Mercat Negre

For all of the niceties and good wine and food (some but not all dishes), they need to invest in a housekeeper to clean the stairway to the roof and the bathrooms!
Excellent food, wines! Come early when kitchen not so rushed and they may entertain a few menu changes! I can clearly see where a large crowd will result in some diminished service and fewer service compliments.
Interesting roof top for dining, while they are making the best of it and maybe seeing how the restaurant is going to do, it does not looking like they went all out on the rooftop deck. While very creative and alluring, not a good idea to be up there in bad weather. Have not been in 2 months since this writing, so being fair here… they could have made upgrades.
Space is big and can accommodate a group if the kitchen and wait staff are able to accommodate. Will visit within 60 days, hope to change my rating… higher that is. Place has great potential.

Let’s just say that if Mercat Negre’s* name is a literal translation, I would be in handcuffs and munch on the soft dirt that flatters my face.
I have yet to see a Mercat Negre that offers this kind of view. But then again, I have never been to one.**
*Black Market
**I say this because of liability reasons. I could get arrested.

The night Salvador Dali wept.
«Black Market» is to Catalan cuisine what Dumbo is to Brooklyn – a work in progress. Sorry to report that it does not quite hit the mark and was rather a let down food-​wise after being tricked with a beautiful décor and attractive rooftop deck.
We were a small group and sold on the tasting menu. It was plentiful but sadly short on flavor and substance.
The salad had a mix of ingredients usually found in a bento box more Eastern than anything I’ve ever tasted in Barcelona. I wish they served the traditional pan con tomate. No butifarra for us. The jamon Serrano was tasty but the gazpacho was weak and lacking salt. The Potatas bravas would make Betty Crocker proud and the fish course reeked more of the Hudson than the Mediterranean. It was a party so I had to be cool and pretend to enjoy. Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be venturing there any time soon. Unless I hear better news on Unilocal or through friends. Worst of all was the water! It smelled and tasted of bleach or some cleaning agent. Am I supposed to gain comfort in their attempt at cleanliness? My friends were under-​whelmed by the cocktails and who wants to drink wine not matter how cheap out of a plastic cup?
Please get your act together and remember superior quality will serve us all better.

Expensive, Food Blows, Just Come for a drink.
They did a beautiful job on the inside of the place and the service staff are awesome nice. There is a great 2^nd floor meeting room, and a giant roof deck for the summer.
Problem is, they have to step up on the food. The quality was on par with a tapas version Chili’s.
We started with a spinach ball. It was a nice enought start. Deep fried, and thats about that. Chili’s all the way!
The Bomba was served with ketchup on top? Seriously… It was cute, but I wouldnt eat it unless I was drunk.
The paella was super salty and tasted like bullion.
Fideua Negre — noodles in squid ink just tasted like slop. Aioli will not save you on this one.
This is a great place to go for a drink and maybe a romantic walk by the water.

Should have read the reviews before I dropped all my dough there.
Gorgeous restaurant, but no card machine? Having multiple parties there then having to get cash out — totally annoying. Would have given it 3 stars but they lose a star for having such a lovely décor and not having the proper infrastructure.
Food —
Blue cheese, Chicken and spinach Croquetas were all good, fried well. I had the squid ink paella. It was a good portion, but rice was not al dente. it was al crunchy! Squid was so over cooked and chewy. I will be heading back to Tia pol for their squid ink dish.
Drink — we had the red sangria. not the best but for their prices, it should have tasted better. We had 2 pitchers of it anyway.

Thank God for the good company because the food here was terrible. The paella was brown and tasted like pure chicken bouillon, the gazpacho was way too salty and served in a glass that made me wonder why I was being teased and not given vodka instead. The sangria was weak and warm, the croquettes boring… all in all just not somewhere you should bother eating.
The service however was great. The staff was super friendly… but it’s not worth it for the food. Really.

Keep reminding myself that good company & the pleasant drinks we had after this terrible dinner make the night not a total waste of my time on the L train. I mean, just a really unfortunate experience at this joint. Nice-​ish Wednesday evening, so we sat by the big, open doors. I liked the look of the dark wood & music was chill. We were the only ones there the entire night, with the exception of some bike messenger gang at the bar.
The service was so odd, bordering on creepy. Waiter at first just hovered at the table in an uncomfortably closer talker way for 5 minutes. When we asked for a minute to pick a bottle of wine, he took that as a cue to not come back for 20. Again, we were the only patrons.
We only tried a few things. The croquettes & empanada mix were such a complete joke. These completely unappealing looking fried balls of cream of chicken soup & previously frozen pastry packets of processed cheese. The misappropriated ‘tomato bread’ was atually just chopped tomatoes on a little baguette slice. Duck was pretty tasty.
We never saw the waiter again & finally flagged down someone else to get a check. It was hard for me, but managed to leave only a 15% tip.
Wha happen?

What a beautiful restaurant. I think the décor in here is one of my favorites in NY.
Food was very good over all. We got to try the empanadas and the clams for appetizer and the some different paellas as well as the squid ink pasta. I would say the Squid ink pasta was my favorite, and the paellas a close second. My least favorite was the clams cause the olive oil taste was a little too strong for me.
For dessert we had the churros and the lemon cream and both were excellent. Would definitely recommend to anyone.

My trip to Mercat Negre was akin to saying that I knew Jennifer Connelly before she was Jennifer Connelly. While true, I was early to both parties. I’m not saying Mercat Negre will rival the perfect hair or green eyes, but it is certainly going to grow into itself shortly in this location. The restaurant is beautiful inside — dark wood floors, high ceilings complete with wood beams intersecting in sports, nice open bar with plenty of seating for bar dining/​drinking and plenty of tables. In addition, there is a private dining lair upstairs that looks just right for a party of 12 in a small room overlooking the entire restaurant. And in addition to that, this spring they will open a roof deck with a different quick menu and drinks.
So I heard roof deck and Williamsburg and my friend and I looked at each other and both thought, potential douche bag central. But no, not correct. This place is too nice and just pricey enough so that the roof deck and restaurant will never turn into a hipster haven.* I can’t wait to see what the roof deck does to this place. The owner or manager took plenty of time to just talk it up with us and he seemed pretty confident about how it will add to Mercat Negre and I tend to agree.
The food was good too. The initial test order was an assortment of the empanadas/​croquettes and an assorted cheese plate. A cheese plate to me is a cheese plate, it tasted like a cheese plate, but a good one flanked with three tiny pieces of bread. There were probably eight empanadas/​croquettes or so, small ones and they were all equally good. I had one with pork that was really good and the cheese ones were nice as well. I appreciated that I did not burn my entire mouth when I had to bite into one when they first arrived because I was starving. Usually it is no-​brainer that the mouth burn will happen with this type of encasement with hot cheese inside.
I also had the botifarra (Housemade Pork Sausage topped with green beans and Wine reduction) which was good, but for $ 13 you just got two half-​sausages. The flavor was really good though. Also had the vendella (Hanger Steak medallions with Seasonal Vegetables and Jus) which was tender and tasty, but again, the portion was small. I understand what the theory behind tapas are, but these portions are pretty small.
The beer selection is nice, about six bottled varieties and they now have one on tap. Overall, the food was very good. I think the price vs. portion size is a little high, but when you throw in the ambience of the restaurant, it is fine. Definitely a nice spot to come with a group of people, as well as a date.
The service was excellent all-​around. I appreciate a little extra attention when a restaurant is new and they did that. On a Friday night at 7:30 it started empty, but filled up over time. This gradual process won’t last long and if the service can stay this attentive and friendly as the attendance grows, this will continue to be a great place to enjoy.
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* I have nothing against hipsters in general. What I am against is the holy triumverate — hat, beard and skinny jeans.

«Not worth the price. Go there for drinks instead»
We went there twice. In both instances, we generally had a good time, but left feeling overall disappointed. we’ll probably only go back for drinks.
FOOD: Like their sister-​restaurant on Bond street, we found their food decent, but overpriced for what you were getting. Some of their dishes are definitely tasty, but I’d hardly call them amazing. The one-​dish I did have that even approached «amazing» was a special piallia they had. But at $ 30 for what probably amounted to 1 cup of pialla in a 15″ piallia pan, it wasn’t worth the price tag.
The wine list was decent, and the mix-​drinks inspired. In fact, this would be all I would recommend from this place.
ATMOSPHERE: Probably the best quality of this location, they have an enormous beautiful space, arranged railroad-​like, with the kitchen in the middle. Their rooftop deck promises to be a cool place to sip drinks when it turns warm.
SERVICE: We went there during the first month of operation, and ended-​up talking to one of the owners, who gave us a tour. The service is decent.

Wow! Blown away on V — day. My bff and I celebrated el dia de amor here because pompous, yet delicious, Aurora across the street was only offering a $ 60 prix fix limited menu and we didn’t have a reservation. Thank you Aurora! Mercat Negre is the best find for me since dancehall this past fall!
We adored the entire experience. They too had a special «tasting» menu that seemed to never end. We added the wine flight for an extra $ 15, which got us about 6 drinks total because the bartender was so cool giving us a taste of his special rose, bourban, ginger cocktail. mmm m! We started with croquettes, then tempura rose petals (!!! wtf!!! awesome), then beet soup and sardine toasts, DELICiOUS duck (best thing), seafood soup, and finished with yummy dessert AND shots of sorbet with guinness foam all with amazing complementary wines. Best service! Great food! high ceilings, cool vibe, large place, yada yada… we loved it! Coming back for Sangria pitchers (only $ 25) and to try the other yummy things on the menu!

Get ready to drop some cash, but experience taste-​bud-​bliss. The cocktails are awesome, as is ALL the food! The décor is beautiful, sexy and spacious + they have a party table upstairs (i believe it seats up to 18?). The party room is separate and overlooks the whole restaurant… its awesome!
Staff is super nice. While the plates seem small, they are hearty! We walked away stuffed, but did not expect to based on the size of our plates.
Also…wine list is pretty nice. Very good date place!
Oh and with Valentines Day coming up, they have a $ 30 pre-​fixe I believe… yum.

I want to like this place. The interior is unique and very convincingly styled. Like my nether regions (Which, I like, and other people seem to enjoy.). The place was completely empty when we got there, and only one other couple and two guys were there when we left, which, (whatever) could be a sign.
But the food, what a disappointment. The croquetas were tiny bland fried balls of creamed spinach the likes of TGI Friday’s dip circa high school. The empanadas were miniscule! I’ve seen bigger dicks on killer ants! And the arroz de sepia was so bland, so lame, I didn’t finish it (And I could’ve eaten my date at that point.). Everything needed salt. Everything could’ve used less oil.
This place is a Republican senator in the congress of «in» Williamsburg restaurants. What a ripoff.

Came here after the first big snowstorm of 2009, and it was fabulous. I really had a wonderful time. Places like these really give Brooklyn its character, and thats why I will continue to hang out in Brooklyn.
Its got class, coziness, charm, yumminess BUT minus the wait, the cost, and the attitude.
We had no idea how this place would be, but after reading several Unilocal reviews, decided this place deserved a try.
The entrance was a bit confusing, and we walked right past it, peered into the window and someone inside signalled for us to go right. Must have been the smart owner ;-)
We were a party of 4 and this is how we did it:
Cocktails:
Death in Spain — this was a good drink, well mixed, just the right amount of ETOH
Client 9 — my friend had this one and he said they were out of sloe gin that night, so it didn’t taste completely right
Tapas:
Bombas (4) — small meatballs, they were OK, nothing special
Empanadas (4) — it was just ok
Anec — this was a perfect piece of duck, almost as good as Peking duck, no just joking, but really the skin was crisp and the meat juicy and tender
Rap — monkfish, just heavenly
Fideura negre — we chose the large portion and it was more than enough food. Cuttlefish and its ink. Be prepared to have nice black stained lips, but really worth it. Yummy ;-)
Dessert — churros Catalan style. What can I say? Churros are sooo good and with chocolate!
We had a wonderful time and will be def be back. Probably not a bad place for a date either. Dark and romantic ;-)

My gf and I came here last Sunday with two friends before a concert. We were looking for a place not too far from the Music Hall of Williamsburg, and we picked Mercat Negre, a Catalan[1] tapas restaurant.
I really like the ambiance and the décor[2]: a big front window overlooking Grand St., a long bar at your left as you enter, dark wooden floors, whitewashed bricks, high ceilings, a second, more intimate room overlooking the main dining area, and an exposed kitchen (which is always a plus for me). We went there on a Sunday night after a snowstorm, so I am not sure how noisy it is during a normal weekend. Depending on that, this could be a good pick for a date.
We took advantage of the tapas menu and shared all the dishes. Of the dishes we tried the ones I liked the best were the anec ($ 10; seared duck magret with pears and duck sauce), the rap ($ 11; monkfish ‘à la plantxa’ marinated with pimenton), and the fideura negre[3] ($ ¹⁴⁄₂₈; short noodles with cuttlefish in its Ink and aioli). This dish was not only absolutely delicious, but it was also gorgeous, since it was first presented to us in a large paella-​like pan before our waiter served it into our plates!
For dessert, I recommend the «pa amb xocolata» ($ 6; toasted bread topped with olive oil, chocolate and salt) for an unusual and yet delicious take on chocolate.
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[1] Note that the menu is written in Catalan, not Spanish.
[2] Check out the restrooms: the room that leads to them is decorated with pages from the Spanish comic character «Mortadelo y Filemon», while in the restrooms walls you have «Calvin and Hobbes».
[3] The Venetian restaurant and wine bar Bacaro in Chinatown serves a similar dish of spaghetti with cuttlefish ink, but without the cuttlefish meat, unfortunately…

Just had an amazing dinner here with my best friend. Sure, it helps that she’s friends with the owner and we got a bunch of freebies, but I haven’t been this enthusiastic about a meal in a while. The food here makes me wish that I wasn’t a broke-​azz college student when I was living in Spain 5 years ago so I could have savored food that tasted as good as this. If only I knew that sardines and olives were much more delicious than shwarma and the free beer nuts given out at the local taberna.
The menu is from the Basque region of Spain, which is very fish and seafood heavy. And that’s more than A-​ok with me.
We enjoyed duck breast over pears, a seafood and codfish stew, and patatas bravas (thinly sliced potatoes with spicy ketchup and mayo, essentially).
The duck was cook PERFECTLY. Cripsy outside, succulent inside. The shrimp in the codfish stew were actually gigantic prawns that were cooked in this amazing garlicly sauce. The cod absorbed the sauce well.
We got comped for dessert and received a huge azz plate of churros. Being a glutard, I had to pass, but the bff said that they were awesome.
The manager came over and asked us how we enjoyed our meal. He said that he plans on opening a roof deck and will do events in the lot next door once it gets warmer out.
The restaurant was barely a quarter-​full when we were there. I hope business does boom for Mercat because the quality of both the food and and service were unparalleled.

I would like to come try this place again to get a better idea of how things are. I went with a bunch of people and didn’t get a reservation, which was kind of stupid on my part, but they did a good job accomodating us on the fly.
I tried several small plates — some croquetes, patates braves, and more — and had the arròs del caçador, which was served paella-​style in a pan. The rice was good but a little underwhelming in flavor. A friend had a duck burger that seemed like maybe it was a bit gimmicky.
The highlight of the meal was getting a flagon of wine to pass around and all take a drink from. That made me want to come back more than anything else.
The meal I had at Mercat in Manhattan was definitely better, but this was definitely fun and worth another visit.

Finally tried this place this past Sunday, after our friend’s recommendation. We went on the early side, around 5pm, so it wasn’t crowded at all.
The food was so deliciously good, is all tapas and is traditional cooking reinvented. We tried the Patatas Bravas (a must!), the croquettes (def try the ham one), the veal (very different and delicious), the paella with rabbitt (super tasty!), the sardines (so fresh my mouth is watering as I type this), the egg with potatoes sticks (very tasty and prob good for hungovers). For dessert we had the chocolate with toast, and the yogurt with sangria slushie (that was amazing!). If you can, sit at the counter so you can watch all the cooking action and chat with chefs/​owners who are so fun!
Their wines are superb, we had a bottle of the Rioja. The service was excellent, the atmosphere couldn’t be better. Overall this place is a winner. I can’t wait to go back!

Had an enjoyable evening there last night. Ate about 60% of the items on the menu. Found things to be mostly good, although there were some items that we weren’t too fond of. The service was good and the management was incredibly friendly and inviting. The place isn’t going to blow your socks off, but I’ll likely go back.
Also, there is a private room that overlooks the entire restaurant. It can seat up to about 20. Would be GREAT for a group. Note though that it is chef selection up top, I believe they mentioned they would be doing it for $ 35 per person, but not positive on that. I think they are still working out the details.

I have to say that I opened my account on Unilocal just to write this review! We used to live by the manhattan location and always enjoyed that but this was even better. The space is more airy and open and very comfortable. Apparently there’s a rooftop garden but we didn’t get to see it.
When ordering keep in mind that these are single serving tapas which is great b/​c you can try a bunch of small tasty bites. We (2) had the apple sausage empenada, the bombes (nice and garlicky), croquettes, red mullet, rice w/​cuttlefish, duck comfit slider, cod fritters, and fried egg on potato stix. I’ve had a fair amount of tapas in my life and this experience ranks w/​the best of them. My wife finished the meal w/​the churros which she enjoyed.
Keep in mind that right now they’re cash only which seems to be an attempt to fit into the Williamsburg scene.