In fourth century BC, Mercury was considered to be a god who represented both abundance and commercial success. Well, some 2,500 years later, the Mercury Lounge, located just off 17th Ave. S.W., is an aptly named successor to the Roman deity.
After redesigning the room, changing head chefs and revamping its menu, Mercury Lounge is back. Based on my recent visit, I’d say it’s going to succeed, too.
The classic black-and-white boxing pictures remain, offering a bit of ruggedness and nostalgia to the otherwise classy room. Dark wood tones offer a soothing atmosphere that’s complemented by the lively modern jazz that plays in the background, offsetting the chatter of patrons.
When we arrived, our waitress greeted us with a pleasant tone, offering the chance to review the drink menu as we settled in for what would be a delightful meal all around. While there are plenty of wine and cocktail options, we opted for a couple of pints of Big Rock’s Grasshopper ($6.25 each; all prices include GST). The fact that we might have finally beaten Old Man Winter — just in time for the May long weekend — was without a doubt the inspiration for our drink choices.
The new menu, designed by executive chef Robert Jewell, has a grand total of 26 choices on it, top to bottom. There are eight appetizers, four salads, four sandwiches, six mains and four desserts to pick from. That’s it.
That’s the type of menu I prefer. I have faith in a good chef to make generalized choices for me, at which point all I have to do is fine tune what I happen to feel like trying at that particular sitting.
Jewell, who’s also the head chef at Mercury’s sister venture, Bungalow Lounge, described the recent changes. “We’ve done the same thing to the room as we did with the menu: made it more approachable, warmer and sleek, but at the same time kept the great style and sexy food that the Mercury is known for.”
All in all, I'd say it's a fair assessment and the already-popular Mercury will continue to be a favourite spot for Calgary's after-work crowd for the foreseeable future. Not only has Jewell paid attention to creating a simple yet elegant menu for his patrons, you can see the effort that was made on engineering the platings and in choosing cutlery and china as well. Everything that was brought out during our visit was as visually pleasing as it was tasty.
We opted to start with the braised beef short ribs ($12). That was when I had the sneaking suspicion that this meal was going to be memorable. I was right, too. The ribs were fall-apart tender and served in a simple yet delicious au jus. Thin slivers of fried sweet potatoes were added as part of the garnish, adding a colour balance to the plate as well.
For our mains, my guest ordered the steak and frites ($27), described on the menu as “New York, prawn, scallop and lemon mustard Béarnaise.” It also included asparagus, and the frites were a combination of both regular and sweet potato fries. The generous portion of New York steak was cooked right to my guest’s preference of medium-well.
Thinking back on the meal, I can now honestly say that I wish more restaurants would follow Mercury’s suit and offer Béarnaise sauces. To put it in simple mathematical terms: Béarnaise > A.1. Steak Sauce.
The prawns were lightly seasoned and cooked just right, while the scallop was seared on the outside, nicely caramelized without drying up the inside.
I tried the free-range chicken ($27), served with baby mushrooms in a foie gras sauce, fingerling potatoes, carrots, green beans and pearl onions. What a treat this meal was. The sauce was earthy and worked well with all of the items on my plate. The chicken breast’s skin was crispy, while the meat itself was wonderfully moist.
Even though I was feeling pretty full once I’d finished the main course, I felt that it was a matter of journalistic integrity that I sample some dessert, ordering the chocolate fondue ($8) to share. At $8, it might be the best deal on the entire menu. The fondue arrived on a cutting board with a tealight, keeping the bowl of chocolate nice and warm and melty. I’m very glad that I had the help of my guest on this one. There was an abundance of strawberries, marshmallows, banana bread, gooseberries, pears, apples and pineapples.
Ultimately we didn’t finish it all, but we gave it a decent shot and enjoyed what was certainly one of the best meals I’ve had in recent memory.
The Mercury is located at 101 550 17th Ave. S.W.; phone, 229-0222.
