Mercadito
Mexican restaurant · River North
108 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654
Highlights
Lively lounge with Latin small plates & cocktails
Lively lounge with Latin small plates & cocktails
"Over here at Infatuation Chicago, we tend to forget that the Mercadito Hospitality group opened their first restaurant in New York, and not here, where the operation is based. Our New York team reviewed their Mercadito back in September of 2010, and with the exception of a few Chicago specific substitutions, our opinions on the River North Mercadito are pretty similar: Mercadito has good food, but a couple major issues turn us off from the restaurant package as a whole. First, despite a number of solid entrees, tacos are the best items on the menu, and apparently Mercaditos everywhere maintain a taco ordering policy where you can only order them in batches of four. It makes eating here difficult because we can't easily order a variety, which is what we always want to do. Further infuriating our taco experience is the guacamole problem. Mercadito has unique guac options for dipping chips or putting on your tacos, but it’ll cost you extra, and kind of a lot extra. It’ll run you $9.50 for a less than generous portion of a single guac and $15.50 for a trio of mini scoops. And it's not the price itself that we mind, but the price-to-size ratio that we find criminal. Issue number two is the atmosphere. The crowd here kind of sucks. No offense to those of you that enjoy your Mercadito outings, but something about the place makes me want to kick my own *ss when I'm here. It’s the unfortunate result of combining a pricy River North Mexican restaurant with what feels like a closed quarters Avicii after show. And there's not enough free guacamole at those either. RESERVE A TABLE WITH RESERVE A TABLE Food Rundown Guacamoles Pineapple jalapeno, bacon habanero, and sautéed chile serrano and mango are just some of your options. Interesting and tasty, just cost a small fortune. Salsas A trio of salsas is a little more reasonable than its guacamole counterpart, but you seem to get even less. Fried Plantains Fried plantains are one of our favorite things to eat in general. These come with a ginger jalapeño sauce and are a solid side. Camaron Taco Shrimp tacos with roasted garlic, avocado, and chipotle mojo. The sauce is unreal, which is what makes these tacos great. Pastor Taco Chili ancho rubbed pork with chile de arbol salsa and grilled pineapple. Pork is well seasoned and the pineapple adds an interesting touch. Carne Taco Marinated skirt steak with a creamy leek potato fundido (sauce), manchego, and habanero avocado salsa. Good skirt steak, and the leek potato addition may catch you off guard, in a good way. Estilo Baja Taco Mahi Mahi for the win. It’s beer-battered, fried, and topped with chipotle aioli and Mexican style ‘slaw. Pepino El Pyu Margarita All of their margaritas are good, but this is our choice every time, and probably the reason the bill is always so high (can never have only one). Hornitos blanco tequila with cucumber, lemon, herbs, and a cumin salt rim." - Sam Faye
"There’s always a festive atmosphere in the bustling dining room at Mercadito, which offers 90 minutes of mimosas, margaritas, bloody marys, Tecate, and Amiga Sandia cocktails (made with tequila, watermelon, basil, and lime) for $35 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Gather friends to share Mexican fare including tacos, carnitas hash, and queso fundido. Or, order takeout online or opt for delivery by order delivery via DoorDash." - Sam Nelson
"Mercadito has been a River North mainstay for tasty Mexican cuisine for 15 years. From the colorful murals to the homemade tortillas, everything here is a treat for the senses. Whether you’re visiting for brunch, lunch, or dinner, there is so much to enjoy, including crispy flautas, an assortment of tacos (like a butter-poached lobster option), and hearty enchiladas. There are two Astral cocktails on the menu, both of which make use of Astral’s Blanco varietal. There’s the Margarita Tradicional with the usual orange liqueur and the Spicy Mango-rita that gets a spicy kick from habanero." - Ariel Kanter
"Remember when your parents came home and told you they were "disappointed" in your actions? Maybe you terrorized the babysitter. Maybe you terrorized the dog. Whatever it was, they expected more from you, and having them disappointed in you was almost always worse than having them angry. That's how we feel about Mercadito Counter. We're not even mad. We're disappointed. We've gone about how much we like the tacos at the original Mercadito restaurant, even though we hate the atmosphere and the crowd. And that’s why we were excited for Mercadito Counter, because we were expecting the same great food without the Kardashian-like crowd. This place had the potential to be a go-to spot for something quick and easy - something taco. But that's not what happened. Mercadito Counter terrorized the dog. The food at this new counter concept is poorly executed all around, from subpar steak, to dry and tasteless pastor, to mediocre fish tacos. It's almost as if the plan is simply to stay open late and feed a bunch of drunk people food that sucks and assume they won't notice. Maybe that's an excellent plan. Or maybe the drunk people will be disappointed too. Regardless, Mercadito Counter is not a place we'll be spending our time, sober or otherwise. All we want is the original Mercadito tacos in this Mercadito Counter space. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so. Go to your room, tacos." - Sam Faye
"The popular River North establishment is returning on Cinco de Mayo with a special takeout menu. Customers will be able to order tacos, chips and guac, rice and beans, and vacuum-sealed cocktails to go." - Jeffy Mai
