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2016-07-16
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Quick Squiz: Like a fluffy warm blanket is to Winter and a refreshing sea breeze is to summer, Mercato hits the notes for a comforting (and comfortable) no fuss go-to place for casual food in a tastefully designed environment with humble yet tasty food to boot. More about the restaurant: Stepping out of the elevator, we were greeted by three ladies in identical black dresses over a whitewashed backdrop. For a moment I thought we were been greeted to an appointment with a mad scientist. Stepping
Like a fluffy warm blanket is to Winter and a refreshing sea breeze is to summer, Mercato hits the notes for a comforting (and comfortable) no fuss go-to place for casual food in a tastefully designed environment with humble yet tasty food to boot.
More about the restaurant:
Stepping out of the elevator, we were greeted by three ladies in identical black dresses over a whitewashed backdrop. For a moment I thought we were been greeted to an appointment with a mad scientist.
Stepping into the restaurant, the red brick walls and flooring, arches and wooden furniture was reminiscent of an outdoor patio. Natural light flowed in abundance on the matte surfaces of the bricks and the walnut-esque oversized dining table (a shared table) giving off a nice warm glow soft light in the airy restaurant. The ambiance set an excellent start to a casual weekday lunch.
Their lunch menu included reasonable selection for entrees, mains and desserts (depending on how many courses you choose). As a word of warning, we were told the two course menu = entree and main (non-negotiable) which was a little disappointing as I wanted a dessert fix without needing to go through all the food . That said, their dessert options weren't nearly as attractive as their entrees and mains so there wasn't too much to lose. Plus, I think I could guess why (their entree sizes are pretty big and are meant to be part and parcel to the meal for it to be sufficiently filling). To start off, there's the complementary bread which I probably have the least to say about. These were very mundane, and I took greater interest in its nice wooden serving container over the bread.
For entrees, we had the calamari rings and salad to share. These were very well portioned. And when you compare it to the mains, I would probably call these the first main and the main being the second main. They're not big big, but a good portion. The calamari rings were well fried. Batter was relatively thin, smooth and lightly seasoned. The spicy black olive tomato sauce was a little too complex for this common dish though, which distracted from the flavours of the nicely done calamari. I ended up avoiding most of the sauce and went with just a small drible of lemon juice (which was a waste of the nicely done sauce which just didn't match the calamari that well).
The salad was (again) well proportioned (read: very big for an entree) and underlying flavour fresh . It was very salty though , and I would definitely ask for less salt next time (and encourage anyone else who orders this to request less salt as well, since they place a small cup of rough salt on your table anyway). I liked it if it was not for the saltiness. These entree portion sizes work great for sharing amongst a small group of up to four people.
The tomato basil pizza was juicy (and oily), and the crust and how it was put together made it a very satisfying pizza indeed. It's also well portioned.
Spicy tomato meatball rigatoni was yum. It's been a while since I've had such a satisfying spicy tomato base. The meatballs were certainly a delight in terms of its texture (not too hard) and flavour (the beef was nicely seasoned that was juicy moist). Definitely my favourite in the meal.
As we were sharing, we each had an additional plate to our own. The staff helped change our plates and cutlery between entree and main automatically. This is excellent. It's important to avoid mixing flavours. For me, the calamari was dry and I had the salad on the plate it came with so it was a little unnecessary for myself, but it's certainly a great gesture and does keep things tidy if you had the salad on that plate of your own. They were also attentive enough to provide sharing cutlery without us asking. A small gripe is that the staff kept bumping into my chair ever so slightly. Of 10 passes, at least 8 if not 9 times they had caused me to feel my chair to wobble. This included who appeared to be the store manager in a suit, who was ever so kind to step aside and let another customer pass through at the 'T' junction (if I may call it that) when he bumped into my chair as he entered the 'side road'. None of the staff seem to notice though. Fine onece or twice, but doing so on every single pass is quite a record at any restaurant to be honest. During my hour there, they had passed at least 15-20 times. I was seated on the inside aisle between two of their oversized sharing tables.
From the reviews, I came with an expectation of good ambiance and average food. The visit certainly exceeded my expectations.
Other Info. :
"Two course" lunch menu only allows entree and main (you can't choose main and dessert)
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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