I dined at The Mercer Kitchen a number of years ago and it was a restaurant that I had always wanted to return to and I finally got around to it earlier this year. Located at the Mercer Hotel in Soho, this Jean-Georges Vongerichten establishment was quite the buzzy celebrity hotspot when it first opened in 1998 and for a number of years following. The swanky bi-level space designed by Christian Liaigre, features exposed brick walls, long banquettes, communal tables and a partially open kitchen which gives it a contemporary industrial feel. The market driven menu makes use of seasonal ingredients in dishes that range in style from American to French to Asian fusion. The last time I ate here we had the most amazing tuna with crispy sushi rice. I was disappointed that it wasn't on the menu anymore but they did have a version that was sashimi salmon with crispy sushi rice. This probably would've been delicious on it's own but the chipotle mayo really enhanced the flavors. We got the pizza with tender leeks, three cheese, prosciutto and black truffle and yukon potato soup with sweet onions, brussels sprouts and crisp chestnuts. The pizza was tasty but nothing special and there was barely a hint of black truffle. The soup had a nice mix of textures and flavors going on. For our entrées, we chose the buttermilk chicken milanese with endiive salad, honey mustard and crisp bacon and the crunchy roast skate with glazed mushrooms, green chili and mint. The chicken was definitely better seasoned and tastier than the skate which was crispy but bland. Since we were there during restaurant week, dessert was included in our meal but I honestly don't remember much or ate much of it since we were pretty stuffed by the time they arrived at our table. We got the almond cake with citrus sorbet and warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. The chocolate cake was in the style of molten chocolate cakes. I've said this before but dessert is never a priority for me since I don't really eat sugar so it has to be something special to tempt me. Our service was somewhat friendly and mostly inattentive. There was a huge lapse in time between when they finally cleared our entrée plates to when dessert came out and this wasn't even acknowledged by the waitstaff. At most fine dining establishments, they would at least apologize for the wait. We also had to wait almost 10 minutes to be seated and caught an attitude from the hostess when we didn't want to sit in the dark corner in the recesses of the dining room. Not cool and not really impressed with the subpar service and underwhelming food.
The Mercer Kitchen
99 Prince Street
New York City
212.966.5454
$$- $$$
33 comments
Didn't you just tell me I was killing YOU with all the yummy food posts? UGH!!! :-) Those little dessertttttssss...
Great post hun! So stunning.
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Wow, so this is fine dining? Really? I'm pretty underwhelmed with the presentation of everything, especially that pizza. It looks pitiful! I guess this is probably why it ceased to remain a "celeb" hotspot. ;o)
Sxx
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Cool place and delicious food!
xo Paola
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Such a shame the service didn´t live up to your expectations, as the food looks delicious!
Linda, Libra, Loca: Beauty, Baby and Backpacking
OMG they look delicious.
Kisses
Maggie Dallospedale Fashion diary - Fashion blog
The food looks great but thanks for your review to clarify the real experience that you had. I most likely would not consider eat there when in New York again.
Luxessed
Need to make reservation looks amazingly delicious thanks for sharing a great find.
I really love the moody lighting at this restaurant - how it's plunged into darkness, yet the food is illuminated! Brilliant photography, as always, and a huge 'thumbs up' from me for the chocolate dessert. Mmm...
Gabrielle | A Glass Of Ice
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I hate to wait especially if Im starving! Plus, if the service was so for me is a place to avoid, for me is very important how they treat the client:/ Sorry, you must have been disappointed especially if u had the previous memory of it. Kisses Rowena! xo
fab place, very delish foods
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kisses
bad customer service and no apologies is the worst. i'll be sure to skip this one. thanks for the review, doll!
Hmm, I don't know about this restaurant, Rowena. I have seen lots of your dining posts and while this place sounds and looks swanky and high class fine dining, the food presentation are a little underwhelming. And the under-par service is a huge no-no.
Shireen | Reflection of Sanity
Sorry to hear you had an unpleasant experience with the service. I would rather skip this place, if I was around. Despite you were seated on a dark table, your photos turned out great, Rowena! xo
What a bummer that the service wasn't the best. But the food looks delicious, tho. Hope the week has treated you nicely so far, Rowena.
xoxo
Lenya
FashionDreams&Lifestyle
I love your restaurant reviews and I can always imagine myself eating in them when I daydream about visiting New York. This one won't be top of the list though!
Emma | www.fluffandfripperies.com
mm looks and sounds good
Ack! You know....I can always forgive a subpar restaurant if the service is amazing, but not the other way around. Not cool that the staff was like that, which is too bad because the food pics did look great.
So delicious
Happy evening
Mywishstyle
Place looks very nice and food very delicious!
It's a shame that the service was not so good, but the food does look delicious, and I'm loving the design of the place!
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I'd happily take that pizza right now!
Corinne x
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Oh my! Everything looks so delicious :D
xoxo
Novelstyle
That's a shame it took so long for dessert, and the attitude hmmm no. I know of a great place in Soho that makes their own pasta. We should go sometime and write about it! And thanks for the heads up on the TV show!
Allie of
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The food looks great! This looks like a nice little place :)
Florals&Smiles
The food looks good, but too bad the experience was disappointing...
Rowen, I need to have decent and friendly service... if not I wouldn't be happy with the restaurant either. I don't think it's cool that they tried to sit you in a dark area in the back, I would have protested too. It's too bad about the food, the soup sounds tasty though, I think I could made something similar xox ♡♡
Oh, shame the service wasn't great but I must say the food looks really good:) Kisses, darling.
Love, love love this! Happy Friday!
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I was there a few years ago and don't remember much. It's too bad the service was subpar. The salmon and crispy rice sound awesome though!
xoxo,
little luxury list formerly Chic 'n Cheap Living
This place looks great...and I see some really good looking dishes.
What a dramatic turn from since it first opened. I hate it when a place that I've been looking forward to visiting becomes underwhelming with subpar service. That's definitely a deal breaker for me when it comes to restaurants.
Really sorry to hear this Rowena! I hate when something like that happens. They need to work on ALL areas! LOL
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