Mercato Pizzeria + Bar

First time trying this place out for happy hour and dinner. I enjoyed the atmosphere and we had a great time. We ordered the happy hour wine, Cabernet, which was good. When ordering a second glass after happy hour, the waitress said it was «only about a $ 1 more.» When we got the bill it was $ 4 more which was fine, just thought she should know the prices. We ordered the fungi white pizza. It was delicious! The wood fired flavor, cheese and toppings were great! Will definitely be going back again for some more pizza and to try other entrees because the menu looked great.

We have had nothing but wonderful service and delicious food! A wonderful addition to Southside!

Fantastic! My husband and I went to Mercato for date night last week and were impressed. I had the pasta puttanesca and my husband had the chicken special– a grilled chicken parmesan. My pasta was perfect– you could tell it was fresh pasta and not boxed. The puttanesca was flavorful and the portion size was great– plenty for leftovers the next day. Chloe, our server, was knowledgable and friendly. Our drinks were good, but a little on the sweet side. We will definitely return!

Service. Service. Service. The food and atmosphere is good. The service. not so good. They just aren’t paying attention to the small things. Sat down and it took a waiter 10 minutes to get to our table to take a drink order. Mind you the place was almost empty. Waitress was patronizing. And my pet peeve… I ask for the check… took ten minutes to get it. Once I got it. waitress disappears. after 10 more minutes I just go to the bar and pay. The whole time what looked like the owner and one of his assistants were sitting in a back room clearly visible doing something on an apple computer oblivious to what was going on.

We dined here a few days ago and I have to say the pizza is authentic and just what we were looking for. The fresh mozzarella is so delicious. I just don’t think the other reviewers know what real pizza is like.

I had dinner there last night with friends and was very disappointed. Bar service very slow and when I finally got my cocktail it was missing 2 ingredients. I ordered a mixed salad which would have been good but was over-​dressed. Then came the main attraction. We ordered 2 different kinds of pizza to share and they were both tepid and flavorless. And to top it all off I ordered a beer which came in a small brandy glass and I was told it was small because it was a strong beer (I had ordered an IPA). Really? Really??? I’m out.

This was an OK place. Lots of choices mostly Italian, prices are between $ 10 – 20. Wait staff was friendly, but a little pushy. That plus an hour wait for sandwiches seemed long, when we were the only people there. So 3 stars, but food is good.

Our server Dimitri was attentive, but not intrusive. He seemed to be there whenever we needed anything. The hot bread arrived before we had even ordered, and it was so good that we asked for more… a couple of times! The antipasto was to die for, shared by the 6 of us. The gnocchi special was rich and delicious… the grilled salmon salad was lovely, and the veal was perfect. All in all, we had a great experience– we just want this place to succeed and hope to find a few more affordable items on the menu which will make it easier to become a regular neighborhood spot. My entrée was way more than I could possibly eat… perhaps smaller portions?..

We dined there on saturday night, knowing they were a new restaurant in town. The wait staff had poor communication with the kitchen. We ordered a pizza for an appetizer, one kale ceasar salad and then our entrees, 2 pastas & one salad. They brought all of our food at the same time. (I think some of the food servers dont speak english.) We explained that we wanted only the pizza & the one salad to start; they insisted on leaving my entrée salad as well. The Kale salad was made with arugula, which we noticed and the waiter never said anything. We told him, and his reply was. oh the kitchen didnt tell me. They never came around to fill up our water. and lastly the bolognese sauca had a TON of cream in it. we asked the waiter about it & asked the kitchen and they said, theat how we do it up north. Thats fine, but it should be written on the menu. Pizza was very good (got the house special) and my beet salad was great.

I so wanted to like this place. It’s convenient, and I’ve been searching for a restaurant where I could go for good pizza and beer. It was a good thing my pizza was burnt, otherwise it would’ve had absolutely no flavor. We were told the owners are experienced restauranteurs, hmmmmm…

Clearly the best pizza in town and the fish dishes are also very good. As a new restaurant still working on wait staff efficiencies. Otherwise a really really good Italian restaurant

Food was very good. As close to Italian as I have seen in SRQ. Clean sleek design with white subway tile. Nice bar. One critique — poor acoustic. Arguably the loudest restaurant in the area.

Great décor. Pizza was tasteless & lukewarm. Truffle oil was listed as one of the ingredients, there was no hint of truffles. My friends sent their gluten free pizza back. Hopefully, Mercato can improve their quality.

Tried mercato for the first time this week for happy hour. The inside looked very nice and clean. Sat at the bar and ordered a pizza which was fabulous! The rest of the food around us also looked great. John and Tracey behind the bar were great. Definitely check it out!

When dining at a newly established restaurant I know that I have to exercise a certain amount of tolerance. And that is what I did tonight when eating at Mercato. The décor of the restaurant is really lovely, very contemporary, with dark woods set off by white. There needs to be much improvement in the service help, starting with their clearly inexperienced maitre de to the over exuberant waiter, who couldn’t quite comprehend that we did not care to order drinks. Their bus person seemed to be the only truly mature professional in the dining room. Now to the food. My companion ordered the fillet of salmon dish and found it to be excellent. His only complaint was that he was surprised it didn’t include a starch, such as some potatoes or rice. I ordered pollo Milanese, because that is a favorite of mine and have eaten it in many different restaurants including In Milan. Therefor I like to order it in a restaurant that is new to me as a way of judging the skill of the chef. Unfortunately, it did not make the grade. The chicken had not been pounded thin enough and the greens and tomato topping was paltry (instead of a good portion of finally chopped tomatoes there were 4 grape tomatoes cut in half, OMG). Another negative was the skimpy serving of bread — 2 small rolls cut in half. I will go back to Mercato to try out their pizza and pasta dishes, which seemed very popular, judging by the number of people ordering them. Also I always will give a newly opened restaurant more than one chance.
It takes a good while before a restaurant smooths out the kinks. I do hope the owners of this new, lovely looking eating place will take heed of these problems and make the necessary adjustments.

Without question, the worst pizza I have ever encountered. And $ 37 for 2 medium pizzas that were hardly edible. I am giving a completely accurate description. The crust was like a saltine cracker – nutritionless and taste-​free. The ingredients almost nonexistent. A very thin amount of tomato sauce, and almost no cheese. I had ordered it to go, so when I got to the party I was taking them too, I was really embarrassed. There were maybe one or two of the pieces of ham, artichoke, mushroom on each pizza. The management must have known I was from out of town and it didn’t matter to them if they gave me such a horrid thing and passed it off as pizza. Well guess what Mercato – I’ll be back, and it won’t be pretty!

Had the gnocchi special for dinner which was flavorful. The gnocchi was nice and tender melt in your mouth texture. The food was super piping hot which I wasn’t expecting (I little too hot-​we had to wait until it cooled down). I guess that’s better than warm/​cold food. They make any drink so that’s good. The pizza looked good although I did try it. The octopus appetizer was great. Tender is the key to octopus and they got it just right. The atmosphere is nice and clean. But a darker floor would have been better in my opinion since everything else is pretty much white. The staff seem friendly and accommodating. Late night they have a dj playing music. On Thursdays is Latin night-​dancing. I hope this one makes it. I’ve seen restaurant after restaurant go up and down in this location. I believe the longest one there was The Table. It was a nice experience except for the price. Dishes and drinks are super expensive.

I never leave reviews, although I should, but when I saw the one star review, I had to write. The owner is all over the place on the two occasions we were there, as was his manager. They were extremely concerned that everything from service, food, drink and dessert was as good as it could be. I noticed them move from table to table monitoring all that makes a good restaurant great. The food was fresh, hot and flavorful. They just opened so my hat is off to a group of people that obviously poured all their hearts, experience and love into Mercato. I think either the last reviewer wasn’t at the same restaurant as I was or just doesn’t like the owners. If this is what it is like when they first open, I can’t wait for what’s coming in the future.

Absolute, hands down the worst experience. Food was flavorless. Service was terrible. Owner could not have cared less that we were unhappy. Complete waste of $ 70. Never again. Spend your hard earned money somewhere it will be appreciated and you can enjoy your meal.

Just had dinner at Mercato — vegitariana pizza, inslata mista, and some wine. Atmosphere is pleasant enough although they would be wise to turn down the lighting, especially at the bar (just a little too bright for my taste, which diminishes the ambience). House salad was generous but had WAY to much red onion — the taste dominated the flavor. Pizza was OK — thin crust, well baked, good veggies, except for the roasted red peppers, which clearly came from a jar (disappointing, since everything else seemed to be fresh). Also, the bartender (I ate at the bar) was a little inexperienced, and was extremely stingy pouring wine — he eyed every drop very carefully, as if measuring a medication dosage. At $ 10 a glass, it struck me as cheap and miserly.
All in all, an OK dinner. Mercato could be excellent with a little more attention to details. I think Caragiulos is a better dining experience.