Casual Dining

El Mercado

Pali Hill, Bandra West
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Insane!

Rated 5.0 by Bacon Babe

Let me begin with saying that I have had the pleasure of discovering a new favourite! A cute little place with absolutely stellar food that took me straight back to the streets of Madrid. By tiny I mean 5-6 tables where you knock elbows with your neighbours. By cute, I mean the spruced up fresh looking interiors with some Spanish reference knick knacks decorating the walls, a gleaming little open kitchen and the vibrant potted greenery at the entrance. And as for the food... The Menu: Pan con tomato: bread with a tomato spread, which we chose to top with Serrano ham. The bread was lightly crispy and the the tomatoes has just the right hint of acidity. The ham was of beautiful quality and just tied the whole dish together so well. Eggs Benedict: perfectly poached eggs where you strike liquid gold at their runny centres, lovely English muffins, spinach for the healthy quotient and a thick gooey hollandaise. Plus some more good quality ham - this was as good as eggs Benny get! Gambas al ajillo - this was one of my favourite dishes when I sampled it in Spain, and I'm happy to say these guys have done it total justice. Using minimal ingredients to let the fruitiness of the olive oil shine, with a garlicky bite to it, these prawns are to die for! Sop up all of that greasy goodness with the bread on the side. Crema Catalana: this Spanish creme brulee was the dessert we chose and perhaps the only dish which was less than perfect. Don't get me wrong, the flavour was great, as was the torched sugar crust, but it was a bit too thin in consistency for my liking. I find it better when I can actually dig in and scoop out a spoonful. Chamomile flavoured kombucha - this was unexpectedly tasty, with the trademark fizzy kombucha taste tempered by the herbal addition. Fruit tisane: a simple berry flavoured infusion, it was a nice drink to round off that huge meal! The service is excellent, with all servers knowledgeable about the dishes on the menu and being super friendly and helpful. To give you two examples, we initially ordered some coffee but were informed that they were out of the roasted coffee beans and only had Nescafe, and would we still like to have some? A lot of places would just have served us what they had without giving us the choice! Also, I wanted to know where they sourced the excellent Serrano ham from, and they were kind enough to tell me the supplier and give me their contact details! Such a warm personal touch is welcome, and makes all the difference in making one want to go back again and again. When you want a lazy brunch, a cosy tete a tete, or a day when you want your food to put a smile on your face, this is the place I recommend. With Vinay Menon


Great!

Rated 4.0 by Dhwani B

Great food and vibe . Tried the crepe , open sandwiches (montaliditos I think ) and a beetroot and rocket based tapas. The bread was so fresh. They didn’t have a few desserts available so would try em in my next visit . The cold coffee brew was great too. Just wish there would be more space for everyone :)


Average

Rated 3.0 by Shreyash Goenka

The wait for the table made me think the food would be amazing but not as great as I expected it to be. Few of the dishes were really amazing. Since they have an open kitchen, it gets really hot in there. The decor was really pretty. Hoping for a better experience next time! Recommendations: Pan con tomate Pastas Montaditos


Insane!

Rated 5.0 by John Sanchez

Excellent place - very cute and great tapas (get the pimentos, the sliders and the chicken paella). The hosts are great - nice add to the bandra food scene


Avoid!

Rated 1.0 by Priya

Visited your place with my friend to have my lunch .taste wise the food was awesome , ambient was good . Just you guys need to improve ur service. Owner came took my order and suggested me the platter chorizo but I didn't received the platter it felt really disgusting that what was I have been suggested I didn't received it I was waiting for an hour. After that I called the owner for the platter so he started giving me excuses.and I end up without having that platter. Going forward kindly don't ever suggest anything which u aren't able to serve it.