Reviews for Mercado in Santa Monica, CA
My wife and I, plus my dog Leo had a great dinner tonight. Some of the best food we’ve had while in town. Mike was also a... great server. I will definitely be returning. Read more
TL;DR: This is one of the BEST upscale and quality Mexican restaurants in Southern California. This is an excellent quality... craft Mexican dining experience which is difficult to beat. Order the guacamole, that’s a must. I also recommend the filet mugon tacos or the mole enchiladas. Absolutely one of my favorite Mexican dining experiences, hands down. The food and drink areunlike much Mexican dining I’ve ever had. To start, the drinks are carefully made with good amounts of liquor, they’reunique, and they stray away from many artificial fillers. Delicious! The food is on another level. Everything seems like it wasmade from scratch. It’s also well presented. The guacamole is the best I’ve ever tried at a restaurant. The food is caredfor and the flavors reflect the high quality that the chefs place into making the entree. The service here is also excellent.At first, I thought maybe this place was a little too fancy for our family as we were strolling around in sandals and vacationclothes. Not at all. They were welcoming, helpful, and fast. Excellent service. Many casual folks here just looking for amazingfood. One of the best Mexican dining experiences I’ve ever had. I thought I was spoiled by the food in NorCal. I was wrong.10/10 Read more
Santa Monica hidden gem! Great service, delicious food, and certainly the best refined Mexican food in the whole area. Authentic... and delicious from starter to desert, with the best margaritas! On a 5 days stay in the area, it was a must to come and enjoythis place at least twice! Mercado, we will miss you!! Read more
This is a wonderful Mexican restaurant with good options for every type of water - carnivores, omnivores, vegetarians, and... vegans. I tried the Chile rellino and I was pleasantly surprised because it came in soup/broth. The guacamole was fresh andexcellent. The chips were perfectly salted. Next time I will have to try dessert here, because apparently it has the best flanin town! Read more
We went to Mercado for a nice dinner while staying in Santa Monica and the food was AMAZING! Delicious cocktail menu with a... great Tequila selection and so many amazing meal options. Service was excellent, definitely worth the trip for us! Read more
I can’t not give this place a 5-star review. I’m in town for a conference and had to get away by myself for the evening.... Found this place and just wanted to sit at the bar, drink a margarita and eat some food. But it was packed. Not a seatavailable! I had totally forgotten that it’s Cinco de Mayo. ???????? Manager was outstanding. Squeezed me in between tworeservations. I wasn’t allowed to linger, but that was fine by me on this occasion. I had items off their special holidaymenu. Ceviche was fresh, spicy (almost too much) and delicious. I had striped bass with beautifully grilled vegetables, rice andsauce. That was outstanding. I enjoyed the special blood orange margarita. It might not have had the most generous pour oftequila, but it was a perfect partner to the food. Service was attentive, polite and efficient. The atmosphere is excellent.From the outside, this place doesn’t look like much. But I had a great time and enjoyed my dinner. Read more
Mercado is a great restraint with an awesome vibe. The food was great. The mix drink were a good pairing. Staff was helpful and... courteous. We were there at open on a Thursday, it was not super full but could definitely see it pick up shortly after open. Read more
4.5 / 5. Elevated Mexican comfort food with elevated prices. Guacamole with tortilla chips: well presented, chunks of avocado,... crispy/baked chips. Tacos: pork was good, steak was better. Beware the ceviche spicy carrot. At around $9 USD per taco (2 perorder) it might be a little hard to wrap the mind around, especially the 4 tacos mentioned above will run you $37. MezcalMargarita: decent. Read more