As you walk into The Mercer Kitchen located in Mercer Hotel in SoHo New York, you'll find a large airy space with a bar (photos are not allowed, don't know why) and a restaurant on the bottom floor. This large and dimmed/dark space, is not your average restaurant. Situated in the basement of a historic building constructed in the 1800s, the Mercer Kitchen offers its guest an enjoyable dinning experience in what feels like an underground club... The vibes offered here is something worth trying...
Industrial and classic modernism meet at The Mercer Kitchen. Down the stairs is a beautiful space where pending chandeliers light up the tables. There's lots of mirrors which makes the place look bigger and wider. You'll find cables light up tables and walls where yellow, orange and brown are the colors. Metal appears here and there, while bricks decorate and cover the walls under a ceiling supported by metallic columns.
Divided into several spaces, the restaurant hosts a bar, a room with open/sharing tables, an open kitchen, a seating area behind the columns and one corner hosts the fish display.
Although noisy, the music helps relax you. The restaurant is fully booked on a Saturday night. The staff is gentle, you're warmly welcomed and a sommelier approaches your table for the water.
On the menu: Cocktails, wines, beers, for the table, raw bar, appetizers, pizzas, pasta, fish, meat, sides.
For the table proposes a selection of cuisines from around the world to share. The raw bar has fresh seafood suggestions. Appetizers include asparagus, salads, shrimp and vegetables. Pizzas with innovations. Two choices of pasta. Six choices of fish. Six choices of meat including lamb, chicken and Angus and ten sides.
The beer: Blue point brewing company, toasted lager, a brewery established in Long Island. A buttery beer richly hopped, light bodied, intensely alcoholic but enjoyable and sharp.
Let's eat:
- Sashimi salmon on top of crispy sushi rice mixed with chipotle spicy mayo and punzu sauce. Sticky rice with a light crunch, a delicious salmon slice, strong spiciness and a lemony after more. An amazing combination, a unique taste.
- Crostini with burrata mozzarella, grilled ramps, fava beans and olive oil. It's not my kind of sandwich but one can't deny how good the bread was and enjoyable the filling despite the unpleasant onion-like flavor.
- Service was excellent! Waitresses were so polite, they memorize the order, offered plates on the house to the table next to us, visited our table several times making sure everything was perfect.
- Fish and chips followed. Fried fish with no oil feel, tasty at sauce, ketchup and potatoes cut in quarters. Beautifully battered, moist on the inside, a crunch and the richness of the tartar sauce. Very well done.
- Pizza on another hand was small in size and there wasn't anything special about them.
- Chicken and coconut milk soup with Jasmin soup was good but not something I will personally order. Lemon grass and the rice was interesting. Pour all the flavor the soup offers onto the rice...
Good food despite the couple of imperfections; but the vibes and decor of the place make of it what it is. I'll be coming back and recommending it to my friends.
