A new restaurant in Soho is bringing the feel of a hometown pub with an elevated menu to the neighborhood.
Bar Mercer is the latest project from restaurateur John McDonald and Executive Chef Preston Clark, bringing a sophisticated yet welcoming environment to West Houston Street.
McDonald is no stranger to the neighborhood — he has been in Bar Mercer’s location for the past 15 years, previously running the restaurant Burger & Barrel (which closed during the COVID pandemic) in the same spot, and later Bar Tulix. After discussing it with Clark, McDonald decided it was time to reinvigorate the space.
“We just started a conversation saying, ‘Why don’t we go back to kind of an old school New York with a little English-influenced pub with a high-level menu, big wine list?’” said McDonald. “That’s how it started. Preston and I started cooking and doing specials and running things quietly without anybody knowing — the restaurant was still open as Bar Tulix. We gradually just evolved this idea again like kind of in darkness and then in January, we unveiled it.”
Bar Mercer offers the ambiance of an English pub but with a refined, elevated menu. It was important to McDonald that the space remain approachable and unpretentious, both with the food and with the overall experience.
“[We had] this idea of flipping it into Bar Mercer and not a lounge, but being a very kind of serious restaurant that wasn’t going to be fancy or too prissy. That was the thesis and then giving Preston the culinary freedom to just explore something different was my motivation behind wanting to do it,” said McDonald.
The menu features a curated raw bar, a selection of small plates such as Steak Tartare, Grilled Prawns, Housemade Pigs in a Blanket and Hamachi Crudo, and mains such as Fish & Chips, Filet Au Poivre, and Hangover Pasta. The restaurant also boasts a robust wine program and a variety or spirits to pair with the meal.
“[Guests] have the ability to have that style of meal and then have a great cocktail and wine component that kind of marries up to that,” said McDonald. “I watch tables that are there and they’re ordering two dozen oysters and then they’re having some of the bar snacks and then they’re sharing a steak and a fish.”
When reworking the space, McDonald wanted to make Bar Mercer feel like a place that you’ve been to before, with that comfortable feeling of your hometown pub that always delivers on good food and good vibes. One of the most important things for McDonald and Clark was to create a space that people would want to return to, a neighborhood spot that they felt that Soho was lacking.
“I live in the neighborhood, I live on the block. I really want a place that I can go to at least once a week, and that’s what this does for me,” said McDonald. “I don’t think of it as a concept so much as it is a room I want to go to, makes me feel good, feels like it’s been there, and I know that there’s going to be a core menu.”
Though Bar Mercer has only been open for a short while, McDonald says that the feedback has been stellar, with many customers remembering the legacy of Burger & Barrel and loving what is now Bar Mercer. As the restaurant continues to grow, McDonald’s main hope is that customers will see the expertise that Clark brings to the table and how he will help make Bar Mercer a neighborhood staple.
“I just hope that people recognize Preston’s talent and his background, and I think that already in a short window of time, I do see the appreciation for that,” said McDonald. “And for him, it just kind of fulfills this role in the neighborhood. There’s fewer and fewer restaurants in Soho as time goes by, people get pushed out and priced out. It’s really like a combination of hoping for him in that regard and then just establishing [Bar Mercer] as like a great Soho staple.”
Bar Mercer is located at 25 West Houston St. For more information or to make a reservation, visit barmercer.com.
