Pizzeria Mercato — Restaurant in Carrboro

Good value-for-money thin pizza. Funghi, Panna, and Marg are my highlights. I’ve been here a couple of times. It’s a clean “modern” spot. The pizza is nice, a tad underbaked, and has huge crusts. Their ranch is pretty nice for the big crusts though! You have to ask for Parmesan / chili flakes. Ask for 1 set per pizza: we found ourselves rationing the Parmesan across our pizzas because there was not enough and it was difficult to get ahold of a server.

However some dishes are absolute misses for me. Roasted olives get a thumbs down. Overpriced, way too hard, not even a toothpick to eat them with. “Side of garlic focaccia” is not even focaccia. It’s stale bread at best over roasted. Tiramisu cheesecake was far too heavy and lacked the coffee flavour. Salted caramel cookies are served cold and like they came out of a box.

If you come here, get the field greens salad, pizza, and end with gelato. Maybe a side of ranch for the crust. Following this order, I think Pizzeria Mercato is a 4 stars. In my experience, it’s really been more of a 3 stars, but given the dearth of restaurants in the area, their salad + pizza + gelato is a good shout. BTW, 2 pizzas for 3 people is a good portion.

Now for the tough part. Having ordered catering and been to the restaurant several times, unfortunately, the service is not reliable or attentive. When I ordered catering 1 week in advance, I made sure to email and call twice. I called on the day of ~1 h before agreed upon delivery time. They forgot! The manager of the restaurant said she couldn’t deliver half my order, only the pizzas plus salads. I told her I had 30 people coming over and we were relying on them for food. She told me she could throw a few more pizzas in. In the end, we got the same amount of pizzas as I originally ordered and just salad (instead of pizzas + salads + 3 main dishes designed for 30 people). Unfortunately it was not enough food for everyone. The pizzas were really good, sure, but it’s pretty disappointing to not have enough food to feed everyone. I asked for cutlery too, and I got 5 sets instead of 30.

At the restaurant, I thought things might be better. There is one very excellent and attentive server (short curly hair), but everyone else seems more concerned with talking to each other than visiting customers. In my most recent visit this weekend, the restaurant was 3/4 empty on a Sunday night. Most servers were gossiping amongst each other instead of coming to the tables; as a result, our dishes were essentially never cleared and we wanted to order a few more things but we never gained the opportunity. In a previous visit, our group had empty water vials, waited 30 mins for appetizers, never got a wine refill, never got our takeout boxes, etc. During this same dinner, we had a server spill wine while pouring it and never cleaned it up.

Minor note. I understand the aesthetic of casual dining. However, I think some of the outfits of the servers could be more thoughtful. I think wearing pyjamas or gym clothes is a line worth drawing, especially at a restaurant in this price range.

Another small thing, vegetarian and vegan options should be more clearly labeled.

Overall, you can get a nice, decent meal here. Don’t expect stellar service. This is probably better as a takeout spot. Also, not fit for groups 5...

Make sure to stop here whenever I come home to Chapel Hill. Three visits now and all fantastic experiences; it's now my favorite local spot. The menu is always changing so new items to order, with seasonal options. The appetizers and salads are always delicious. Just had the crostini and the squash was fantastic. Previous trip I had the okra dish that was in season and it was THE BEST okra I've ever had. The chef brings out so much flavor in the dishes, and also in the pizzas. And my gosh are they terrific. They are delicious thin crust crispy pizzas that are enough food for one person or perfect to share with another plate. They pizzas have a host of flavor combinations and are all layered with flavors to create unique bites. I just had the cauliflower pizza which was indescribably wonderful. The cheeses, white sauce and topings work great to highlight the roasted cauliflower that is bursting with flavor; something one would not say to describe cauliflower. Definitely recommend this pizza if looking for a not tomato sauce option. Finally tried the Gelato, and WOW what a treat. Vanilla, Tiramisu and Espresso with swirled chocolate were all very decadent and creamy. The vanilla truly stands out, the best vanilla desert I've ever had. This place really stands out amongst many good restaurants in town. Chef Gabe has really gone above and beyond to make a wonderful menu of differing flavors and plenty of options that is constantly evolving. It is great that he is using local ingredients as well, and his food comes across as high end southern Italian in the form of pizza and small dishes. Make sure to get there to get a parking spot and beat the waits, but the experience is...

Fabulous take out experience!

Person who took my order over the phone was super nice, considerate of my garbage pronunciation of the menu (sorry!), and helpful with specifics on when to get there, where to park etc.

The food was hot, correct, tasty and well packaged.

What you need to know: the place is tiny! Because of this, they get very busy. I had to call 15 times in a 20min span to get through on the phone. Your patience will be rewarded! Also because they are small, you can only call to order takeout. No online and you cannot go in (to my knowledge). After you order/pay over the phone, they’ll give you a time to park in a designated take out spot. then they bring your order out! :) (I called and let them know I was there and thankfully got right through, but not sure if that’s necessary) the parking lot is tiny too. I had to wait for the for previous person waiting to get the “take out” spot. There are places nearby you can park until your time. -Pizzas are all the same size and I would say medium sized. For average adults, I would say it serves two people, but one person could eat it if they were hungry. We (6) ordered three pizzas and a salad, most of us ate 2-3 slices and there was pizza left over.

Also tried the arancini (rice balls) and they were fantastic! Basic salad was good, but some may find it a little pricey for content. We weren’t huge fans of the lemon cake, but it may have been our personal preference. It was a little dry for us. (Its probably better in house with the sauce fresh on it TBF)

Overall excellent flavors and customer service!...