Vegetarian Options at an Arlington Steakhouse

Confirmed by the restaurant: the kitchen does its best to accommodate vegan and vegetarian requests. Tell the restaurant when you book, so options can be ready for you.

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The honest answer first

There is no vegetarian entrée on the Mercury menu. The Steaks and Chops, Seafood and Chophouse Classics sections are all built around meat or fish, and the two pastas carry chicken and pork. A vegetarian guest at a steak dinner here eats from the salads, the soup and the shareable sides, and the kitchen will put those together as a plate.

That is a workable dinner rather than a compromise, because the sides at a chophouse are cooked with the same care as the steaks and are sized to share. The practical step is to say so when you reserve, on OpenTable or by calling 817-381-1157, so the kitchen knows a plate is coming and the server can walk through it at the table.

What qualifies, and what to ask about

No meat listed means the menu description names no meat; stocks, dressings and cheeses are not itemized, so a strict vegetarian should ask the server about those.

How a plate gets built

The usual pattern is a salad to start and two or three sides as the main course, served together on one plate or in their dishes to share. The Caprese at $18 is the fullest salad on the list for a vegetarian, with burrata and heirloom tomato under a balsamic reduction. For the main plate, Corn Risotto at $16 and Burgundy Mushrooms at $15 are the two sides with the most weight, and Grilled Asparagus at $18 or Broccolini at $17 adds something green.

That combination, a Caprese plus risotto, mushrooms and asparagus, comes to $67 and is a dinner of the same size as a steak with a side. The Mac-n-Cheese at $15 is the choice for a younger vegetarian at the table. The sides page describes each dish, and the salads page covers the salads across lunch and dinner.

Two sides to skip and one to modify

Two of the sides that look vegetarian are not. The Brussels Sprouts at $17 contain bacon, and the au Gratin Potatoes at $16 contain bacon. Both are marked that way on the menu, and it is worth repeating here because they are the two sides most often assumed to be meat-free.

The Wedge at $18 comes with applewood-smoked bacon, but it can be ordered without it, leaving iceberg, egg, tomato, Gorgonzola crumbles, red onion and bleu cheese dressing. The Traditional Spinach salad at $17 is built on a warm bacon vinaigrette and is not easily adapted. The Traditional Caesar at $16 lists anchovies as a $2 add-on rather than an ingredient, but Caesar dressing traditionally contains anchovy, so ask.

Dessert and the bar

Dessert is the easy course. Key Lime Pie at $16, New York Cheesecake at $15 with berry coulis, Crème Brûlée at $15, Chocolate Torte at $15, Italian Cream Cake at $17, Strawberry Cake at $17 and a Brownie at $15 with vanilla ice cream are all on the list, and none of the descriptions names meat. The Crème Brûlée and the Chocolate Torte are also marked gluten free, which matters for a guest who is both; the gluten-free page covers that.

At the bar, a vegetarian guest has the full cocktail list with one exception worth flagging: the Steakhouse Old-Fashioned at $19 is made with tallow-washed bourbon, which uses beef fat in the preparation. Everything else, from the MCA French 75 at $17 to the Hibiscus Ranchwater at $17, is spirits, citrus and modifiers.

Why it works at Mercury

A steakhouse is often where a vegetarian is dragged rather than where they choose to go, and the difference at Mercury is that the pieces of a good meal are already on the menu at full quality. The risotto is the same one served under the $57 sea bass. The mushrooms are cooked in Burgundy. The view from the ninth floor over Globe Life Field and AT&T Stadium, the piano by the window and the sunset through the curved wall of glass are the same for every guest at the table.

For a group with several vegetarians, the Boardroom’s tailored private menus are the better route; the private dining team can plan a vegetarian course in advance rather than assembling it on the night. Reply time on inquiries is up to 48 hours.