Bar Mercato

Imagine a place where can you find authentic Italian caccio e pepe.

A real deal French Croque Madam.

And an ALL American burger.

ALL under one roof?

"We have a passport to take it a different regions of food and try. Food from France. Food from Greece. Food from Spain."

Well quit daydreaming because you can get all of the global food you crave, minus the jet lag at Bar Mercato.

Located in the Hyatt Centric hotel, near Boston's Old State House, Bar Mercato serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, 7 days a week. This sophisticated spot was created by restaurateur Jairo Dominguez and is reminiscent of his travels around the world.

"Bar Mercato is a concept that came about from our travels. We always go to all the local markets, the food halls, and we just love the lively ambiance and the food and just the conviviality of the whole market.

So along with Executive Chef Casey Lovell, he's created a beautiful space with floor to ceiling windows, market inspired decor and a stunning bar in the center of it all.

"It's a funky space. And it's supposed to walk in and feel like you're in a old timey marketplace like say you were in London or you're in France or something and you walked into a marketplace. turned into a restaurant."

"We want to hopefully translate a little bit all the food halls in Europe and bring it here to Boston and hopefully they enjoy it get a little bit of taste from that."

And the tastes coming out of Chef Casey's kitchen are created with an international influence and lots of love.

"I love to cook. I am a classical French trained. I'm using New England ingredients, and Old French style cooking. I love working with my hands. I love making people happy. And I find cooking is the best way to make everybody happy."

So Phantom put away his passport and grabbed a fork in search of the PERFECT MEAL.

Every meal at Bar Mercato ought to begin with a few small plates.

There's German style bratwurst with peppers, onions and some grainy mustard for dipping.

And Bacon Wrapped Dates stuffed with blue cheese with an orange gastric that will tantalize your tastebuds.

"It's a sweet punch from the date and then it's a salty umami kickback with the blue cheese and then you get that pork. And then a little bit of the orange gastric kind of bounces it all outcome brings it together.

It's the perfect sweet savory snack to...have."

But the best thing to kick off your meal with, has to be the gourmet chicken nuggets. Available only at lunch, this upscale version is made using the chicken oyster- a part of the bird customers often ask about.

"Yeah, a lot of people been saying that what a chicken oysters. And it's funny, it's the best part. So it's right behind the chicken thigh on the backbone. It kind of comes out in a perfect little nugget. I decided to make it into like the perfect chicken nugget. So I'm breading it, deep frying it and serving it with a nice spicy yogurt ranch. It's beautiful.

There are plenty of ways to carboload at Bar Mercato. From their Fig and Pig Flatbread topped with prosciutto, blue cheese, fig jam and watercress. To addictive Polish pierogies served with a rather interesting dipping sauce.

"It's going on top of what chimiziki sauce. Chimiziki whats that? That's a mixture of two sauces. Chimmichurri and tzaiziki. We blended it together. It's a nice green bright sauce. Savory, tangy. It's got a lot of flavors going on."

But for the top choice, the Cacio e Pepe is truly a crowd pleaser.

"Everyone loves it because who doesn't love pasta and cream. It's a super creamy. Bunch of parmesean with a nice little kick of black pepper. It's a classic dish. It's a high end mac and cheese."

The entree section of the menu offers Steak Frites topped with roasted garlic butter and served alongside sage truffle fries. And indulgent Porchetta over black rice with shaved brussel sprouts.

"I actually butcher the pig and I roll it all up. So the loin is wrapped up basically with fresh bacon and then tie it and truss it so you got a nice beautiful roulade. I roast in the oven until it comes out nice and crispy. Like crackly on the outside. That perfect skin. It's just a big burst of flavors in your mouth.

But the best part of this global menu comes from the good ol' US.

"I do an American burger because Americans love burgers. We sell em like crazy. This is a seven ounce burger. And it's just like a nod to the Big Mac obviously everybody loves the special sauce so I make my own. You got some should shave lettuce, tomatoes, American cheese and bacon on a nice brioche bun. When all that comes together you know what makes the perfect burgers is. It’s not quite overwhelming but oh man it's it's a messy delight your mouth."

Since Brunch is served everyday, you can always swing in early for tasty potato hash topped with 2 fried eggs, mushrooms, peppers, onions, and andouille sausage. Or say Bon jour to your day with a classic croque madam.

"I mean, that's just a beautiful ham and cheese sandwich. Toasted on a hollow bread. Nice, beautiful ham cheddar cheese. And then let's go sit in our beautiful parm cream with a fried egg on top."

Chicken Oysters. Cacio e Pepe. An all American Burger. And the Croque Madam make for The Perfect Meal at Bar Mercato.