Bar Mercer
Restaurant · SoHo
25 W Houston St, New York, NY 10012
Highlights
Raw bar, small plates, hearty mains, and excellent cocktails.
Raw bar, small plates, hearty mains, and excellent cocktails.
"A weekend brunch program (Saturday and Sunday, doors open at noon) featuring a variety of comfort-forward dishes including smoked salmon toast, buttermilk blueberry pancakes, hangover pasta, crab cakes Benedict, and a brunch burger topped with bacon and a fried egg." - Melissa McCart
"This tavern-meets-wine-bar from restaurateur John McDonald and chef Preston Clark is a new crowd-pleaser that feels like it’s always been there — with its black-and-red checkered floors, bistro seats, and friendly little bar. Order pigs in a blanket, a zippy hamachi crudo, fish and chips, or the stellar pork chop with a white wine and mushroom sauce. The wine list will hold your interest." - Melissa McCart
"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
"An American bar from Mercer Street Hospitality’s John McDonald led by chef Preston Clark in the former Bar Tulix space; the menu includes bar-friendly dishes like mini pigs in a blanket and a “hangover pasta” full of ham, bacon, egg, and pecorino, alongside cocktails and global wines." - Emma Orlow
"Located at 25 West Houston, at Mercer Street, the update from John McDonald’s Mercer Street Hospitality features chef Preston Clark at the helm, with dishes like mini pigs in a blanket ($14 for six); a saucy hamachi crudo ($24) with cracklin’ and Thai chiles; a grilled pork chop with a mushroom and cipollini white wine sauce ($48); and “hangover pasta,” with ham, bacon, egg, and pecorino ($26). Cocktails are listed by spirits ($11 to $19) and an extensive selection of wine comes from around the world. McDonald overhauled the space, adding black-and-red checkered floors, wood accents, moody lighting, and retro schoolhouse-style chairs. “I want it to feel like it has been there for 20 years,” says McDonald." - Melissa McCart
