We went to El Mercado for the first time today (a Sunday). As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the smell. Not a yummy-food smell, but more of a sewage / mold smell. But we decided to stick it out and try.
There were only 4 other tables. Our waiter wasn't unkind, but seemed less than enthusiastic about being there. I ordered the carne cuisada and my husband had the tacos al pastor. Seeing as there were only 4 tables total, our food took longer to arrive than expected. When it did, it was OK. Not great, just OK. The rice and beans tasted as though they were left over from the busier weekdays and reheated. They both kind of tasted like dirt - literally. They had a very metallic taste to them.
As I mentioned, despite only 4 tables and two waiters, service wasn't great. My tea wan'ts refilled until it sat empty for a while, nor were our chips. One of the only four tables there walked out because their order had not even been taken after a fair amount of time.
Let's get back to the smell. Now I am all for dive restaurants, especially ones with great food. But this one is just dirty - and the food wasn't even good. The fabric draped from the ceiling was moldy and had these nasty brown water-type stains on them. The dirty dishes that were cleared were just thrown in plastic bins and left on a shelf. It didn't look like anyone had bothered to wash a dish all day, despite not being busy at all.
Between the grime and old food, I was almost afraid to eat. But the place has been around for a while, so I figured it wouldn't kill me. But seriously, I don't know how this place stays open. The food is not great - maybe better when it's fresh during a busy week. Maybe the next health inspection will do them in.
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