- Seafood
- Local Food
- * Michelin
A restaurant serving up delicious tapas and traditional Mediterranean cuisine, all made-to-order and prepared using fresh and seasonal ingredients.
Dining at El Mercat is like going to your grandmother’s house for a freshly cooked meal. With a no-frills old-timey feel, and without fancy gadgetry or additives, El Mercat has firmly established itself as a classic spot for tapas and small plates featuring high-quality traditional Mediterranean dishes. Everything served is made to order, using fresh seasonal ingredients: vegetables, seafood, fish… And each plate is assembled as if for the very first time, emerging from an open kitchen in which diners can get a glimpse of what’s cooking. With nothing but quality on the menu, and an advantageous location on the ground floor of Midtown Apartments, success is all but guaranteed.
The restaurant’s name is an homage to the affection and passion its owners have had towards the market cuisine they’ve known and loved their whole lives. The spirit of the market is also alive and well in the restaurant’s décor, complete with a small charcuterie offering hams, cheeses, and cold cuts in the fashion of a typical market stand, demonstrating that every dish is freshly made with delicious local ingredients. It also means that cheese and meat boards are prepared right on the spot, and for all to see. The menu features classic favorites like patatas bravas or steak and pepper tacos. But what sets this place apart might actually be its sublime stews: partridge in escabeche, tripe with chickpeas, meatballs with sepia… And though there’s no pre-fixe lunchtime special, the menu offers a rich section of chef favorites that’s regularly updated.
And for more daring gastronomes, El Mercat offers a new format that’s perfect who those whose eyes are bigger than their stomachs: tapas by the kilo. Parties of five or more are welcome to order tapas for the whole table in this new innovative format. And the same goes for the suckling pig or lamb. It’s a new, fun way of enjoying food with friends, and an adventure that’s becoming more and more popular with customers. It’s just a matter of getting up and going to the market… that is, to El Mercat.
