Mercadito

We came here for restaurant week. We had an 8:15 reservation and was seated right away when we arrived. It was really loud there and it seem like we were yelling at each other. The waiter was really helpful. We started with a traditional margarita and a pepino el pyu. The pepino was light and a little sweet it was exactly what I was looking for. We decided on doing the restaurant week menu. We started with the mango and traditional gauc and the Cameron ceviche. They were delicious, the mango gauc had a kick to it. We did the pastor, carne, baja, and espada tacos with a side of plantanos machos. I want to say either the baja or espada was really dry but the plantanos made up for it. They were absolutely delicious. We ended our meal with the Carmel and tres leches flan. They were both delicious. The only complaint I would have is that is was super loud.

Went here tonight with a few friends from work and had a great time!
Make sure to get a reservation. We had a reservation a week in advance, and we still had to wait at the bar for a seat once we got there. This place was busy! We got some traditional margaritas at the bar when we got there and then went to our seats. They were great cocktails and quite strong.
We ended up trying the shrimp and lobster ceviche and the chips and guacamole to start. The original guac is the best even though they have a lot of flavors.
I chose to go with the shrimp tacos and they were sooo good! The perfect amount of spice and garlic. So flavorful. My friend got the grilled bass and I had a bite. I will be ordering that next time. Looked amazing.
We got the bread pudding dessert and it was delicious. Definitely a two person dessert kinda thing. Super sweet.
To finish I had another margarita, but this time with the smoky tequila. Never had a smoky tequila before, and I was quite impressed. It was pretty unique. For sure try it if you never had it before. It’s even good on the rocks with some lime & salt.

I’ve only been here once but I really enjoyed my visit. I went in with my friends for New Years Day brunch with a reservation. We were a party of 8 and we got the family style plates. It was more than enough. You get to choose three dishes for the table to share. They serve enough for your party and its at a set price. We did the option for the one that comes with the drink as well. It’s called the Ultimate Hangover Cure and its $ 22.50 per guest.
We ordered:
Chilaquiles with the fried eggs.
Carnitas Hash
Fish Tacos
Everything was amazing the portion sizes were more than enough. (We were even able to take home leftovers.) I had mango mimosita when I first arrived and it was so delicious. The staff was very attentive and friendly. I definitely recommend the Hangover Cure for large groups. It was the perfect way to start the year.

Brought a large group here for a bachelorette party. The service was excellent and anticipated our needs nicely. The traditional margarita is incredibly delish and I’m very picky when it comes to this drink. We had several dishes served to the table all throughout the evening and everything was amazing. Steak tacos, chicken tacos, veggie tacos, mushroom tacos — all very, very good. The 3 different types of guac were all very good. We had several other food samples and I’m telling you, everything was really good. I’m taking my hubby there. He’s got to try it!
The only con I would say is it’s a small venue and it’s right seating and it gets really loud in there. I seriously couldn’t hear the person across the table from me. In fairness, we were a table of 15. But it was really loud all around.

Come for the tacos, and stay for the dessert! Make sure to make a reservation as this place can get very busy during weekends and even weekdays after work.
Service is always great here!
I recommend the lobster tacos and the tilapia. My favs. We always end up over-​ordering, so just remember that with the guac, you won’t be able to finish too many tacos.
The most delicious, refreshing drink here I think is the Pepino Elpyu. Deliciousss, and you can get a non-​alcoholic version of it!
They have a bread pudding dessert served in a small skillet that is soo good; definitely split it with a friend (or two).
I would recommend this place to everyone, especially for a girl’s night out.

My husband and I came here for dinner, and it was excellent. We started off with two traditional margaritas, which were strong and the mix tasted fresh. We then ordered the traditional guacamole, and it was delicious, subtly spicy and perfect for 2 people to share.
I ordered the Mariscada Taquiza, which is similar to a fajita presentation with soft corn tortillas but without the rice, beans, or grilled vegetables. The Mariscada contained shrimp, octopus, and calamari and had some sort of a Latin cole slaw mix on the side. The dish was fantastic, and the helping was plentiful.
My husband ordered the Carne Asada. It was perfectly marinated and perfectly cooked, and the dressings as well as the black beans and rice were delicious and well-​seasoned. Again, the serving was generous for this dish, and by the end of our meal, we certainly had no room for dessert!
The serving staff was friendly, attentive, and knowledgable about the menu. The restaurant has a hip vibe with mural paintings and plays relatively loud, popular music. The seating is a little crowded, and the restaurant was very full. We made a reservation for our dinner. The price for a meal, a shared appetizer, and a drink was around $ 45 per person. Overall, we had a great experience. I would recommend this restaurant and will likely come back.

This place is a modern Mexican style restaurant. Very trendy inside, great atmosphere that is refreshing over the typical.
The food is great, I wanted to try everything that I could and I achieved that the best that I could.
–Ceviche, had the shrimp one. Great flavors that went well together. This is a great choice of you are a fan of this dish or want something light but has a ton of flavor.
–Guacamole was a easy choice. We tried the mango style, has a nice subtle mango flavor to it that wasn’t too fruity but rather blended nicely together.
— Salsa had a few options, sent with the habanero which they did a great job with. They put more flavor vs relying on the spice of the pepper to dominate the dish. The tomatillo sauce was the best I’ve had. Both were excellent salsa choices.
–The tacos were amazing! They put some extra ingredients that you don’t always see from many places but it doesn’t get too crazy on the creativity side. I had the carnitas, pastor, and swordfish. All were worth getting but the pastor was by far my favorite.
–For dessert, we tried what I well
Dub Mexican style bread pudding. Many layers of flavor to it. Crunchy top, soft middle, sauce, and ice cream. It was very yummy.
Overall this is a wonderful place that has much to offer and will keep you coming back to try more.

So I’ve ordered tacos from here, but have never actually been inside. This place is super cute and hip. It also has a super cool vibe/​energy that is welcoming.
We sat at the bar as it was packed and the empty tables were being held for reservations. Our bartender was sweet but a bit off. Maybe she checked out because her shift was almost over, but when she was engaged, she was super engaged.
We had:
2 salsas (tomatillo and habenero) — delish!
Ceviche (lobster and mixto) — very below average. I’ve had tons of ceviche around town and I was truly unimpressed with this. I expected much more flavor considering the simplicity of the dish. The mixto was much better than the lobster, I believe it was wayy to sweet. I think I thought the tomatillo would have balanced the grapes and key lime broth.
Taco, taco, tacos!
Shrimp — These were pretty tasty! Good flavor and each taco well «stuffed»
Mahi — These tasted pretty bland. One could argue eat all the sides for the full flavor, but the base was just meh.
Carne — I didn’t have them first hand, but I heard they were delicious!
I’d totally come for drinks and maybe appetizers, but not in a hurry to get back for tacos.

Good food (not great), but poor value for the price.
If I could, I would give Mercadito 3.5 stars because of the unjustifiably high price point, but will round up to 4 given their good service, presentation and flavorful food.
I went here for lunch with a colleague around 12:45 on a Wed and got their last outdoor sidewalk table for two. It was a perfect sunny afternoon in the mid 70s, and I was excited to try Mercadito (which had been on my list for years) for the first time.
First thing that you notice is the service is SUPER FAST, and the food, while beautifully presented (see my pics) and brought out quickly, is served in very SMALL portions.
I ended up ordering 2 sets of tacos owing to the small
size — the pork and the shrimp — and both were tasty. The Mojo sauce over the shrimp is especially flavorful and I would go back for that. The carnita (pork) tacos were mild, but very fresh and bright tasting. I also ordered the homemade cucumber soda (beautiful decoration with cumin and salt along the rim and face of the goblet) which was subtle and refreshing, but nothing to excitedly write home about.
My colleague ordered the mango salsa (very fresh and enjoyable) which was served with homemade tortilla chips, chicken tacos, and a mango soda. I actually preferred her soda to mine but didn’t try the chicken tacos.
Overall a good experience but the sticker shock of spending $ 45 (just my share) for a small-​ish lunch is tough to swallow…

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Upon arrival, it looked very low key small chill. We were seated in a booth when we arrived early for our reservation. It wasn’t packed. The food was delicious and the drinks were amazing!!! A must if you are in Chicago!!! Staff was so friendly and polite. So happy we came here!!!