El Mercat Bar De Tapas

Wow!! This is an amazingly cozy and delicious spot for tapas. The hospitality team is excellent--a team of three working the space efficiently with a fourth overseeing operations.The design breathes hospitality with attractive Spanish tile and flair: red and white decorated tile, art, and well-appointed tables. I didn't feel rushed whatsoever, and that is huge for an American restaurant. It was very welcoming, and the team knew the right timing and distance. Nice work!Food? Dang. So good. The top three must orders from a bunch of succulent treats are:1. Patatas Bravas! Fried Potatoes, Tomato Sauce, Garlic Aioli. So savory and yummy! 2. Datiles con Beicon: Bacon Wrapped Dates, Blue Cheese, Almonds. Sweet and savory and delicious. 3. Coca Caralana: Spanish Flatbread, Braised Beef, Horseradish Cream, Bacon Marmalade, Fresh Basil. Wow. I'm not sure what's going on here other than deliciousness. Why not go Catalonian? Catalonians know traditional hospitality. I highly recommend El Mercat!

The place was nice and a bit tight since they have a lot of patrons coming for happy hour.We had a couple of tapas and drinks.My favorite was the calamari and the margarita was great. The service was good and the whole place is very chill and full, you know people loved going here.

I'm normally not a tapas person. I never know what or how much to order and, in the past, ended up with too many fried food plates. But I really enjoyed our dinner here last night. We got a variety of items: Escalivada - roasted vegetables with yogurtAlbondigas - lamb meatballsDatiles con Beicon - dates with bacon and blue cheesePatavas Bravas - fried potatoes in tomato sauceGambas Al Ajillo - shrimp, garlic oil, chiliCalabacin a la Plancha - zucchini and goat cheeseMaiz Rostizada - roasted corn with spices We enjoyed the variety and different flavors of the small plates. The garlic sauce with the shrimp and the tomato sauce with the lamb were worthy of repeat dipping. The roasted vegetables with yogurt was finger-licking good. The only item we really didn't care for was the dates wrapped in bacon. I thought the date was mushy and the bacon overcooked. I took one bite and spit it out from the texture. One of my partners didn't care for it, but liked the hardness of the bacon. Only one of the three people at our table ate their bacon wrapped date. The rest we left on the plate. A waste of $9. There is a large selection of small plates at the restaurant, and I will come back to try some of the others, as well as repeats. I'd also like to try the paella sometime. The paella requires a 30 or so minute cooking time, and the server was sure early on to get that under our consideration. Service was good and friendly. The restaurant is small physically, so it is easy to catch parts of conversations from nearby tables. But it's a nice atmosphere and welcoming. Three of us spent about $90 total before tip, and we felt full and satisfied.

Everything was so good love tapas style. The short rib was delicious definitely get! Chicken wings were so crispy. The potatoes were a little heavy but so good. We got the chicken paella which definitely took a long time to come out and we were pretty full by then. It was good but I didn't love the heavy greens on the top very overpowering. Our server was great definitely a great after work place.

5 starsGarlic shrimp - I could eat this sauce with bread all dayPEI mussels - almost as delicious as the shrimp4 starsShishito peppers - great tasting but would be nice to be charred a bit on the outsideZucchini - wonderful flavorsChicken & chorizo paella - not the chorizo I prefer, but the chicken is well seasoned and their paella is cooked perfect. They allow it to cook long enough that there is socarrat, they probably put it in the broiler after to crisp the top, and the taste of the rice is excellent. It's not tomato based like many other paellas3 starsSeared steak on breadMushroomsCalamariSeafood paella - maybe a 3.5Churros stuffed with dolce de leche2 starsOctopus - I prefer a long piece that is grilled and charredLamb meatballs - the taste of this just wasn't my thingCreme Catalana - not too special

We ordered take out and they were super friendly and the food was delicious. We ordered maricos paella and pulpo con patatas.

Bar de Tapas is a gem! The cozy atmosphere, warm lighting, and rustic decor make you feel like you've stepped straight into Spain. Each dish was a little masterpiece--from the perfectly crisp patatas bravas to the melt-in-your-mouth jamón ibérico. The sangria was spot-on, fruity but not too sweet, and the staff was incredibly attentive and friendly, making us feel right at home. We couldn't stop raving about the churros with chocolate sauce, a must-have to wrap up a perfect evening. Bar de Tapas is a slice of Spanish magic, and we'll definitely be back!

Tried El Mercat for the first time during weekend brunch hours! The food and service were excellent! The restaurant itself is quiet and very clean. We were seated right away for brunch, and our waitress was very friendly and had some great recommendations from the menu. I even got to sample their seasonal sangria before deciding to get a glass. There is a bottomless drink option for $25, which I didn't get this time around, but I'd love to go back and try it!The prices are all very reasonable for tapas, and considering bottomless brunch can run up to $60+ per person in the DC area, El Mercat's brunch is a great value. We ended up sharing the duck confit hash, which is a full size entree, and the cod fritters, which was tapas size. Both were delicious! We also got the brunch paella to try, which was also very flavorful. We ended up taking a lot of it home and it was just as good the second time around.

Good folks. Good food. Good service. Good happy hour. Indoor and outdoor seating. All good... #Huzzah.

We went for weekend brunch - bottomless mimosas & sangria, the cheese plate, and pretty much all the seafood tapas. It was all delicious - the grilled octopus is a must! The coco asturiana - flatbread w smoked salmon - was a flavorful mix, definitely will get that again. And even for the lo/no carb dieters - the patatas bravas are worth it, perfectly crispy, with tomato sauce. Now that it's summer, we sat outside & enjoyed the sunshine (a lasting vestige of covid spacing - we can't go back to all sitting inside, all the outdoor seating's here to stay)Stay hydrated - go for the sangria!