I first went to Le Mercury in 2004 after meeting an ex work colleage across the road in the Old Parr’s Head. The pub (Parr’s Head) seems to have closed down, which is a shame, but Le Mercury is still there. It serves a fairly rustic-style of French cuisine but my particular reason for liking it is that it’s one of the few places I’ve found to serve confit de canard at a reasonable price.
One of the attractive qualities of Le Mercury is the pricing, in that all starters are one price, all mains another. (I can’t remember the details but it’s something like £4 and £7 respectively.) They do make a bit back on the wine list, however, which starts at about £13 upwards.
The food maybe isn’t quite as good as I remember it, but perhaps that’s memory as much as anything else as I don’t think this place has ever been renowned for the food. It’s still good value for money, though, and pretty much what you’d expect for a low price evening out.
Le Mercury isn’t somewhere I’d choose for a big night out but for an occasional low cost treat it’s one of my favourites.