A groupon deal promised a 7-course tasting menu at The Mercer and it seemed like good timing with Rache visiting London for work that we could go and dine in her local ‘hood. The Mercer has a very city-feel so the diners this evening were, in the majority, suits. But, we had no problem with that as long as the food and the service was good 😉

You’d be hard pressed to actually call every dish that we had tonight an actual course so to describe it as a 7-course tasting menu was a bit ambitious, it was more like 3 or 4 full courses with 3 or 4 half-courses. However, there could be no complaining about the quality and taste of the food and actually it was probably just the right amount for a satisfying meal tonight.

We started with a spring pea and mint soup with crumbled feta. This was divine and one of the best tasting pea soups I’ve ever tasted. The feta (with fennel), however, didn’t really add anything and was the first thing that Rache and I tried to get rid of.

Smoked mackerel spread, capers, malted toast was okay though I’m not the best person to judge such dishes as pates and like are not really my thing. They could have been more generous with the toast – we couldn’t finish even half our spread despite best efforts as there wasn’t enough toast! and it was simply too rich to eat on its own.

Next up – Watt’s farm asparagus hollandaise. The hollandaise was delish – again like the spread we could have done with more than just two pieces of asparagus!

The Mercer pie. This deserved a “The” – it was great tasting (though would have preferred a bottom on the pie) combination of beef flank, field mushrooms, Guinness, and short crust pastry. Even the ladies next to us had cause to comment that the pie was so good they couldn’t help picking off the pastry from the side of the bowl. They were practically licking the plate!

Eton Mess was more like a shotglass than a full dessert – think it could have done with more meringue.

And finally we finished with British cheeses, biscuits and chutney (could have done with an explanation of what the cheeses were) and Devils on Horseback consisting of prunes, smoked bacon and chutney. This had a bit of bite or some sort of heat which was a good touch. And was more like a mouthful than a whole dish.

Really pleased with our dinner tonight at The Mercer. Service was excellent and very approachable. Food was yummy and well-cooked. I would definitely come back for The Mercer Pie again!