Mercer Kitchen

New York, New York, United States

Mercer Kitchen

Mercer Kitchen is a restaurant by Jean-Georges. Our enjoyment of the food varied, although it was all beautifully presented. The atmosphere is fairly casual, but a bit artsy - as is typical in its SoHo neighborhood. I didn't like it as much as Perry Street (another Jean-Georges restaurant).

The restaurant is located on the lower level (with a lounge upstairs). It's a bit dark, but it's kind of neat to sit underneath the SoHo sidewalks with the skylights to the street above. The kitchen is also completely open so you can see all the interesting happenings of a busy restaurant kitchen.

Dress

Casual nice - shorts and t-shirts were fine in the summer.

Cost

Entrees range between $20-$35.

Service

The service was average. On the plus side, they were able to accommodate us so that we could complete our 3 course meal in time for our show. On the down side, not all the servers were knowledgeable. I asked one of them what one of the ingredients in my dish was, and not only did they not know, but they didn't even ask someone to let me know.

Reservations

They do take reservations. Reservations were not necessary early in the evening around 5pm.

Items Ordered

Niman Ranch Pork Chop

Niman Ranch Pork Chop

Everything in this dish was fantastic. The sauce was very flavorful, but wasn't spicy. The grits were deliciously creamy - I've never had anything like them before. The vegetables tasted very fresh too. The pork chop was a very large piece of meat.

Restaurant Week Dinner

We visited during restaurant week. The restaurant week menu offered a choice from two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts. The same menu was offered during lunch and dinner, except that at lunch it was only $25. I felt this was a bit overpriced for dinner, but it still seemed worthwhile considering the cost of the entrees.

Mozzarella and Peach Salad

Mozzarella and Peach Salad

This salad was a neat twist to the typical tomato and mozzarella salad. The peaches were sweet and went surprisingly well with the cheese and oil and vinegar dressing.

Slowly Baked Salmon

Slowly Baked Salmon

The salmon was a little under cooked for my preference, yet still quite bland. It was quite disappointing. The corn pudding was something I had not tried before. It was creamy with a mild taste - it almost didn't taste like corn.

Warm Vahirona Chocolate Cake

The cake was also disappointing. It was a typical chocolate lava cake with a soft center. While decent, it was nothing special.