I discovered this place last year -- I come up to the Hudson Valley for summer holiday -- and enjoyed it enough to come back this year. Mercato is really quite a find: authentic Italian food in a rustic setting. Last night, we had a light supper after a long drive: a shared antipasto of buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes and then seared quail over risotto. The meal was simple and exquisite. Mercato will be on my must list every time I'm in this part of the world.
Review Source:I love non-red sauce Italian, simply cooked food that brings out the favors of the natural ingredients. This place strives for that, and the ingredients seemed top notch, but the seasoning and execution just wasn't there the night I went. For the price, this should have been a 4-5 star meal.
Creative menu, service was just ok, getting a table can be tough.
Yummy! Fresh fresh pasta done right in a seriously cozy atmosphere (little house with a couple of separate dining rooms) - Everything is quality here, from the two pieces of garlic crostini (just enough to whet the appetite, and scoop up every bit of flavorful sauce left in your plate). Have the seafood fra diavolo- a spicy, garlc-y abundance of clean clams, mussels, shrimp, and calamari over a pile of dark squid ink linguine.
Review Source:We stumbled on this restaurant by semi-accident (we pulled off the road on our way to Albany to eat and our original choice in Red Hook was closed).
The food was excellent; I especially liked the kale salad and the pasta was correctly cooked.
The bathroom needs work, but that is my only complaint. Â There is also outside seating in warmer months, FYI.
Super delish. Â Coming from an old school Italian neighborhood and a long line of family with their own Italian restaurants, my standards for this type of cuisine are pretty high. Â Last night Mercato very possibly served me the best plate of pasta I've ever eaten. Â Fresh, perfectly al dente, light, and flavorful. Â Service was great and friendly, despite the packed house.
Review Source:I've never had a bad meal here. The food is fresh and well-prepared. The wait staff is attentive. It can get crowded, so a reservation is recommended on the weekend. One time we made a
Reservation but had to wait for 45 minutes in spite of this. They made up for it by providing us complimentary wine with the meal- nicely and appropriately done. All in all, really good!
I feel very thankful to have Mercato as my local neighborhood restaurant. In my opinion, you won't find this quality food in many places outside of NYC. Appetizers like chicken liver on bruschetta, gnudi in lacinata sauce, and an outstanding salumi plate are a great way to start the meal. The chef is a master with pasta, much of which is made in house. All pastas are cooked al dente, to order. Risotto, something I rarely order at other restaurants, is also a top pick. Desserts are all made in house, and all very special. I recommend the pine nut tart.
The wine list is fantastic, and really quite a bargain. I've seen some bottles on the list priced close to what you can buy them for in retail stores. Fortunately the staff is well trained on the selection, and I often just let them pick what I am drinking for the night. They rarely miss.
On the subject of staff training, Mercato really excels. The service is clearly well polished and fully equipped to handle questions regarding the menu, wine list, and food sourcing. Since Mercato is a farm to table type restaurant, knowing the source of the ingredients adds to the charm of the meal. Also, much of the staff are CIA grads, who do this as a career, not just as a job. When I see previous posters complain about the service, I have to wonder if the issue was with the staff or , more likely, with the customer themselves. Arriving very late to a reservation throws the entire flow of the restaurant off. In my opinion, those people should be happy their reservation was still honored.To be more specific, Brooke has always been a true professional, quick to help and always smiling. I think the customers in question must have had a very bad day leading up to dinner, or are just grumpy people.
If you haven't been to Mercato, be sure to put it on your list. You will be very happy you did.
My wife and I came to Mercato while traveling north from the city to Vermont after reading mostly positive reviews on Yelp. We also have a friend who lives in Ulster County and always raves about the place.
I must say that despite the buildup, Mercato exceeded our expectations. Brooke, the manager, was lovely, and recommended a beautiful bottle of wine to go along with our food selections. I had a splendid bruschetta with local chicken livers, greens, and aged balsamic to start, followed by a perfectly cooked steak with braised cannellini beans and broccoli rabe. My wife started with the kale salad, which was fresh and flavorful. Next she ordered a lovely spinach and ricotta ravioli.
The atmosphere in the place is hospitable, the food is prepared with love from the finest fresh, seasonal, often locally sourced ingredients, and the service is warm and professional. We give it our highest recommendation and will be going back on our next trip north. Thanks Chip for hipping us to this place!
Ted & Lilly Russo
Since moving to Red Hook years ago, I had heard a lot about this restaurant. I came here for my first time 2 weeks ago to finally try it out. I have been there 3 times since then. It deserves all the high praise it receives. Mercato is expensive. Very expensive. But the food is amazing-some of the best italian food I've ever had. The seafood pasta is the best, and the wine selection is excellent. I also like that the food is authentic, and tastes fresh. All around a great place to go for a special occasion!
Review Source:Deserves a 4.5 only because they don't serve bread. They serve two grilled baguette slices which is thoughtful, but I look forward to the bread when going to restaurants and this being an Italian place I expected more bread! Anyway.
I have to say this is probably the best Italian restaurant I have been to since moving to the Hyde Park area to attend the CIA almost three years ago. The atmosphere is appropriate for a romantic meal (which is what I was there for); dim lights, rustic decor, and perfect temperature inside. The hostess, servers, AND chef/cooks were all very professional yet friendly. First good sign.
The menu isn't particularly big, but the options are incredibly tasteful. The prices aren't ridiculous either. For appetiser, I ordered the polenta with mushrooms and goat cheese. It was perfect. My boyfriend (a chef himself) ordered the chicken liver bruschetta which would have been on point if the bread it was served with was a lot crunchier - it was a bit soggy and couldn't support the bruschetta.
For our entree, we ordered the guanciale (pork jowels) carbonara and the osso buco-style pork cheeks. Both were insanely delicious, I just wish the pieces of guanciale in my pasta were bigger since it was like eating bacon bits. We ordered a side of escarole which is amazing basically anywhere you order them.
Overall, incredible experience. They offer like 4 types of water and even train their servers to "place" and "de-place" tables (which is taught at CIA as the correct way to turn tables) which impressed me.
I want to go back again and try the other pasta. If you couldn't already tell, I only live for carbohydrates.
This was the 3rd time I ate at this restaurant. The front room and front porch are lovely. Twice I have been stuck in the back room, including this last trip on a SAT nite. I did NOT ask for a front-room reservation when I called (my mistake!)--which I would always do in future (or go somewhere else). The back room on a muggy night was SWELTERING. By dessert (which we didn't order cuz it was too hot), my companion and I had sweat running down our faces. There was not even a fan in that back room. Also, there is a big restaurant freezer in the corner, which somewhat spoils the mood/decor. I asked the hostess if she had a spot in the front room, which was pointless. She said no, nicely enough. The back room is also dominated by a large table where large (noisy) groups are seated. That night we sat next to two of them, over the course of our meal. They tend to use up the waitress's attention and can be quite loud (there were lots of kids in the first group).
The food was delicious. But I would NOT go there again unless I sat in the front room. As we filed out after dinner through that attractive, pleasant room full of people with a nice breeze from the open windows (and fans?), I vowed never to be put in that back room again. And I advise anyone making reservations to avoid it, too.
My husband and I traveled out of our way to visit Mercato after reading about it on the website Gilt. Â The hostess seemed as though she really didn't like people very much. Â We were seated directly in front of the kitchen even though we were the first to arrive for the evening service.
It was so hot!!! Â It gave me a new appreciation for the people who cook in restaurants. Â As they entered, I heard many patrons ask to be "seated in the back". I would suggest that to you.
The server was a very friendly and enthusiastic young woman. The food was served promptly. Â The wine was a little warm....but the table was very warm so it was understandable. Â
We very much enjoyed our appetizers and salads. Â The entrees were less good and I believe mine, the sea bass, may have been past its prime. Â I left the table while my husband finished his dessert and was very sick in the parking lot.
So they get two stars for the friendly server and the appetizer. Â But it was a disappointing experience overall.
Never have I better appreciated my patience and willingness to extend second chances.
Upon arrival for my 8:45 reservation for 5 people, I checked in with the hostess only to land on the receiving end of a somewhat angry rant about how the reservation was "for 4 people at 9PM." Â And, apparently, there's no way she made a mistake since she TOOK the reservation (forgetting that I'm the one who actually GAVE the reservation--who's honestly more likely to have made a mistake about the # of people in my party?) even though it was very noisy in the background. Â Started things off with a very sour taste.
But I'm guessing she had just been made temporarily chaotic, because when she actually sat us down at 8:55, she was very friendly and chatty--as if she had been consumed by an entirely different person.
Better, the actual waiter was beyond helpful and nice--his check-ins and conversation definitely wavered as the night went on, but once you start eating, you can start to deal with service that is less "over-the-top."
The menu is very solid, offering a nice mix of protein, pasta and veggie dishes to satisfy any group. Â While it was a bit annoying to get "psyched" for food based on the online menu (apparently from 2008) only to find it does not exist in the actual restaurant, several of the specials, luckily, ended up resembling selections from that older menu. Â The chef was also willing to work in a fra diavolo dish for a seafood vegetarian in our party.
Admittedly not a huge wine expert, I deferred my selections to the waiter and generally enjoyed what was offered. Â Won't "go back for the wine" but it definitely did not hurt the meal.
And the meal was pretty damn good. Â Opened with a mushroom ragu appetizer that was both delicious and properly-portioned. Â Built towards the quail saltimbocca entree--the meat portion was a bit smaller than expected, but the overall meal was still decently-sized and the food was fantastic. Â Not the best in the area (the now-closed Twist still wins) but definitely a step-up from many over-hyped nearby restaurants (I'm looking at you, Terrapinn).
If you're looking for some solid Italian fare in a cosy atmosphere with friendly service and reasonable prices, head for Mercato. Â Don't expect the meal of your life but also don't expect to go home unsatisfied.
Another return visit, this time to celebrate our anniversary. Â We were impressed by how many reasonably priced, lesser-known wines by the glass are on the menu. Â Each of our wines were very good and under $10 a glass.
We shared an arugula, fig and parmesan salad. Â For our main course, we had pasta arrabiata with pancetta and a pasta with eggplant, pecorino in a tomato cream sauce. Â
A side of flageolet (sp?) beans with salt pepper and EVOO were perfectly cooked and had a nice nutty flavor.
Francesco (chef/owner) made rounds in the dining room to all the tables to chat and see how everyone was enjoying their meals.
This still remains my favorite spot for a true, authentic Italian meal. Â i would live here if he'd let me.
The focus at Mercato is where it should be--on the food. The service is friendly and knowledgeable, and the food is sophisticated yet unpretentious and delicious. The only downside is that they don't put bread on the table, leaving nothing to sop up all those good sauces. Â Last point. Try the chicken livers. Cooked in a sage butter to medium and served sliced on top of a crostini, Â they give foie gras a run for its money.
Review Source:Really wanted to love this place after reading the good reviews. I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because my wife had a decent meal.
My dinner on the other hand was terrible. A soup that was basically bland chicken broth with raw baby spinach thrown on top followed by a terribly unseasoned steak on top of the worst polenta I've ever had in my entire life. If I had needed to hang up wall paper anytime soon I would have gotten the polenta to go since it resembled paste more than anything edible.
For what they are charging I would expect much better food. There are many great restaurants in the area so I wouldn't recommend wasting your money here.
There are some truly delicious restaurants in the area that are well priced. Mercado is a decent restaurant (if you don't get food poisoning) but it's not a destination by any means. The first thing I noticed was the open kitchen, usually a pleasure to see during any dining experience. Unfortunately this was not the case at Mercado - the kitchen and staff were unbelievably unorganized, meaning if you were seated to face the kitchen it was impossible not to notice the disarray.
We were familiar with a somewhat pricey, hard to find bottle of wine that appeared on the wine list. Even though we were just two for dinner we thought it would be nice to spring for the $100. It turned out that the restaurant was out of the specific bottle. When we decided to forgo wine altogether, the waitress was obviously annoyed.
The food was nice and the poultry dish I had was very tender, to the point that during one bite I became a little suspicious that the meat was cooked all the way through. Since the restaurant was so highly regarded, I ignored the warnings. Fortunately my dining companion did not even have a forkfull of my dish.
2 hours later I became violently ill and threw up the entire meal. My concerns about the kitchen's disorganization was obviously not unfounded.
If this restaurant was located in nyc it would be twice as expensive. Â
Cozy atmosphere, delicious food, nice sized portions and a wine list with multiple bottles under $30. Â Its the kind of place where you want to sit all night drinking and chatting with friends.
Here's a little Mercato secret--if you ask for grappa and are super nice they will sneak you a little shot which, according to our waiter is 'reserved for neighbors'.
Mercato is a small restaurant with a hand full of tables with an ever-changing menu based on what is available at the market that day.
My food-loving gentleman and I started dinner with a glass prosecco and the Caprese salad with fresh buffalo mozzarella and a basil pesto. Our young dining companion had the arugula and dandelion greens salad with white anchovy.
For entrees I had the pork chop Milanese (which was absolutely divine). As far as I'm concerned a dish as simple as a Milanese, a breaded fan fried piece of meat topped with a salad is one of the most delightful meals. It's so simple but so delicious. The gentleman had squid ink risotto with piles of seafood on top. We had a fabulous bottle of rose with our entrees.
For dessert we decided to split three desserts amongst us. We had: tira misu which was light and topped with shaved chocolate, duo of cannoli and ricotta cheesecake. Any one of those three could be enough to make me squeal, but getting to have a bite of each was like heaven. I all but licked the plate of tira misu clean.
I've been back several times and have had the most perfect homemade pastas, perfectly prepared desserts, and top notch desserts.
Mercato is definitely a favorite!
Best food in Red Hook.
Ate on the porch with my wife this past summer, and that night we decided to move here (to Red Hook, though I wouldn't mind moving to Mercato). If you've eaten at Franny's or Al Di La or Frankie's in Brooklyn, then you'll be reminded of their simple & refined approaches to Italian cuisine.
Went to Mercato on a Wed. night after TONS of research for our small rehersal dinner (9 ppl) the night before our wedding. I have been eyeing this place for awhile now and was excited to give it a try.
Food was outstanding. Â Short ribs were beyond good. Â Everything fresh and so tasty. Â
If I could give 4.5 stars I would... Â the only hiccup I saw was our server. Â She was a little "strange". Â I felt like she rushed us through and was annoyed if the table wasnt giving her full attention when she spoke. Â The resto was also out of the first 2 wine selections we choose and she wasnt aware either time.
Otherwise, it was a FAB evening and we will be back for sure!
Fabulous. Â I first ate at Francesco's sandwich shop in Red Hook, and felt he had some of the best pesto I had ever tasted. Â Have eaten now at Mercato close to a dozen times, and always enjoy it so much. Â Food is great, vibe is nice and bustling, wines are enjoyable and well-priced. Â Sometimes the services is great, sometimes not so great...but I put up with it. Â The owner/chef Francesco takes great pride in his daily menu, and my husband, who lived in Italy for awhile, enjoys the authentic Italian recipes.
Review Source:I wish I could give them 4.5 stars. The food deserves to be 5 stars, but our waitress was just distant enough to make me knock off a star. We were excited for our meal but she didn't seem to care about anything other than our order. Luckily there was a young food runner who was very helpful and cared about our experience.
For starters we have fried squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta. We ordered two types of pastas. They were both cooked perfectly and we left nothing on either plate. Overall the experience was still great, I just wish our waitress could at least pretend to care.
I've been a fan of Francesco's cooking since he had the sandwich shop behind the Red Hook Inn a few years ago. And it only gets better with the restaurant!
The restaurant is friendly and small, which is nice, but it can get very warm inside on a hot summer night (porch dining is available though). After a bit of a wait for a server to get to our table, we ordered the sausage and polenta appetizer, tagliatelle with fresh peas and prosciutto for dinner and had house made cannoli for dessert. Everything was delicious, but the pasta dish was by far my favorite, everything tasted as fresh as it was and the portion was filling. All the pasta is house made and the prices are reasonable.
Mercato is definitely one of my favorite local restaurants, and worth a visit.
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