I’ve been to a couple of Jean-Georges’ restaurants, and they were excellent. So, I was prepared to be dazzled again at Mercer Kitchen in SoHo, also a part of my Michelin Challenge.

The restaurant is downstairs in a dimly lit basement, serving American fare. There are two types of seating, conventional tables, and then banquettes with small circular tables. We were sat at the later, and, I wasn’t a big fan of the seating, especially since there were three of us, a table really meant for two, so, we had to play a bit of Tetris to fit all our plates. 

You’re served bread to start, everybody loves a snack. For my entree, I ordered the Steamed Skate (with Tarragon, Sesame Seed, Asparagus and Sushi Rice). This was a really great dish. The fish is super delicate and generously portioned. It’s almost bathing in a savory broth, in the best way possible. The asparagus was perfectly cooked, not too crisp, not too tender, Goldilocks style. And the sushi rice was a perfect compliment, substantial and sticky, and really great when soaking up the flavors of the broth and fish.

The Shorts:
Name: Mercer Kitchen
Location: 99 Prince Street, NYC
Michelin Stars: One Star
The Long and Short: Would I go back? I would, the food was delicious, but I’ll request on OpenTable, “no banquette seating, please”. 
Would I recommend it? Yes, it has a sleek and cavernous aesthetic with a pretty good playlist.