Appetizers & Starters at Arlington’s Premier Steakhouse

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The full starter list, with prices

Nine starters open the dinner menu at Mercury Chophouse – Arlington. Five are seafood, two are meat, one is a Wagyu-filled pasta, and one is a sampler that borrows from the others.

How to order starters for a table

A basket of warm bread with garlic butter reaches the table early, so a two-top rarely needs more than one starter to share. A table of four does well with two, one hot and one cold, and a table of six can cover the list’s range with three. From six guests up, a 20% gratuity is added to the check, which is worth knowing when the group is deciding how many plates to put in the middle.

The Land & Sea Sampler is the exception to the sharing math because it is priced per person at $26. It is meant for a guest or a couple who want a bite of four things rather than a full order of one, and it is the easiest answer when nobody at the table can agree. If you want salads between the starters and the steaks, tell your server so the courses are paced instead of stacked.

The starter only this kitchen serves

The dish that separates Mercury’s starter list from a chain steakhouse is the Signature Wagyu & Black Truffle Ravioli, $34. Wagyu beef and black truffle fill the pasta, which sits on a wild mushroom risotto finished with Burgundy and a balsamic demi-glace. It is the most expensive starter on the menu and the one the restaurant labels as its signature.

Two more hot plates round out the meat side. The Savory Meatballs, $18, come in house-made marinara with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and basil. The Filet Mignon Cigars, $17, are flash fried until golden and served with a Sriracha and lime crème, a small plate that a lot of regulars order before a ribeye rather than before a filet.

Starters cost less at lunch

Five of the nine starters carry over to the weekday lunch menu, served Monday through Friday from 11:00 AM, and most are a couple of dollars cheaper at midday.

The ravioli, the sampler, the crab cakes and the salmon mousse are dinner-menu items. Lunch also adds a Soup & Salad Combo at $16 for guests who want a light first course rather than a starter.

Cold, light and vegetarian-leaning openers

Three starters arrive chilled: the MCA Shrimp Cocktail, the Gulf Shrimp & Jumbo Lump Crab Ceviche and the Salmon Mousse. They are the sensible picks in July and August, when the west-facing windows of the ninth floor have been in the sun all afternoon and the room is still bright at 8:15 PM. The calamari and the crab cakes are the hot plates for cooler months.

The starter list itself is meat and seafood. A vegetarian guest usually opens with the Caprese Salad, $18, with heirloom tomato and fresh burrata, the Traditional Caesar at $16, or a cup of the soup du jour at $8, after asking what the soup is that day. The kitchen asks that any food allergy be mentioned before ordering.

A starter and a drink before the game

Globe Life Field is about 1 mile from the front door and most weeknight first pitches are around 7 PM, so a starter and a cocktail at 5:30 is a common way to use the room before a Rangers game. The Steakhouse Old-Fashioned, $19, and the MCA Smoked Manhattan, $18, are the two drinks most often ordered next to the cigars and the meatballs; the cocktail list runs seventeen deep. Reservations go through OpenTable or 817-381-1157, and free garage and outdoor parking is offered at the tower.