Mercado

I went here with my girlfriend on a sunday lunchtime, and we had a chilli (me), good, not as blow your socks off as i'd imagined from the blurb but pretty good and deep flavoured. My missus had a chicken burrito which unfortunately reeked the notes of microwaved meat - in parts ROCK HARD and in others HOT. I don't mean chilli style, i mean third degree burns on my upper lip. A shame as i was hoping this little boudoir could be my answer to a spice search. nice folks though. shame about the micro, might not go back...

it was dead quiet but just past the lunch hour so for atmos, a three...
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James
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 5
Sunday, December 16, 2007

man.

i went to mercado 4 weeks ago...i think ive fallen in love with the place. the food yeah, i think its a shame that now they are foucusing in tex mex, rather than authentic mexican food. but the enviroment in a fryday or saturday night is unbelibable.

cuality people, cuality drinks and bloody good music.

i would recomend it to absolutlly anybody.
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marcus
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, December 04, 2007

This was our first time trying mexican food so probably not as discerning as those who have tried it many times. But it was a GREAT start to our quest for exotic food, and the service was efficient and attentive. The food was so good that despite having limited stomach space, we managed to finish all that we were given. The prawns for my fujitas were fresh and succulent. Chicken was tasty and onions were sweet. Portions were simply generous. Great value especially after the 50% discount. And no compulsory service charge too! But we simply had to compliment their great hospitality with a tip. Definitely will go back there with more friends!
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Vanessa n Chuyan
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, November 07, 2007

I've been a couple of times for brunch on a Sunday and I have to say I have enjoyed the food (and the cocktails!). The decor is a bit garish for those feeling a fragile after a heavy night - I recommend the Blackberry margaritas - just the kind of hair of the dog you need.

It is a bit over-priced, the staff a bit vague and the toilets weren't exactly as clean as I'd like them to be... but the huevos rancheros were great.

I'm going back tonight for dinner so I'll update on how I get on...
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lorna
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 6
Friday, September 07, 2007

Another thumbs down I'm afraid. The one positive thing I'd heard about this place was that the mole sauce was decent. Unfortunately this has now been removed from the menu (I overheard the chef telling another table that he'd just "updated" it). The complimentary nachos were dry and the salsa tasteless. The wait staff appear to be very poorly trained too: after 15 minutes I enquired about my prawn burrito and it was brought out immediately. This made me wonder how long it had been sitting in the kitchen and the fact that it was luke-warm confirmed my suspicions. I also noticed that another table barely touched their food and the waitress took most of it away. Not only is the food here quite average but it's very overpriced. My £9 burrito contained all of 4 prawns. It's a shame because with a little extra attention (or new chef) this could be a really good restaurant. Oh and when I asked my waitress for the bill she walked off, only to return with a pen and pad and started taking the order of another table!
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Jedi - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Monday, September 03, 2007

Recently I went to Mercado with some friends, not for food, but for some drinks, it was quite late, but the place was still jam-packed. The cocktails were amazing, we opted for tequila based drinks in authentic Mexican style. The music and atmosphere was amazing and I am actually planning a second trip to try out the food, although being a vegan i havent got high hopes but i do love avocado!

I loved the fact that at about midnight or oneish the empty tables were pushed aside and the music was turned up and everyone was salsa dancing, both the good and the bad (thats me!). I had a fantastic time and can't wait to go back. I also had a chance to practise my Spanish!

I think I can explain the mixed reviews as well, recently Mercado has been bought by the owners of Yumyums and I think they have brought the standards right up, both food and service.

I reccomend this place to everyone, it's such a great place.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Sunday, April 08, 2007

I find appalling that Mr. YumYum hasn't done his research properly. Not sure if he thought that once the Thai was conquered, next stop could be the Mexican. How WRONG he is.

He could have saved some money from the now bland and city like YumYum to actually spend some time in Mexico and learn how diverse and sometimes easy real Mexican cuisine can be. With a little bit of perusing amongst the hundreds of markets in London he could cook a menu far from the "chilli con carne" and other Tex Mex fantasies.

In deed it is a shame that we have to stand Hawaiians decorating the windows of the restaurant (I am wondering if it is the falvour of the Pacific he wanted to achieve) and lazy and ill informed personnel to represent my country's cuisine.

Avoid Acapulco, Can Cun holiday packages and have a stroll North to South of the Republic; there is more than just chilli and nachos to choose from without having to disappoint the cosmopolitan London sybarites.
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Julieta
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, April 02, 2007

Food was very bland. Nachos tasted re-heated.The table next to us were offered the special deal 3 courses for £7.95 ,we weren't.We had to ask about the 2 margaritas for £5...very disappointing.I wont be going back
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, January 17, 2007

ive been to mexico several times, not just to cancun and have eaten at some of the best and worst restaurants in mexico city. firstly i found the decor nauseating and disorientating. it seemed to have been inspired by someone who had spent a lot of time in cancun drunk and thought it would be a great idea to repeat their hallucination in london, a kind of disney mexico, far from the taste and style found in mexico city and xoacaca.the colours seemed thrown together without any appreciation for what colour means to mexicans living in a sunny environmemt. the service was appalling the poor waiters did not seem to have the will to live never mind any enthusiasm to serve food with any degree of cheerfullness or skill. the food was tepid and even cold. we were a party of 4 and my friends were also dissapointed, though they had never been to mexico. the sauces were bitter, the chiken was scrawny. the manager seemed lost in a reverie behind the counter. we tried in vain to get some attention and were served by different staff at different times who had not a clue what to do. when asked about the foood and what to reccomend the waitress said she was not sure she would go and ask. she was replaced by another who was equally vague.

i did go back to try the breakfast and it was cold, incorrect and ide rather go to a greasy spoon.

avoid at all costs.
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katherine evans
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Friday, December 08, 2006

Stoke Newington is full of restaurants, every single one of which is better than this place, in terms of quality of food, service and value for money. For a start I can't think of any that think it is fit to serve cold or undercooked food. A real shame, as MErcado has a really interesting menu and manages to avoid the Tex Mex cliche of endless burritos, fajitas and chimichangas.

Mercado needs to seriously up it's game if it wants to survive in a very competitive area.

Bad service, bad attitude, really bad food. Avoid.

Oh, and don't you think it's interesting that after a string of bad reviews from dissatisfied customers that there are a whole rush of 10 star reviews?
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Monday, November 27, 2006