Mercato Bar & Kitchen

Delicious and perfect night out for visiting guests! We sat at the bar and had perfectly curated cocktails alongside some of the best pasta dishes I’ve had in a long time. Fresh and simple ingredients used (the way a pasta dish should be). Cozy atmosphere!

Amazing dining experience. Hands down the best lobster bisque I’ve had, which came as a shocker. The bread is imported from a bakery out of NYC, and is absolutely phenomenal - wish we could have taken some home. Our server was also very insightful and offered some pretty good pairing suggestions.

I ate my food so fast I didn't take a picture of my dinner. This is a great Italy restaurant food was delicious and the dessert was out of this world

Wow! If I can rate 6 stars I would. The best cocktail menu in town, a well balanced menu with a number of delicious high quality options, and elite customer service in a time when many places struggle. Do yourself a favor and get there early to secure a spot. It’s a small place, and while the waitlist is well managed , you definitely don’t want to miss out.

Very chic and cool atmosphere. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Had the pan roasted chicken breast with savory marinated peaches, capers, garlic, leek, white wine and finger link potatoes...it was great! Bartender even served me a free glass of wine while I waited for my meal. Homemade pastas and desserts.

Great atmosphere, cozy, warm and friendly...music just right so you can still talk to your partner. Father/son team grilling and cooking up excellent food at the back of the room. Wait staff super attentive and friendly. Priced right where you would expect for top quality food and service. Will go again.

We ate here last summer when we dropped our son at college. It was an incredible meal and the memory of it lingered so when we scheduled this summer's trip we knew we had to go again. The food is excellent. We spent most of July in Italy. If you've been to Italy, you know that the Italians are serious about food. Therefore, our Italian food quality threshold was high as we came back to the States for August. Mercato delivered with well prepared dishes that could have been served at the best restaurants in Italy. The wait staff here is passionate about food and about their restaurant. They know what they are doing and it comes across with every bite. In the heart of Central New York is a little oasis of Italy. Mercato is the spot.

Great hostess, bartender and servers, very kind too!! Amazing food and environment! The food best Italian in a long time! Thank you!

Very well-executed Italian cuisine and excellent service. The chicken piccata was light, flavorful, and absolutely delicious! Service was very good as well. We went at 5:00 during the week and had no problem getting a table, but it is very small so if you come much later than that there may be a long wait.

The best dining experience we have had in years . The food was great, the service was fantastic, the wine selection superb. Heather , our waitress, was informative, efficient, and had a wonderful sense of humor . Absolutely perfect!

Mercato serves up excellent food in a cozy, intimate space. I had the fish baked in parchment paper—the special of the night—and it was absolutely delicious: light, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. My daughter had the skirt steak and fries, which were also excellent—tender, juicy, and well-seasoned. The restaurant is on the smaller side, so seating can feel a bit tight, but the quality of the food makes it well worth it. A great spot to dine if you're in Ithaca and looking for something special.

This place is absolutely to die for. If you don’t like anything on the menu that you think you’ll like… GET THE BREAD!!! The bread is amazing and I could eat it all just for dinner. The service was also incredible, got a taste test of wine, as a family we felt very cared for and respected. I would come here again and again if I could. Definitely a recommendation!!

The food was absolutely phenomenal. I had the ravioli which was possibly the best Italian food I have ever eaten. Paired with a lovely Italian red wine, the pasta was perfectly prepared and the tomato sauce was divine.

If I could give 8 stars out of 5 I would. I'm taken away how great the food is from such a small kitchen. I really wished I lived closer to enjoy this food minimal 4x a month. The service at the bar was great and very involved. The food was out of this world. The soup was full of flavor. The main dish was also full of great flavor, the sides were great. The beer selection was a bit low but made up in drink availability. If any one reads this, yes it's worth every penny!!

Very quaint and inviting. The atmosphere in this restaurant is very relaxed and offers dinning as well as a great bar. Our waiter was excellent. He was very cordial and personable and never skipped a beat. The food was very good. The place is small and gets filled up very quickly so I would suggest getting there when they open at 5:30 pm to guarantee a table.

My girlfriend and I decided to take a romantic getaway on the finger lakes and our drive had us passing through Ithaca, so we decided to stop for dinner. A good friend recommended this place, and admittedly I was skeptical of Italian food this far from New York City, but I trust their recommendations and decided to give it a try. I am so glad that I did. For our wine selection, our server allowed us to sample one of the wines by the glass, which tasted thin. When we described what we wanted, she came back with a reasonably priced bottle that exactly hit the deep red notes that we were looking for (see the picture for the winery / vintage if interested). We started with the crostini sampler. In my opinion, the Caponata was the best, but they were all interesting to try and I was glad we got all three. As a nice touch, they cut each crostini in half so my girlfriend and I could both easily sample each one. For dinner, I had the grilled hanger steak, which came with rapini and shoestring fries. I admittedly gave an annoyingly long description of how I wanted it cooked (essentially rare+) and they nailed it. The steak was fantastic, but the accompaniments were so good that they almost stole the show. The shoestring fries’ rosemary seasoning was a fun twist and the rapini was both familiar (garlic and olive oil) and excitingly different. For dessert, I had what was essentially espresso mousse with graham crackers and a glass of dessert wine. While probably the weakest course, it was still a delicious way to cap an amazing meal. The mousse required a bit more texture, but fortunately they provided graham crackers on the side (which I suggest crumbling into the mousse). I’d highly recommend checking this place out if you happen to be in the area.

This place is just perfection. We sat at the bar at around 5:40. The restaurant opens at 5:30 and all the table were already full but the time we got there, which excited me. We had the pleasure of being served by Shawn. He was attentive, hilarious and made a mean drink. He spoke about the menu like he was a chef himself and you could tell he was passionate about his work. My friends and I enjoyed our banter with him. Once we ordered we were given bread and butter. I’m a bread lover and this was some good bread. Airy and fresh. My drink selection was the Hemingway Daiquiri, that Shawn recommended, it was sweetish and had a nice acidic kick. 10/10. My entree was the black pepper fettuccine which featured guanciale, carmelized parsnips and pecorino romano. The pasta was perfectly cooked and delicious. The parsnips were sweet and paired nicely with the guanciales saltiness and the peppery spice from the pasta. My friends got the mushroom & goat cheese cappelletti and the gnocchi with short rib ragu. Both were delicious, seasoned perfectly and pasta was cooked perfectly. They also got an Old News cocktail and Shawn made an amazing lemon drop inspired drink for them. Both were delicious. We finished our meal with the vanilla panna cotta with blood orange. It was light and sweet! Wish there was some more blood orange so each bite could have a bit of it, but it was delicious none the less. Cannot wait to come back on my next visit to NY to enjoy this beautiful restaurant again!

Oh my goodness, we were seriously thrilled to stumble upon this place! We came for the wine/convenient location and ended up falling in love with the atmosphere, service and excellent pasta. We had a split Hanger Steak, which they neatly split for us, along with the sausage and bell pepper ravioli and gnocchi with eggplant ragu… wow. All so phenomenal. It’s so charming watching the chef prepare the meals and personally quality check each dish. I truly cannot recommend this place enough, and even though I typically choose meat dishes above all else, the pasta is to die for!

What a pleasant surprise. My boyfriend and I were driving through Ithaca on our way to the finger lakes and needed a spot for dinner. He texted an old friend who lives there and his immediate response was Mercato. We were hesitant as we usually are with Italian restaurants but went with it and wow am I glad we did. What a fantastic meal from start to finish. We have the bruschetta trio which they so nicely split in half so it was easy to share. My boyfriend had the steak and it was cooked perfectly. Also the shoestring fries were a thing of beauty. My pork Milanese was thin, crispy and juicy. We had a side of the broccolini which was garlicky and cooked just how I like it, with a little crunch. The bartender helped us select a bottle of wine and it was exactly what we wanted. If you are in Ithaca make sure you stop here for dinner, it’s worth it.

Went for my birthday dinner and feel so blessed to have been able to eat here! Our food was absolutely delicious and our server, Yxi, was so attentive and sweet. The house made bread was to die for. Would recommend this restaurant in a heartbeat to anyone visiting the area. Make sure to get there early because there will be a wait time but it is so worth it.

Sierra Mitchell

This place is absolutely to die for. If you don’t like anything on the menu that you think you’ll like… GET THE BREAD!!! The bread is amazing and I could eat it all just for dinner. The service was also incredible, got a taste test of wine, as a family we felt very cared for and respected. I would come here again and again if I could. Definitely a recommendation!!

Olivia Sadati

Mercato serves up excellent food in a cozy, intimate space. I had the fish baked in parchment paper—the special of the night—and it was absolutely delicious: light, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. My daughter had the skirt steak and fries, which were also excellent—tender, juicy, and well-seasoned. The restaurant is on the smaller side, so seating can feel a bit tight, but the quality of the food makes it well worth it. A great spot to dine if you're in Ithaca and looking for something special.

Deborah Bennett

The food was absolutely phenomenal. I had the ravioli which was possibly the best Italian food I have ever eaten. Paired with a lovely Italian red wine, the pasta was perfectly prepared and the tomato sauce was divine.

Elliott Tso

If I could give 8 stars out of 5 I would. I'm taken away how great the food is from such a small kitchen. I really wished I lived closer to enjoy this food minimal 4x a month. The service at the bar was great and very involved. The food was out of this world. The soup was full of flavor. The main dish was also full of great flavor, the sides were great. The beer selection was a bit low but made up in drink availability. If any one reads this, yes it's worth every penny!!

joe h

Very quaint and inviting. The atmosphere in this restaurant is very relaxed and offers dinning as well as a great bar. Our waiter was excellent. He was very cordial and personable and never skipped a beat. The food was very good. The place is small and gets filled up very quickly so I would suggest getting there when they open at 5:30 pm to guarantee a table.

Stephen Smith

My girlfriend and I decided to take a romantic getaway on the finger lakes and our drive had us passing through Ithaca, so we decided to stop for dinner. A good friend recommended this place, and admittedly I was skeptical of Italian food this far from New York City, but I trust their recommendations and decided to give it a try. I am so glad that I did. For our wine selection, our server allowed us to sample one of the wines by the glass, which tasted thin. When we described what we wanted, she came back with a reasonably priced bottle that exactly hit the deep red notes that we were looking for (see the picture for the winery / vintage if interested). We started with the crostini sampler. In my opinion, the Caponata was the best, but they were all interesting to try and I was glad we got all three. As a nice touch, they cut each crostini in half so my girlfriend and I could both easily sample each one. For dinner, I had the grilled hanger steak, which came with rapini and shoestring fries. I admittedly gave an annoyingly long description of how I wanted it cooked (essentially rare+) and they nailed it. The steak was fantastic, but the accompaniments were so good that they almost stole the show. The shoestring fries’ rosemary seasoning was a fun twist and the rapini was both familiar (garlic and olive oil) and excitingly different. For dessert, I had what was essentially espresso mousse with graham crackers and a glass of dessert wine. While probably the weakest course, it was still a delicious way to cap an amazing meal. The mousse required a bit more texture, but fortunately they provided graham crackers on the side (which I suggest crumbling into the mousse). I’d highly recommend checking this place out if you happen to be in the area.

Honor Marie

This place is just perfection. We sat at the bar at around 5:40. The restaurant opens at 5:30 and all the table were already full but the time we got there, which excited me. We had the pleasure of being served by Shawn. He was attentive, hilarious and made a mean drink. He spoke about the menu like he was a chef himself and you could tell he was passionate about his work. My friends and I enjoyed our banter with him. Once we ordered we were given bread and butter. I’m a bread lover and this was some good bread. Airy and fresh. My drink selection was the Hemingway Daiquiri, that Shawn recommended, it was sweetish and had a nice acidic kick. 10/10. My entree was the black pepper fettuccine which featured guanciale, carmelized parsnips and pecorino romano. The pasta was perfectly cooked and delicious. The parsnips were sweet and paired nicely with the guanciales saltiness and the peppery spice from the pasta. My friends got the mushroom & goat cheese cappelletti and the gnocchi with short rib ragu. Both were delicious, seasoned perfectly and pasta was cooked perfectly. They also got an Old News cocktail and Shawn made an amazing lemon drop inspired drink for them. Both were delicious. We finished our meal with the vanilla panna cotta with blood orange. It was light and sweet! Wish there was some more blood orange so each bite could have a bit of it, but it was delicious none the less. Cannot wait to come back on my next visit to NY to enjoy this beautiful restaurant again!

Shelby Wilson

Oh my goodness, we were seriously thrilled to stumble upon this place! We came for the wine/convenient location and ended up falling in love with the atmosphere, service and excellent pasta. We had a split Hanger Steak, which they neatly split for us, along with the sausage and bell pepper ravioli and gnocchi with eggplant ragu… wow. All so phenomenal. It’s so charming watching the chef prepare the meals and personally quality check each dish. I truly cannot recommend this place enough, and even though I typically choose meat dishes above all else, the pasta is to die for!

Kate J

What a pleasant surprise. My boyfriend and I were driving through Ithaca on our way to the finger lakes and needed a spot for dinner. He texted an old friend who lives there and his immediate response was Mercato. We were hesitant as we usually are with Italian restaurants but went with it and wow am I glad we did. What a fantastic meal from start to finish. We have the bruschetta trio which they so nicely split in half so it was easy to share. My boyfriend had the steak and it was cooked perfectly. Also the shoestring fries were a thing of beauty. My pork Milanese was thin, crispy and juicy. We had a side of the broccolini which was garlicky and cooked just how I like it, with a little crunch. The bartender helped us select a bottle of wine and it was exactly what we wanted. If you are in Ithaca make sure you stop here for dinner, it’s worth it.

Priscilla Perez

Went for my birthday dinner and feel so blessed to have been able to eat here! Our food was absolutely delicious and our server, Yxi, was so attentive and sweet. The house made bread was to die for. Would recommend this restaurant in a heartbeat to anyone visiting the area. Make sure to get there early because there will be a wait time but it is so worth it.

We had an amazing dinner here. Our server was so attentive and professional, the timing of everything was perfect. We ordered two entrees that we were planning to share, and the server had the kitchen split them for us without us asking, which felt really above and beyond. We had a white wine that the server helped us select, the fettuccine with clams, chicken piccata, finishing up with panna cotta and coffee. Each part perfect. We loved the cozy vibe inside as well.

First time experience and can not say enough great things. The food was amazing, the atmosphere was lovely and our service was top notch!

I don't know how this restaurant doesn't have five stars. The food was full of flavor and nuance. The service was friendly and extremely knowledgeable on every aspect of the menu. I cannot say enough about our experience here. If you are coming to Ithaca, you have to have dinner here! And if you're not in Ithaca, you need to make a special trip.

Great restaurant, great food, great service. Prohibition era cocktails, tight knit kitchen and comfortable chairs.

Lisa Christine

Great restaurant, great food, great service. Prohibition era cocktails, tight knit kitchen and comfortable chairs.

Julia Champagne

We had an amazing dinner here. Our server was so attentive and professional, the timing of everything was perfect. We ordered two entrees that we were planning to share, and the server had the kitchen split them for us without us asking, which felt really above and beyond. We had a white wine that the server helped us select, the fettuccine with clams, chicken piccata, finishing up with panna cotta and coffee. Each part perfect. We loved the cozy vibe inside as well.

Heather Raub

I don't know how this restaurant doesn't have five stars. The food was full of flavor and nuance. The service was friendly and extremely knowledgeable on every aspect of the menu. I cannot say enough about our experience here. If you are coming to Ithaca, you have to have dinner here! And if you're not in Ithaca, you need to make a special trip.

Phương Đài Trịnh

Mercato Bar & Kitchen is a sophisticated yet cozy spot in Ithaca that delivers a dining experience full of flavor, creativity, and a welcoming atmosphere. Known for its Italian-inspired menu and top-notch cocktails, this restaurant is a fantastic choice for those looking to enjoy fresh, seasonal ingredients in a stylish setting. Whether you're in the mood for a casual bite or a more refined dinner, Mercato manages to strike the perfect balance. The menu is filled with a variety of dishes that reflect both tradition and innovation. The wood-fired pizzas are a standout, with the Margherita being a classic, topped with fresh mozzarella, basil, and a tangy tomato sauce, all cooked to perfection in the wood-burning oven. If you're craving something a little different, the fennel sausage and ricotta pizza is a flavorful and slightly spicy option that’s a true crowd-pleaser. For something heartier, the braised short ribs are a must-try—tender, rich, and packed with flavor, served with creamy mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables. Vegetarians will love the roasted butternut squash risotto, creamy and satisfying, with a lovely balance of sweetness from the squash and depth from the parmesan. The portion sizes are generous, ensuring you'll leave feeling full and content. The beverage program at Mercato is equally impressive, with a curated list of Italian wines, craft beers, and expertly crafted cocktails. The Negroni is a standout, perfectly balanced and refreshing. They also offer a variety of house-made syrups and mixers, elevating classic cocktails with unique flavors. The ambiance at Mercato Bar & Kitchen is chic yet inviting, with a sleek bar area and comfortable seating that makes it perfect for both an intimate dinner or a night out with friends. The exposed brick and modern décor create a warm, stylish setting, while the open kitchen adds a touch of excitement and transparency to the dining experience. Service is impeccable—attentive without being overbearing. The staff is knowledgeable about the menu and always ready to recommend the perfect wine or dish to suit your tastes. Overall, Mercato Bar & Kitchen is one of Ithaca’s finest dining spots, offering fantastic food, a stellar drink selection, and a warm, inviting atmosphere. Whether you’re a fan of Italian cuisine or just looking for a great place to eat, Mercato consistently delivers a memorable experience.

This place is a great little Italian spot with steak and homemade pasta. Go for the entre but skip the desert. Drinks a re pretty good as well.

The food here was very good! We are extremely spoiled in NJ with tons of amazing Italian restaurants around. This little restaurant did well, we enjoyed our dinner & our server was very attentive. It's a small place, but it was quaint.

Lovely meal and atmosphere. Smoked salmon and chicken liver crostinis were small but delicious and reasonably priced. Paccheri with white Bolognese was unique and pasta cooked perfectly. Homemade spinach and cheese ravioli with a nice base of roasted tomato sauce was wonderful. Mercato chocolate cake for dessert was light and moist - DIVINE Seating was a bit tight and NO reservations.!

Definitely an above average restaurant for the area. The service at Mercato was the standout and I appreciated the varied drinks menu. The food overall however was fairly standard and I wasn't blown away. The table bread was particularly tasty though.

Jeremy Yowell

Definitely an above average restaurant for the area. The service at Mercato was the standout and I appreciated the varied drinks menu. The food overall however was fairly standard and I wasn't blown away. The table bread was particularly tasty though.

Service was very slow, waitress forgot our order. Got there at 5:35pm and got our food at 6:50 pm. Drinks took forever and at the time there were only 4 other tables for a total of 8 people.

I want to start this by giving some flowers before i deep dive into everything else. Tori our server was a delight, she was very sweet, informative and had a nice flow between her sections. The arugula starter i had was a refreshing great start, we had the chicken liver and unfortunately wasnt great. Even knowing lover lovers may be an acquired tasting object. we were sadly disappointed. the bread was also tasty, but would have been elevated had it been warmed. For dinner I had the gnocchi with eggplant ragu. Now, while it was tasty it lacked some flavor for my liking. We finished with dessert options, we immediately knew that being at an italian spot affogato was a for sure choice!! Along with dessert i was craving an espresso martini. While this restaurant has all the ingredients to make this cocktail my server made it known multiple ways that the OWNER refuses to make this cocktail. As a bartender, server and fellow industry worker, i understand it’s not on the menu. However, you have all the ingredients to make it happen, I’m confused as to why it’s such a HARD NO. Very strange about some things. I will say I’ll conclude with again Tori was amazing!! The ambiance was cute, small and intimate. I teetered between three and two starts bc the food didn’t AMAZE me. I also wasn’t able to get something I knew they could do easily.

The atmosphere is nice and the food is just decent. My steak was not cooked the way I requested, but nevertheless it was still good so I cannot complain. The pasta was mostly bland, but edible. Overall, one of the better places I've eaten in Ithaca but the quality of food does not justify the price tag

Service was 12/10. Bread and butter was 10/10. We ordered the caponata crostoni for starter. Gf and I split the Gnochi with eggplant. I’ve had this dish before but unfortunately this tasted much different. Wasn’t able to taste many other flavors besides salt. Perhaps try a different dish when you go.

Overall disappointed. The wine suggested was delicious, our server was in training but did a good job and was attentive. The kitchen was very disappointing. We waited 45 minutes after finishing our appetizers for the entrees to be served. Sea scallops were good, but the plate was overall small. The fettuccine and clams was bad, overcooked, chewy, and very salty.

Prem Yesudian

Service was 12/10. Bread and butter was 10/10. We ordered the caponata crostoni for starter. Gf and I split the Gnochi with eggplant. I’ve had this dish before but unfortunately this tasted much different. Wasn’t able to taste many other flavors besides salt. Perhaps try a different dish when you go.

Tim Roth

Overall disappointed. The wine suggested was delicious, our server was in training but did a good job and was attentive. The kitchen was very disappointing. We waited 45 minutes after finishing our appetizers for the entrees to be served. Sea scallops were good, but the plate was overall small. The fettuccine and clams was bad, overcooked, chewy, and very salty.

We dined last evening sitting tightly at a table near the window. Our server was very nice . The tables to either side of us were also seated at the same time as us. We waited 45 min for our drinks ( as both other tables had drinks apps and their dinner) when our food finally arrived ( about 1 1/2 hour ) it was cold. Very disappointed for what we were expecting to be a lovely dining experience

The host and owner denied us entry upon seeing my service animal, claiming “psychiatric service animals are not service animals.” That statement is both false and discriminatory under federal law. I would give 0 stars if I could for the attitude and sheer audacity of the staff toward me and my service animal, right before my partner and I’s wedding anniversary. Ignorant, dismissive, and embarrassingly misinformed — 3 words that sum up the experience. It’s easy to smile for customers until real hospitality is required — and clearly, this establishment failed at that.

edit: Mercato & their rude/unprofessional staff tried to delete my review... TERRIBLE, GROSS, unsanitary.. Tried Mercato with some friends recently. The only good part of the dining experience was there was no wait for a table. Now it is obvious why half the restaurant was empty on a Saturday night. The male host was extremely rude. The food took 1.5 hours to come out. Our waiter did not apologize. When our food finally arrived, it was sincerely disgusting. The frozen food at Trader Joe's tastes better. One of my buddies sent his food back because it was disgusting and the chef came out to scold and humiliate him. Haha, nice try. The restaurant is EMPTY is because his food sucks. Overall terrible service, experience, and food.

We called a couple of hours in advance to see what our best chance was to get a table since we knew that they don’t take reservations. We were told our best chance was to get there at opening since it’s first come first serve. We got there ten minutes after opening, there was no line and only one table seated. We were told they would not be able to sit two people at a table that early on a Friday night so we had to leave.

I went to Mercato for dinner and had an excellent experience at first. Then, I found a cockroach in my Affogato. While the photo may be slightly blurry, it was definitely a roach. The waitress who served me and my friend apologized profusely and assured me that the desserts would be taken off the check. She seemed sincere and asked if there was anything else she could do, but my dinner experience was already ruined. The bug remained on the table, and no one came to remove it while our cards were processed. Before leaving, I pointed out the bug, now stuck to a piece of paper, to another waitress in case they wanted to investigate it further. She quickly folded the paper and put it aside, but there was no acknowledgment of the seriousness of the situation. At no point did anyone from management get involved, and I left feeling that the incident wasn’t taken seriously. For a restaurant with such high standards - and as someone who doesn’t often dine at places like this - I expected much better. There didn’t seem to be a clear protocol for handling such a serious issue. I hope this review reaches management so that the restaurant takes appropriate measures to address these hygiene issues.

Furkat Mukhtarov

I went to Mercato for dinner and had an excellent experience at first. Then, I found a cockroach in my Affogato. While the photo may be slightly blurry, it was definitely a roach. The waitress who served me and my friend apologized profusely and assured me that the desserts would be taken off the check. She seemed sincere and asked if there was anything else she could do, but my dinner experience was already ruined. The bug remained on the table, and no one came to remove it while our cards were processed. Before leaving, I pointed out the bug, now stuck to a piece of paper, to another waitress in case they wanted to investigate it further. She quickly folded the paper and put it aside, but there was no acknowledgment of the seriousness of the situation. At no point did anyone from management get involved, and I left feeling that the incident wasn’t taken seriously. For a restaurant with such high standards - and as someone who doesn’t often dine at places like this - I expected much better. There didn’t seem to be a clear protocol for handling such a serious issue. I hope this review reaches management so that the restaurant takes appropriate measures to address these hygiene issues.

On Tuesday, my party and I arrived with empty stomachs to an even emptier Mercato in hopes of being served a delicious Italian dinner altogether. We were excited because, as my boyfriend and I are both Italians, we know our people to be nothing short of warm and inviting. To our dismay, we were immediately turned away at the door because we were a larger party. We offered to split into two tables to accommodate for space but instead the best offering we received was to not only split the party, but also to come back in two different time slots and eat at different times. We were denied and shooed away. We went right next door to Creola Steakhouse and after 2 hours of eating, drinking, and laughing (at one table, might I add) we walked back past Mercato to find it was still empty. The next day, we walked down restaurant row once again searching for dinner. We noticed several people stop to peruse the menu in front of Mercato, stand for a moment and walk away, disappointed (however none having to endure the embarrassment of being outright turned away). We were quite surprised having been unable to sample the food that we still had a bad taste left in our mouths.

Server spilled food on my brother and ran off without apologizing, there wasn’t any spills on her as she tipped the plate over so we’re not sure why she sprinted away so fast. We had to use everyone’s napkins at the table to clean up my brother’s arm and chair. This server never came back to our table. Hostess and our waiter was nice otherwise. Food is fine, nothing special but not bad.

Emily Ramos

On Tuesday, my party and I arrived with empty stomachs to an even emptier Mercato in hopes of being served a delicious Italian dinner altogether. We were excited because, as my boyfriend and I are both Italians, we know our people to be nothing short of warm and inviting. To our dismay, we were immediately turned away at the door because we were a larger party. We offered to split into two tables to accommodate for space but instead the best offering we received was to not only split the party, but also to come back in two different time slots and eat at different times. We were denied and shooed away. We went right next door to Creola Steakhouse and after 2 hours of eating, drinking, and laughing (at one table, might I add) we walked back past Mercato to find it was still empty. The next day, we walked down restaurant row once again searching for dinner. We noticed several people stop to peruse the menu in front of Mercato, stand for a moment and walk away, disappointed (however none having to endure the embarrassment of being outright turned away). We were quite surprised having been unable to sample the food that we still had a bad taste left in our mouths.

Claire Chen

Server spilled food on my brother and ran off without apologizing, there wasn’t any spills on her as she tipped the plate over so we’re not sure why she sprinted away so fast. We had to use everyone’s napkins at the table to clean up my brother’s arm and chair. This server never came back to our table. Hostess and our waiter was nice otherwise. Food is fine, nothing special but not bad.