Mercat Bistro

Delightful place! We went during their happy hour and got appetizers and drinks. Everything was delicious and SO reasonably priced! The place is so beautiful and in a great part of Dallas near the downtown area and Uptown. We had three appetizers- the smoked salmon with ricotta cheese and caviar served with cute little pancakes, the blistered shishito peppers and the ricotta and honey with marmalade and a baguette. All three appetizers were scrumptious and a great price! For drinks we had some lovely martinis- a French martini and a blackberry mint martini. The drinks were delicious and a great price. Next we had a couple of Kronenbourg beers at three bucks a piece! WOW! Our waiter and everyone there were so nice to us and even gave me a little treat for my birthday- a couple of macarons with some fruit and a candle. So sweet! The place was so beautiful and really made my birthday wonderful! They recently were named a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant and I can see why! We can't wait to go back here for brunch sometime!

Got to check this place out during the holidays and sat in their Polar Bear room. It was overall good but definitely want to try it again outside of the holidays because service was slightly off but understandable giving the busy time of the year. We were promptly seated when we arrived and for the polar bear room it appears they expanded their seating into the lobby of the building beside it. This is important to note, because as I mentioned earlier, extra seating means more people and more stress on the kitchen and this could have been the cause of delays we experienced.I had some escargot to start and their's was decent. Not the best I've had and not the worst so will put them in the middle. For my entree I got the short rib and that was excellent and highly recommend. Now the issues we had were long wait times in between check ins and food coming out. A good example I can provide is that given the delays between check ins we went ahead and ordered a side of fries to come out before our main food to snack on. After 25 minutes our fries never showed but our main food finally did. Luckily they brought the fries with them but would have been nice to have a snack in between. There were also times we had to ask someone else other than our server for items.Again, I do not fault them for this as it is a busy time of year and with extra tables it can be a lot logistically, especially when larger parties are present outside of our 4 top. So I will definitely be back another time to try them again on a non-holiday evening.

Went to Mercat for their NYE dinner where they had a set menu, paired with wine (though we opted for cocktails, which were excellent--especially the La Vie en Rose). The vibe was cozy, and the service was top-notch. Our waiter was friendly and attentive. The food, however, was hit or miss. The beef tartar had too much fat trims and lacked flavor, the foie gras's sides were a bit too sweet and the grilled salmon came out undercooked and took long to replace. Aside from that it was quite tasty. The chocolate cake and caramel mousse, were also a highlight. Overall, I'd return to try the regular menu since they have such high ratings.

Gorgeous space with a lovely patio, bar and dining room. Excellent staff (hats off to our server, Stuart). We had a lovely lunch on the patio today. Delish!

Nice coffee. The service was prompt, but the gentleman who took our order tainted the experience by being quite grumpy. Ambiance was great, and I'd love to go back and hopefully get a better servixe

This fine dining establishment is in Uptown Dallas. Since we had just viewed the Impressionist exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, we thought it fitting to complement that experience by dining at this French cafe. We found free street parking nearby, but it looks like parking could be challenging at other times. It opens at 5:00 p.m. for dinner on Saturday evenings. We arrived when they opened their doors, so the place was empty except for the staff on hand. Consequently, we received excellent service. The staff were well dressed, so expect to wear collared shirts. Business casual is a minimum. Ladies, this is a great reason to get dressed up. They also serve lunch during the week and have brunch on the weekends. It's quite popular for brunch apparently, so make a reservation. We didn't have a dinner reservation, but it appears that is something expected of diners, especially if you plan to arrive later in the evening when it gets busy. The hostess did take our name and phone number and put our information in her database. The cafe is cute, stylish, with a dramatic rustic appearance. The dark wood chairs, the fine white linen table clothes, and white rose blooms with candlelight at each table give it an elevated experience. We started with the Ricotta and Honey. This is such a light, refreshing appetizer which is great for sharing. It was served with small pieces of fresh white bread. It's nice to note that you could order several small plates and enjoy them as tapas shared with your party. First the entree, my husband selected the striped sea bass. It had a crispy outer crunch and a perfectly flaky interior texture. The lemon butter sauce with capers was absolutely perfect atop this fish and grilled asparagus. My husband exercised great restraint in not licking the plate, but he was uncouth by scraping his fork along the ceramic surface to scoop up every morsel of the buttery goodness he could gather. Who has the recipe for this brown butter sauce? My husband will gladly pay you for it. I went for the roasted venison which was served medium rare and sliced in half dollar sized medallions. It was accompanied by a cooked red cabbage and spaetzle, a small egg noodle. The meat was tender and tasty. I would definitely recommend it. I shared a bite with my husband, and he was begging for more. We both ordered desserts. You have the option to get a full portion, which we mistakenly did. These were as big as our main course. You can also ask for an individual portion which is apparently much smaller, more of a sample to taste. We ordered the Caramel Hazelnut Crunch which was sort of a chocolate hazelnut ganache. The menu said mousse, but it was quite dense. It had a hardened shell with crispy bits decorating the outside edge. Some fluffy cream was served on the side. I love hazelnut, but I was not overly impressed with this dessert. My husband enjoyed it. He was drawn to it because the name started with "caramel", but I didn't taste or even see any caramel included in this recipe at all. I opted for the bread pudding. It surprised me that such a low-brow dish graced the menu here, but I love it so much, I always get it when I see it on the menu. It was monstrous in size and topped with chocolate ice cream. It satisfied my sweet tooth, but I doubt I would get it again unless I got the smaller portion to share with someone. I'd like to note that they have a full bar and a lot of wines available. We just had water. The waiter regularly visited our table to top off our water glasses. They were small in size, but they were never left empty. Our meal was about $125. The quality and service definitely fit the price.

We met old friends for supper the other day and, gosh, I'd go back tonight. What a great supper! And what nice people - every single person we encountered at Mercat Bistro was gracious, friendly and helpful.Mercat was calm and beautifully decorated. The tables are close together but the vibe is not crowded (while it certainly feels Parisian, it's nowhere near as tight as you'd find there - just a delightful space); the noise level is lively but mellow, owing to the quality of the clientele and the subtle attention of the staff and management to things like kitchen noise, music and just general feel. We were able to have a couple hours of not-in-any-way rushed conversation to catch up; just a delight. The food was fantastic: I don't say this lightly, but this was the best venison I've ever eaten. Drinks were great and delivered with lightning speed by Oscar D., a most gracious gentleman (who later saved my night by finding my oafishly dropped credit card and telephoning me so I could rush back and reclaim it). All four of us loved the food and all four of us expressed a desire to return soon.

Valet parking is offered but we found 2 hour parking on the street. We made a reservation for the Polar Bear room which was a beautiful space with lots of Christmas trees, glass on one side and of course the singing bears.There was a special cocktail menu for the holiday and my mimosa with frozen fruit was very tasty. My eggs benedict and my daughter's avocado toast were delicious.Service was excellent.

When you walk into this restaurant it feels warm and inviting. The service was fair but not outstanding. We started with the escargot (not my favorite, was way too buttered and just left a film in my mouth, the steak tartare was excellent as was the oysters. We ordered the roasted chicken which was flavorful and moist. Didn't even use the gravy for it. We also had the striped bass which was done very well. I like their patio which was easy and relaxed.

I had a lovely experience here. It definitely captured a French Bistro atmosphere. I believe my waitress was French. She served us well, sweet, informative and attentive. The croissant, green chile chicken crepes, lavender latte I ordered were all delicious no complaints.