Food wise, this weekend has been one of the most perfect and satisfying weekend.Italian food is my favorite kind of food and on both the days of the weekend, I had Italian food for brunch and lunch.
On Saturday, we dropped by Mercato Italian Restaurant & Cafe in DIFC to indulge in some hearty Italian fare. Mercato offers a weekend brunch on every Friday and Saturday from 9am to 6pm.
The brunch menu is their a la carte menu which features a range of breakfast items as well as salads, soups, sides, pizzas, pastas and desserts. On the weekdays you can order the food that is available on-the-counter/deli and this a la carte menu is exclusively for the weekend.
Mercato Italian Restaurant & Cafe reminded me of the cosy, quirky and rustic Italian eateries that I visited during my holidays in Italy. The restaurant is small with an indoor and outdoor seating area.
The decor is gorgeous and elegant. We loved the beautiful tiles, wonderfully crafted earthy furniture and small potted plants. This inviting space is a great venue for families, friends and colleagues for a good Italian meal or a cup of coffee and sandwich.
Mercato also offers retail space for authentic Italian food products like olive oil, cheese, pasta, cured meat, Italian biscuits, bread and Italian pastries.
As the weather is amazing right now, we decided to have our brunch outside. Our special thanks to Grazia, the outlet manager of Mercato who is an Italian, as she helped us with the menu and explained everything about the restaurant and the dishes.
Mercato has good options for vegetarians too. As a vegetarian I am quite happy with their menu. We started with drinks first. Their Mixed Berry Juice that was served in a bottle was refreshing.
To eat, we first ordered Il Panino. It was a wholesome sandwich filled with spinach, mushroom and topped with free range poached eggs. It was served with French Fries in truffle oil and Parmesan cheese.
Next we ordered the incredibly fresh, light and delicious Spinach Salad that had crisp baby spinach, pear, red grapes, raisins, crunchy pine nuts, goat’s cheese dressed in balsamic vinegar.
We loved their Pizza Alla Pala, the ultimate Roman street food. It is perfect to eat anytime of the day or night. You can order it by slices.
The Vegetarian Pizza had a medley of grilled veggies in creamy tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese that was baked to perfection.
We ordered two kinds of pasta- Tortelli di zucca, which had a filling of pumpkin and potatoes. It was dressed in a mild Gorgonzola sauce. It was good, but I am not a fan of pumpkin. So I didn’t like it much. We absolutely relished the Pansotti in salsa di noci that was stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese and set in a nutty walnut sauce.
For desserts, we ordered their Nutella Pancakes. It was a stack of small fluffy pancakes that was light and scrumptious.
We ended our brunch with their signature Italian coffee. We ordered a Cappuccino and Latte Macchiato. They know how to brew a great cup of coffee. My suggestion, don’t leave Mercato without ordering coffee as they make a seriously good cup of coffee.
We had an amazing experience at Mercato. The food, the drinks, the ambience and the service was top notch. The portion size is a bit small though. And the pricing is reasonable for a eatery that is located in DIFC. I am pretty sure, I’ll be going back again.
Phone: 04 320 5207
