27.12.08: Out to Le Mercury

The bread. The wine. The candlelight (trust Us, it's there).

For Her b-day, They decamped to Le Mercury, Their favourite Frenchy restaurant ever - the one with the perfect buzz of romantic atmosphere, low prices, and, of course, good food. We first sampled the mussels and frites here together over 14 years ago, and we love it no less now than we did then. We pay it fewer visits now we no longer live in North London, but we think of it often.

We'll let the captions do the description on this one.

His moules marniere: mussels in white wine with
cream, shallots, garlic, lemon and parsely

His entrecote a l'echalotte: rib-eye steak chargrilled and served with shallot sauce

HE SAYS: Mmmm, mussels in creamy wine sauce. What's not to like? With the added bread basket I was set for an evening of soaking up and savouring the delicious nectar. And then came the steak in all its perfectly cooked and succulent splendidness. The fries were a marvelous crispy, sauce dipper when all the bread disappeared and the shallot sauce waited to be devoured. Did we have a salad? I remember little of it (must of been the wine). For dessert, I thought the coconut sorbet was perfectly paired with the pineapple, and I left full and satisfied into the very chilly north London night, secure in the knowledge that Le Merc still delivers a fantastic night out for pennies.

Her tiger prawns cooked in parsley and butter, with chili aioli

SHE SAYS: I was so happy to sink into our window seat after a l-o-n-g (but good) day at the after-xmas sales. I simply cannot believe we've not paid Le Merc a visit all year long. The thin, perfectly crisp frites are reason enough to go, but my fall-apart pork with its jus and baked apples gave me even more reason go mmmmm. The prawns were yumsome and indulgent, tho' the sauce was simply run-o-mill chili mayo, nothing special in the aioli dept.

Our frites and green salad, and Her poitrine de porc: slow-roast honeyed
pork belly with confit celariac and granny smith apple

Being the b-day gal, I chose dessert, and chose with restraint. Two days of cheesecake will do that to you. While I thought the glaze could have been a bit less rushed, the flavour combo of coco-pineapple was deeply divine and refreshing. Happy b-day to me, and make no mistake.

Our glazed pineapple with coconut sorbet, plus a decaf coffee for Her and a latte for Him