Mercato West

Went with a group for Father’s Day and I wish I had read others reviews before coming. I didn’t know they only serve the «family» style portions.
While the service was great and every one of the 9 items we ordered were beautifully done, I felt like we were being pressured to order more just because there were 9 of us. Had we listened to the server and ordered three more dishes, we would have had too much food to be packed up and taken home.
It is spacious enough for large groups, but I wouldn’t recommend it for an intimate dinner.
The odd shape and high ceiling makes it very loud inside, even when in our case, the restaurant was half full.

Great to eat on the pizza side. The pizza are great, the salad are beautiful and the Nutella crêpe is a must for dessert

Alright this isn’t specifically about dinning room side of the restaurant but more about the deli/​market where they have a smaller menu consisting of pizzas, burgers and polenta fries etc.
The top of the menu says the fresh items are used from the deli and used to create some of their creations so it was a shock to me to receive crap service from the waiter with a thick Italian accent when I ordered a panini from the deli. Got a pompous «that’s all you’re ordering?» Couldn’t believe it, the item used to me on the menu and for what ever reason isn’t on there anymore… Maybe it’s not expensive enough? Everything else there seems to be over priced so maybe very well the case. Guess I will have to continue ordering the panini to go as to not offend the server that i didn’t want to drop $ 50 for a lunch. Sheesh!

Ate on the pizza/​lunch side and everything was delicious. Left totally satisfied. My friend and I shared a veal pasta, polenta fries (with honey aoili!!), and pulled pork sandwich. Their sandwiches are incredible, it’s made with pizza dough so it’s kind of like a fold over pizza. The polenta fries were insanely delicious, texture was just perfect. Portion size is quite big. Service was quite good as well. Be sure to pick up some stuff from the market to take home!

We love to come to Mercato for special occasion dinners or lunches where you just need something you know will be good!
This location is super hip and trendy inside, nice décor and ambiance. The service is great and they can definitely accommodate smaller groups or kids, just make sure you make dinner resos far in advanced!
Some notable dishes: the Bisteka is TO DIE FOR!!! Such a great flame grilled steak on the bone! The fish is great. I’ve had a few pastas and they’re all delicious, generous sizes, can’t go wrong with any of them. The veggie sides are good as well, especially like the Brussels and asparagus. Their bread is AMAZIIIIING! I dream about their perfect focaccia with olive oil and balsamic for dipping. Cappuccino is ok, typical for an Italian resto. Tiramisu is delicious!
Everything is family style so don’t bother coming if you’re group is shy of sharing. We had a couple with us once who refused to share with even eachother (uh, why??) and they didn’t enjoy themselves much.
I don’t see how anyone can give this place one star, you obviously don’t like food.

Favorite place to go for a pizza and cappuccino at lunchtime with my wife or a friend. I have had good experiences with the service and food at dinner too. It’s upscale dining, but the lunch side is casual. A couple of the servers provided the best table service I have experienced in town.

Simply fantastic.
Great food — incredibly fresh and well prepared. True, professional restaurant service that’s so rare in Calgary.
Both sides of the place (Mercato, the upscale, pricier side or Pizzavino, the casual pizza and salad side) are fantastic.

Lively and enjoyable,
The restaurant is spacious and can accommodate big groups,
but they do not accept individual orders for big groups, you all have to choose a few items on the menu and share (They compare it to a typical Italian large family dinner experience, which is really nice), but in every big group there are always a few people who are picky and end up not eating much and go home feeling ripped off and unhappy.
True story!

I didn’t stay for the food. I came in and ordered and I watched. I watched 4 people with bare hands handle a large hunk of meat. I watched the owner walk the piece of meat around and talk for at least 5 minutes. I watched as no one washed their hands after they touched the raw meat. I then watched the owner hand the meat over to someone else and pick up a dish and start to stir it. WITHOUT WASHING HER HANDS. When I brought up my concerns I was told to calm down. So I am calm, and I am writing to advise you to stay away for fear that these people that own the restaurant do not think washing their hands is important.

Just home from the best meal forever! Have eaten many times at the 4^th St location, this was the first at Mercato West. Loved the interior. We sat up at the bar and the way they zig zagged the bar, it is easy to converse with 4 people. Love watching all the action in the open kitchen. The food was just outstanding! We love eating family style and after a few anti pasta, bruschetta and risotto balls (incredible!) we shared the linguini and then shared the smaller steak portion, easily enough for 4 with the asparagus. After watching the chef make the carpaccio we decided to try it as well. Our server was excellent and watching the servers operate is impressive. It is like a well oiled machine. Fine food, good wine and good friends– what more could you ask for?

My first experience here was for dinner, which wasn’t a very enjoyable experience. The food was over-​priced, and the restaurant itself was very noisy making it had to hear the conversation. Not a great place to go and socialize. However, the service was good and the food itself was excellent.
My second go around was for lunch and I was very impressed. A grilled vegetable Panini was not only a good value, but it was delicious. A much different atmosphere for lunch, bright, not too noisy and a long community table making it easy to converse. I would definitely recommend going for lunch if you want a great tasting casual meal.

There is no doubt that the kitchen here can produce some outstanding plates, with fresh ingredients full of flavour. Problem is that service is spotty and the kitchen can, at times, be inattentive.
We arrived on a Tuesday evening at 7:30, with reservations and had to wait a minute or two before we were greeted. The room was about three-​quarters full, and we decided to pass on the reserved table to sit at the counter, with a great view of the kitchen. The hostess provided us menus and then we sat, ignored for about 10 minutes before the server arrived to greet us and offer water. Another 15 minutes before the server returned to take our order. Twenty-​five minutes in and we had water. No offers of bread or olives that we could see at other tables. About 15 minutes after we placed our order our antipasti arrived, clams and mussels. Only none of the mussels were open so we had to send the order back. When the redone order of clams and mussels arrived we finally had something to eat, 55 minutes after walking in the door.
The second order of clams and mussels as well as the rest of our dinner tasted great. The pasta courses (risotto and gnocchi) were outstanding as was the main course (bistecca with green beans). We skipped desert and coffee.
Our server was friendly and knowledgeable, but disappeared for long periods of time. And the floor manager stopped by several times but was never helpful (e.g., asking us if we needed more water just after we had refills or offering to decant our wine when the bottle of three-​fourths empty).
If the service matched the food this would be a five star experience.

I am not a fan of Italian food, and the fact that this is my favorite restaurant in Calgary speaks volumes. I have eaten here a dozen times, and each time is better than the last. The food is OUTSTANDING as is the wine menu! I would gladly eat here every single night, but my waistline would probably not concur. I have had almost everything on the menu (we order family-​style), and I loved it all!
It is a fun place to eat, the perfect place for family meals or an outing with friends. VERY child-​friendly as well! I wouldn’t say it is a place for a quiet date night, however. It can be loud, it IS a busy place. It is bright, open, and modern. It is upscale, but I wouldn’t say it is stuffy. Attire ranges from jeans and t-​shirts to business suits/​dresses.
They offer gluten-​free options and are happy to help if you have any special dietary requirements.
There are some growing pains as with any new restaurant, but each time I go it is better. The servers are eager to learn and please, and the management is more than willing to listen to any issues and make every attempt to make it better. That effort to be better, and strive for perfection, is worth any possible issue.
Review #2 of Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012

Restaurant was in a very nice plaza and the layout of the market and restaurant was nice. The main interior has very high ceilings and concrete everything so sound bounces off everything making it very hard to hear each other. Our meals were good — pasta is very fresh! The bread served at the table was rock hard and when we asked for another was told it would be an additional charge so we decided against it. Menu is quite pricey for italian food and is probably the main reason we won’t be back. But it is a nice place to go for a dinner.

Beer or wine only, loud, slow service, sub par staff and expensive to boot!