French Wave

Mercat French bistro opens in Dallas with a certain je ne sais quoi

Cold lentils and shallots in vinaigrette, served in a beautiful flower-rimmedbowl.
Photo by Teresa Gubbins
Sweetbreads with butter lettuce and radicchio, topped with a poached egg.
Photo by Teresa Gubbins
Charcuterie plate with toasts and cornichons.
Photo by Teresa Gubbins
Mercat serves cold water without ice or straws. Yay!
Photo by Teresa Gubbins
Kale and farro salad with mint, cucumber and red onion.
Photo by Teresa Gubbins

Opening night finally arrived on June 8 for Mercat, the new French bistro on the edge of downtown Dallas. The restaurant is the more sophisticated sibling to neighboring Saint Ann.

The patio was furnished, the crew on its toes. Inside, couples and foursomes sat at marble-topped tables, the first on the block to try something new. A large, festive party sipped champagne and feasted: charcuterie plate, bruschetta with heirloom tomatoes and burrata, veal sweetbreads, and roast chicken with French fries.

We had Texas wine by the glass — Fume Blanc by Becker Vineyards, a mixed red by Pedernales — and snacked on house-made pain d'epi, or wheat-stalk bread, served with a basil-flavored butter.

We tried two salads: one was kale and farro (an ancient grain), with mint, cucumber and diced tomatoes; the other was cold lentils and shallots in vinaigrette. We dug into a bowl of mushroom ragu, with roasted mushrooms and breadcrumbs topped with a sunny-side fried egg. We split French fries, brown and crisp, served with sweet, mildly spicy ketchup that they make in-house.

We felt grateful that chef Jared Robinette had spent time at SPQR in San Francisco before biding his time at Saint Ann and that Harwood International owner Gabriel Barbier-Mueller crossed paths with restaurateur and Mercat general manager Stephan Courseau.

We appreciated the water — without ice or straws — with a bottle placed at the table so we could pour our own into French-made Duralex glasses. We took note of the shabby chic mix-and-match combination of plateware. We loved the atmospheric house music — sometimes with female vocals, sometimes not.

It felt like we were somewhere other than Dallas, and that's always a good thing.

unspecified

list news

Only one Dallas eatery makes OpenTable's top 100 restaurants for 2024

Courtesy of Hudson House

Hudson House on Lover's Lane is the only Dallas restaurant named on OpenTable's Top 100 Restaurants list in 2024.

Restaurant reservation website OpenTable has just issued its new list of the top 100 restaurants in America for 2024, and only one eatery in Dallas made the list: Hudson House, the oyster-centric restaurant in Dallas' upscale Park Cities neighborhood.

The "2024's Top 100 Restaurants" is a compilation of the most sought-after and top-ranked restaurants in the U.S. based on 14 million verified reviews on OpenTable from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024. Restaurants are not ranked, but arranged in alphabetical order by state.

Hudson House, which opened in 2017, prides itself on its East Coast comfort food, with seafood dishes, cheeseburgers, and martinis.

"Oysters are flown in daily and are best paired with their legendary 'World’s Coldest Martinis,'" says the restaurant's OpenTable profile.

The fast-expanding chain was co-founded by East Hampton Sandwich Company honchos Hunter Pond and Kyle Brooks. The Lovers Lane location is one of six operating in Dallas-Fort Worth, most recently one that opened in Preston Hollow in April. There is also a location in Houston and another in Beverly Hills.

Pond, who is also the founder and CEO of the restaurant's parent company Vandelay Hospitality, shared his praise for Hudson House in a statement.

"To represent Dallas-Fort Worth and be part of such an esteemed group of restaurants is a testament to our team’s passion and dedication," Pond said. "We’re grateful to our loyal guests who have made this recognition possible."

Hudson House was one of 10 total Texas restaurants to receive recognition in OpenTable's list. In numbers that seem to reflect the recent Michelin Guide awards, Austin ruled with the highest number of restaurants. On the OpenTable list, Austin scored with seven total establishments, while San Antonio and Houston each had one.

The full list of Texas restaurants named on OpenTable's Top 100 Restaurants for 2024, organized alphabetically, are:

Aba, Austin
Hudson House - Lover's Lane, Dallas
J Carver's Oyster Bar & Chophouse, Austin
Jeffrey's Restaurant, Austin
Red Ash Italia, Austin
Sammie's Italian, Austin
Steak 48, Houston
Signature, San Antonio
Uchi Austin
Uchiko Austin

awards bests media lists