Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Mercy Seat


The man enthusiastically showed me an article from The Age about the 5 best vegetarian burgers last Saturday night. Before he had scrolled down the page I immediately knew that the vegan Southern Fried Chicken burger in the list was going to be the one from Gasometer that everyone has been raving about. We had planned to grab something to eat after the Ban Live Export rally the following day but unfortunately Gasometer isn't open for lunches so I suggested that we try The Mercy Seat instead.

We had a quick look at their small but interesting and almost totally vegan menu and made up our minds pretty quickly. The man was dead set on ordering the Creole Chicken soul burger (I don't think he even looked at the rest of the menu) and after some deliberation, I selected the blackened tofu burger. When our burgers arrived we were both blown away by how delicious they were. My tofu burger was full of tasty morsels of salty, spicy tofu chunks along with tasty mushrooms, avocado, salad and a tangy mayonnaise. When asked whether we would like a bottle of hot sauce to try, the man eagerly grabbed the opportunity and has not stopped raving about it since.

The coffees were also an impressive standard so we made plans to go back the following Saturday. This time I ordered the scrambled tofu but the man couldn't be swayed from the chicken burger. The amount of spinach present in the scramble had me smiling as I do enjoy my greens and these ones were perfectly done, just wilted and not soggy at all. The scramble flavour reminded the man of curried eggs when he had a bite of it. Perhaps it did have some curry powder included but I'm sure there were a few more spices to it than just that.


We have enjoyed our meals and the service has been prompt and friendly on both visits. I'm happy to pay $10 - $12 for such tasty good quality vegan food and wish I lived closer so I could visit more often.

The Mercy Seat has also been given the thumbs up by Where's The Beef twice, In the Mood for Noodles, Vetti and Garden of Yoda.

The Mercy Seat
31 Johnston St, Collingwood
Open Wed-Sun 8am - 4pm (The Mercy Seat closed down in 2012)

4 comments:

  1. Looks like the Mercy Seat totally made up for Gasometer's closed kitchen. :-)

    I think it's hilarious that your partner refused anything but the chicken burger on your second visit - I get obsessive like that sometimes too!

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  2. Yum! Next time I'm in Melbourne, I'm going to schedule this in. Having a whole menu to select from is always amazing, and this looks particularly good.

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  3. Hey Cindy, I still want to make it to Gasometer one day but the Mercy Seat has been awesome for daytime eats. The man can be quite obsessive and one-dimensional when it comes to food choices, I wouldn't be surprised if he ordered the same third time around, although I think he has his eye on the philly cheesesteak roll too. ;)

    Hi Kari, it is such a luxury to have a full menu to choose from. Mercy Seat is really great but I don't get out and about enough so there are always heaps of veg places on my list to try. :D

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  4. daytime eats suit us so much better than evening - will have to keep this in mind if we are in the area - love a place that has great burgers and tofu scramble

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