Disclosure: this visit was hosted. The observations below reflect our own experience.
Our first evening at The Mercer became a date night downstairs at Sartiano’s: little shaded lamps, gold-rimmed plates and an Italian dinner that gave us plenty to talk about. The fusilli was our favorite, the gnocchi came close behind, and the bone-in parmigiana arrived on a scale that made our table for two feel very small.
We dined at 6 p.m. on Sunday, October 11, 2026, ordering à la carte. We were staying in a Loft Junior Suite upstairs, so the restaurant was an easy choice for the evening. What made it memorable, though, was the food and the intimate setting. This was a dinner worth making time for, with a few lessons about how much to order. Read our full review of The Mercer and our Loft Junior Suite for more on the hotel, welcome amenities and Zero Bond access.
Sartiano’s at The Mercer: the setting and the kitchen
Sartiano’s is at 99 Prince Street in SoHo, within The Mercer. Our dinner took place in the downstairs restaurant. That distinction is useful when planning a visit: the café at the hotel is a separate setting, and the room we enjoyed was the dim, intimate dining room below.
The restaurant bears the name of hospitality founder Scott Sartiano. Its official team page names Alfred Portale as culinary director and Chris Eby as executive chef. For us, the strongest expression of the kitchen was in the pastas. Even with caviar, veal and steak on the table, those were the dishes we most wanted to order again.
There is enough range here to build quite different evenings: a couple of pastas and a dessert, or a much more expansive meal with a large shared main. We tried a generous selection. For a return visit, I would be more selective about the number of plates, especially if ordering the parmigiana again.
The downstairs room by lamplight
The small shaded lamps were a defining part of the atmosphere. They lit the table closely, while the room around us stayed low-lit and intimate. Gold-rimmed plates printed with Sartiano’s and The Mercer, along with monogrammed napkins, gave the place settings a distinct identity.
The table lamps, upholstered seating and carefully laid tables made it a lovely date-night setting. Coming downstairs from our suite made the evening particularly easy, but the room had enough personality to feel like a destination in its own right.
Our 6 p.m. reservation made dinner an easy part of the evening. If you are coming for the same intimate setting, request the downstairs dining room when booking.
Caviar cannoli and hamachi
The caviar cannoli was fun: a crisp shell with a green-flecked filling and caviar at the ends. Small and playful, it was one of the evening’s most distinctive bites. The restaurant’s menu lists mascarpone and chive in the filling, with Siberian caviar.
We also enjoyed the hamachi, with sliced fish, fruit, thin pale shavings, sesame and micro herbs. The NYC menu lists plum, fennel and sesame with the hamachi.
Both dishes offered a different direction from the rich pastas and cheese-covered main that followed. If you are choosing an opening dish, the cannoli is the playful option we would remember first; the hamachi was another plate we were glad to have ordered.
The fusilli was the favorite, with gnocchi close behind
The fusilli was a standout and one of the dishes we most wanted to order again. Long twists of pasta sat in a brown ragù, finished with grated cheese and green herbs.
The restaurant’s menu describes the fusilli with Wagyu beef ragù, garlic butter, pangrattato and Parmigiano. It was a rich, generous pasta and one of the clearest highlights of dinner.
The gnocchi was a close second: dumplings in tomato sauce with dark, crisp pieces scattered over the top. The restaurant’s menu lists potato gnocchi with San Marzano tomato, guanciale and Pecorino.
Having both pastas gave us two of our favorite dishes of the evening. For another dinner for two, I would happily make them the focus of the order and choose the rest of the meal around them. The mistake would be to think of two substantial pastas as merely a pause before several more mains.
The bone-in veal parmigiana needs room on the table
The parmigiana was enormous. We loved the flavor, but the portion looked big enough for five. For another dinner for two, we would share it and order fewer dishes around it.
It arrived as a breaded cutlet still on the bone, with tomato sauce, melted cheese and basil. Sartiano’s menu identifies the dish as veal chop parmigiana with buffalo mozzarella.
This was our clearest ordering lesson. If the parmigiana is the reason you are coming, give it space in the meal. We would plan a smaller selection of other plates around it instead of combining it with every pasta and protein that catches our eye.
Filet, mushrooms and the rest of the table
The filet was delicious, presented simply with flaky salt and a small salad of greens. It offered a less elaborate main alongside the cheese-covered parmigiana.
We also had mixed roasted mushrooms topped with crisp shallots, bread service and meatballs in red sauce with a long piece of toast. It was a generous spread, though the pastas, veal and filet were the dishes that stayed with us most.
The limoncello margarita was tasty and strong, a more forceful drink than its bright, citrusy name might suggest. San Pellegrino was on the table as well.
A chocolate-led dessert
The chocolate tiramisu cake leaned more toward chocolate than a classic tiramisu, and we liked it all the more for that. It was a happy finish to the meal.
We left with the lasagna in mind for next time. There was plenty we enjoyed in this order, and still a reason to come back.
How we would book and order next time
For another date night, I would start with the pastas we already know we liked. The fusilli would be the first choice, with gnocchi alongside if we wanted two. Then I would choose either the large parmigiana to share or another main, rather than repeat the full spread. That leaves room to enjoy the caviar cannoli and dessert without losing sight of the dishes that drew us back.
Book through Sartiano’s official reservations page, which links to its booking service. Check the current menu before visiting, and mention the downstairs dining room when arranging the evening. Menus and availability may differ from our October dinner.
What stays with us is the table lit by a small lamp, the fusilli and gnocchi, the surprise of that huge parmigiana, and the chocolate tiramisu cake. Staying upstairs made the evening easy, but the dinner would have been worth coming for on its own.
