La Mercerie

My husband and I came here for dinner on a Saturday night at 745 in February.
We were excited to try this restaurant as we are big fans of Starr restaurants. We were definitely underwhelmed with almost everything.
This restaurant is the person that is always dressed impeccably but has no actual substance behind them.
The restaurant is also very pretentious, which is expected for where and what it is, it just doesn’t have the goods to back it up.
They use the Spanish word for foam (espuma) on their French menu.
How many people are going to know what this means? It just seemed obnoxious. On top of that, the table has a very awkward base that make it difficult to comfortably rest your feet.
There is a wall of two person tables that require people to sit next to one another rather than across; likely so they could fit more tables. The food was also so boring and poorly plated.
My husband got to the beef bourguignon which is the most bland version of that dish I’ve ever tried.
I had the halibut which is also not something I’d ever want to try again. Finally, the service was not great.
Our waiter asked if we wanted him to go over the menu and he just showed us which sections had the appetizers and mains; something that was already insanely obvious.
Another server was visibly annoyed when we politely asked her to remake a drink that was not made how we had ordered. The restaurant has a lovely atmosphere; however, i’d rather be at pastis which has exceptional food to go with their lovely atmosphere.
You can enjoy the most this restaurant has to offer by looking in the window from the street.

One of my favorite spots for brunch in NYC.
Took my kids there at the end of November, it was beautiful and festive.
The desserts are divine. I love their egg with whipped cauliflower and tofu.

Owner response

Definitely had high expectations for an evening of French cuisine.
Walked in and was WOWED 😊for 10 seconds by venue until we were seated by the 2nd section in rear retail shop.
Ambiance changed from elegant & romantic to brightly lit shopping. We had 3 different servers during the course of the evening.
Our Salmon entree got mixed up with a chicken instead.
It tasted good so we did not point out the mistake. Also got billed $10 extra for a Shrimp Apero.
This was rectified.
We arrived at 4:30 but ordered from both menus.
Needs to be more organized… The Apero menu is 3-5 pm Monday- Friday.
Dinner starts at 5 pm.
Overall the food was good but lacked excitement.
I was hoping to be overwhelmed. The staff was polite & accommodating.
We would return for another try of the Apero but would insist for seating in the main section.

Owner response