Mercer Kitchen - come for the scene and to be seen, not for the food or service

I've been to Mercer kitchen countless times, and I always leave with the same impression. The restaurant is notable for the location - heart of Soho; the space - a chic, modern, clean-cut interior; and the people it attracts - celebrities ranging from Lenny Kravitz to Tom Cruise, but it's not somewhere to run to for the great bites or wonderful service. This particular visit was most notable for the miniature debacle.

My aunt made a 12pm reservation 2 weeks in advance, and the host promised brunch. Go anywhere, even the corner Sushi joint on a Saturday before dinner in New York, and you no doubt will find a standard brunch menu. 12pm rolls around at Mercer Kitchen and our party is seated, and within seconds the waitress hands over dinner menus. After rejecting what we thought were the wrong menus, we were told that due to the Valentine's Day "holiday," that only dinner is being served - all day. Who wants a rack of lamb first thing in the morning? When you want eggs, you want eggs, and despite our hissy fit no breakfast menu came our way. Minus 10, Mercer Kitchen. The day old basket of muffins on the house didn't do much to mitigate the pains either.

Anyhow, the lunch...or dinner...we did have was not bad, just not great. The pizzettes were about the size of a round pita, not at all enough for a full meal (and we weren't warned). My squash soup with mushrooms had great flavor, but it was as thin as chicken broth and served luke warm. Despite the fancy serving method (empty bowl with random particles then gets filled by waiter with soup from vessel), I wasn't impressed. My sister's shrimp cocktail looked decent, and her Fennel Salad actually was pretty tasty. Overall, none of the dishes on my table thrilled me and if it weren't for this review I'd probably forget what I ate by tomorrow.
If I could write home about one thing I ate, I would pick the Molten Chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. At least the kitchen got molten down to a T - when the cake was pierced, warm, delicious, ooey gooey chocolate oozed out just like it should. Plus 1 point Mercer.

No real celeb sightings this time around, but the scene with the waiters over the menu confusion was enough to keep me entertained. The food wasn't great, but I'll be back simply for the small tinge of celebrity I feel in Mercer Kitchen's presence.

Website: www.mercerhotel.com
Location: 99 Prince Street @ Mercer in the heart of Soho