Il Mercato — Restaurant in Bedford

Sep27/24 Tonight I was looking forward to a lovely meal with good service at Il Mercato, as usual, and I had just that. The bread with oil and vinegar was beautifully fresh, the salad balanced and well-seasoned, and the lobster with pasta and cream sauce a delight. Dessert, a coconut mango cheesecake, defies description. The service, as always, was impeccable. So what could possibly have gone wrong? The one thing that most people dining out never have to think of - accessible washrooms. I don't know how it's possible for a restaurant to stay in business today while ignoring the needs of the disabled? And the elderly? I ask this because firstly I am a disabled elder and secondly I spent half an hour trapped in a cubicle at Il Mercato tonight. Granted it may seem humorous to some, but I wasn't laughing. At least not then. Fortunately, a friend conducted a search and rescue and one of the wait staff alerted management. When I posed the question above to the affable person who came to talk to me, she laughed. Then she assured me that there actually is an accessible washroom and that was the one I could/should have used. Said washroom, however, is outside the restaurant's back entrance, down the hallway, around a corner...well, you get the picture. And there's not one notice anywhere, not even on the door or walls of the in-house washroom, that I could find, that says an accessible washroom is available elsewhere. The affable woman said there's little space for signs. Pardon? Il Mercato shares this washroom with another business because their own lack of space doesn't allow for anything more than two small cubicles and two low, child-sized toilets. The cubicles can't accommodate a walker, let alone a wheelchair. When I asked how I could possibly have known about this accessible washroom I was told by the very pleasant woman who was sent to talk to me that the staff keep an eye out for disabled people so they can tell them there's another washroom especially for them. Really? Truth. I haven't figured out if the disabled have to appear urgently in need of help in order to be approached by staff, but I do know this: as a long-time customer and an obviously disabled person, I swear not once have I ever been approached by staff with this information. Somehow I have managed to remain oblivious to the existence of an accessible washroom provided by Il Mercato even though the law now guarantees me such luxury. I don't see how the law is fulfilled by the mere existence of accessibility; surely awareness of its existence is essential for its use/usefulness. I know this is just a quirky post and, yes, finally I did laugh at the entire implausible situation. Concern urges me, though, to mention that this could have been a much more serious incident. Falls can be disastrous for us old gals and bones are easily broken at my age. I hope some creative, thoughtful persons at Il Mercato come up with a brilliant solution. They deserve a brilliant solution. Barring that, I hope the elderly and the disabled find a more hospitable...

First off, the service here was excellent and the restaurant is pretty inside. Drinks were good and served quickly. Our appetizers consisted of the Caesar Salad, Burrata Salad, Bruschetta and an order of French Fries. The French fries were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, absolutely perfect. The Caesar Salad and Burrata Salad got mixed reviews - which is totally personal taste - but the bruschetta was a total flop. The topping was soft and mushy, like they used canned tomatoes, and the whole thing was a soggy mess. We didn’t bother to finish that. For entrees, we ordered the Chicken Parmigiana with Fettucine Alfredo, the Pan Seared Halibut and a Margherita Pizza. These were all underwhelming. The pizza was okay, but nothing to rave about. The halibut, again, was just okay - not bad but nothing noteworthy. The fettucine Alfredo was good, but the chicken was awful - the breasts were pounded so thin and the breading overwhelmed the chicken, and when it was fried, it became like eating dry sand. Also, the cooking oil must have been really old because the crust tasted of old fish, which is a result of cooking with old oil. I ate one bite and wrapped the rest up, which got taken home and didn’t get eaten. For a nice restaurant, that’s a let down. For dessert, we got Key Lime Tart, Toffee Coffee Crunch Cake and Crème Brûlée. Crème Brûlée was amazing, toasted perfectly and delicious. The cake was good and impressive in size. The key lime tart filling was great but the tart shell almost required a jack hammer to get through - hard as a rock. Other than the tart shell being made of stone, the desserts were excellent. One last thing to note, at least for us, was that the restaurant was really hot. Our son had to step outside to cool off part way through the meal, and my husband - who is always cold and uses and electric blanket year round - was in a t-shirt and he was sweating. It put a damper on the meal. But, service was fantastic and it’s obvious the staff is trained properly. However, it was overall disappointing given all the...

We had dinner at Il Mercato for a friend's birthday. There were 18 of us, so, a fairly large group. They did an excellent job seating us near each other while keeping appropriate distance; and their COVID check in system was really fast and simple to use! Service was excellent - our server was attentive and helpful; my water glass was never empty (I drink a lot!) and when some of our guests had food preferences, they were excellent at offering up other suggestions. Dinner service was delayed between the two groups - it was about a 20-25 minute wait between appetizers and mains, but again - we were a fairly large group and I think they did well considering. Our appetizers were unbelievable. I had the bruschetta and my husband had the risotto croquettes - both were delicious. I could have eaten the tomato sauce (for the croquettes) with a spoon it was so good - definitely wouldn't be upset if there was more of it. Same with the balsamic drizzle on the bruschetta. Exactly what it needed - the whole thing was fresh and delicious. For my main, I had the gnocchi, I just chose not to have the roasted pumpkin in it. They offered nuts on top as an alternative, but, I could have done without as they just tasted like raw hazelnuts and didn't add much to the dish. Gnocchi itself was some of the best I've ever had - light, airy pillows of deliciousness. My husband had the carbonara, and was a bit disappointed. The bacon was too salty for him and really took over the flavour of the dish. Our friends at the table had the handmade ravioli (which looked magazine worthy) and mussels, both of which they enjoyed. The dessert menu was a bit pricey - $9/item but everything is made in house which is a rarity these days. We were full from dinner so didn't have room. That being said, I think we would return on our own for a dinner out with a much smaller party. Overall, we had a good experience. The restaurant is beautiful and well laid out. We would return but as I said,...