I really really like the new trendy SBE Restaurants, Cleo is a personal fave for their ridiculously good brussel sprouts... but Mercato kind of let me down. We came in when it opened, and we had about 5 different servers throughout the night. They were not so accomodating to our larger party, who had reservations, and squeezed us at a small table with too many chairs. And the crowd is a bit pretentious, but what else to do you expect at a new SBE restaurant in Hollywood? The pretty people might actually draw customers ;-) but not me.
Food was not bad, I think I was just a little upset when I ordered ""the special"" without a price, and got a spoonful of truffle pasta for $28. The flavor was excellent, but the surprise on the bill kinda killed the night. Plus we had to go to In-N-Out afterward because everyone was still hungry. But as for the good aspects, I would say trying the lamb is a must.. and I wish I would have tried the squid ink spaghetti, though the name is a little intimidating. Artichoke was good but small. The crostinis didn't really hit the spot, but the pizzas were tasty - and actually worth the money!
I would consider going again if someone else paid. Haha..
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