Mercat Barcelona Gastrobar • 1 Mont Kiara — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Came here the 2nd time. First time was amazing, loved everything from the staff, to the food. However, 2nd visit was a total letdown. Came here to celebrate me and my husband's anniversary, and had reserved an outdoor table. Upon arriving, the staff showed us to our table however it was a high table so we requested for another table and to combine 2 tables into 1 as we will be ordering many dishes so we needed bigger table. The 1st staff agreeed to it. After that came another male foreign staff and he dared to ask me and my husband why we needed 2 tables. I said I needed them because we will be ordering lots of side dishes. He quiet and left. After that he served our food and upon serving he dropped our fork and knife infront of us on our table, not professional at all. That's not even the worse part yet. While we were eating, he kept checking on us, and we ordered a cheese board with some meat, while we finished some of our dishes, that staff came to our table to collect the empty plates and HE TOLD US TO FINISH OUR CHEESEBOARD QUICKLY SO THAT HE COULD TAKE OUR PLATE AWAY. WHAT KIND OF WAITER FORCES THE CUSTOMER TO FINISH THEIR FOOD QUICKLY SO THAT HE COULD TAKE THE PLATE AWAY???? Me and husband were surprised and became totally moody with his behavior. He had sour face the WHOLE TIME and was rushing us to finish our food even though it wasn't even closing time yet. And everytime we asked for plain water, he would always show sour face and took very long to bring a plain water. I was so disappointed on my 2nd visit here, it spoiled my anniversary celebration with my husband. The food however was good, but upon ordering food the staff kept interrupting us while we're choosing our meal, pressuring us to take different meals than what we had planned on. And when it was time to pay, the same sour face staff came to collect payment, and there was not even a thank you from him, he just left after I tapped my card. Unlike the first visit with another staff. I was so sad my dinner was ruined. I would like to come back but I hope the staffs are properly trained on how to serve...

Another Spanish Favourite of Mine

Apart from Marta's Kitchen, another Spanish restaurant in KL that deserves special mention is Mercat Barcelona. They have 2 outlets - Bangsar (which is unfortunately closed down) and Mont Kiara. My virgin visit was to their Bangsar outlet so it was a bummer.

Their Mont Kiara outlet on the other hand, is spacious and can accommodate bigger group. The staffs were trained to be courteous and hospitable , and to greet everyone ina very friendly manner.. making one to feel at home.

◾Paella de Pollo, Chorizo Y Setas contains chicken, chorizo and mushroom. The bright yellow/orange colour of the Spanish rice served in the metal pan excites me.. and it was truly delicious that even the kids who initially didn't want to eat the rice, ended up competing till the last spoon. ◾Mix de Iberico Y Quesos - jamon iberico/serrano, salchichon, chorizo, fuet, manchego, goat, mahon, blue cheese. Asked them to omit the stronger cheese ie. goat & blue cheese and they duly obliged by giving us more of manchego instead. ◾ Mercat's Pork Burger - their version of homemade pork burger, lettuce, tomato, roast pepper, roast onion, cheese & guindilla pepper. Thumbs up from the hungry sob. ◾Mercat Pork Sliders - 3 mini burgers with cheese, red pepper, roast onion and brioche buns. Everything mini always got the attention from the young ones. ◾Tortilla de Patatas - Spanish omelette with potato & onion, served with 3 fresh tomato spread on the side. Another classic Spanish tapas done right! ◾Flamenquin Iberico - iberico abanico with iberico ham & cheese, breaded & fried! Initially skeptical of the dish - come in! Abanico deep fried? It was quashed as soon as the dish was served. In fact, it was the dish of the evening for me.

It's almost a sin not to bring a bottle of red wine to pair with the awesome neal, hence the Bordeaux...

Food : 3/5 Service : 1/5

Food is decent but service is horrible. Especially for mont kiara where you think you’ll be given the best service. But no, you’ll be greeted and treated as if you owed them money to begin with. When asking about the menu and what to order, the waiter was unhelpful and did not provide any information about the dishes, simply pushing us to order the most expensive items on the menu. But let’s start with some positive parts of this review. The ham platter ( any platter is recommended ) was delightful, just skip the cheeses and the tomato bread , they add no value just cost. Next the appetisers, which were honestly the standout of the meal, get the patatas, they were smooth, had tons of potato flavour and were just truly enjoyable to eat. The octopus leg was tender however the mash potatoes at the bottom needs so much more work but overall a decent dish. Here comes the bad food part then, the main dish of the night, the seafood paella , was so so disappointing. There was no crispiness at the bottom, and tasted like an over salted risotto. Seafood was fresh but that’s all. Next their chicken dish, which I already forgot the name, looks and taste exactly like how it looks, a hot slime of unappetising tv store bought dinner. Will not recommend. Lastly we had churros for dessert. They weren’t bad but the sauce was dreadful , Milo drink would have tasted better than the chocolate sauce that was served. When we complained to the waiter, he simply said that our sauces are watery. We did end up getting the sauce changed but the waiter / manager did not even apologise and walked away immediately. Not to mention everything cost more than 500+. Truly an underwhelming experience from my part. Would come again if I get the cravings but not something I suggest that you put on your...