Soho’s Bar Mercer Serves Standout Tavern Fare and Reasonably Priced Drinks | Eater NY
"Led by longtime Lure Fishbar veteran Preston Clark—who still oversees the Mercer Street restaurant group and is a partner here—this revamped Mercer Street tavern delivers straightforward, affordable tavern fare Clark says he wanted to cook because he likes to eat it, aiming to build a crowd of regulars. Clark’s credentials are noted: in 2019 The New York Times named him one of 16 Black chefs changing food in America, and he is the son of the late Patrick Clark, the first Black chef in the country to win a James Beard Award 35 years ago while at Tavern on the Green. The updated dining room has a retro red-and-black checkerboard floor, bistro seating, cushy red banquettes, and Old New York photos from New York Archives; the bar is described as cozy and warm. Cocktail prices are entirely under $20, with examples like a gin-based Bronx with blood orange, vermouth, and bitters, and the bar’s version of a margarita made with carrot juice; wines by the glass include a house Grenache Blanc or a Côtes du Rhône for $15, other glasses $19–$25, and an extensive bottle list with wine storage integrated throughout the dining room. Menu highlights and precise recommendations: “They’re served with a side of spicy mustard ($14). I’d put these head-to-head with the longtime reigning champion pigs in a blanket at the Polo Bar.” — referring to four mini-dogs with plenty of snap, wrapped in pastry almost like a croissant, salted and sprinkled with black sesame seeds. Start-up snack recommendations also include three-piece fried-oyster-topped deviled eggs ($21) that nod to the South, and hamachi crudo with cracklin, Thai chile, and nearly neon olive oil ($24); a chicory salad layers bitter, sweet, and creamy with apples, hazelnuts, and blue cheese ($17). The reviewer declares pork chops back: a 14-oz. grilled Berkshire chop—marbled kurobuta—served with a velvety white wine sauce sweetened by cipollinis and accompanied by maitakes, chanterelles, and trumpet mushrooms ($39); the frenched bone is praised as “the oyster of the pork” and an excuse to eat with your hands, and a dinner of that chop plus a glass of house wine was estimated to run about $85 with tip. Other mains include beer-battered haddock ($28) with lemon tartar, truly mushy peas, and malt vinegar (served with British-style chips), whole branzino ($34) with shishitos, herb butter, charred lemon, and chile oil, a hangover pasta ($28) described as a grown-up cacio e pepe with bacon and eggs, ham, and pecorino on chitarra “guitar spaghetti,” plus occasional chalkboard or off-menu items like a burger, Dover sole with asparagus and morels ($75), and a cowgirl steak (ribeye cap, bone-in for $85); notably, there’s no chicken on the menu. Though the space feels like a humble, well-executed neighborhood tavern (the reviewer calls it a SoHo variation of Red Hook Tavern), Clark still cooks here frequently—the kitchens between Lure and this restaurant are practically adjacent—and the reviewer suggests visiting the oyster-bar and shellfish offerings at iconic Lure for that side of the seafood program." - Melissa McCart
