The ambience was so beautiful and intimate and as soon as we walked in were made to feel like the only people there. Had two staff members tend to us straight away and take our coats. The staff were lovely throughout and made sure we were always comfortable and served well. The food was delicious. I had the gnocchi which was a big portion considering how rich it was but loved having a fine dining experience with good servings and not feeling hungry after. Definitely one of the best Daylesford has to offer and great for a romantic night out.
As soon as we arrived, the staff were so welcoming and got to know us a little bit while seating us. Ordering the food was easy and quick and the wait time wasn’t long either. The food was great! This night was actually a birthday surprise, as well as our first time here in Daylesford so it was nice to sit down in a nice restaurant, enjoying the good food!
Absolutely superb food. Some of the most delicious scallops and barramundi I’ve ever eaten. The service was impeccable and the setting was very welcoming and comfortable. Mercato is on the pricey side but if you’re in the mood to splurge a little, then this is definitely worth experiencing.
unable to fault a thing.
Staff: knowledgeable, professional.
Food: great flavours, good quality, great recipes. I enjoyed everything I tried.
Ambience: jazz at an appropriate volume to match the interior and flavour of the town. Felt great. There was also a gorgeous fire place to set a cosy tone.
Wine list: superb, local, knowledgeable staff.
Highly recommended as a favourite for visiting tourists , I was really looking forward to having dinner here. Mercato with its plush rich furnishings and intimate setting , definitely exudes elegance as you walk in. With a full degustation menu available we decided rather to go with the A la Carte menu. Entrees included prawn and Avo salsa which was incredible and the stuffed zucchini flowers. I had the fillet steak with the red wine jus which was cooked perfectly. Dessert included the creme brûlée and cheese board which included a pistachio Persian fairy floss. Staff were lovely with that friendly country charm so present here in Daylesford. Definitely worth going.
An Outstanding Restaurant. Service was exquisite. The Wine Pairing we're Outrageous. The Food Divine. Only a lacklustre deconstructed Tarte Tatin prevented a perfect 5 stars. Regional Excellence and hospitality at its finest.
Food was divine. Especially the scallops, so I highly recommend it. Customer service was on point. Everyone was so friendly and very professional. Walked out a happy customer
This is a charming but serious restaurant. We ate the chef’s degustation. It was delicious, interesting and filling. Highlights included the carrots cooked five ways, the scallops with squid ink, the mushroom cannelloni, and the eucalyptus smoked kangaroo with beetroot. For dessert we finished with a masterful, deconstructed tarte tatin. The service was friendly and efficient. This is a top restaurant that deserves to be taken seriously.
As soon as you walk into Mercato, it gives off a fine dining with a country inviting feel. It felt warm and the staff were friendly and professional.
Every meal felt special. Was particularly impressed with their duck, super moist and cooked perfectly and had the most exceptional subtle taste to it.
My partner had the kangaroo and quote, “best kangaroo I’ve ever had!”
The only slight disappointment was that when it came to dessert we were keen to have some Gippsland Blue cheese that was on the menu only to be told later that they had run out. However, I still highly recommend this restaurant as food, wine, staff and ambience was just exceptional.
What a lovely night we had here tonight at Mercato.
Having been a weekend resident of the area for nearly 4 years, I can’t understand why we haven’t been here before??
Beautiful food, lovely atmosphere great company.
We live our waiter Alex ... what a wicked sense of humor but a consummate professional. (Don’t forget to check out ‘dirty John’ Alex).
See you again soon Mercato ✔️✔️
Wonderful meal-Duck was delicious！
beautiful surroundings and excellent hosts! Mercato is a beautiful space to have a dinner.
we will look forward to dining here the next time we are in Daylesford.
Have eaten here a number of times now, food is always great, lovely ambience in the dining room and good service. New owners have recently taken over, but no need to worry its as excellent as ever. Highly recommend
Food was delicious and fresh + beautifully presented. Despite arriving late and close to closing hours we still received top and prompt service
Very professional staff they grab your jacket at the door and bring it back for you at the end of the evening. The food tasted great but it wasn't as imaginative as some other fancy restaurants I've been to with similar prices.
We felt a bit rushed. I know the staff were just being attentive but we like to enjoy our dinner and chat and drink our wine without feeling like we need to leave by a certain time.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
We had an outstanding meal here! This contemporary and cosy restaurant is located on Raglan Street. With its fireplace and nicely decorated interior, it set the tone for our lunch here.
The service was friendly, attentive and very warm from all the waitresses that served our table. As soon as we entered to the time we left, we felt welcomed and looked after.
We decided upon the three course meal as that allowed us to choose what we wanted.
We started off with Twice Baked Soufflé, Roasted Quail, and Western Plains Pork Belly. All were superb and the highlight was the pork belly with its tender meat, crispy crackling and the juicy scallops on the side.
For mains we had Fresh Fish Special, Seared Fillet Of Kangaroo, and Eye Fillet Of Kyneton Black Angus Beef. I was disappointed to hear that the Breast Of Duck was unavailable however the Kangaroo was cooked very well and tasty. The fish was amazing and the leeks and sauce with it were fantastic.
Finished off the meal with Saffron Rice Pudding, Chocolate Torte, and 'Fair-trade' Dark Chocolate Fondant. All the desserts looked stunning and tasted really good too. The standout was the rice pudding that combined middle eastern flavours surprising well. We ended with Warrenhelp Ashed White Mould Cheese. It has the usual accompaniments and the cheese was creamy and wonderful.
Overall it was a delightful meal and can recommend to anyone in the area.
We went to Mercato for our (many years!) anniversary and we loved it! They have a huge wine list, and the food is fresh and interesting. My husband loved the duck, I had the fish special - which was a tiny bit overcooked but still great. We shared the Eton Mess for dessert and it was delicious. They do lots of gluten-free cooking, a big plus for us.
Thoroughly enjoyed our meals on Mondays "locals night" - main and glass of wine for $30 with the ability to add in a la carte items. Service was fabulous, atmosphere was lovely. Would thoroughly recommend on locals night! (otherwise may be a bit pricy)
Great memories here at Mercato! We had some really delicious food, my entree,main and special request for dessert was amazing, Great service! I would highly recommend. The duck breast was so succulent and moist! Yummy ✔️ 5/5
Food And Drink Melbourne
+4.5
My bestie and I arrived at Mercato @ Daylesford ready for the last meal of our 2 day trip in Victoria’s spa country. We had been overwhelmed by the quality of the meals we had consumed whilst in the area and so we were anticipating another excellent offering. Mercato can be found at 32 Raglan St Daylesford, just a two minute drive from the main strip. The facade of the building is an 1864 timber cottage which has been converted inside as a contemporary dining venue. Polished floorboards and white tablecloths create a welcoming atmosphere in this well laid out restaurant that has a focus on local produce.
It behooves me to say this upfront. This review may be tainted by excess consumption of excellent alcohol.
Mercato, in Daylesford / Hepburn Springs, is quite simply the finest and most wonderful restaurant I have had the pleasure of dining at. In our second crack at the Mercato experience, not only did the food wow us, (stuffed zucchini flowers and emu carpaccio for entree, steak and eggplant, miso and rice for mains, and a bottle of 04 Blackjack Cab Merlot to wash it all down), but the service was great, the wine list was amazing, and I even got a sneak peek at the chef's Monday night locals special of Goulash, which had me bemoaning my choice of delicious eye fillet with porcini gallete and spinach.
It's just wonderful. I couldn't fault it if I tried... And surprisingly, I tried...
Finishing up with a marvellous Pedro Ximanez sherry and lemon myrtle creme brulee was easy business before we rolled into the cab and went home.
Bloody amazing. A must do experience.
amazing angus beef as main dishes, nice table service. Plain pork belly is average, will come back when update menu is coming...............
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Interesting to say the least and underwhelming as we expected more. The service staff were on point with their knowledge of the food and wine along with the ambience of the daylesford-esque rooms warmth coupled with the fire place crackling away built up some thoughts of an experience to be savoured. The staff though didn't have the warmth you'd expect them to have and were rather uninterested but still present? It's the best way we can describe it.
Browsing over the menu our eyes shot straight to the Western plains pork belly and so we ordered it which came with charred avocado, grapes, hazelnuts cauliflower puree, crispy prosciutto, dill oil & vin cotto. We can't stress enough...season the food! A good crack of salt and pepper. It's not difficult! Other than that though, the textures of all elements combined especially the lightness and creaminess of the cauliflower purée was delicious (after we seasoned it).
For mains, the fresh fish special was blue eye served up with brown rice, red kidney beans, umeboshi plum, red miso eggplant, smoked tofu, diakon salad & hijiki. Also had the roasted spatchcock, shaved Brussels sprouts, baby vegetables, kaiserfleisch, hazelnut & oregano jus. The fish was fresh and juicy which was complimented well with a delicate hijiki sauce but again better only after some seasoning. As for the spatchcock...let's just summarise it by putting it into the 'tastes like a certain brother in law cooked it' bucket. Overcooked and super dry.
Quite an overall disappointing experience especially with Mercato being known to be one of the greats in the Daylesford medium budget region which doesn't give us much confidence for the rest but lets be hopeful. Till next time, this is Our Foodie Find!
Romantic restaurant with decent food. Spatcock & pork belly were the highlight. Worth a visit if you are in Daylesford and already been to the other popular ones.
This place was nice, it’s a lovely spot.
The food was okay, maybe we ordered wrong but I don’t know it just didn’t have the wow factor I was hoping for.
The Entrée we had was the Pork Belly & the Zuchini flowers, both dishes were nice but nothing to rave about.
Mains we had were the Lamb & the beef, the lamb was great! The Beef was also good again though not the best thing ever but nice meals
Deserts were probably the highlight, the Brulee was delicious and the Peaches with Basil Sorbet were also fantastic!
The staff were great, the location is lovely and the food was nice, just wasn’t blown away by it
Stylish restaurant with a fantastic menu - all meals were presented beautifully and tasted wonderful. Wine choices were very good. The dessert menu was also great but we could only fit in affogato. Friendly and attentive service. It's an expensive restaurant which we had selected it celebrate a special birthday - we were happy with our decision to celebrate here.
Went there on Locals night (Monday night) which is $30 for a main and a glass of wine. Not that great unfortunately... I expected a higher standard since its meant to be fine dining. I ordered the fish (trumpeter) main but it had no flavour. Served with tiny potatoes, beans, fennel and onion in juices, wasn't even a sauce. Pretty bland I'd say. The tempura zucchini flower w cottage cheese we ordered was very good though.
Great ambiance and attentive staff.
We both had the degustation and the kitchen were very flexible in catering to dietary requirements.
The staff even expertly modified the matching wines accordingly and paired our spatchcock with a delicious sangiovese!
Fantastic experience all 'round and will definitely be back!
Lovely atmosphere, found the service to be extremely prompt and professional. Had a 2 course meal (mains & dessert) which were small servings but quite adequate and absolutely delicious. Great presentation and well worth the dollars.
Had a great lunch here and the food was great. Each dish was well presented, cooked well and had great flavour. The seared scallops in particular were cooked perfectly and the elements on the plate all had great flavour.
We had a wonderful 3 course meal. The menu was fantastic with a superb variety of combinations of ingredients within each dish. Each course was presented wonderfully in a great decor'd restaurant. The service was attentive and very helpful. Couldn't fault anything about our dining experience and the best we have had for a long time. Highly recommend.
Always fantastic!. Have been going to Mercato for a number of years whenever we get the chance to get away to Daylesford. Since Mercato opened its doors, the food has always been fantastic. From entree to main to desert, the quality and flavor of the food is always so fresh. I would have to say its one of my favorite restaurant destinations.
Delicious, cosy, friendly, perfect!
Just OK for the price you pay. Nothing really set this restaurant apart from the surrounding restaurants. Nonetheless, I had a good dining experience here thanks to professional staff and delicious food. Just what you'd expect from a restaurant in this area.
Simply gorgeous. Wow spectacular food. I am still salivating when I think about it. Definitely try the degustation menu and have the best of everything
Diner review. Stopped by Mercato for dinner based on reviews on here. To say the least, the food was delectable and the atmosphere was ambient and pleasant. The waitress we had was attentive and service was generally excellent. highly recommed this place who is down in the country and want something a little more upscale
WONDERFUL. The food, service and everything was fantastic. I can't say anything bad about this place. Give it a go, EXCELLENT.
Consistently Excellent. We have been to Mercato a number of times over the last 3 years and it has never been anything but exceptional. The food was beautifully presented and wonderfully tasty. Whilst Mercato is a fine dining restaurant the service is warm and friendly including toward children and I think this is what makes the restaurant special and sets them apart. There is no reason not to try this restaurant and we will be back again on our next visit.
Delicious food, lovely service. Could not fault the place!
Absolutely the best service and top notch food- amazing overall!
Wow, what a beautiful restaurant!! Perfect place for a romantic dinner. Food was FANTASTIC along with the staff. The choice of food and wine was great. Highly recommend the "spatchcock".
Mineral Springs Foodies
+4.5
Food & service impeccable. Highly recommended.
I absolutley adore this resteraunt. perfect ambiance candleit with a fire place.
been here several times and never fails to impress ! my husband and i loved our meals. We had the emu pasta for entre the kangaroo for main and my husband had the duck. perfect. for desert we had the creme brulee.. i dobt recommend this as it was runny however they substituted this for the chochlate cake wich was great.
the martini is fantastic and the entire menu is well pruces considering what your getting.
can not wait to go back and highly recommend for those who travel to daylesford
ROMANTIC GETAWAY. Wonderful night out for that special occasion. Priced very well considering the delicious meals we ate. Never eaten a tender steak like that in my life!! Would definitely come back to this restaurant again. Loved it.
We have been to Mercato's many times the food is good to very good, sometimes excellent. The wine list is excellent. Lovely ambience & service, it never disappoints.
Lovely place for dinner for a couple, relaxed atmosphere and service was great. I had the spatchcock for main and my partner had the angus beef, both were amazing and we left nothing on the plate, delicious!
Had dinner on Saturday night with a friend who was very impressed. Had the seared prawns and pork belly for entrees, rib eye and spatchcock for mains, creme brûlée and sorbet for desserts. Food was to die for and service was impeccable. The rib eye practically melts in your mouth. The waiting staff was attentive and observant to diners needs. Keep up the good work guys! Will be back again!
The degustation was absolutely lovely. Impeccable service and extensive drinks / wine list. Cannot wait to return again.
What an amazing experience. We dined here on the Tuesday the 30th of July and chose the 7 course degustation. The service from arrival to finish was absolutely brilliant. The food was absolutely divine. Highlights were the scallops, dukkah kangaroo and the gorgeous desserts. At the beginning of the evening our waiter asked us if we had any dietary requirements and even though it was a set degustation menu, they were happy to serve my partner a dessert of his choosing rather than the chocolate fondue which he couldn't eat.
An absolute must if you are visiting daylesford. 11/10
Went here for a special occasion with my partner and was not disappointed! Fantastic food, service was exceptional and the wine list very plentiful. Looking forward to returning to Daylesford again soon to eat here!!
Beautiful interior, excellent service, great food and well priced. The only real criticism being I thought the wine was a little over priced!! Would happily return and def recommend. Overall a great meal
YUM. Best dessert I've had in years - sticky black rice with poached quince and lemon myrtle ice cream. Divine.
Absolutely loved it, the food was delicious and the restaurant was so romantic and cozy! A great way to spend our anniversary.
Proper Food. A really nice dining room, attentive but low- key service, and top-quality produce used by a kitchen which has the courage to cook 'properly' (no sous-vide nonsense, no compilations of foods robbed of their own flavours so as to bend them to the will of a chef showing off, no visual fakery) - what's not to like? Will definitely go back if we find ourselves in Daylesford again.
Fabulous food, service everything!
It doesn't matter how many times we eat here, the food, wine & staff always of the highest standard. The produce is home grown & local & this is evident in the devine flavours of each dish. The floor staff are attentive but never intrusive. Mercato never disappoints. The best restaurant in Victoria.
Lovely ambience to the restaurant and the food was of a high quality. The standout was the Kyenton Angus Eye Fillet, it was so tasty and cooked to perfection.
Love the Monday Local's nite. We went to Mercato after reading about the $25 Monday night special. Not only was it good value but the food was excellent. My boyfriend and I opted to have stuffed zucchini flowers for entree which were flavoursome and deliciious. We followed with the Beef Bourginion and the Kingfish which were also lovely. The beef was tender and the serve was very generous.The waiting staff were also very good.
We would definitely go again.
Great food, awesome staff and service. What else can you ask for!
Fantastic!. Great atmosphere, efficient and friendly service and simply consistently wonderful food.
It's refreshing to dine somewhere local that know their stuff.
Extensive wine list. Price is what you would expect for a fine dining experience but totally worth it!
I forgot to mention the comfortable chairs!
We will be back!
Love Daylesford. #1 restaurant we went to over the weekend. Highly recommend.
Excellent food, excellent service! Had the lamb, which was cooked to perfection - blushing pink on the inside. The sides were delicious also: pear, Parmesan and rocket salad as well as pumpkin with pine nuts and goats cheese. Ambient atmosphere, attentive staff and awesome food. What more could you want?
I love it, we had the lamb which was absolutely awesome and the pumpkin with Persian fetta was amazing as a side!
Best kangaroo dish ever. Every time I visit Daylesford, this place is a must! Walking in, it feels elegant yet warm and classy. We were seated by the fire place (which was great since it was a chilly night) and was introduced to the best kangaroo I have ever tasted in my life! It was so juicy and flavorful that I could not believe it was kangaroo! Since then been back and the bar was raised when I had their duck breast. WOW! Outofthisworld!
Fantastic!. The Monday night locals special ($25 for main and wine) means great food at a great price!
I had some wonderful fish with lemon, myrtle and cream sauce and my boyfriend had the angus steak - we both loved our meals. The poached pear with pomegranate and orange sponge we had for dessert was also quite nice.
Still the best. Two years ago we ate at Mercato and it went down as one of the best restaurants we had ever been to...we hoped that a return visit would be as good as the memory...it was!!! We had the degustation again with matched wines, the food was blow you away amazing, perfectly matched local wines. You don't mind paying for this quality. The service was a little stiff to start with but our waiter softened as the night went on and deserved the tip...we will be back next year!!
Fantastic location, excellent service and the food was outstanding. A romantic and delicious evening.
Mercato Delish!. Really enjoyed our time at Mercato on Saturday evening. Informative, polished service with a hint of familiarity. Impressive meals, the lamb (on the specials list) was really simply divine. My husband dared to try the entree carpaccio of Romsey emu and so glad he did. Sublime!
Got to love the local!. Good honest food and friendly service, I don't think its a great big occasion restaurant, however its great for a mid week meal.
Very Good Experience. My partner and I were lucky to try a number of different places in Daylesford.
The Lake House, Sault , The Convent & Mercato.
Mercato was our choice for food, value, atmosphere . It can be hard to compare establishments sometimes because they all differ in style.
But ' Mercato ' for the overall experience ( my meal was great, potatoe & leak soup , braised beef cheeks - to full to have desert - strawberries and choclate at home ) was our choice by far.
Very Good Exprience. Value for money.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
A great experience.. We visited Mercato on a Thursday evening in August and were surprised at the number of people dining (we almost expected to be on our own as it was mid-week!). It was good to see as it is a reasonably large restaurant so needs a few people for atmosphere. This was our first visit and I would thoroughly recommend Mercato. The sommelier/maitre d' greeted & seated us and proved to be very friendly, attentive and helpful. We started with a Spanish dry sherry which was very good and shared a mixed platter for entree. This was excellent in all respects except for the trout which was perhaps a little light in flavour. For main course I had the Tuki lamb matched with a Central Otago pinot (a favourite region of mine) and this was a truly excellent combo. The lamb was to die for. My other half had the duck which was very good but not exceptional. Dessert was a shared mixed ice-creams (interesting and individual flavours) matched with an Italian sweet sparkling and these were all great. Finished with espresso and a PX which neatly underscored our experience. Mercato is not inexpensive however it was an excellent meal and their wine list is great. If you are looking for something well above the average which takes full advantage of the great local produce then Mercato fits the bill. Would return in a heartbeat! Thoroughly recommended.
Best place I've eaten in past 12 months. Food excellently prepared and service to match.
Amazing. It was years ago, we went for our 6 month dating anniversary. But I have never forgotten the place and have recommended to all friends going to Daylesford.
Remember having amazing steak and dessert and the place and service being great as well.
If in the area again, will definitely be back there.
Amazing place to eat. I went there for lunch today and the food, service and ambience were all just perfect. Such a romantic little place and I can't wait to go there again with my hubby.
Great Night Out!. An absolutely fantastic restaurant, which really gives Lake House a run for its money. The food has great variety, the atmosphere is classy but not pretentious, and the staff are really engaging.
This is an ever-reliable place for a really good night out in Daylesford. Looking forward to going back.
Food was exceptional, despite waiting almost an hour for it to appear. That said, the wait staff were extremely attentive and offered us wine and dessert on the house to make up for the wait. Luckily we weren't too hungry when we arrived so the delay just gave us more time to chat, and the food was worth sticking around for. Tuki lamb and Angus beef, generous serves cooked to perfection, don't bother ordering sides and PLEASE don't pick up the salt and pepper until you've tasted the perfectly seasoned dishes. Wish I'd had room for more, would go again.
Fantastic food and beautiful people. Couldn't ask for a better night out. Have been back a few times and never dissapointed.
The food was wonderful with, I quote, 'the best lamb I've ever had.' the pork was perfectly cooked yet the special: blue eye fish, was on the dry side. When the staff asked, we told them and they were very apologetic. The wait for the main course was short. For desert, we had a chocolate fondant and a strawberry pannacotta style dish. We did order a cheese platter, but they forgot the order and failed to produce. The fondant was amazing and the strawberry pannacotta was very good. But the wait was way to long (45 minutes). They were still, very apologetic, and the owner came over to take off a third of the price, which was much appreciated! We enjoyed the meal. Friendly and apologetic staff and would come back despite some kitchen issues. The atmosphere was also nice and inviting.
One of our favourite restaurants in Melbourne. This place has never failed us everytime we visit. Fresh local produce everytome. The food is just amazing, the atmosphere is just perfect. Still to us one of the best dining experiences. Great wine list too.
We held our post Wedding lunch (reception) at Mercato. We met with owners Carroll and Dan prior to confirming venue. We had both experienced fine dining at the Mercato so wanted to find out whether it would be a suitable place for our guest party of 20.
Carroll and Dan were extremely helpful throughout the whole planning.
They provided advice and options but did not overwhelm us. They guided us on food and drink. They allowed friends to help with table decorations. All this helped make the wedding 'ours'.
The recent addition of a regionally inspired tapas menus was perfect for us - a mix of quality dining and Latin romantic casualness.
The service and 'seen but not heard' approach allowed us to enjoy the event with the focus on us and our guests. We could also play our own tunes.
Thank you Mercato for a memorable day.
Loved this place from the moment we stepped inside. Rustic setting with a cozy atmosphere. The service was next level, prompt and informative. You can enjoy tapas or A La Cart menu. We had the latter which was out of this world with some very interesting, but great options. We did observe other guest enjoy their tapas and can say you can't go wrong with either. They have a very good wine menu as well. It is a bit pricey but certainly worth the visit. Would be a great spot to celebrate a special occasion.
10 of us went for dinner for a special family occasion. We are potentially the most annoying family in Australia for chefs given 7 out of 10 of us have different food allergies and intolerances. What can I say - honestly the best experience I have ever had at a restaurant with my family. The staff were beyond accommodating and understanding. But most importantly, the food was outstanding. Every single one of us loved our entree, main and dessert (and this isn't an easy group to please). The reviews online have been mixed but our experience did not match with those at all so Mercato have either really taken on the feedback and upped their game, or the reviewers are extremely picky. Either way, I would 100% recommend and I will definitely be coming back.
Ordered the Degustation Menu with and without matching wines. Girlfriend enjoyed the wines, I was driving ☹ From start to finish the 7 course meals were delicious! Partner informed me the wines matched each course really well. Staff here are really welcoming and treat their guest's exceptionally well. Will be coming back again to sample a different seasons menu with anticipation of being as great as the summer menu.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes