The Mercat has recently won a spate of awards (‘Most loved gastro pub in the UK’ and ‘Second most loved business in the UK’ ) so I was very much looking forward to visiting this West End bar and eatery.
Owner Graham Blaikie has spent the past five years slowly revamping the space and the result is a cosy, comfortable restaurant area complete with dark wood panelling, leather chairs and a relaxed atmosphere.
The menu (also encased in wood) is a carnivore’s dream, with a broad range of tempting meat dishes including pan-fried guinea fowl, honey glazed duck and saddle of lamb chop. In addition to the meat, which is clearly the star of the show, there is a great selection of seafood dishes such as mussels and fishcakes. Vegetarians are not left out, although it has to be said that the choice for non-meat eaters is mostly in the ‘lite bites’ section of the menu where they can pick from a selection of toasted ciabattas, baked potatoes and salads.
My dining partner and I visited at lunch time and opted to share the starter of red pepper hummus (£4.95). The generous portion was beautifully presented, and was served with chunks of warm crusty bread, oil and balsamic, stuffed olives and sundried tomatoes. The hummus itself was very nicely textured – smooth and creamy– and had a piquant kick from the red peppers and garlic. And the luxuriously sticky and sweet balsamic vinegar was gorgeous too; just thick enough to cling to the torn-off hunks of bread in a satisfying way.
For the main course my companion chose the grilled sea bass (£9.50,) while I went for the traditional gastro pub fare of steak & Caledonian pie (£8.95). She enjoyed the moist and flavoursome fish with its lively salsa verde topping, although she felt that the dish had been slightly overly seasoned for her taste. The accompanying straw potatoes were good, but were trumped by my delicious pile of chunky chips. I can never resist steak pie, and this one was a huge success, with rich, tender chunks of beef that almost melted in the mouth. The puff pastry topping was satisfactorily crisp, and the dish came with crunchy sugar snap peas and sweet carrots on the side. We settled for espressos instead of dessert (to perk us up for going back to the office), and these were served properly, accompanied by a glass of water.
After visiting The Mercat it’s easy to see why it has such a loyal customer base. It’s pub food, done properly. Now that’s something to shout about.
28 West Maitland Street
Edinburgh
0131 225 8716
