Al Mercatino

First off i will say the sandwich i ordered wasn’t bad or good, just ok, and the size was comparable to the sandwich on display. However the sandwich color, texture and general appeal was much worse than the display panini. When i questioned the employee about the difference i received an attitude and was asked «if i still wanted the sub» in a very aggresive tone. When i first inquired as to the price of my panini i was told one price and after buying a drink was charged 6 dollars extra, so either it was a very expensive soda or i was lied to.
I definitely would not return to this place, as there are plenty of other options in Fanueil Hall.

The WORST service and treatment I have ever had!!! I ordered the seafood linguini, but didn’t see the price on the menu. Everything on the board was $ 8.43 with the exception of a shrimp dish which was $ 11. When I went to pay, the registered showed $ 12. The guy proceeded to swipe my card and said, $ 14.01. I questioned the price and asked where on the menu it was listed. The guy said it was a manager’s special and wasn’t listed. I questioned him again and he repeated it was a special then gave me a smirk and a wink, basically insinuating «f you». I said I changed my mind and wanted a refund. He said no, he couldn’t do that. I asked again for a refund and he became even more rude and said no. Then, he repeated «bye. Bye. Bye» waiving his hand in my face. I asked for a manager and he said that there was none there «only us» signaling to himself and the guy who rang me up. After we exchange some more words, I said I’m not going anywhere until I get my money back. He said that’s fine and that I could stand there all day.
As other customers approached the counter, I proceeded to let them know how bad this place was and that they were totally rude. As the customers continued to walk away, he started to get mad and called security over. The first security guard came over and this guy immediately started to speak to him in Spanish. I then explained what had happened and the security guard got his supervisor to come over. Soon after, 3 more security guards came over. I explained the situation and the security agreed with me and talked the guy who continued to be a jerk. After 30 minutes of this ordeal, the guy hands me 14 one dollar bills. The security guard had some words with him about his rudeness. They couldn’t believe how rude this guy was. They apologized to me for what I had gone through. This place should be investigated because clearly, they are scamming people based on other posts.
Some items to note:
— although it was a special, they had a permanent sign in the window for this «special»
— they rang up one price on the register and another was run through the credit card machine
— they stated they could NOT give a refund
— this is the same experience that several others have described on Unilocal

So, after the many years I spent going to places in Quincy market, so, after going through all the restaurants here I settled on eating here. The Chicken Pesto Panini on display looked really good. Plus, I thought this place has been here for a few years, it must be good.
Boy was I wrong… It, and a can or Soda was 12 bucks, for that price, I expected something amazing. Nope…
The Pesto and Fresh Mozzarella, while visible did not make an impact on my taste buds. True, they are not the stars on the plate, but they should still work harmoniously. There was chicken… was this out of a can, from under a lamp? I don’t know, but it was near flavorless, and the flavor it had was not that great either.
The bread, while not bad, was not the bread that usually goes with Paninis. While I am okay with creative uses of food, it, and te chicken overwhelmed the flavor of everything else.
I had to throw away half a sandwich, I hate throwing food away, but I just couldn’t eat it. I went to a different location, and got something edible. Will not be returning to this place anytime soon.

Horrible. They do not understand the dynamics of business. Charged us for something that we did not want and refused to refund. Besides this, look at the other reviews regarding their «genius» scheme by charging one unknown additions. Avoid.

never coming back here again. They attract customers by displaying the $ 8.43 breakfast platters on counters. The total came out to $ 14.80! They said it was the two water we got. I asked for two cups of water which are free of charge. They charged around $ 6 for two bottles of water. When I found out, I told them I no longer want them. And they said they cannot return it. We argued for a while since I know for a fact that it’s possible. I was disappointed that they were unwilling to cooperate. I usually never complain about food services and is lenient on the services but I felt angry and unsatisfied that I needed to post a bad review. I even told them that and they said «fine. You do that». Located in quincy market. You have many choices. Don’t go here.

The menu sounded more appetizing than appeared & a lot of people were ordering. After stating we wanted the breakfast panini and the ham & cheese sandwich, we were asked if we wanted ham & cheese, which is stated or has been already requested. The guy ringing up the orders threw the bread onto the grill. The sandwiches weren’t anything spectacular & obviously overpriced. Their freshly squeezed orange juice, however, is worth it.

man, i got a chicken panini b/​c their display was so good looking. instead, i got this plain empty thing that was poorly grilled and tasteless. it was about $ 9 for this thing. i was so upset when i got it. there were several empty «bread only» bites. the inside was just a small piece of cheese with chicken breast and some pesto. i’ve never had a grilled panini that was cold and NOT crispy. what others say about this place is true.
Go elsewhere.

Very angry. They showed great looking sandwiches on their counter. The shrimp and crab blts looked tasty. I ordered it and asked if the filling was real crab and shrimp. The guy said yes. When i got the sandwich, i was disappointed. It did not have that much fresh seafood flavor and tasted like shrimp you get frozen from the supermarket. The worst thing was that the crab totally felt like imitation crab!
Horrible lies! They dare charge $ 12 for a FAKE crab sandwich?!
This is false advertisement and infuriates me.
Not worth the money.
LIARS!

Ugh, would have helped if I had wi-​fi or data prior to going here to check out all the negative Unilocal reviews! I guess I should have also seen the lack of customers as a warning too. I ordered the chicken milano panini (or something like that). The customer service was awful; I didn’t realize till I got back to my hotel that they overcharged me for a simple bottle of water. Like, seriously? The sandwich started off okay, but then I found the nasty bits of chicken in it that you don’t want to find in your sandwich. Overall not a good experience, so — simply put — won’t be going back there

I’ve been eating from the shops and restaurants in the Faneuil Hall area for close to 20 years, and I’ve sampled my fair share of sandwich joints. That being said, Al Mercatino was the first place which made a pancetta, basil, and tomato sandwich the way I like it. I can be a bit persnickety, and the staff rose to the challenge admirably. Thanks for a great lunch, y’all. I’ll be back.

This place is Amazing. You can’t get any better than fast and delicious food, and great service. Especially in Boston when everyone is on the go.
The paninis there are unbelievable and the prices reasonable, especially when you can taste the Top Shelf ingredients in every bite. Definitely will be going back there over and over again.

this place is GREAT! the service is awesome and i loved everything they had. i went back 5 times and got different foods and loved every single one! the guy who owns this is very professional and knows how to run a business. i would definitely recommend this place to whoever travels to Boston! best food ever! especially their buffalo paninis!

The chicken broccoli ziti was passable. The ziti was past al dente, but the taste was okay. Did we want garlic bread? Umm… sure. A piece was picked up from the border of the heated serving tray and wrapped up — not very enticing a beginning…
Since we didn’t know the price of the pasta, we could have very well been charged something for the bread and not know it. The garlic bread was tough, but the flavor didn’t warrant further gnawing away at it, so most of it was left behind.
2.5 stars.

Wow, Al Mercatino somehow managed to screw up breakfast sandwiches. Just wow.
I had low, *very low* expectations because Quincy Market is a touristy area, but I didn’t think it would be that bad. We ordered from this place because it was the only option in the marketplace with the breakfast foods we wanted. Two breakfast paninis, an egg sandwich, orange juice and bottle of water came to around $ 35. Ugh.
As soon as they started preparing my panini, I knew that we had made a terrible mistake. A couple miserable looking pieces of bacon were wrapped in a large egg patty. The patty and cheese were placed on the bread after the bread had been grilled. Uhh, aren’t you supposed to grill/​press the panini AFTER it has been assembled? The panini ($ 8+) was huge, but incredibly bland. No salt, no pepper. Cheese was a tasteless, gooey mess. The bread was hard and kept scratching the roof of my mouth. Yes, I was actually injured by this panini.
I regret not pigging out on a lobster roll that morning. Sure, it would have been overpriced, but anything beats the awful food from Al Mercatino. Congrats for earning my first ever 1-​star review for a restaurant/​food vendor.

if there was an option for 0 stars, thats what this place would get. after a long day of travel, all i wanted was an eggplant parm sandwich to go. When i got back to my hotel, i discovered that it was a chicken parm sandiwich – im a vegetarian. I called and asked for a refund and was told that i should bring the sandwich back and they would exchange. ie, no refunds. when i asked for the owners nam and number, the ‘manager’ hung up on me. twice.
This place DOES NOT belong in Boston, let alone fanueil hall.

Walking around Quincy Market, I see this stand and the food looks delicious. I’m torn between the Pesto Tortellini or the Penne w/​Chicken and Broccoli (white sauce). I go with the Penne and get the Garlic bread.
As I start to dig in, I realize there is hardly any chicken and a two pieces of broccoli. The penne is bland and too soft. Wasn’t the best pasta, I have ever eaten.
Then I open the foil to try the garlic bread. Not as good either. Lacked that delicious garlic taste and it needed more parsley.
For $ 10.04, I was very disappointed.

Delicious sandwiches with flavor & flair.

I decided to be adventurous today and try something new.
I got the eggplant parmesan over pasta for $ 7.43. Not incredibly expensive, especially for Quincy Market, but I’ve experienced better prices. The person serving my food offered me a piece of garlic bread, but forgot to mention that it would come at an extra charge of $ 1.95.
The breading on the eggplant is gooey, but the eggplant itself is a little undercooked. The pasta is way overcooked and left a big pool of water on the bottom of the poorly-​sealed container, leaving a small puddle in the bottom of the bag. The garlic bread, while a decent size, is little more than an over-​sized croûton.
It tastes pretty good, but I’m not too impressed with the overall experience.
Small serving of eggplant parmesan and pasta + garlic bread croûton (crunch crunch crunch!!!) = $ 9.85
Why, oh why didn’t I go to Viga?