Steak for Two in Arlington, TX: Shareable Cuts

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Two cuts, two very different dinners

Ordering one large steak for the table is a different dinner from ordering two plates. The steak lands in the middle, gets carved, and both people eat from the same cut. Mercury has two steaks that work this way, and they are not interchangeable.

The porterhouse gives two people two different steaks, a strip and a filet, on one bone, and it is the dry-aged option. The long bone gives two people one very marbled Wagyu ribeye. If one of you likes filet and the other likes strip, the porterhouse settles it. If you both want the richest steak in the room, the long bone is the answer.

The split plate fee, explained plainly

The menu lists a $25 split plate fee on all composed entrées. A composed entrée is a plate that arrives built, such as the Espresso-Rubbed Elk with whipped potatoes and broccolini or the Seared Sea Bass with corn risotto. When two guests share one of those, the kitchen plates it twice and the fee covers that.

The two big steaks are served with a garnish rather than as a composed plate, and they are ordered to be shared, so ask your server how the fee applies when you place the order. Where it clearly does apply is when two people try to split a single 8 oz filet or a sea bass; in that case two 6 oz filets at $62 each usually make more sense than one 8 oz at $74 plus $25.

The sampler and the sides

A shared steak wants a shared start. The Land and Sea Sampler is $26 per person and brings Chophouse calamari, a filet mignon cigar, a crab cake and an MCA shrimp cocktail to the table, which covers four of the starters in one order. If that is too much before 36 oz of beef, the Gulf Shrimp and Jumbo Lump Crab Ceviche at $23 is cold and light and shares well.

Sides at Mercury are all shareable, and two of them are the right count for two guests. Whipped Potatoes are $14. Creamed Spinach and Corn Risotto are $16. Burgundy Mushrooms are $15. Grilled Asparagus is $18. Mac-n-Cheese is $15 and can be ordered with lobster for $20 more, which turns a steak for two into a surf and turf for two without touching the steak. Every side is listed on the sides page.

When two individual steaks are the better order

Sharing a big cut is a good dinner, but it is not always the right one. If one of you wants a steak medium-rare and the other wants it medium-well, a single shared steak cannot do both. If one of you wants Wagyu and the other would rather have a filet, two plates are the answer.

The most common two-plate order for a couple is a Center-Cut Filet Mignon, 6 oz at $62 or 8 oz at $74, and a Hand-Cut Ribeye at $75. That comes to $137 to $149 for the steaks, which is less than either shared cut, with the freedom to cook each one differently. Add Oscar Style crab for $16 to one of them and the table has both a plain steak and a topped one.

A table for two at the window

The room suits a dinner for two. The main dining room has a curved wall of floor-to-ceiling glass on the ninth floor, and the west and southwest windows face the sunset over the Entertainment District. Sunset falls at about 8:15 PM in August, 7:35 PM in September and 7 PM in October, so a 7 PM reservation in early fall puts the steak on the table as the light changes. Window seats cannot be guaranteed, but ask for one when you book, and arrive a few minutes early so the table is yours before the light goes.

A grand piano sits by the windows near the bar, with live piano on select evenings; call 817-381-1157 to ask which nights. For anniversaries and proposals, the date night page covers the details of the room. Parking at the tower is free, and Saturday service begins at 4 PM.