Dinner at the Merc
*…read moreThe food is exceptional, not simply for the Flathead Valley but for Montana. I suspect we'll upgrade that sentiment to "the Pacific Northwest" before too long.
* The space itself is a perfect blend of old logging town saloon and upscale Montana bistro. You'd never find this place in Whitefish, let alone Big Sky.
* The people, the ambiance, the service--together they'd make even a subpar menu forgivable. Instead it's an impeccable menu. The overall experience would make dining at the Merc totally worthwhile even if the food was just fine. Newsflash: there's nothing "just fine" about it.
From eye level on down there's not a drop of pretense in the joint, above which you have the charm of Tiffany lamps and a gilded tin ceiling. Beyond those, the true opulence is on your plate. That's not to suggest that this restaurant isn't as blue collar as they come, the food just tastes better. Plenty of its brethren to the north serve fine food, but most are rather stuffy, or else their food struggles to live up to their aesthetic. At the Merc, your meal somehow outshines the space, the wine offerings are almost absurd--incredible quality and quite eclectic. The sommelier is a gem, a fixture in the Flathead for some time now and perhaps the savviest buyer in the state. Shyamali tells stories about a vintage or vineyard that withstand a retelling--even weeks later to people not drinking the wine. As the menu takes more and more risks, the dishes get perceptibly tighter. The imperfections are acceptable (the Wedge should be better for how incredible the Caesar is... Solution? Order the Caesar) The folks who tend bar can make you anything you like, but the smart money is on drinking what they like to make. Wait staff is best in the Valley (might not be close). Somehow, when you put it altogether, you get a restaurant that blows away the summer tourist crowd with elevated fare without ever alienating the lifer locals who call the Merc home. Threading that needle anywhere is an incredible feat in itself, let alone in the Flathead.
Comparing Mercantile to restaurants in the Flathead Valley is a bit of a fool's errand. Only a few places within 100 miles can even claim a spot on northwest Montana's upper echelon, though most reading this may join me in hoping that changes soon. There are excellent chefs in Northwest Montana, but perhaps none with the resume of the minds behind the Mercantile.
Mercantile is the kind of restaurant that makes me wonder why I ever go anywhere else... the problem is I get that feeling when I'm dining at the Merc, AND when I'm dining anywhere else.
Disclaimer: I don't post reviews to yelp--like, at all--and I'm just a regular dude who doesn't know a lot about this stuff. My expertise is nil, but my experience spans all the way from the humblest street food, food trucks, roulottes, and tamale carts, to dining at 3-Michelin star restaurants.
If there's a grain of salt to take with this review, it's simply that I've eaten there more than once. If popping into the mercantile (and its sister bar KM next door)) is a mark against this opinion (for some it is) then I get it.
But that doesn't make me wrong.
