The Best Secret Restaurant Is The Viking Café at Mercer County Community College

You may not know there is a secret restaurant tucked away at Mercer County Community College (MCCC), called The Viking Cafe, that's open to the public.

It sounds like a secret location of a speak easy lounge when I read that Community News shared the location of the cafe. Patrons who want to find The Viking have to go to room ES111 of the Engineering Systems Building at Mercer County Community College. They also can't go any night they choose because dinner is only served on select nights and a ticket needs to be purchased to secure a reservation. The culinary students of MCCC prepare and serve three-course meals (appetizer/starter, main course and dessert) for around $11. See the map below for the exact location.

The Viking Cafe gives students in the Applied Kitchen Skills class real experience on how a restaurant works. Yet they are not alone because students are under the guidance of MCCC’s Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management and Culinary Arts program chef instructor, Frank Benowitz.

Customers can enjoy meals that would be worth much more at another establishment, but they can expect a similar quality. Many of the students are already working in the culinary field and have experience in professional kitchens. Also, Benowitz tries to provide his students and customers with quality ingredients, that are locally sourced when possible.

If you'd like to see when the next available seating is at The Viking Cafe go here. Read more about Mercer County Community College's Viking Cafe here