Fun Lunch Friday – Mercado, Merchant Square

‘Fun Lunch Friday’ seems to have fallen a bit by the wayside since Christmas and my wedding, but today, Sarahjane and I resurrected our semi-regular lunch date with a trip to Mercado in the beautiful Merchant Square, Glasgow.

This was Sarahjane’s choice, and had been on her mind ever since picking up a flyer advertising their lunch deals. I’d never heard of it before but, always keen for a bargain, I was pleased to see they offered an ‘express lunch’ of 3 tapas per person for a grand total of £6.95 - available Monday to Friday, 12pm until 3pm. With Mercado being only a couple of streets away from my work building, and having such a great lunch deal, this seemed like another perfect stop on our ‘Fun Lunch Friday’ tour.

On arrival, the whole place was empty, so we had absolutely no trouble finding a seat. Given that the Merchant Square is an enclosed indoor dining hub, when we were shown to a small table outside the main restaurant, we were given the impression of Al Fresco dining, while being spared the usual cold temperatures experienced in Glasgow at this time of year!

After glancing briefly at the express lunch menu, I knew this was exactly what I wanted and I lost no time in making my selection. After a brief discussion with the waitress about the definition of ‘a broken egg’, I ordered that, along with chicken and ham croquettes and a slice of Spanish omelette. Sarahjane opted for slightly different things and instead ordered chicken strips with alioli, calamari and patatas bravas (roast potatoes in spicy tomato sauce).

The food arrived without much delay and, after giggling for a good few minutes at Sarahjane’s abrupt response to the ‘are you sharing?’ question, we dug in with great gusto! My ‘broken egg’ turned out to be a fried egg, served with chorizo and potato, but I wasn’t disappointed. My croquettes and omelette were also equally delicious and all were beautifully presented. I was particularly impressed that I couldn’t find any rogue bits of onion in the omelette, as I’m not particularly a fan of hidden veg, and have noticed the dish served with onion in other restaurants.

All in all, I think I can speak for both of us when I say, this was a fantastic place for lunch! It was the closest place we’ve been to so far, and it was also the best value for money! The tapas were all delicious and, even if you decided not to go for the express lunch, there’s plenty to choose from on the main menu.

Now that I’m not saving for a wedding anymore, I’m sure I’ll be back to Mercado on another occasion. There are also plenty of other restaurants to choose from in Merchant Square, so we will have loads of ideas for future ‘Fun Lunch Fridays’!

Sarahjane's 'food face' has returned!

I think my 'food pose' needs work!

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