La Mercerie

La Mercerie Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant & décor: This STARR Restaurants project in the furniture and design store Roman and Williams Guild in SoHo serves French food in an impeccably designed space. Along with the menu, guests receive a list of handmade, chic tableware for sale. (These items are aspirational and pricey; one teacup and saucer costs $125, there’s a $25,000 sofa.) It’s café fare in a luxurious setting, with sun streaming in during the day and plenty of candlelight by night. High ceilings, cozy blue banquettes and impressive floral arrangements by fellow vendor Emily Thompson Flowers add to the appeal.

Likes: Oeuf Cocotte; crêpes; profiteroles au chocolat; lovely space.
Dislikes: Expensive prices.

Food & Drinks: Chef Marie-Aude Rose, who cooked for chefs like Guy Savoy and Pierre Gagnaire, makes food that celebrates French bistro classics with great precision. Try the Oeuf Cocotte, a baked egg, for breakfast, served with buttery mushroom brioche. Chef Rose’s crêpes are ethereally light, and a buckwheat crêpe filled with a sunny side up egg, Comté cheese and ham is satisfying for lunch or breakfast. Homemade smoked salmon is silky, bright, and even better with fluffy blinis and crème fraîche. Salade niçoise, with slow-cooked tuna, green beans and olives, is made pleasantly briny with anchovy vinaigrette. Roast chicken is moist under its crispy skin and is served with sweet-tart garlic-ginger nougatine. For dessert, try the profiteroles au chocolat, airy puffs of pastry filled with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with bittersweet chocolate sauce. They sum up La Mercerie’s food: classic and craveable. A selection of French wines is offered alongside ciders, beers and cocktails.