The same goes for the tomato Provençal ($28), a French favorite that at Merci looks almost too pretty to eat. Its bright red softened skin is stuffed with chive-sprinkled breadcrumbs, the overfed vegetable resting in a creamy collection of butter, wine, citrus and lump crabmeat.
The fleeting side is gone in a matter of four to five bites. While you won’t get much bang for your buck, there’s no argument about its sweet, delicate taste and the way each ingredient has been transformed on the plate.
Good food, we discuss over a sip of crisp French white wine as the dish is cleared, is worth paying for. And most of the items on this menu warrant their price tag.
Some arrive on their own, while others — the tomato and raviolis, for instance — might be delivered as a pair. Plates and silverware are whisked away when each round is finished, readying the table for the next perfectly paced course.
Merci serves a standout Caesar ($24), though it diverges from what most diners likely expect. A dressing made with garlic and a touch of anchovies is the only traditional element inside this salad.
Charred cabbage Caesar served at Merci in Charleston’s Harleston Village, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025.
Grace Beahm Alford/Staff
Creamy Gouda sourced from the Upstate and breadcrumb crisps join a potpourri of cabbage, with flat and ruffled leaves dotted with pieces that have been charred. Sweet, salty and bitter battle for supremacy with each elegant bite.
No matter the night, Zentner typically highlights some type of crudo, whether it’s tuna draped over green tomato and watermelon or snapper ($30) resting in a cucumber bath that could be likened to gazpacho. Each of the four portions of soft white meat melts, the sweet undertones balanced by julienned kohlrabi and a sliver of pickled strawberry.
The clean, crisp flavors are a hallmark of the chef’s cooking. A Culinary Institute of America graduate who worked in high-profile Boston and Washington, D.C., restaurants before moving to the Lowcountry, his dedication to technique and the fine dining experience has been transferred to Merci’s waitstaff and culinary team, whose food is gorgeous enough to make any cellphone photo filters obsolete.
Dining and Cooking