Mercato BYOB: Birthday Celebration

By Christina Logan
August 24, 2013

Ever since I moved to the city, Mercato has been on top of my list of restaurants to try! I was grateful enough to get the opportunity to go with my sister for my birthday present!

What attracted me to this restaurant the most was the historic charm of the building and the seasonal menu items. Located right on 12th and Spruce in the old Camac Food Market building, you feel as if you are stepping back into time to enjoy authentic cuisine! Mercato offers Old World Italy food with a new twist on up to date, fresh and local ingredients. According to the season, menu options can change at anytime. 

To start off, they give bread with an olive oil/herbed butter. The butter was out of this world! Then, my sister and I split the Whole Grilled Artichoke for an appetizer which is what Mercato is known for. It is served in extra virgin olive oil, sea salt with a side of citrus aioli. Now my sister and I are very particular about artichokes because our Italian grandmother’s recipe can’t be beat. But, I think Mercato has won me over with the sea salt and citrus aioli!

Then for another appetizer, they sent out Salmon Tartar compliments of the chef for my birthday! I am not a huge salmon fan, but this dish had made me fall in love with salmon!
A second appetizer that was brought out complimentary was a salad that was the special of night! The salad included heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, slivered almonds and the best of all, peaches! It was the perfect summer salad due to fresh ingredients that are in season.

For my entree, I ordered the Lemon Pepper Fettuccine. I’ve been craving a great pasta meal and this appealed to my eye the most. The fettuccine had roasted zucchini, summer squash, roasted garlic, pistachio-mint pesto, burrata mozzarella. I’m sure you’re used to the typical basil-pine nut pesto. But the pistachio-minto was so nutty and fresh tasting. It was great on the local summer vegetables.

For dessert, we were sent three different treats to try! The Peach Sorbet, Mascarpone Cheesecake and tiramisu. The Peach Sorbet was so refreshing. The Mascarpone Cheesecake was very rich in flavor. The Tiramisu was my absolute favorite! I am a huge coffee lover and the flavor if this specific dessert was so decadent with the chocolate covered espresso bean and the ladyfingers of the tiramisu drenched in Kahula. Perfect end to a perfect meal!

The staff was wonderful and very accommodating. They all helped each other serving. It was honestly the best service I’ve had in awhile because they were very on top of things with knowledge of the menu even with it always changing and serving of the food using teamwork. Special thanks to CJ to making this birthday dinner the best!

What was also great about this dining experience was since the tables are close to each other, we were able to talk with our “neighbors” and have a nice conversation! Turns out they’re foodies just like my sister and I! We talked about about our favorite dining experiences in Philly and how Mercato was going to be on top of our list for a new one you definitely feel as if you’re stepping into a second home between the atmosphere, people and home-style meals. Come see for yourself!