Lunch @ The Merchant Deli & Cafe

I’ve been back to The Merchant Deli & Cafe at the Kingston Foreshore a few times after my first visit in September. A change that I immediately noticed was the glass display cabinet filled with meats, cheeses and more was gone! It’s been replaced with a wooden counter as kitchen staff needed more space. It’s handy that the owner of The Merchant also owns Market The Grocery Store and Prohibition Bottle Shop a few doors down (facing the Bus Depot Markets). The meats and cheeses have been moved and are on display at Market Grocery Store.

I’ve had a lunch a few times and there always seems to be a new menu with some new additions. The entree-sized seared Canadian scallops ($16) are presented beautifully sitting on top of mint pea purée with chorizo and diced olives sitting on top. Such a fresh and colourful dish! The large scallops were tender, moist and cooked perfectly. The chorizo and olives provided some saltiness and punch to the scallops and pea purée. Delicious!

The French baguette (I think around $12) was a nice light meal filled with duck pâté, carrot, cucumber and lettuce. Bread from Autolyse is used and the baguette tasted fantastic. The ends of the baguette are chopped off and the remaining is sliced in two for easier munching. I enjoyed this simple meal and can see myself buying fresh bread, meats, cheeses and pâté and having a picnic (note: Market Grocery store sells Autolyse bread! Around $7.50 for freshly baked or $4 for day old).

A friend ordered a beetroot, fetta and walnut salad (around $14) which looked nice but he mentioned there was too much beetroot in it.

Another friend ordered the crab linguine with tomato, basil and peas (around $28) that looked healthy.

At another lunch outing at The Merchant, the menu had slightly changed again. It’s great that most of the salads, baguettes and pastas are constantly being changed. There is one pasta dish that has stayed on the menu since opening night, and that is the braised lamb shoulder pappardelle ($24), though this has had an upgrade since. Served with the softest tomato braised lamb shoulder, mint green pea, chopped up asparagus and cherry tomatoes, I thought this was quite a healthy dish. I loved the bright colours and the fresh ingredients used. The asparagus was still nice and crunchy and contrasted well with the tender lamb that just melts in your mouth. The Grana Padano cheese was missing and I forgot to ask for it, but I still enjoyed my meal. I was happy with the portion size too and didn’t end up finishing it, but I wasn’t that hungry that day.

My friend Mr STTA ordered the gluten free version of the beef skewers ($26). The beef rump skewers had been marinated in honey and light soy served with chilli mayonnaise and green salad.

I walked into Market Grocery store and saw the large glass cabinet filled with butter, cheese, olives, mayonnaise, oils and some meats. This is a much smaller cabinet than the original with far fewer meats to choose from which is disappointing.