Mercado - Kalkbaai iNingizimu Afrika

All six in my party found the food to be extremely enjoyable. Have it be known that, given an opportunity, I will be returning to this fine establishment. I was very pleased with the staff and environment, and I thank the lord for blessing me with this meal.

Quick summary: This is the nicest service I have encountered in a long time! And the carnitas are amazing! (My husband said maybe the best he’s had and he’s eaten a lot of carnitas) Everyone from the hostess to the manager to our waiter was very friendly and made sure our food was coming out at a decent time. When they forgot the fish tacos, they were extremely apologetic and comped it without us asking. It wasn’t necessary but we appreciated the gesture and made sure to tip extra well. On top of that the food was just really, really good (again, carnitas) and I had an amazing verde mocktail. I appreciate restaurants that make interesting non alcoholic drinks that’s not just juice and fizzy water. We will no doubt be back and tell our friends about this place!

My wife and I went here as our last dinner together before she gave birth to our son. We got the short rib tacos as a starter, she got the chicken mole and I ordered the carnitas. We both loved the carnitas, not that she didn't love the chicken mole, but the carnitas was another level. We just had a spectacular pork dish at Jame in El Segundo, and when we both tasted the Mercado Carnitas we couldn't believe we had found the two best pork dishes we have ever had, just weeks apart! We were very lucky that we got a table quickly on a Thursday night without a reservation but you could tell the hosts we're thrown for a loop that we had not made a reservation. By the way I love pairing drinks with food, I highly recommend getting a negra Modelo to go with the carnitas, it was like pairing milk with chocolate chip cookies, meant to go together.

3 stars coz the food is pretty decent but drinks were a bit over the top with ice and service is definitely not up to par compared to the other Mercado locations we've been to. We were a large group and we ordered quite a lot even if happy hour, we were there for a birthday but no warmth or such. No one even touched our table before last call for happy hour and even if we ordered at 6:59pm they already rang it in at full price already...just too bad coz we love the brand but this location idk..can't say the same level as others.

As usual, we enjoyed our time at Mercado. We keep waiting for the chef to bring back the scallops dish but we are losing hope. When they were on the menu we visited nearly once a week. Now....maybe once a month. Other people we know have felt the same and have reduced their visits to Mercado as well. Finally, we noticed the restaurant was not busy at all on a Saturday night at 8:00 PM. (Many many open tables Also on this night we notice a reduction in service (waiter forgot our drinks and other things. Maybe the restaurant has lost its flair? Nevertheless, the food is still the best in that area and there are a lot of restaurants in that area. ;