La Merise is a French bistro located in Cherry Creek. Merise translates to a small wild cherry in French, an appropriate name for the neighborhood. Mile High Dining enjoyed the outside patio as the weather forecast predicts three upcoming cold and rainy days. It was Mother’s Day weekend and several moms were celebrated with families and champagne on the patio.
Mile High Dining selected three classic bistro dishes: spring salad, French onion soup, and mussels. A small basket of bread and butter was provided at the table.
The special spring salad with greens, roasted baby beets, and goat cheese was very good. The baby beets and goat cheese added a very favorable taste to the greens.
The bowl of mussels steamed in a garlic cream and white wine sauce lacked much of a garlic kick. The mussels were very large but the sauce did not have flavor to match. I always enjoy dipping all the extra bread into the sauce but not this time.
The French onion soup au gratin comes with lots of cheese and bread crumbs. The dense onion flavor was very good. On a cool evening eating outside on the patio made the hot soup a great choice.
Although there is an extensive dessert menu, including one dessert of a chocolate liquor drink named “French Kiss”, we passed. One should return just to have a dessert and a latte.
My ratings are: It’s OK, Good, Very Good, and Excellent.
The verdict ⚖️ for La Merise is Good. The two very good dishes of the soup and salad were weighed down by the mussels.
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