Mercato – Calgary, Alberta

The restaurant at Mercato is a small bit of Italy in the middle of Calgary. The Tuscan creations are the best I’ve tasted outside of Italy and quite a surprise to find so far west in the Canadian prairies. All of the dishes are simple and the ingredients are second to none.

Talking with one of the servers we discovered that the Restaurant at Mercato was a bit of an accident. In the construction of their location on 4th street they wanted to make a teaching kitchen where they could hold cooking classes to show off how the ingredients from the attached market. As a special occasion they held a lunch, and they’ve been packed ever since changing the direction of what they had originally thought. They’ve now reduced the size of the market and extended the restaurant. The experience is enhanced by sitting at the bar that overlooks the action in the kitchen. It provides both entertainment and inspiration for what you might order.

My wife and I shared the prosciutto starter, she had a fettucini special with tomatoes, olives and capers and I had the cinghiale (boar) ribs which were grilled to perfection. I have to admit that I was faced with a serious case of “order envy” when I saw the size of the steaks on the grill. They were prepared in the Florentine style, at least 2 inches thick and more meat than one person could possibly eat. Our server informed us of the steak for 2 option, which is 4 inches thick…I think we’ll have to take a few friends to give it a try.

What I liked best about Mercato (other than the food) was how the staff encouraged the sharing of dishes, much like in Italy. Order a few pastas, a steak and some veggies on the side and pass them around. If you ignore the snow outside you might just think you’re in Florence.

I’ll definitely be going back. I can almost taste the steak already.

The Restaurant at Mercato
2224 – 4 St SW, Calgary
403-263-5535
http://www.mercatogourmet.com/main.html