4298 Fraser Street, Vancouver

Tel: (604) 423-3624

Web: https://www.saymercy.ca

instagram @saymercyyvr

Advice: Advance reservations suggested.

With its focus on American Barbq and Southern Italian, Chef Sean Reeve and his partners have a created a wonderful menu of dishes that marry both of these cuisines in harmony.

The Dorado Crudo is a flavourful dish with scallion & chili dressing, sun dried olive, citrus, endive, mint; the Smoked Veal & Tuna is a play on the traditional Italian Vitell Tonne; where the fusion is wonderous, the veal is smoked to give it a barbq taste while the rest of the ingredients tuna & anchovy dressing, salsa verde, caper berries, pecorino fresco, celery; one of my favourite dishes on their menu.

The Oxtail & Parsnip Agnolotti was a very unique dish with the agnolotti served in an oxtail consommé, with rosemary, garlic chips; the Barbeque Bolognese has been one of the most popular on the menu since opening earlier this year; and it’s another one of the dishes that marries both cuisines so perfectly well giving your tastebuds a whirl from sweet to spicy to hot to sour with tagliatelle, pancetta, smoked pork butt, and grana padano.

I only had a taste of my friend Zahra’s Shrimp & Grits so I can speak to that one, it comes with mussels, fennel, calabrian chili, tomato; the Beef Rib (smoked for 10-12 hours) with a sorghum spice glaze (made with peach and Dr Pepper) is a stunner and one that is for 2 people to share; make sure to get the Dirty Farro side to accompany this dish as it is made with chicken hearts and livers and oyster mushrooms. The other side that is a must have is the Roasted Cabbage with a delicious rich fontina cream sauce, crispy shallots, and chives.

It was early on since opening and there were only a couple of desserts, we had the delicious and pillowy Beignets stuffed with lingonberry jam, hope to see a greater range of desserts as the months go on.

As the room is fairly tight and the focus being on dining their bar set-up was designed to be minimal, however, they offer a unique Cart service that can be wheeled to your table before dessert and features a selection of digestif’s, I had the delicious Marolo Camomile Grappa while Zahra had the Amaro Lucano from Italy.

One thing that I would recommend if you are dining with one or two more people is to get the “Jesus Takes the Wheel” menu where you get one item from each section for $55.00pp, it’s a great value and I am sure you are going to full and happy by the end.

This is a neighborhood gem worthy of your patronage, I can’t wait to return to discover more as the seasons change.

Review by: Richard Wolak

4298 Fraser Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada