Mercer Cafe

So finally after all these years we stopped in for lunch today. I have to be honest, I was a bit disappointed. I’m not sure if I just went on a bad day or should have just went for breakfast. First and foremost the service was great! The servers were very nice and the place was clean, no wait. I tried to order the seafood soup but they didn’t have it so I went with the tomato basil. I have to say the soup was the best part of the meal.
I ordered the burger, meh, it wasn’t as good as I hoped. The fried onions were burnt, a perfect brioche bun that wasn’t toasted and 4 small tomatoes, and possibly romaine? I’ve never had romaine on a burger, bibb and iceberg yes but never romaine. I was a bit confused as to why they wouldn’t just use a large tomato slice? Anyway, it came with fries. Again I was disappointed, they were cold and appeared to be frozen fries just like a chain. My wife had the tuna special. She said it was ok, was supposed to come with a pesto sauce but never did. It was funny because it looked like a pork chop, never seen that before.
I guess we may stop back if we’re in the area, but I won’t make a special trip. Maybe next time we’ll do breakfast. Funny we grew up in the area and never stopped. Maybe we will have better luck.

I sent this email to the manager:
Hi Bernadette,
As I sat sipping my delicious cup of coffee I noticed your card on the ledge so I felt compelled to send you a message.
First I must tell you that I’ve been on a quest for the perfect breakfast for the last few years. I travel for business around the philly/​nj/​de area and I always order the same thing. 2 eggs over easy, onions in my potatoes, rye toast & coffee. I kid you not, I’ve ordered the same plate at least 200 times. I’m putting it out there that what I just ate today is easily a top 3.
Here’s how it scored in my mind…
Coffee: 8.5 La Colombe, can’t go wrong. Nice to have something other than Sysco.
Potatoes: 9.50 perfect portion size, excellent mix of small pieces and big chunks, added onions were sautéed just right.
Toast: 9.75 Yum. You buy the good rye. Buttered just right. Woulda been a 10 if was toasted for like 15 seconds more.
Eggs: 10. BOOM. perfection. The person that cooked these is my hero of the day. Cracked ever so gently into a perfectly heated pan. Yolks a phenomenally perfect over easy. Whites stretched like a small fluffy layer of clouds across the plate. My tastebuds sang with notes of joy and splendor.
Bravo.
I found my new breakfast spot for 2016
Happy holidays,
Steven

Don’t go to Applebee’s, you should eat here. I was satisfied in more ways than one. You’ll get a smile along with that delicious breakfast sandwich. This place is the quintessential neighborhood eatery.
I had the Jason’s Breakfast sandwich (the precise name I don’t recall) and it was literally everything I could have wanted in a breakfast sandwich. The coffee wasn’t bad either.
As far as neighborhood lunch/​breakfast places go… ⁵⁄₅ for sure

We came for brunch today to «celebrate» the new school year send-​off for our son. As usual the pancakes, challah French toast, bacon, scrapple and fresh squeezed OJ were all absolutely delicious. And the service is always great too. Can’t wait to go back.

Best breakfast spot in the area, the cream chip beef is amazing. The service is great and everyone is so friendly.

Great food and affordable prices. La Colombe coffee is def a plus. Just moved here and have already eaten at Mercer 3 times.

You can’t go wrong here. Breakfast and lunch are always great. Staff is super friendly and food is brought out promptly. Love it here.

Amazing!!! From the quick and friendly service to the smile on everyone’s face working ant patronizing this place. I had a pork sandwich made to order. My date had a chicken cutlets with mozzarella and spinach. He was raving about it at first bite. My pork melted in my mouth and even the fries were good. Can’t wait to try breakfast.

Wonderful neighborhood café. Great sandwiches and excellent coffee!

All I have to say that this place is excellent and you just have to see it for yourself

Our dishes are always prepared to perfection and with a nice presentation. Always a treat!

They have this great breakfast hoagie that has scrapple on it. It was delicious and big enough to share if you’re a moderate eater.

This little café is adorable, you can’t really go wrong here.
The food is delicious! The service is decent, and you are bound to see someone you know from the neighborhood in there.
The paninis and sandwiches are my favorite

I used to work in Port Richmond and stop in here all of the time for breakfast and lunch. I haven’t been back in a while so I wanted to stop by for brunch. It was amazing as always! The owner is a nice guy and greeted us when we walked in. Mercer is a small café that fits right into the Port Richmond setting. The servers are nice and waited on us promptly.
As for the food, I very much enjoyed my Farmer’s Frittata. It was cooked perfectly and full of flavor. You can’t go wrong with the quality coffee they serve as well. I’m excited for the new location which is close to me!

You know when 6 police officers are wrapping up their meal at a spot, it’s gonna be good. Why was today my first visit?
Liza is awesome, crab anything is fantastic, and the cookies are just silly! I can only imagine the rest of the menu, and the rest of the desserts, are incredible as well. I guess I’ll find out on my future visits!
Thanks for a great brunch today, Liza.

I absolutely love it here. The sevice is always incredible and the food never disappoints. I went with the hazelnut french toast, basically Nutella and strawberries on your breakfast. This was a special so it isn’t always offered. However the rest of the menu is incredible as well. It’s a small little café so you need to get there pretty early to get a table if you have a larger group. I’ve been here several times and they never disappoint. Next time you are in Port Richmond give them a try.

An interesting hybrid of a hipster new wave diner, and a classic Philly neighborhood diner. Everything from creamed chip beef to steak and crab cake eggs Benedict. Great staff, fresh squeezed OJ, and street parking, what more could you ask for?

If you haven’t been here before, do yourself a favor and stop in. Even if your not a local, the breakfast omelets are amazing. Everything is well priced, and the staff is super friendly. Mercer Café is on my top 5 best brunch spots in all of philly. Oh and they have La Columbe Coffee!

Mercer Café is one of those rare Port Richmond gems. Consistent and delicious, no frills breakfast or lunch at a reasonable price. I’ve been here about 50 times before I started using Unilocal so it’s hard for me to have a fresh perspective.
It’s a smaller restaurant so it may be somewhat difficult to get a seat if you have a large party on a weekend.
For breakfast you can’t go wrong with one of the neighborhood favorite specials. I generally don’t go for lunch, but I’ve had a few of the panini sandwiches and the burger. All of which were solid.
Nice and friendly local wait staff.
Very much a local spot, but it appears that outsiders are starting to catch on. Worth a visit if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

4.5 stars
My friend and I were driving through Philly at the mercy of smartphone directions early on Sunday morning, and we were out-​of-​our-​minds hungry. Desperate for some breakfast, I just Unilocaled «open now» and «near me» and Mercer Café popped up. I love little mom-​n-​pop neighborhood finds on Unilocal!
The food here was very good breakfast/​diner food in a casual but not too greasy environment. It looks more like a coffeeshop/​bakery, and less like a diner.
It’s worth having breakfast here for the home fries/​potatoes alone, since they’re crispy all over, but still fluffy on the inside. The sausage links are not your typical wimpy breakfast sausage, but are almost the size of a typical wurst and oh so good. My friend barely made a dent in her mountain of pancakes but thought they were amazing. The La Columbe coffee here is amazingly good too. You get one refill, then they start charging.
I could not have asked for better service. The servers were attentive, quick, and super friendly. Breakfast is served all day on Sundays.
P. S. I love when you ask for hot sauce, you get both Tabasco and Sriracha.