Say Mercy: American BBQ & Italian fusion in Vancouver

Say Mercy is a fusion restaurant mixing Italian cuisine with American BBQ flair. I came here for my friend’s birthday to check out their 5-course set menu called “Jesus take the wheel”, priced at $55 per person.

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Interior

I really liked the interior of the restaurant. It’s got really cool patterned wallpaper and beautiful chairs, giving it a modern but retro vibe. The color palette is very relaxing and even though the tables are not large, we felt like we had enough space for everything because based on Italian cuisine, they switch out your plate and cutlery between every serving.

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Drinks

Say Mercy offers a selection of wines, cocktails, and beers.

Say spritz! ($15)

For drinks, my friend and I both order the Say Spritz! cocktail, which has thyme-infused-Aperol, peach nectar, Prosecco, and soda (3oz). It is a brightly coloured drink that brightens my mood and has a subtle fruity taste. I like that it’s a 3oz cocktail because I feel like that makes it a good deal lol, but otherwise it is a nice refreshing drink.

Jesus take the wheel ($55 per person)

Jesus Take The Wheel is the Chef’s guided tour through a curated experience that he feels best represents the menu, allowing your group to enjoy 5 courses, plated to share, minimum 2 guests.

Amberjack crudo

Our first course is amberjack crudo. The dish includes oranges, sundried olives, lemon olive oil and Serrano peppers. Regular price for this dish is $18.

It is a very pretty dish and looks very appetizing. I love all the colours in it and how “summery” it looks. The lemon olive oil is actually infused in it, which is kinda cool. With any type of crudo appetizer, I expect it to be light and sophisticated, and this was true for this dish.

BBQ tartare

The second course is BBQ tartare. This dish uses Bradner Farms beef, smoked emulsion, hickory sticks, pickles, and Bra Duro (contains dairy, gluten + pork). Regular price for this dish is $17.

I like the shaved cheese on top that hides all the tartare underneath. They don’t really serve it with any type of bread or cracker like most tartares, but the texture is there via the hickory sticks. The beef tartare has a smoky bbq taste, which is very unique for tartare. The cheese sauce on the bottom is also very interesting because it is also not often see in tartare dishes, but it compliments the bbq aspect in this twist. Overall, I licked my spoon while eating this.

BBQ bolo

The third and fourth courses are served together. The main entree here is the BBQ bolo (bolo for Bolognese). This pasta entree uses spaghetti, pancetta, smoked pork butt, and grana padano (dontains dairy + gluten). Regular price for this dish is $26.

I would say this is a very humble dish, as on the outside it looks like a pretty regular bolognese pasta. However, the smoked pork butt gives it a little bit of that American BBQ flavour again which is really cool when mixed with Italian cuisine. I really liked the sauce of this pasta and they were also generous with the amount of pancetta and meat they serve with the pasta noodles.

Parker house rolls & focaccia

Breads are served with the BBQ bolo and omg the bread actually looks so good lol. Like look at those dinner rolls! Adorable. I liked to dip both of the breads into the yummy BBQ bolo sauce and this definitely filled me up as well as a “main course”.

Regular price for their bread is $5 but it includes 8 pieces, here we received 2 each.

Beef cheek & grits

Our fifth main course is beef cheeks and grits, featuring Henry Moore grits, vaccinara sauce, sofrito, raisins, pine nuts, and gremolata (contains dairy, gluten, nuts + chocolate). Regular price for this dish is $37.

By the time this course came, we were actually starting to get full. Even though the sharing plates don’t look that big, they add up!

The beef cheeks were very tender and soft so that was awesome. Grits were ok (context: I never liked grits that much. I find it a more grainy version of puree). The vegetables and the sauce were all ok, but definitely the tenderness of the meat was the star highlight. I would say out of all our dishes so far, this one was the least Italian.

Buttermilk orange panna cotta

Our last course is dessert and we have the buttermilk panna cotta on top of an orange olive oil cake with orange granita. Regular price for this dessert is $10.

This dessert is actually quite big for 2 people but I love how it’s not just the panna cotta and they included a juicy olive oil cake underneath. The dessert is a little tart from the citrus and also not too sweet – a relief since we were both quite full by the time we got to the last course so I don’t think we would’ve been able to stomach something too sweet or rich.

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Final thoughts

Loewe’s rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

We had a delicious dinner at Say Mercy with the Jesus Take the Wheel 5-course menu. Everything we tried is included in their regular menu so you can order it al le carte.

Out of all our courses, I liked the BBQ bolo and the beef tartare the most. I find these 2 to be the most unique dishes that we tried and really symbolized the Italian x American BBQ fusion that Say Mercy boasts. Dessert was also delicious! The one thing I probably wouldn’t order again is the beef cheeks and grits.

In total, I spent around $175 after tax and tip for 2 people, which also included our 2 cocktails on top of all the food. For this price, I think it is a good deal because we got to eat a lot of food (we were very full lol) and the quality was also great. I love a worthwhile set menu where I don’t have to think about what to order.

Sincerely, Loewe