As we all keep slogging through life, we should occasionally stop and celebrate that journey with food and perhaps a cocktail. I came to Mercat for my birthday dinner and while the reservationist seemed stressed – when I called to reserve my 6:15 reservation for two, there was a moment of silence and she said, very anxiously, “I’m sorry, I’m just not seeing it. You have a reservation for 16 people?” – she also said, “And this is for a birthday celebration?” and I said, “Yes,” in such a way that really meant, “Hell, yes!”

The decorations are very modern – lots of orange, and small lights hanging down from the ceiling, and presumably you’re meant to feel as if you’re attending a very chic picnic where the hostess hands out very small portions of food.

We started out with a white sangria (which was said to be good here, and it was) and a complimentary Spanish-style bruschetta absolutely loaded with garlic.
Our server – who was wonderful, as was the whole team – sweetly brought out a mini-dessert for my birthday, complete with a mini-candle, and thus solved the dessert dilemma of “I don’t know, should we go for it?”

Tip: the servers recommend getting three or four dishes per person; my dining companion and I each got three and that was more than enough.