frantically in front of me to try and find my friend in the darkness.
Ok that was an exaggeration, but damn... I could barely see my salad.
12:33pm: Friend and I look around for a waiter to notice our plight in the darkness... no one seems to notice...
12:34pm: Waiter stops by... "Did your light go out?" Waiter reaches up into the light to feel for the lightbulb. Um buddy, obviously you just need a new lightbulb.
12:36pm: Our other waiter stops by... "Uhhh we'll get that fixed right away"
12:38pm: Finish salad in darkness.
12:45pm: A manager stops by to take out the lightbulb. Apologizes and tells us they'll bring another one immediately.
12:50pm: Main entrees come. Looks delicious. Can barely make it out in the darkness (ok so it wasn't that dark, but I like to exaggerate).
12:51pm: Snaps picture, begins eating. The salmon is cooked to just the right consistency. It is still juicy and it flakes off perfectly. The vegetables on top, including -- yum -- fennel! The base was mashed potatoes surrounded by a ring of "gravy." One complaint was that there was a little too much salt in the mashed potatoes, otherwise it was very good and the vegetables on top complimented the salmon very well.
1:05pm: Yet another manager comes by to put in a new lightbulb.... and then there was LIGHT!!!
1:07pm: Finishes salmon. Plates are taken away
1:10pm: More and more people keep coming in upstairs and as they open the leather "heat keeper" up... light shines in through the door straight down the stairs and onto my friend's face. At that exact moment she looks up and notices that our waiters eyes are a brilliant shade of blue.
"Dare I say periwinkle?" she says
1:15pm: The manager that changed our lightbulb comes by and says "now you know how many managers it takes to change a lightbulb here... two!" Oh how silly Mr. Manager.
1:20pm: Waited quite a long time for dessert, but finally it comes!! We both share the cheesecake and the chocolate cake. Molten chocolate oozes out of the chocolate cake as we cut into it... how amazingly delicious. The cheesecake was a little plain after the chocolate, but it was still tasty. Especially the graham cracker crust. The best part of the cheesecake was the concord grape sorbet. OMG... I am drooling a little bit just thinking about it. The rest of the platters were so-so. The cheesecake plate had very sour cranberries, but the blood orange was quite good. The chocolate cake plate had an ice cream that I didn't care for and a cookie that slightly tasted of banana? I'm not quite sure.
1:30pm: Finish up dessert, request the check.... and we are up and going.
Overall an interesting experience. I don't know if I would be back. A least the lightbulb, periwinkle blue eyes and good conversation made it a good experience!
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I can't speak for the food as I didnt eat there, but I can add input from a dear friend, and a little story that may sway your decision to dine here...
Waiter: Our specials tonight include (insert list of random entrees)...and the skate in a ginger wasabi sauce. It's fantastic.
Laura: I'll have the skate
Food comes out
L (to Dad): This has lots of bones in it; they didn't do a very good job cleaning it.
Dad: I thought you ordered skate
L: You're right! I did! Skates don't have bones!
L summons waiter
L: Hi, this isn't what I ordered, I ordered skate and this is something else
W: No, you're mistaken, that's skate
L: No, I'm not. It's not possible that it's skate because skate's don't have bones
D: She's right. They're all cartilage. When you serve skate you serve the wing, which is like a sting ray wing, it doesn't have bones.
W (with attitude): I can double check with the chef, but I assure you that that fish is skate. I'll ask him, but he's not going to tell me anything different, if you're not happy with your meal then perhaps you should just order something else.
L: Please ask the chef. It's not skate.
Waiter doesn't return.
Enter manager
M: What's the problem?
L: I ordered skate, but, as I explained to the waiter, this isn't skate. This is very bony, and skates don't have any bones at all.
M: Let me check with the chef
Re-enter manager
M: You were right, that's not skate
L: I know.
My experience with Mercer Kitchen does not account for the cuisine, hence the 3 stars...I was here last night for an after party and it was a ton of fun. The entire dining area had blackjack tables (it was a theme--this wasn't the regular) and the drinks were stifffff but oh so good.
Later in the night we went down down stairs to the private room which is smokey, small, and so fabulous! Loved every minute of it! Highly recommend on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
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I would give this place ZERO stars if I could. Two times I've tried to eat here in the downstairs area and BOTH times I was seated and no one came over to take my order so I would end up leaving.
I guarantee I will NEVER attempt to eat here ever again.
Mercer kitchen has some steller options on their menu and some really terrible ones. Stay away from the chicken. Their menu is based on ordinary american cuisine tweaked with special sauces or made in a slightly different way. It's a hip, younger place to be. Our waiter was obnoxious and obviously a wanna be moderl/actor/famous-person-in-training whom obviously thought he was much too great to be serving us. Otherwise, read: Good, relaxed Friday or Saturday night dinners. Ambience is great, Food is above average. Does not live up to the hype. I would recommend but I'm not in love with it.
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The Mercer Kitchen is a great example of an establishment that emphasizes style over substance. In short, the space is pretty, the people are pretty, but nothing else is worthwhile.
A large group of us had dinner last night. Friend and I both ordered the steak and frites; figured it was a safe choice. Shared appetizer was the crunchy squid with spicy mayo.
The squid was undercooked, and had a gamy texture and flavor. It made one of us ill into the following morning, and neither of us could eat more than a couple of pieces. Another friend, however, had no problem scarfing up the remains. The mayo that came with was simply vile, perhaps rancid.
The steak had the taste, appearance and texture of a super-market strip that had been hastily pan-fried, stacked on a gelatinous goo of ambiguous sauce, and then covered with bargain shitake mushrooms. The frites could have passed for oven-baked frozen fries.
A cookie plate for dessert was a nice surprise, with all of the freshly baked cookies and madelines being quite tasty. They would have been even more enjoyable had our coffee not shown up nearly a half hour after dessert arrived.
The space was severely overheated, making the attractive settings much less comfortable than they could have been. Anything more than a T-shirt was overdressed for downstairs.
Service was just OK, although things were often forgotten - too often, even for a large group. The heat was obviously too much for the waiter; he had suffered a deodorant meltdown, and reeked of BO. To be fair, I have a sensitive sense of smell, and no one else seemed to pick up on the noisome server.
I found the clientele to be somewhat obnoxious (jumping the line for the coat check - classy - and a fur-clad step-monster cursing out her hubby's crotchfruit. Lovely!) This is not the fault of the restaurant aside from being a honeypot to attract such vulgarians.
If you're looking to see and be seen by the superficials of the world, it isn't a bad place. If you want fine dining, go elsewhere.
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I love this place.....I think more for the cool factor than anything.
I have been here for breakfast, brunch and dinner and I can honestly say that each time I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience. The food is good...try the seared tuna pizza...yum. Mimosas are great. Perfect distraction for a day shopping in SOHO.
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Went for restaurant week for dinner and enjoyed it. Service was okay. Really liked the atmosphere of the place. I had the tuna spring rolls (okay), the salmon with truffled mashed potatoes (good), the warm chocolate cake (awesome) and my favorite drink, Jean Georges' ginger margarita.
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Really a 3.5 star...
Food was decent.
Service...OK -- considering we were a large group I think they should have communicated better with us.
Dessert -- OK.
I think it would be a great lunch spot but I'd go elsewhere in that neighborhood for dinner.
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Well, take people here who are from out of town. They will feel like they did something downtown-New Yorky. It's a much better place during off hours/days for hiding out downstairs.
I will say that the butternut squash soup is divine.
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I'd been to Mercer Kitchen in the past, but it was ages ago. I remember the food being good, but not great. So I wasn't too excited to spend more of my hard-earned money there again, when I know there are so many other amazing restaurants in the city, but my out of town visitors had heard wonderful things from another foodie friend, so off we went.
We had a 8pm res and were seated right away. The restaurant was quite busy, but I guess most places are on Thursdays. Each couple (2 total) chose to share a couple of apps and an entree. My SO and I chose the roasted beets with goat cheese salad and the steamed shrimp salad as our apps. I love roasted beets, but he doesn't, so I ate most of this dish. The goat cheese was a little mild for my tastes, but the beets were delicious. The shrimp salad was really good, nice tender, moist shrimp with a tangy dressing. A tad overdressed, but tasty. The other couple started with the butternut squash soup, which was poured tableside (always a dramatic presentation!), and the tuna roll. They both seemed to love the soup, and the tuna roll looked nice.
For entrees, we shared the lobster, which for the price, was way too small. I would not do this again, even though it was well cooked, and served with arthichoke hearts and fingerling potatoes. Yummy, but not at all worth the money. The other couple shared the salmon, which looked great, and they both really enjoyed it.
For dessert, we were pretty full, but the popcorn float was intriguing, so we ordered it. We all imagined that the popcorn would be INSIDE the float somehow, but no, it's in a little cup on the side of an ice cream and caramel float. Tasty, but misleading, no?
Service was all over the place, and not in a good way. We had no fewer than 3 waiters (or bussers) buzzing around our table most of the evening. This made it feel like we were being stalked. One of them removed a cocktail before it was completely finished, without even asking. That's not cool. And in the end, when we were done with our dessert, no one asked if we wanted anything else for a really long time, so we had to flag someone down for our check. This took another 10+ minutes! So after stalking us for our entire meal, when it came time to close us out, they suddenly all disappeared.
So back to my original assessment, food at Mercer Kitchen is good, not great, but for the money, not really worth it. The interior is nice, really cool and dark, lovely decor. But for my money, I expected more.
The people handling the phones were nice; I'll give them that. The lower level dining room is nice; I'll give them that. BUT, the service and quality of food was subpar, with glimpses of adequacy. And, frankly, I don't care about the "oh, I went there for lunch as opposed to dinner, so my expectations are lower." Bullsheeeee-t! I expect the same calibre of service at every setting, and at those prices, it's what we all deserve.
The bright spot: the proscuitto and cheese appetizer. I didn't order it, so I have no details to share. Just that it was fine. The server showed up a few times and asked my gentleman companions if they wanted drink refills. He never approached me, and clearly, my white chocolate martini was swallowed up in one fell swoop. Nice.
Luckily, I was a guest, so I didn't have to feel gypped. The only way I would entertain the thought of a return visit would be if I was only visiting the bartender.
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I'm going 3 stars, because there was nothing really amazing about the place, despite years of hearing about it.
I had a sweat pea soup, which was like split pea, but fresher. Nicely presented, but it could have used some more flavor.
Then a chicken sandwich with bacon and avocado, which was tasty, but not $14 tasty.
I kept looking at the menu thinking "where's the rest of it?"
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Sit downstairs for brunch and watch people walking above you on the translucent glass bubble studded sidewalk. Great bass carpaccio- thinly sliced with citrus and delicious warm herb focaccia sticks. The hamachi sashimi (MK style) is also a definite recommendation. Skip the french toast- lame...
Nice place to roll solo or with company. Comfortable bar area with nice fresh cocktail selection and wines by the glass. thumb up!
The Mercer Kitchen Haiku Review
At Prada's backdoor,
SoHo shoppers recharge in
Jean Georges' basement lair.
I came here with some family friends who were visiting for the weekend. We were probably the oldest group in the restaurant, it's definitely a "hot-spot" type place. They sat us at a counter-like table and when we asked to move because of the two grandparents in our group they weren't able to accommodate us. Everything that we ordered off the menu was absolutely delicious and the peach mojito was delectable! Our waitress was kinda annoying but other than that we had a great time.
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I was only half-impressed with Mercer Kitchen. Yes, it's a Jean Georges, but it doesn't really feel like a Jean Georges. It's the most casual Jean Georges restaurant I've been to so far. The atmosphere and bar are really cool and fluorescent, and the main dining area is downstairs. I really didn't find the food quality to be all that amazing for the amount we paid for the meal. I got the lobster that was pretty decent, but my friends' lamb was not all that unique (though cooked well). But what do I know, I was plastered off my ass by the time I finished! :)
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Great menu and the host / hostesses are the shiz. When two of my fellow diners were ONE HOUR late (cough..you suck), they were not one smidge bitter at us - instead, they brought me and my puntcual friends free glasses of wine. Awesome.
I got the personal sized pizza with arugula, parmesan, and olives. I was very very pleased. It was perfectly sized, had a very substantial amount of parm. shavings, and the crust had a great grittiness to it. My friend's roast chicken was presented next to a blob of sad looking mashed potatoes, but other dishes got the thumbs up - shrimp and avocado salad, the tuna roll, and the tempura fish. The seafood from the raw bar looked rather delish. Perhaps I'll get that upon my next visit, when I hopefully won't be eating dinner at 11pm...
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Had very good drinks upstairs earlier in the afternoon....try the thyme vodka lemonade. My bf sucked down 3 or so mojitos here while I was shopping about. The hostess was a bit snooty...I can't really handle that, especially on a Friday afternoon. But the bf liked it so much we decided to return for dinner later with our australian pals. Perhaps it was the several mojitos that were swaying him towards loving this place, but the menu did look good and the prices were moderate.
As for dinner, it was all in all another beautiful SoHo place with good - but not great - food. Nice atmosphere (although I guess children are allowed to stay out much later in NYC than Chicago!) and very good service downstairs. Our waiter and the bussing staff were extremely attentive but not so much so that you feel annoyed. We had made a 9:30 reservation earlier in the day and didn't have to wait at all, I like that about a place. I had the red snapper, it was alright. Everyone else had the rack of lamb and they enjoyed their dishes very much. I can't even remember what I had for my appetizer, if that says anything.
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so from the outside, this restaurant is pretty unassuming. in fact, we walked past the corner restaurant 3 times before we realized that this was in fact the place. but once you walk inside and head downstairs, you realize that you are definitely in a jean-georges restaurant (aka spice market). the place is dimly lit with brick walls and soft gray leather booths and practically is the definition of SoHo. you immediately feel sexy as you walk to your table and you a order a cucumber martini with hendricks gin. and this is where your mercer kitchen experience becomes amazing. each dish is prepared with maximal visual and savory perfection. the wasabi crusted salmon (prepared medium rare) tastes how every salmon dish should taste and the skate with sushi rice and asparagus is a one of a kind dish--like eating a piece of sushi in all of its delicious different parts (which is how i wish i could eat sushi anyways). you finish your meal and you want a refreshing dessert? try the warm chocolate cake and toffee ice cream--the chocolate cake is filled with chocolate hot fudge that oozes out onto your ice cream. what more could you ask for? how about a great waitress and a very reasonable bill. in the end, mercer kitchen has it all--great ambience, waitstaff, food, and price. highly recommended if you want a good NYC experience.
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Can't give this a totally reliable review because I only went there for coffee and dessert, but the atmosphere was nice, I sat in the front by the windows and it was a little "cold" for me with the white/metallic decor, I prefer warmer, cozy restaurants. But it was a nice place to meet someone for coffee, I can definitely see why people would want to go there for a business meeting. I'll edit this review once I actually eat from the real menu.
Yikes - considering I used the word "nice" 2 times in this review, that may not be such a great sign. Nice is like the lamest compliment ever. But I'll get back to you.
The moment I opened the tall glass door, I was greeted with a friendly smile by a very fashionable Asian hostess. Since it was just the start of lunch, there was an immediate table available without wait. The restaurant had two levels, the top which is very small surrounded a central staircase leading down to a very large and much dimmer dining area downstairs. I dined on the top level, which was well illuminated by the sunlight. The setting was very trendy cool, with a minimalist dcor accentuated by servers adorned in black outfits. Very New York chic.
The tasting menu composed of three portions: appetizers, entre, and dessert. For my appetizer, I opted for the Skate Carpaccio served with a Blood Orange and Shaved Fennel Salad. Very fine slices of skate lined the plate, drizzled with olive oil and citrus, and centered with a pile of fennel shavings, the design was visually stimulating. Fortunately, the taste was equally delicious. The skate was moist and sweet. The only refinement I would call for would be for the fennel salad to be properly dressed. The fish was done well but the salad was left plain. Fortunately, there was enough oil on the plate to lightly dress the salad manually, so in the end, it tasted very good.
For my entre, I ordered the Macaroni and Cheese served with Prosciutto and Truffles. Call me a Gringa, but yes, I'm a sucker for Mac and Cheese. And boy, the way it was done at Mercer only reaffirms my love for it. This is one of the best I've ever had. Served in a little cast iron dish, the Mac was piping hot and bubbling with creamy goodness. The pasta was cooked al dente, the sauce was creamy but not heavy, the prosciutto was salty and chewy, and the truffle was soft and aromatic...Served with a side of lightly dressed greens, this was the perfect lunch to have. Needless to say, I was very pleased.
For dessert, I had the Banana Fritters served with Vanilla Malt Ice Cream. The banana pieces were coated in panko and sesame, deep fried to a deep golden brown and topped with an oval scoop of ice cream. The bananas could've been fried for just a minute less but otherwise, a lovely dessert. That ice cream is really to die for.
So that was my meal at Mercer. I would highly recommend it to everyone.
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I think Mercer Kitchen is great for brunch -- I've gotten in there with a 5 person group and no reservation on a weekend, which is pretty amazing. The food is good although it's really just standard brunch fare, and the service is certainly spotty. This is the kind of cool SoHo place you can take your out of town friends and impress them. I have been back a couple of times for brunch, and I'd probably go back again.
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