Mercatto

I start my days here getting coffee. Its right next to a Sam James so its saying a lot that this is still my choice. They have a nice bar to sit at when having coffee or lunch, which is great. The staff is friendly and the food is consistently good. Its not a mind blowing experience, but its great for business lunches or coffees.

Came here for dinner for a small family gathering of 6. We ordered appetizers, artic char, margherita & lamb pizzas, a seafood risotto, and a duck pasta to share. Food was pretty good — it had great presentation, flavour, and textures. Service was also friendly and courteous. The loss of stars comes from the portion sizes and pricing, which was a little too expensive for what it was worth. I did not feel too full or satisfied after the meal.

3.5 actually. Very friendly and helpful. Booked last minute and they were able to accomodate us. My friend was particularly picky this night about the red wine, so went through a few tastings before she decided on one. Even when they poured the one she origionally chose then changed her mind before it arrived, they were still accomodating and patient. 5 star for that! Cheese and meat board was great. My wine was a perfect match to what I was looking for from the suggestion of the waitress.
Why the 1.5 stars knocked off? My parpadelle was just ok. I lurve parpadelle, but this was kinda plain. Didnt hit the spot for my pasta craving. A bit too al’dente and kinda dryish.
I love italian food so …
The gelato was ok. Obviously Im being too picky as Im comparing it to gelato straight up from Italy.
So overall — the mains didnt satisfy enough for the cost.
Great ambiance though.
Would be good for apps and drink night.

Think of Mercatto as a place where you can take a HALF time break from all the retail therapy you’re experiencing at the Eaton Center. The rustic Italian restaurant is known for its pizza, presentation, and service. Though there’s another location just south of here at Bay and Richmond this venue is a lot larger, with two floors.
My friend and I decided to order two pizzas, their Margherita, and Proscuitto. Both dishes came out without delays, and presentation was quite magnificent. The thin crust/​gourmet pizzas were both a delight.
Our server was very helpful and provided us some recommendations however next time I may consider them since the table beside us ordered them lol… and it looked delish!
I’d definitely be back to try their pastas and take it from there ;)

Another shining star in my hood. Excellent and genuine service plus delicious food. I was hesitant to go because I have been to other Mercatto establishments and it was run like a chain. But this place was oozing casual chic with great food. Wine list was extensive for Italian wines but they have all good price points. The one we had was perfect for a light meal and the server wholeheartedly agreed as he helped with that suggestion. For starters we had fried artichokes and calamari. What a triumph! The artichokes were lightly battered and seasoned wonderfully with lemon zest and cloud like shavings of Parmesan and a pool of pesto cream. As for the calamari, they were textbook perfection. Tender. Juicy. Zesty. Smoky with lots of seasonal sides, roasted tomatoes, olives and fingerling potatoes.
Afterwards, the mains came promptly and without further ado. My carbonara pasta was delicious and textbook good and my SO’s fish special was gorgeous. Tender flaky pieces resting on Fava beAns, asparagus and fingerling potatoes. Gorgeous and good.
Finally when dessert came I had to get the caramel coppeta. It was inventive unctuous goodness in a small mason jar with marshmallow fluff, caramel and nuts! Oh yeah! Food DONE, SCARFED DOWN, finito!
But it does not end there. Our server as we were leaving realized by visual inspection he overcharged us by $ 5 so without fuss he voided our cheques and started all over again. That is genuine service. I made a mistake but you do not worry, I got it.
A great place to get bang on food and service. Will be back here again!

Decent Italian food at the heart of the downtown financial district. Service was a little slow but friendly enough. All of the dishes we ordered passed the tastebud test. We had Polpette and Arancini to start, followed by Parpadelle with braised duck Ragu and a Prosciutto pizza. The strawberry negroni was yummy too.

The 2 stars are really just for the service.
Came here for a GNO but we all disliked the food that we’ve ordered. We heard good things about Mercatto’s pastas. Maybe the hype was too high? We were all very disappointed in the quality of food that we’ve had.
I ordered the:
CHITARRA ALLA CARBONARA
(pancetta, black pepper, egg, pecorino)
The display was cute! But it was very very salty :(

My boyfriend and I decided we would enjoy dinner at a nice restaurant before we went to a show at Massey Hall. We looked around at a few restaurants but ultimately decided on Mercatto as it had decent reviews and seemed to have the atmosphere we were looking for.
Right away we both noticed the music, nice relaxing deep house tunes that we know and love which is great. I’d say we picked the perfect restaurant for a date night.
I ordered the cheese board and we both really loved it. It comes with some crusty bread, some cinnamon clusters, and honey. When you mix them all together with the cheese, it is wonderful.
I ordered the ravioli and my boyfriend got the duck breast special. He said it was the best meal he has ever had at a restaurant. My ravioli was good but I would probably order something else next time.
We shared some gelato for desert. The flavours were caramel, chocolate hazelnut, and pomegranate. They were wonderful and the biscotti on top was great too.
We had a very nice time here and we will gladly recommend it to anyone looking for a laid back, yet romantic date while in downtown Toronto!

A lovely little restaurant.
Food is slightly above average.
Did not like their pizzas.
They have nice wines.
Candle light is a nice touch if you are on a dinner date.
Not great for a group of friends though.

Great restaurant with amazing menu, which changes seasonally I believe. I have been there multiple times for birthday events and for casual dinner and every time they deliver! Food is extremely well prepared and authentic! All the pastas are freshly prepared and the atmosphere is very rustic and chic! A bit on a pricey side, but that’s Toronto for ya! Will definitely go again! :)

Nice looking restaurant but the experience was simply… meh. It was Valentines Day so I understand they were busy but the tried to sit us at a table for two that looked like it had been added to the floor for the extra traffic. Finally they moved us to another table and the manager brought us some Champagne which was a nice gesture. The starters were by far the best part of the night. The carpaccio and grilled calamari were perfect. Unfortunately my seafood risotto was lacking in seafood and heavily salted. My girlfriends carbonara was super salty which overpowered the dish. Disappointing for sure. Our server was nice but not overly chatty. I question why I leave tips sometimes. People should actually have to work for them. Instead we feel obligated to give them. I digress…
Desert was tasty! I had the Chocolatto and my girlfriend had the cannoli. Not a horrible experience by any means but we won’t be going back.

Definitely not going back. My bf and I stayed at King Eddy and searched on Unilocal for a place close by. Being a new Unilocaler… we trusted the Unilocal community in their reviews. Found great ones… in 2014 and before then. So HUGE reason I’m writing this is because their rating needs an update and I wish we had gone to Carisma or someplace else and spent a more worthwhile $ 150.
THE START
Called for resos… they said a table was available for 9:30 and the bar was open for 9 if we would like to come earlier. Great.
9:30. Greeted by manager nicely. Sat us at a table and section that was seemingly random.
SERVICE
Our server, Joni, was quick to drop off menus telling us there were Valentine’s day specials without any further description — all the while we were standing next to our table with our coats on. Not very welcoming at all. Great start to poor service.
That continued with poor knowledge of the wine menu when I inquired between the noir or syrah. Poured my glass to taste and also poured my glass after tasting. Basic server and wine service etiquette.
FOOD
Our mains came out. The Linguine pasta was below average. Mushroom risotto was a bit better earning an okay.
For dessert, cheesecake was flavorless and gelato was ordinary.
THE END
Left wrapped peanut butter cups to take home.
THE NIGHT
First impressions last and even these delicious peanut butter cups that I’m enjoying right now will not make up for my return here. Best part was my date and dim lights which I can take to some other place, so there I go!

Good dishes The tuna is delicious. The tastiest main course is the braised lamb. Fall off the bone tender. Soo good I had to suck the marrow out the bone. The char was descent. A little burnt. Portions are medium. The food is heavy. Lots of oil.

What a lovely little restaurant !
My pal and I were downtown so we decided to have dinner before going back to my place in Midtown. As it was early (5:00), we were able to get a table without a reservation. There were a lot of children here so this was a sign that menu offerings would suit all taste buds.
The wine menu here is extensive. I was actually overwhelmed as there was so much to choose from. Service was excellent; our server knew the menu well and gave us a lot of suggestions on wines to go with our dinner choices. Price wise, it’s not a cheap eat, but it’s also not ridiculously expensive. This is a great place for dinner — I see a lot of my friends liking it for a girls dinner. Can’t wait to return.
Good for: groups, Italian, dinner

Mercatto was on my go to restaurant list when I first moved back to Toronto but it quickly slipped off my radar with lots of. inconsistent reviews and lots of new restaurants popping up left right and centre.
I finally decided to give it a try w. A girlfriend on a Thrusday evening. We have similar tastes and both fancied the mushroom risotto and pappardelle… and so we decided to share.
To my surprise, I liked the noodles better than the rice… One major factor was food temperature. The risotto must’ve finished first that by the time it made it to our table, the dish was only warm and that was the first dish we dug into. I felt it was oversalted and while it was still tasty, I was drawn to the pasta… And meat which I usually pass up on.
Service was courteous and patient… Although there was no cocktail list, which I found odd, the custom made bourbon sour was made just the way I liked it.
Right in the heart of TO, this is a convenient place to bring people together and have a tasty meal.

Don’t support this restaurant!
I arrive with my mother, who is in a wheelchair, and this hipster waiter takes one look at us and asks if we wouldn’t be more comfortable going somewhere else. The restaurant was half full at most!
We wait almost 20 minutes to place a drink order, and the waitress arrives smelling of marijuana and liquor.
Not surprisingly, she got our orders wrong and didn’t make any effort to apologize at all.
We couldn’t wait to pay our bill and leave… WE DID WAIT and when the bill came it had both the wrong orders and the corrected orders on it. I asked for the manager, and some other young waitress (not a manager) came over and scolded us, saying that our waitress had complained that we were rude and that the waiters could not get around my mother’s wheelchair!
I said I would boycott the restaurant, to which she laughed and said they’re «doing fine without people like you.»
Please don’t support this establishment, and I hope this review conveys my disgust with the experience!

Food was not that great, over priced. They charged me 12 $ for a 5oz glass of wine, when they said it was $ 4.00, service was not good. The kitchen had run out of ingredients and we were told that they ran out before the food came out. We ordered 2 main courses, 1 appetizer, 4 small glasses of wine for 125 $, they were stingy with their food portions, and wine. Overall it’s a cozy, romantic atmosphere establishment, but other than that, save your money, lots of better places with better tasting food, with generous portions for a fraction of the price, I won’t be going there again. I’m pretty sure I was over charged for the wine. So watch your receipt and always ask how much something is before hand. Twice!

Absolutely delicious meats and cheeses. In fact, they are so good… you end up wishing there was more :(
Definitely pricey for what you get, but so good.

Lovely place — I came in just for takeout, and was fairly underdressed for the restaurant as I’d run out in a sweatshirt and running shorts. Neither the maître d’ nor the bartender (who took my order) made me feel out of place, though, and both were helpful as I placed my order and took a seat at the bar to wait for the food.
I had the margherita pizza, which came out in probably less than 10 minutes and was delicious. I used to think that pizza was all about the cheese, but now I believe that it actually owes more to the tomato sauce — and this pizza had wonderful sauce that was light and full of complex flavor (as opposed to a one-​note sauce that just tastes like tomato).
My only gripe is that it’s a bit expensive, but I’m sure it’s worth it on a special occasion or a nice dinner.

there are multiple locations to Mercatto in Toronto. I have been 3 out of 4 in the downtown. All of them have similar menus and the menu also changes with seasons. the dining ambiance is nice and casual although the location i frequent has been playing louder music than i like.
i do like the food there. their pizzas are very good. there was once they had this duck confit pizza and it was the best pizza i have ever had. sadly it went away after a few months.
there is a Mercatto really close to where i live. i end up doing more take out than dine in. get a pizza and a salad and that’s really enough for 2.
when dining in, i like that they have the biggest selection of Italian wine. they also serve pasta as well as fish and meat dishes for main. when they have it the panacotta is great. they also have gelato for dessert.
the place can be packed on Thursdays. i guess Thursday is the new Friday :)