El Mercadito

The atmosphere of this place is so beautiful, magical and romantic, it deserves five stars for it. But the food and service is only average, and the chairs are uncomfortable. A small menu with some strange choices. For example, the night we were there, the toston of the day was sour with apples and cherries. This is usually a lot of molten bride, with some fruit, but not here. Toast stacked with CANDIED apples and cherries and then with three miniscule pieces of Brie made this more of a dessert than the main plate that it should be. The pasta that others ordered was completely slandered. Food, average service, but very nice environment.

This restaurant was recommended by the hotel and we are looking forward to exploring the city. The place is very rustic and that had its charm picnic tables, rustic style. We look forward to the local cuisine and experience. Maybe... do we have it? We waited for order for over 20 minutes, but three more tables were served and drinks delivered to us! We finally drew attention to the waiters and made a simple order. Two sandwiches and a bottle of wine. 25 minutes. Nothing. They come out and say our bottle is no longer available, so we accept their substitution that we have asked for the house wine as a substitute... neither! We are in the heart of Mendoza. When the wine comes five minutes later, it is the one we originally asked. A common brand in the area. Then we waited another 25 minutes for our two sandwiches pulled pork and Lomito Steak sandwich). So if you want to wait for your food for over an hour, this is the place! I think the ruble here is that they showed very little empathy, attention or desire to correct the situation. We asked why it was so long and the waiter commented that he had to repair a water machine and serve other tables. He hasn't checked for us after this....a classic inexperienced waiter who tries to recognize and diffuse the situation. In summary bad service and simply “ok” food. To make it even more ridiculous, he asked us directly whether we will pay his tip!

This was a quiet place to enjoy a romantic lunch inside or outside. The meals were freshly prepared and extremely tasty. The portions were substantial, and there was no pressure to leave. The menu had many choices for everyone’s tastes.

We had a very nice lunch on the outdoor patio. The atmosphere is casual and relaxed, the service is friendly and the food (especially the hamburger) was very good.

A plain and simple restaurant which clearly has great family appeal post-9.00 pm, when the locals start to arrive. Tourists like us who arrive at 8.00pm are given excellent food and service under the attentive eyes of a first-class manager.