Mercato Cafe & Delicatessen

Oh how Fitzgerald Avenue has changed in recent years! That grand boulevard of mature trees and quaint pre and post Victorian buildings has given way to three lanes a side, bland concrete structures of questionable architectural merit and arboreal decimation. Most of us simply want to pass by, without a glimpse on either side along what is an uninteresting tunnel of drudge...and so it has been for me these past several years.
However, last week I met a business associate for a light lunch at Mercato Cafe, in the midst of all this horror. Tucked in behind a street frontage featuring a carpark is to be found this surprisingly meritorious establishment with more to it than meets the eye at first glance. A splendid European delicatessen greets the new entrant and one must pass by the colourful, fully stocked shelves to arrive at the small, 19+ seat cafe in the north-western corner of the shop. Whilst the lunch menu is not at all comprehensive the selection, I suspect, changes daily and is of a high epicurean standard. Mercato, it seems, is capable of bringing a blip of bliss to all ye who hunger for le snack in le cafe at le lunchtime.
My own flash of ecstacy came in the form of a Pea, spinach and Brie de Meaux tart with a side of exhilaration closely resembling a Green leaf, carrot and mandarin salad. All so delicate in texture and a simple fusion of flavours that brought lasting refreshment to the palate and enough sustenance to adequately bridge the gap from lunch to dinner, modest though the servings were.
Although the cafe seats so few it offers its guests the chirpy chatter of a lunchtime crowd, the aroma of freshly made coffee and a joyful intimacy. After indulging your rumbling stomach the temptation of the adjoining deli is sure to capture your heart & soul, if not the contents of your wallet. Perhaps a few hundred grams of muscatel raisins on vine, maybe a tin of Burgundy escargots, a slice or two of Spanish or Italian chorizo.......then there are the multitudinous European cheeses to die for ....
Enter this oasis in the desert, stay a while and quench your thirst. You could well be pleased with yourself afterwards.