Dennis S.
Yelp
A very attractive historic home, with plenty of convenient parking. Really like the separate rooms, and how all the seating appears to be 4 tops with enough space between to have a private dinner.
Overall Mere Bulles is a bit difficult to review, because while some of the positives are really strong, some of the weaknesses are really off putting.
Started with the half shell oysters. Mistake, they were not properly shucked, it was a struggle to finish separating each on from its shell. Smallish in size, both east and west coast options, reasonably fresh, but wife had perhaps three of the dozen and deferred on the rest of the plate. Definitely not their best starter.
Dirty martinis were really good, a nice balance between the gin and the brine, and the clearly house stuffed blue cheese olives are a treat. Excellent cocktail start.
The house she crab soup is as good as billed. thick, rich, flavorful. A small cup goes down quickly, but it's rich enough that I don't think I'd want to upsize to the bowl.
Decent selection of wine by the glass, and they were happy to let us sample a couple to help decide on a wine.
The by the bottle options are a joke. It's a good selection, but they've doubled the usual restaurant pricing for each bottle, so the prices shown are completely laughable, then they feature on the menu how the bottles are always half price. Shows you how little they think of their clientele, pulling such a ridiculous stunt. But then I see a number of reviews that think the half price is some great deal, so perhaps a business underestimating the public works out fine sometimes. If you're a fan of wine, you'll find this tactic very off putting.
Service was very friendly, but pretty spotty. It was a challenge to find out what the east and west oysters actually were or where they were from. The wait between starters and main courses was a very very long one. We saw all the tables around us being served bread, so we asked about and were told it's 'on request'. Not sure how we were expected to know to request it.
The prime rib was quite good, and something I'd certainly get again. A generous portion, felt much larger than the 14 ounce cut ordered. It was done nicely to temperature as well. Wife also commented that her filet was nicely done as well.
The sides were generous to share. Mashed potatoes were good, the two of us had our fill and left plenty on the plate. The mushrooms were a fun and unusual combination of interesting types, but I'd try something different next visit. It would be good to see a green veg side option other than just the asparagus.
So overall a good restaurant with some easily improvable flaws. I'm certain we'll revisit, and will happily update this review with a better experience, though we might not rush to return.