Mercato

What a great addition to the Pearl. Good food, good service, casual environment, fast service, great gelato! I've tried the pizza, panini, and the carbonara so far and have been very pleased each time. The carbonara is not in a cream sauce and is probably one of the best I've ever had. They serve very good coffee (Illy) as well and the plastic seats are surprisingly comfy! The gelato is incredible (WOW on the strawberry-ginger), however in this gelato-happy city I'd really recommend these places have recycling of the cute little colorful plastic containers that they serve it in instead of letting people toss them in the garbage - my only ""bummer"" about the whole thing. Nice to have a non-stuffy place to go to lunch ! Pros: great food, great service, good place for weekday lunches! Cons: environmentally unfriendly gelato containers more

WOW! This place reminds me of my trip to Europe. From the decor to the flavor of the food, and the coffee is good too. I'm a soup fanatic; I had the tomato and pear soup (yummy!) I work in the Pearl and I?m definitely stopping by for lunch here again. more

Mercato has the best gelato in town, perfect texture, creative flavors and freshest ingredients. I love their pizzas; the Gorgonzola with pancetta is my favorite and several of the entrees I?ve tried, were very good. I?m not big on pastas, but I loved their Carbonarra and my wife vouches for most of the other pastas, she tried them all, I think. Pros: Great gelatos, pizzas and pastas Cons: Parking is kind of hard to find more

I can't quit going to Mercato. It's authentic Italian at a price that can't be beat anywhere in PDX. The service is fabulous, and the food is fresh, fresh, fresh. I've had just about everything on the menu now, and I have NEVER been disappointed. Their gelato is out of this world. I didn't like gelato before, but trying Mercato's gelato has turned me into a gelato lover. All the gelato is made fresh in house and the flavors change regularly to reflect the fruits in season. You have got to try this place. This is 5 star presentation and excellence! If you enjoy fine food, you'll go back to Mercato again and again. By the way - the atmosphere is perfect for group dining. The dining room is casual - there is even a corner with chairs and ottomons to pull together - perfect for conversation. Pros: Presentation of Food, Price, Quality and Freshness of Food, Atmosphere more

I ordered a pasta with shrimp and it tasted very bland from the first bite, I tried to ""doctor"" it up my adding salt, pepper and parmesan cheese but it didn't help any. I've had a much better experience microwaving a frozen budget gourmet. As ffar as the service, it was also horrible. I came with a group of people (we had reservations). The staff said we could sit down at our reserved table while we looked at our menus, but failed to tell us that we had to ORDER at the counter. We didn't realize this until we waited for 10 minutes and got a little impatient. I ended up eating less that a third of my meal. The staff asked me if I wanted a ""to-go"" box, I said no, however they didnt ask me or anyone else how my food was. My desert was Tiramisu, which was excellent. The decor was also really nice and hip with an art deco style. The restaurant needs to pay as much attention to the quality of the food and service as it does to the decor, as it is basically heavy on style and thin on substance. Report card: A for decor, D for service, F for meal, A for dessert. Pros: Decor, Dessert Cons: Pasta, Service more

Great food, service and dessert! I will definitely be going back and I highly recommend this place! more

I live in the neighborhood and frequent this place at least twice a week. The best dishes are their pizzas - the gorgonzola is super decadent and tasty. The penne dish is also great - a little spicy and the cheese melts in your mouth. I'm also a huge fan of the muscat dessert wine (it's a bit bubbly) and any gelato flavor (try the marscapone or passion fruit!) more

i stopped in for lunch a couple weeks ago and the food was fantastic. the service was good as well. perfect size portions. reasonable prices for a sit down lunch in the pearl. great pizza with amazing crust flavor! Pros: food Cons: parking in the pearl more

We had a wonderful experience! The food, wine and service were excellent! We are pizza fanatics and their buffalo mozzarella pizza was made with fresh organic ingredients was amazing. We also had their tomato, basil, mozzarella appetizer, which had a wonderful balsamic reduction. The surroundings are comfortable, clean and modern. We were visiting from out of town and will make a point to go back the next time we are in Portland. Pros: Great food, comfortable, friendly staff. more

After discovering Mercato recently, I've already returned several times. Right when you walk into this place you can tell the food is going to be fresh and delicious. The interior design of the building is very modern and beautiful. The display cases with their sandwiches and salads present their food very well. Aside from the looks, the food is great! Some of my favorite items are their pizzas, piadines, and soups. I've heard their gelato is made in house and it supposed to be really good. On top of the food, the staff working here are really friendly. Mercato is definitely one of my new favorites stops for lunch! Pros: Great food, modern decor, friendly staff more

I noticed this restaurant a few weeks ago when driving by. The decor is fresh, colorful and different. So this last weekend, my husband, son and I were out in the Pearl district and decided to try the place out. It was a great overall experience. The staff was very attentive and very kid friendly (my son is 3 year). The place is spacy and my son loved the lively plastic organge/red chairs. When we wanted to move tables because my son wanted to see how is pizza was being made, it was no problem. Several people helped us move our stuff. I am not a fan of chees pizza in general (my son ordered), but this thin crust version was yummy. Tried the chicken of the main entree list and it was really good and somewhat unique. The appetizer slads were different and refreshing. The noise level was medium - perfect for a family visit. We are definitely going back here. Pros: Kid friendly, good pizza and ambience, friendly service, casual more