El Mercado — Restaurant in Melbourne

Wow. Firstly, the empanadas are spectacularly good - caramelised onion, blue cheese and walnuts was beautifully balanced, not overpowering blue cheeseness, but it featured. Yum. The Aji de Gallina yellow chicken was a flavour bomb and the pork and jalapeno was really good too - empanada excellence. How about a white chocolate and raspberry cookie - just the right chew factor, no white chocolate lumpiness overload, but boy it was there and so too the raspberry flavour. Epic. They have Medialuna too - they’re kinda like a croissant - but they aren’t. We didn’t buy any, but I had some serious neediness for these after the fact - honey glazed and dulce de leche flavors on the day.

Great food, I’ll certainly be dropping in again when I’m in the area. Available as bulk purchases (freezer stash) and individually.

Staff were really friendly, they smiled a bunch...

I’ve visited multiple times for their delicious empanadas! Consistently flavourful and pastry on point (not too thick, not too thin, perfect mouth-feel). You must try with their chimichurri.

For a sweet treat you cannot go past their medialunas. If you’re feeling indulgent, go for the ones with the fillings (dulce de leche, chocolate or custard) but the honey glazed one is perfect if you want something sweet but not too sweet (it does get a little bit sticky in the mouth, but just wash it down with some coffee!)

The staff are always very friendly and you get a sense that they are proud to share their taste of home with the community.

Unfortunately as I’m moving away from Melbourne I won’t be able to frequent El Mercado anymore, but I’ll definitely make a point of coming back when I...

These guys got me with their socials, and i just had to check em out. I had no expectations and just let El Mercado take me on their journey 😜. I goto say very nice pastry, got it nice and crunchy even writing on it , i loved that. Now, i had the slow cooked beef one, that was yummo, then the spinach and ricotta, then i had, which i think was the best, the walnut blue cheese that was soo good. I love it when people try something different and embrace different flavours. I have a feeling someone really loves cooking in that kitchen and is always bringing new flavours and experiences. So do yourself a favour and grab some empanadas, a coffee and oh yeah dont forget they mix it up with different desserts. They all look homemade and amazing. There baking all day so just ask what's coming out...