Mercel’s Bake Shop

I ordered some food for catering for my daughter’s party for today and everyone loves the food and the Ube cake. Most of the guess that was there, that was the first time they tried Filipino food and they love it. Thank you so much for delicious Filipino dishes. I greatly appreciated it. :)

I ordered a cake last week for my brother’s birthday and they forgot to make it today. All the lady on the phone could say was «sorry.» I’ve had cake from here in the past and I enjoyed it. It’s disappointing that they don’t have a better way of tracking orders.

Came by today to get lunch and Pinoy groceries. I read many reviews about this place that when I walked in, I went straight to the register and ordered my food, no long wait time whatsoever. They have a small but good selection of chichirya so I used my wait time browsing. Food came out good. Btw, they do not provide tap or service water so you have to buy bottled water.

best Filipino food around Tampa bay, Clearwater, largo area!!! even the Filipino desserts are so good!

Regardless of the service or the ambience, this restaurant offers some very delicious Filipino dishes! I liked the breakfast combo. It got a fried fish, garlic fried rice and sausage, some fried pork and fried egg. They called it breakfast but they served it whole day. Stew meat dish were also pretty good. This is also the grocery store with Filipino ethnic grocery items. There were many different can food, seasoning packs, frozen Seafood, frozen dessert, snacks, bake goods. If anybody is handy enough to home cook some Filipino dishes, you can get your ingredient here. The service was on the slow side. The sitting area looked clean enough. The pricing was affordable. This is a good place to try the ethnic Filipino food.

I would said this is the best Philippino restaurant in the Bay Area. It is a mix with grocery store and the restaurant. I can see the problem of this restaurant is the response time to the customer. We sit down for 10 minutes before anyone come to ask what I need. In fact, there was no one out at the front for good 10 minutes. We help ourself for the menu.
We got our orders immediately once we have someone come to our table. The food came out very quick. We order the Binagoongang Baboy — pork with shrimp paste. It you are not use to shrimp paste do not try this dish. I like this dish since the pork are well braise and soft. If they cook this dish with hot chili, it will be much better.
Our second dish is the most popular dish of the restaurant. It is Da-​Long-​Tocilog combo. It is a breakfast dish that serve all day. It has fried pickle fish, cure pork meat, pork sausage serve with garlic fried rice and fried egg. This is a very good dish.
The food is 4 stars, but the service and attentive of the store front is 2.5 stars. So 3 stars for the restaurant. Do I come back. Yes, for the combo breakfast dish that was not serve else where. It has better menu compare to the Bay Area Philippino food restaurants.

I have been here w few times with my family, but first time I remembered to Unilocal it! It is a small family owned Filipino restaurant with a grocery store! I wish we had something like this back at home but seems like I always travel for Filipino food.
This place is small with a few booths and tables. The food here is all fresh and made to order. I always go with the breakfast special of 2 eggs, longonisa, milk fish, and Filipino bacon (forget the actual name). These things are my favorite bfast foods! Then I top it off with a halo halo! Hands down the perfect meal!
As far as groceries, I don’t really purchase much except for ube mochi balls and air fresheners! They Also sell Filipino pastries which are so goooood!
4 stars Bc of the price! It seems pretty pricey to me here, but I don’t mind since Filipino food
Options are limited!
If you’re ever in the area check it out for sure! Great food that is fresh and great service as well

FYI– First time visitor/​Filipino good.
Wasn’t greeted but didn’t bother me much. Another customer that was there helped and directed me to the menu which turned into me Google’ing what sounded good. Shortly after another customer came and offered her assistance. She use to work at the shop years back. Both customers made the experience AMAZING! Made you feel like family.
Food ordered was Pork Adobo, Da-​Long-​Tocilog, only smelled the Pork Sisig (Smelled like what I’ll order next time). There was another dish but I don’t remember what’s it’s called. It wasn’t bad at all but bland. The rice was on point– sticky. I also tried their Halo Halo. I didn’t know what it was but WHOA. Tall cup, tons of topping. Hunks of ube and flan!
I really don’t want to bag on their customer service but I never got service. I totally lucked out with help from the other customers only. I do agree that the price is about $ 3 – 5 dollars overpriced but from what the Filipinos there said, its the closest taste from the motherland. I’ll pay for that.
The place isn’t fancy but if you’re into exploring Filipino culture and trying their foods, candies, snacks, desserts — Mercel’s. And if you want to enjoy some Filipino TV– Mercel’s

I’m not lowering my expectations, I’m just seeing this place for what it is: your typical family owned, mixed use business that combines a restaurant, bakery, mini grocery store, and «balik bayan» center (and maybe even an impromptu karaōke bar minus the libations). If you’re familiar with NYC (specifically Queens) then you’ll know what I mean. The service was quick, the seating/​eating area clean (but cramped), and the food was delicious (think: your Lola and titas cooking in the kitchen during the holidays). I went there for lunch and ordered two entrees (came with a side of rice) and a Coke for just over $ 8 (lunch special from Monday through Friday), which was more than fair. In a sea of mediocre combination Thai /​Chinese /​Japanese restaurants that is the St Pete’s area, this place is an authentic breath of fresh Pinoy air. Give it at chance and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I really try to be fair when rating and I’ve given this place a fair shot at blowing me away, however, this place has failed every time. Food takes a longggg time to come out even if you’re the only one in the store. The food is subpar and not worth the price AT ALL. I feel like this place could do so much better. Sooo over priced.

My wife and i stopped by while on vacation. Yes it is tiny but genuine with pinoy tv programs on a tv. We got fresh lumpia and cassava cake to eat there and some snacks to tke back to friends. It was a fun adventure if u are open minded

New to the Tampa area and this is the first Filipino restaurant I found. Ordered pancit, pork adobo and lumpia. It was good although you don’t really get a lot for your money. They offer grocery items like Silver Swan that you definitely won’t find in ordinary stores. Overall a good experience, I’ll be returning.

Very good and clean. Enjoyed food and wide variety in store. The only down side is the name. We learned that this place was Filipino by accident.

After searching and searching for anything close to home filipino food-​wise I’ve finally decided to stop by Mercel’s. The store has a small selection of food staples and snacks not nearly as much as I’d hoped for, although they do have Mangolia brand Ube ice cream which I’m sure I’ll go back for.
Since I had a craving for nostalgic food I decided to order the Lechon, pancit palabok, and shanghai lumpia. I’m not sure she understood me very well but after waiting for the food she only arrived with and charged me for with the palabok and Lechon and I was not about to wait any longer as I was starving. The Lechon was good. It satisfied my crunchy fatty savory craving as does any Lechon but the palabok, unfortunately, was subpar. I now understand why in most other filipino restaurants (and with my own experience in making the dish) why it’s normally a special order item. You can’t cut corners on palabok. I wish it had shrimp and calamansi/​lemon to accompany it at LEAST. Needless to say I won’t be ordering that again which is unfortunate.
I also purchased a plain ensaymada which I haven’t tried yet but looks yummy enough. It’s hard coming from the west coast and knowing what real good filipino restaurants/​stores are like and having to settle and until I find the perfect place I’ll do fine with going back to Mercel’s for my cravings.

I’m giving them one star because the food was edible and also because half a star wasn’t an option. It didn’t necessarily taste bad but wasn’t anything special and def paid more than what was necessary. I could have cooked a much better meal. My family and I are on vacation (present tense because I’m actually still sitting here after having eaten this less than mediocre meal) and decided on getting filipino food.
Let me go into specifics.
1)Pinakbet cost $ 7, for a small bowl, should be good for only one person. It wasn’t bad but the size was unacceptable for the price.
2)Lechon Kawali cost $ 7.95, was ok but wasn’t even served with lechon sauce.
3) Crispy pata cost $ 8.50, the star anise flavoring was too strong. The meat tasted «dirty for a lack of better words and had an awful after taste.
4) Halo halo cost $ 6.50, again size was an issue. For the price, we expected at least a decent size and more toppings.
5) Sizzling bangus cost $ 12.95. This was recommended by our waitress, she even stated it was their «specialty». What she should have said was it was bangus slathered with oyster sauce with some peppers and onions dressed up with the flair of a sizzling platter. Nothing special.
6) Palabok cost $ 5.50, simply put it tasted like it was the instant kind of palabok. Hardly any shrimp, maybe one shrimp per order.
Maybe it was our fault because we ignored the 3 star warning but please do yourself a favor and skip the trip here.
I’m almost sorry to be giving a fellow filipino such a bad rating but no I’m not really. I’m only sorry we decided to come here.
They do have a grocery store. So maybe you can go here for that.

Lots of odds at ends here. Feels like a family suddenly decided to fill a market gap. Difficult to rate.
COMFORT FOOD
While the food won’t explode your mind – holy crap why didn’t I think of this before?? – it definitely tastes like down-​home-​cooking comfort food that somehow still doesn’t taste as good as your mom’s. Even if you’re not familiar with Filipino cuisine. There’s something simple about the flavors and presentation with the Sisig, Halo Halo, Adobe, Fried Chicken etc etc. It tastes like a kitchen of Filipino Grandmas and Moms were gossiping with each other while prepping your food.
STRANGE SURROUNDINGS
Located in a small, easily forgettable plaza at least Mercel’s is cleaner inside than how it looks outside. But even inside it feels like a mish-​mash – which I guess is part of its charm and makes it feel more like a family trying to help a community. To one side are three small booths and a few tables for those who want to order from the small kitchen. There are two very small areas (small enough to fit my bathroom) stuffed with Filipino-​specific groceries. Normally between the entrance and the counter to order are handfuls of large boxes dropped off by the community for the owners of Mercels to deliver to families in the Philippines.
FAMILIAR SERVICE
And the service is familial as well – it can be insanely sweet and aim to please or sometimes forgetful if they get stuck doing another task. Greeting upon entry is not the usual. Normally I only see one person running the whole front area but they have always been kind and apologetic if things get backed up.

Bistek (think thin beef slices almose like mini steaks) — it’s prepared with soy sauce, lemon or calamansi juice, and onions; there’s more but this isn’t a recipe, it’s a review. The bistek here was ok, and I only ordered it once so I don’t know if it’s the same everytime. The meat itself was flavorful and went well with the rice but it was more on the oily side. I usually spoon out the extra oil after it settles when cooking but i guess just add more rice for this one. My grade: C+, if you haven’t eaten many bistek dishes then you would most likely give it a B+ to A-​. Hmm maybe I’ll keep the grading in this format. My grade and then a grade for one that hasn’t had the opportunity to eat the same dish at many differing places. So for this review, my grade and newbie grade. Dinuguan (pork meat gravy type dish sometimes with chilies) — this is a filipino favorite but i don’t want to go into the very specifics… I’ll just say that it’s really good with rice, make sure you have your rice down and then scoop up the dish and lay on your rice so that the sauce melds with the rice… oh yeah i’m getting hungry here… My grade: B /​Newbie Grade: A. Crispy Pata (deep fried pig leg) — this is like real fried pork skin but on the leg and with the meat under it still on the bone, a lot of flavor when done correctly, I don’t know if the one we got was old or fried too long. It was a bit over done on the crispy side and lacking meat. Still good with the spicy vinegar or banana sauce (it doesn’t taste like banana tho’, try it) My grade: C /​Newbie: B-​. Adobo Rice (fried rice with the famous Adobo dish) — usually you’d just order the Adobo dish which can be pork or chicken, a party favorite but I haven’t ordered it here because my standards are too high for this dish and has a 99% chance of disappointment and even if I found the last 1% it wouldn’t be worth the risk unless someone had a sign up or a Unilocal review/​tip stating that it was the best they ever tasted, i mean, Guy Fieri would have to have it on his show for me to risk it. So about the Adobe rice, it’s basically the dish mixed with white rice and then fried. It was good but didn’t give any of us the wow factor. We didn’t eat much of it but I’m sure the fans of fried rice would adore this dish. My grade: C /​Newbie: A. Lumpia (filipino egg rolls, think egg rolls but with mostly meat instead of chinese eggrolls which are mostly veggies) — This dish is probably the dish that everyone always wants someone to make for them for a party. I always get asked to make it so now i just say that i don’t know how to make it. It takes a long time and usually I reserve the time for immediate family and maybe a best friend but they know how ot make it as well sooo hahahah too bad. Let’s just say that if i placed a tray of lumpia anywhere, at any house, (they can be made of pork or beef), and not a vegetarian house or on a Friday of Lent, or a home that doesn’t consume meat or pork at certain times then it would disappear quickly. So if you’re going to have filipino food, you’d have to order this. I prefer to eat it with spicy vinegar but the newbies, it’s usually the sweet and spicy chili sauce. Or even the sweet and sour sauce they use for chinese dishes (shame on you all out there that do that *tsk *tsk *tsk). My grade: C+ /​Newbie: A+(hahah so true). Sinigang (pork or shrimp sour soup made with tamarind) — I love this soup, and I mean LOVE. Here at Mercels they delivered pretty well, not the best but it was satisfying. Of course you eat it with rice… mmmhmm. My Grade: B /​Newbie: C — A depending on palate. Drinks — Calamansi Juice (calamansi is a small lemon/​lime) — comes pre-​packaged but a favorite of mine so I didn’t care. My Grade: Biased B+ /​Newbie: ???
1: They have a grocery section so if you want to try to cook the stuff at home, you can buy the ingredients and give it a go with an online recipe. Careful though, it’s addicting and if you know how to cook it you will gain some weight, this is unavoidable… sorry, but you’ll be happy.
2: They have baked goods as well, try the leche flan, ube, casava cake, and ensemada. They have polvoron packaged too if you like shortbread type treats.
3: If you want a cold drink, the people favorite is Halo-​Halo (not pronounced like the video game or round thing above angel’s heads). Basically a shaved ice treat in a cup or bowl and soaked with condensed milk and sweet jellies and treats. There is also a more humble drink called Sago, it’s more of a toned down single sweet flavor, maybe for more traditional peeps.
—Ughh that’s pretty much all I got so far, more to come when we go back sometime to try out some more of the menu. All in all i gave them a 3 star rating on account that their menu wasn’t lacking, they had an abundance of choice and desserts and goods. Plus the price was good so out of all the weighing factors its a strong 3.5 but you can only do solid stars…

Terrible service and terrible food. I got Beef Nilaga and the beef was so dry when it is supposed to be tender, there was lettuce instead of cabbage and it didn’t come with potatoes so I had to ask for some and they were crunchy.
The food was awful so I sent it back and it also took so long to get to the table even though we were the only customer. They obviously didnt have any made and just threw stuff together. Was so hoping for some good filipino food. Would never come back.

This information is not very cool or funny, just wanted to state my experiences with Mercel’s:
Business hours on website note that they are open on Sunday. Luckily, we were passing through and wanted to stop by, and did not make a special trip— because we came on a Sunday and they were closed.
Finally, I was able to visit on a Saturday. I walked inside and was not greeted or anything. So, I walked up to the bakery counter and stood there for almost fifteen minutes, while the seated customers stared at me. The staff never appeared and never I ended up walking out after a long wait, just shaking my head in disbelief at the terrible service.
I guess they do not need business?
I was specially looking for house-​made Ube Cakes (purple yam, often called Taro). This is due to the fact that Mercel’s website promotes their bakery and custom cakes, one of the flavors being Ube. There were no such cakes on display and all of the baked goods looked really old.
Maybe one day, if we are in the area, we will try to stop by again and see if the staff can acknowledge our existence.

(3.5 Stars) Before this visit, I didn’t even know Filipino restaurants existed… even some of my Filipino friends didn’t know where to find them. My friend wanted to try this place for lunch and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a 3-​in-​1 type place: Bakery, Marketplace, and Restaurant. There were about 4 booths and a few tables to dine.
We ordered Lechon Kawali (Deep Fried Crispy Pork), Sinigang Baboy (Tamarind Sour Soup with Pork and Veggies), Palabok (Noodles with Shrimp, Fish Flakes, and Egg), and Pancit Bihon (Thin Noodles with Pork and Veggies).
The Lechon was artery-​clogging and indulgent awesomeness… delicious chunks of crispy pork with a sauce that complimented the pork perfectly. The Sinigang had amazing flavor with the extremely tender pork and the crispness of the veggies working harmoniously. I can tell a lot of love went into that soup. The Palabok was good, but didn’t impress me as much as the previously mentioned dishes. The Pancit was disappointingly dry and bland with dry chunks of pork.
We bought a Pandan Cake on the way out. I don’t have a sweet tooth and tend to prefer savory food, but the cake was phenomenal — moist with subtle coconut notes and layered with airy whipped cream icing… a top-​notch cake for sure.
Overall, there were some high’s and low’s. It seems that the menu is hit or miss depending on what you order. I highly recommend the Lechon Kawali for all pork lovers and the Sinigang for all soup lovers. I’ll have to return again to try other menu items.