There is a certain charm about a place as honest about itself as The Merc, and you have to appreciate it for what it is. If you are looking for a place to get hammered, this is it. The drinks are strong and cheap. If you want to have a conversation, it's way to loud. If you want to dance, to bad, they don't do that here. If you want to avoind lung cancer, forget it, it is full of smoke blowing in from the back porch. If you want to play pool...well YES you can do that, it's a BAR :-) It is exactly what it is, you have to love that. If a "dive bar" is not what you are looking for--look elsewhere.

Cheap drinks for name brands. If you start a conversation with someone inside or out on the heated patio you wont be disappointed. Very local nieghborhood bar. Very eclectic crowd. Early in the night very mix crowded, about 40/60 moving more manly and bearish later. Around the corner from the gay corner. Not many twinks here.

Me and a few friends from Reno took a quick trip to Sac for a change of scenery. The Merc was so much fun. The bartenders were on it and the patrons were gorgeous and that was before the drinks ;-) We can't wait to visit again.