London : British Cuisine with The Mercer

11th July 2011. Written by Xin Li.
London, United Kingdom.
Located in the financial district along Threadneedle Street. Mercer is a posh restaurant and it happens that there is Groupon voucher for their 7-course meal. Hence, we decided to try it out and give a multi-course western meal a try.

The interior is classy and elegant, complete with tall ceilings and a touch of art-deco in its interior design. The service was excellent and the ambience deserved high marks.

Feeling slightly adventurous, I decided to try something new and opt for wine pairing for the meal (18 GBP, Wine Set A).

The meal started off with a Spring Pea and Mint Soup with crumbled feta. This is a well-rounded soup that we easily wiped clean. The feta cheese adds a kind of savory and salty tinge to the smooth, creamy soup.

Wine: l’Hospitalet Viognier 2009, Languedoc, France.

Next up was Smoked Mackerel Spread with capers and malted toast. The spread was served in a jar like some kind of jam. You spread it on the malted toast and savor it with the condiments provided. It was rather ordinary. My younger brother didn’t enjoy the capers.

Wine: San Rafael Sauvignon Blanc, 2010, San Rafael, Chile.

Watt’s Farm Asparagus with hollandaise sauce was served next, a simple dish, almost reminiscent of Kyoto cuisine. Love the tender asparagus with the tangy hollandaise sauce. This item is also on the ala carte menu but served with parmesan and poached duck’s egg. The asparagus might be from Watt’s Farm in Orpington, Kent.

Wine: Chilcas Hand-Picked Chardonnay, 2010, Maule, Chile.

The Mercer Pie, beef flank, field mushrooms, Guinness and short crust pastry served with mashed potato and cooked vegetables is one of my favourite dishes for the day. I enjoyed the tender chunks of beef in the pie. The content is like a stew, hearty and delicious. This dish can be found on their ala-carte menu.

Wine: Cahors Chateau du Calliau 2009, Cahors, France.

Eton Mess, strawberries, meringue and vanilla cream is a traditional English dessert which is traditionally served at the annual cricket game of Eton College versus Winchester College. The beauty of this dessert is its simplicity. The fragrant vanilla cream and meringue complement the sweet and sour strawberries and the result is a lovely, not too sweet dessert to round up the meal.

Wine: Mocasto d’Asti, 2009, Florence, Italy

British Cheeses served with biscuits and chutney and Devils on Horseback was served together with the cheeses. The dish has smoked bacon and chutney. The Devils on Horseback is pretty good, crispy, warm bacon wraped over a sweet dried prune. The saltiness of the bacon pairs with the sweetness of the prune gives it a savoury flavor, a delicious snack.

Wine: Fonseca LBV, 2006, Belize, Portugal.

We rounded off the meal with some tea, I was feeling tipsy after having six glasses of wine, and probably it will be my last time drinking so much.

The whole meal cost 45 GBP for two thanks to the Groupon UK voucher. Overall, it was a good experience. I enjoyed the Mercer Pie a lot.

The Mercer

Address:
34 Threadneedle Street,
London, ECR2 8AY

Telephone:
020-7628-0001

Breakfast served 7.30-10am,
lunch served noon-3pm,
dinner served 5.30-9.30pm Mon-Fri.