jamieross103 As I have spent all my life visiting and living in France for long periods of time I have a good idea what French food should be like and taste like especially for some of the classic dishes, I know people have preferences but the core dish is the same throughout. So I hoped for some classic dishes from Mercat Bistro.
As you can see form the menu, this is as classic as it gets really, I was excited. We approached the front door and it looked and felt like a French Bistro, I thought I was in France. We were seated in the Orangerie but below is the dining room.
Once we were seated we ordered a half dozen oysters and a glass of rose to accompany them.
Delicious, the shallots and vinegar were perfect, horseradish and chili sauce which Jen preferred, I am a purist so lemon works.
Next course was Foie Gras for me and Jen had Escargots.
The Foie Gras was rich and fatty, lovely flavour. The escargot was not as good I am afraid, it was earthy and really tasted of mushroom, it needed some garlic to be more authentic, but still it was enjoyable.
Next I swopped things around. I had another Small Plate – Steak Tartare for my appetizer as nothing jumped out for me.
My gosh it was delcious, it was pre-mixed up which some love and some hate, I prefer to make my own tartare as then I can decide hoe much I want of things but this was super delicious, the meat was superb and season well, the mustard seeds and capers came through well. Jen had the Steak au Poivre with asparagus and potato puree (mashed ha).
The steak was tender and cooked perfectly, the asparagus was crispy and season well with a slight chargrill taste to it. The poivre or pepper sauce was silky and tasty with a good pepper after taste, really good.
The wine list is small but has a good selection of wines ranging from 55$ – 500$ depending on your budget, mostly French but some USA wines available. We chose a 2015 Ducru ‘La Croix’ which was delicious.
Overall it was a typical French Bistro and the food was good for sure. The service was pleasantly slow which added to the the whole experience. Compared to some of the other ones in DFW I have tried it is certainly worth a visit. They surprised us with a dessert with a sparkler which was nice as it was Jen’s Birthday.
Visit them
https://www.instagram.com/mercatbistro/
