Mercato Ristorante
| Address: | 111 Market St NE, Olympia, WA 98501, USA |
| Phone: | +1 360-528-3663 |
| Site: | mercatoristorante.com |
| Rating: | 3.9 |
| Working: | 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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Erin
Best service in town. Wonderful for large groups and celebrations with private rooms. Ive been to multiple events with one server flawlessly handling a large group, even remembering details like my name, giving me the perfect wine recommendation based on vague descriptions of what I wanted, patiently and gracefully navigating through a crowd among 30 conversations with perfect timing to offer and serve drinks and food. I would go here often if they had better vegan items. Part of the excellent service is that they find you something. I had a pizza, for example, that wasnt too far off from what Id have in Italy. The server had the chef make me one with no cheese and his or her choice of veggies (not on the menu). It was very good, but I want to see interesting vegan items on the menu so I know me and dining partners can have multiple dishes to rely on. The group catering menu is insufficient. It does not offer something for everyone. Try planning a sophisticated baby shower. There was too much fish, which the pregnant lady either didnt like or couldnt eat (not recommended during pregnancy), too many cured meats and soft cheeses (also not recommended). Nothing gluten free. And too rigid to accommodate these issues. The bruschetta and tapenade seems like the most flexible item on that menu. I had to explain these limitations to the celebrated future mom, suggesting she may have to order her own, separate plate. She had already picked the place and invited everyone.
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Zen Z.
Although our experience there wasnt terrible, I had much higher expectations going into it, especially after having done extensive research in choosing the right place for my BDAY dinner. The place is cute, clean and sleek, inviting and the bar is beautiful, with a great selection of local beers and spirits as well as classic selections, plus a great outdoor seating area. Service was on point, perhaps a bit over bearing, but our servers good intentions were appreciated nonetheless. Now in terms of the food and drinks, their cocktail menu (being a bar professional myself) looked promising, but the cocktails were not executed properly, so Ill it give a C for the effort. On the food subject, truly disappointed, but I would be willing to return and give it another chance, perhaps with a different selection of entrees. The appetizers were great, Ill give them that, but the Pizza Margherita was tasteless, the Eggplant Roma was described to come with pancetta gnocchi and instead I got polenta cakes with it, and the presentation wasnt good, I felt I couldve done it better at home, too much tomato sauce, the polenta too dry and overall just uninspiring. The Salmon Tagliatele was the best dish out of what we had, not bad at all, but the presentation couldve also been better. I wouldnt totally not recommend this place, but perhaps try it for lunch and not dinner, or a special occasion, or else you may be disappointed.
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Sarah Anzaldua
The waitress forgot about our drinks & then tried to blame the "bogged down bartender". I had to actually ask before she realized we didnt have them. They came 25 mins after we ordered them and AFTER our starters were dropped off...not a good start but okay. Only a bite or two into the app and salads & our waitress brings the entrees & says"I have more food for you" like it was funny. It was ridiculous, we had 7 plates on our table AT ONE TIME, for 2 adults and a toddler! We didnt realize we needed to specify wed like the starters first then our entrees. By the time we got to our entrees they were cold & we had them boxed. Our meal was rushed and hectic, we could not enjoy our drinks or meal. We would have enjoyed another round of drinks ($23) if it werent for the servers poor timing and careless attitude. My fiance is a Chef at Anthonys and I worked as a server for 6 years, we know this is not how things should have gone. Please train your servers to deliver a "dining experience" rather than a turn n burn dinner. Kudos to the Chefs. The food is good, have good people representing it or it kills the whole experience.
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S Smith
I used to eat at Mercato regularly and always ordered the same dish: the penne. The last time I ate this dish, about two years ago, they had essentially perfected their take on it. This most recent visit has confirmed to me that the quality of food and experience at Mercato has diminished over time. The dish had two very small, frayed pieces of chicken hidden inside. The prosciutto, which used to be good quality and very thinly sliced, was chunky, dry, and sparse. Worst of all the pasta itself was overcooked. Sure, I cant speak to their menu broadly but I must assume that an Italian restaurant that cant cook pasta properly is unlikely to get anything else right. After the meal the waitress asked how everything was and I mentioned that the pasta was overcooked. Her response was that "its a very popular dish and everybody else likes it." Mercato is apparently resting on its laurels. It appears they are still in business simply because there are enough people in the area who dont notice or care about the embarrassingly poor quality of food and service offered there now.
PG
pgc
We went to Mercato after a 2 year absence and I was really looking forward to it but our waiter made the experience miserable. I dont know if he was trained that way or if he is just better suited for another profession, but I dont think Ill ever go back again. The meal and drink and tip came to about $80 and I feel ripped off. So what did he do? Kept pressuring us to hurry up and order our meal even after we had ordered wine and just wanted to enjoy it BEFORE we ordered food. He kept pressuring us to clear our plates before we were done. Hovering like a meth-head or something. Then he snatched the empty wine glasses off our table seemingly in a a huff and overall just made us feel like he couldnt wait for us to LEAVE we were two quiet older ladies, who left a decent tip even after the bad service, so its Not as if we werent the "right kind" of people. long story short, I am angry and disappointed and wont be back unless i absolutely have to (like for a business meeting or kiwanis or something like that).
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A Private User
I had an important business lunch so I called on Sunday to reserve a table for two. The reservation was confirmed. On Monday I show up and was left standing and ignored for about 10 minutes. Finally I approached the person behind the bar to inquire about my reservation. She said she was the manager. Without checking she informed me that there was no reservation and appologized. She asked me when I made the reservation, and again without checking a list she informed me that there was no reservation. This back and forth finally turned into a monologue on my part to make sure customers heard and understood the kind of service I received. Needless to say I was embarassed to break the news to my business colleague when he arrived. I will not return to this restaurant nor would I recommend it to anyone.
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A Private User
Saw the reviews and decided to go anyways, big mistake. It took twenty minutes to get our drinks and another 40 minutes after that just to take our order. We felt as though we were imposing on the staff just for being there. At one point the waiter forgot his pen to take our order and we were fearful he would never come back for our order so I wanted to offer him my pen! I would have to say we got the best service from the bus boy. I would not recommend this restaurant if you have any time frame, which we didnt- and was long enough wait where we wanted to ask for the bill for our drinks and leave. If you are trying to impress a client or family member, do not take them here. The service is so bad it made the food not worth it.
