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| - I've been to Mercato for dinner three times in the past two years. It's hard for me to review it objectively as, honestly, it's out of my price range for regular dining. Each time I've been to Mercato I have been treated by a generous friend or family member. I also struggle to review Mercato objectively as I spent several years living in Italy and Italian food is close to my heart.
I guess I'll start by saying that the food at Mercato is really good. On my last visit I had the bruschetta as an appetizer (one classic tomato, one with eggplant and a third I don't recall). It's something like $17 for three slices of bread with toppings. Three really good slices of bread with really good toppings, true. As a vegetarian I can't eat any of the main courses listed on the menu, so I usually like to order a first-course sized pasta (a little smaller than the "entree"-sized) and then share lots of vegetable side dishes. On my last visit I had the gnocchi, which were amazing. A little heat to the sauce, lots of parmesan (it might have been pecorino or another similar cheese), and a crumble of almonds and pistachios on top. It was great. Easily worth the $15 price tag (it might have been a dollar or two more or less). For shared sides we had proscuitto-wrapped asparagus (it got rave reviews, I can't eat the proscuitto), zucchini with fresh ricotta (to die for) and green beans with pine nuts (also amazing). Vegetable sides are meant for sharing and run about $10-15 each, if I recall correctly. Bottles of wine start around $45 and desserts (which I never have room for) are around the $10-15 price point as well (I believe). As mentioned earlier I never eat main courses at Mercato, but most look to be upwards of $25 and do require the additional contorni (side dishes).
The food at Mercato is to die for, and it's a great upscale choice. I have a hard time believing the price is justified (especially when I could get similar food at half the price in Italy) but then again... you won't find Italian that good for any cheaper here in Calgary.
One thing that I do have to say is that I've always found the service at Mercato makes me uncomfortable. I've had the same server all three times I've been, and she's often spoken brusquely to the people at my table and used hostile body language. In all three visits I don't think she's cracked a smile once, and she makes me so uncomfortable that I dread ending up in her section. Maybe if you buy a $500 bottle of wine she'll warm up to you, but until then you should visit Mercato for the food, definitely not the service.
(Oh, and Mercato has a little market attached where you can buy fresh and packaged Italian foods. The stuff in the deli cases looks amazing... but expensive... while most of the packaged stuff can be purchased at much lower prices at Lina's Italian Market.)
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