The Mercantile

I returned to the Mercantile on 1÷15÷2015 to have dinner with my fiancé (full disclosure is that I’ve been a few other times fairly recently with mediocre results too.
It was a pretty busy night, but not crazy. Most of the tables were full but not all of them. As usual, they were out of some of the things that we wanted, like salad. Also the menu had changed some (and is not the same as it is on Unilocal!) with our favorite item, being one of those things to change.
There were 2 servers working as well as one person who seemed to be a bar-​back /​busser. That being the case, prior to being seated we milled around near the bar because there is no hostess station, then were seated once the servers were able to buss a table.
We sat, ordered, and had food come. Maybe I drink a lot of water, but my glass stayed empty the majority of the meal all the while a different server than ours passed us over and over, conspicuously looking at our table but not helping. We also had plates pile up on our table with new food items being placed virtually on top of the old empties (by the same other server). It was clear that she had some sort of disdain for us or for the other server.
Once we were finished eating we waited for a long while (with dirty dishes still in front of us) to be able to pay our bill.
Once we received it I was curious about the pricing because I thought one of the dishes was cheaper previously. I took a picture of the bill and compared it to the menu on the table and on Unilocal!Sure enough, the hummus that we ordered was $ 3 more (with a smaller portion) than what was on the old menu with baba ganoush AND hummus. No biggie. I was more concerned with our lack of service.
I usually tip very well as I paid my way through college as a server and cook. Because our service was lacking, to say the least, I tipped 10% and wrote a note explaining why.
I guess the servers didn’t take it well because when I checked my credit card statement today they had increased my tip from 10% to 100%. I would believe that it was an honest mistake except from the circumstances.
I did contact the owner who responded immediately with a refund and a tepid apology.

Came in last night with a friend of mine, they were surprisingly open, as Unilocal said they were closed on Tuesdays. Pleasant surprise though!
We share a bottle of Ruma, which was a great Malbec
The arugula salad was fantastic, as well as the seared flat iron steak. Though the steak was not all that easy to split between the two of us. That said, it was delicious!
Our server was very knowledgable and accommodating– service was great!
The only reason I’m giving 4 and not 5 stars is because as a Tapas restaurant I expected the plates to be more like… Tapas!

had the fried chicken and churros. It was sweet with the syrup and a bit spicy with the chicken. Service is good. Atmosphere was nice.

I really enjoy eating here. The staff is great, the food is delicious, and the specials always please. The chefs take pride in the food they prepare and take no shortcuts. If you’re looking for a great appetizer to share, the cheese plate gets my vote.

Went to The Mercantile for Sunday Brunch, and WOW!!! Both dishes were fantastic! We split the Banana Fosters French Toast and Trinxat… they were both equally amazing! I had heard that the food was really really good, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this good! What a pleasant surprise. We will definitely make this a regular spot!

Good farm to table fresh food. Small plates paired with good wine and beer selection. Nice atmosphere and helpful attentive staff. Will definitely be back.

We have always been huge fans of Chris & Jana, who run the kitchen. Last night we were at The Mercantile with another couple expecting to enjoy an evening of wine and tapas plates. We arrived at 6:30 and were told by our waitress that they were out of both Pâté’s on the menu, so we ordered wine and were informed that the happy hour prices would only apply to bottles that they had open already. Okay, so we had a couple glasses each and were ready to order a variety of tapas plates to share.
That’s when she told us that they were out of everything on the menu except for bread, potatoes, and a cheese plate.
Had she been up front with us when we came in, we could have gone elsewhere and salvaged the evening ! By the way, there were less than a dozen patrons in there when we arrived…
It really spoiled the evening…
Bummer.

Met friends for drinks and dinner. When we arrived our waitress told us glasses of wine that were already open were $ 5/​glass because they weren’t going to be open the 4^th and 5^th so were trying to basically get rid of inventory. When she delivered our wine she said they were out of the 2 pâté options on the appetizer list. We ordered the bread plate with baked garlic clove and the Potako plates-​both good. The waitress then informed us they were out of the lamb, chicken, and hanger steak entrees, which basically left us with the cheese plate.
Seems to me they did a great job of reducing their inventory in lieu of customer dining experience. We won’t be returning here-​perhaps they should have closed on the 3^rd as well!

My husband and I got a sitter tonight and met some good friends out at Mercantile at 6:30pm. We had been wanting to check it out for some time and we’re excited to have a night out! We started with the fried potatoes and homemade bread. These two plates were outstanding, and we couldn’t wait to order our main courses. A little before 7 we were about to order and our waitress Megan informed us that they were out of 3 of the 5 most popular protein dishes and the menu is small. They were also out of the current wine my husband was drinking. So this is when the disappointment began. We were planning to order all three of the dishes that were out, instead we chose a cheese plate. The plate came with a small amount of bread. The gentleman serving the plate dropped the cheese knife on my husbands lap and stained his shorts. We still had plenty of cheese left on the plate, so we had to ask for more bread and this seemed to be an inconvenience. Not to mention that the extra bread was stale and we were charged for it. In the end, it would have been nice if our waitress would have informed us on the food shortage. She mentioned they were trying to move through product since they were closed over the weekend. I could expect this if it was 8pm, but it wasn’t even 7pm. With an HEB across the street you would have thought a run to the store for chicken would have been an idea. The waitress never offered to comp an appetizer, and she made it very clear that the happy hour prices were over. A simple I’m sorry, here’s a free side of bread would have been a nice gesture. Or let me open a bottle of wine and charge you happy hour price. The icing on top was that we had to pay for stale bread and were never given any meal options. We communicated that it would have been better service to have been told that the food was out when we first sat down. Usually the wait staff will tell you we have this many left, so if you want one order now. Only one table sat down after we entered the restaurant. It was such a disappointment. We were so happy to hear that the kitchen was being run by the team from Goodnight Diner. All 4 of us love to support local businesses, however, this service was unacceptable. We won’t be going back.

I don’t write bad reviews often, but we had a genuinely bad experience at mercantile.
My wife and I look forward to supporting a local business. Friday we got a sitter and went to dinner with another couple. We were extremely disappointed with our visit. We ordered drinks and first course only to be informed later that they were out of all of the protein courses. The cheese plate was ok, bread that came with it was underwhelming. The waitress served us stale bread when the bread on our cheese plate ran out before the cheese … She Added this to our bill as well… It was stale and awful. We only ordered the cheese plate because there was nothing left to order on the menu that wasn’t out of stock.
My wine glass and water glass ran empty several times. I had a cheese knife full of cheese spilled in my lap by a server. The waitress was inattentive but if she had been great there was nothing left on the menu for her to bring us. Our waitress acted like it was our fault for being there when they were out of stuff. We got no considerations were made with regard to our requests that could not be honored. There was a weird structure for happy hour drink prices that made no sense.
Worst dining experience in the last 5 years. I’m done with mercantile. So are our friends.

Love the Mercantile. Light dining which allows for a variety of choices. Also great portions for my son. Excellent tasting food too! A really great Sunday brunch too! The quiche and the frittata are so good!

I have been to the Mercantile on several occasions now (most recently for brunch) and have been really impressed by it all. The staff have always been attentive and friendly. The quiches and Trinxat benedict are great brunch items, and the house cured bacon is heavenly. I also like that the coffee is self-​serve.
The menu varies, but I have been very happy with anything that this chef does with a duck. Everything is good. Go for Tapas and wine and then visit the dance hall across the street.

I enjoyed The Mercantile’s Sunday brunch yesterday. My husband got the hanger steak and he said the meat was tender. I on the other hand am vegetarian & ordered the crustless quiche and enjoyed it thoroughly. The glass of house red wine was smooth as well.

I don’t normally frequent Spanish tapas style restaurants in the middle of the rugged hill country in the great State of The Texas, or something of that nature, y’all. Who are these people?! Who sent them here?! Why in the good god of stuffed rabbits are these folks out here?! Fried chicken and churros, wtF (ood)? Lawd help us all… and now brunch!!! I could’ve sworn I moved to Dripping Springs, Texas., it feels like heaven…

The food here is delicious. I am very picky, and hate spending a lot of money on food that’s so so. This place was amazing. Everything was fantastic!!!

First time here and I’m kicking myself for not coming sooner. A lively crowd for a Wednesday night. The Texas wine special was delicious and a huge deal at $ 5 a glass. Tapas highlights include the housemade bread with roasted garlic and pecan honey butter; fried red potatoes with sambaal aioli; beef short ribs; and hanger steak. The Pure Luck chèvre cheesecake was the perfect finishing touch.

Second time here. Wow, the food here is phenomenal. The house made pâté, chevre cheesecake with mesquite flour crust (which has got to be one of the best desserts in the state — and gluten free!), trinxat, and other small plates are really impressive. Good wine list with good by-​the-​glass selections. Service is good but not over the top, could make some improvements here. Great beer selection and wine selection. Warm atmosphere. Highly recommend.

Food was OK. Lamb meatballs with Olives were well crafted, but bread was uninspired compared to Trattoria Lisinia, for example. Service was inept and slow despite restaurant being 80 percent empty.

Glad to see The Mercantile open on Mercer St. They have a very nice selection of wines, cozy atmosphere, and very nice staff. We had the hot tapas, which were all very flavorful, but I find the prices to be a bit high for the portion. I’m used to a small plate having three to four pieces for the same price at other tapas restaurants, rather than just two. I will definitely come back, but not as often.

Whoa! I never thought this would happen; escargot being served in Drippin’ proper. It was a special the evening Mrs. Rooster and I chose to check out The Mercantile on Mercer Street. For $ 14, I got a huge portion of snails in a flavorful sauce. Just east of DS in Austin, you’d get 5 or 6 for that price. Y’all go ahead and keep them around and I’ll be a regular diner.
We chose to sit on the patio on a lovely Friday evening. Service provided by Jolene was friendly and attentive. The wife’s dining experience started with a Spanish version of a potato pancake with cabbage and sausage. The aioli that accompanied the dish lacked the advertised garlic flavor. The cakes for our visit were delicious without the sauce.
We then shared an order of the shallot croustade. Flavorful onion jam with sunny side up quail eggs with a balsamic reduction. Totally amazing; but it didn’t come with the micro greens listed in the description. We both selected the hanger steak plate for our main plate. Perfectly cooked rare and tender beef with pommes anna. The tater was the key to this plate. I’ve seen this version botched a thousand times; it was perfect.
For dessert I selected the pumpkin and coconut panna cotta; the wife choosing the apple terrine. Its hard to choose an overall winner here as each dish was absolutely amazing. The zesty lemon whipped cream on the terrine and the pepita sage brittle that accented the pumpkin on my dish. Holy crap, we’re in Drippin’ and not in Paris. Sure, I could discount the star ratings for a few missteps. I instead choose another path as I’m intrigued by the confidence that this kitchen possesses.
See ya soon Mercantile