The Blackstone Renaissance Hotel & Mercat a la Planxa Reviews

Not bad for a US "spanish" restaurant
We were curious about how "spanish" the Mercat would be.
We went for dinner there, and asked an assortment of different tapas. The outcome was somewhat mixed. The pimientos padron was not really up to the level, the batatas bravas were interesting (both on the picture), while the setas al horno and the croquetas de jamon were good, and could be offered in Spain without loosing face. Service was competent, but not more than that.
Overall, we could return there if in a rush to eat spanish - total cost per person was around 40 US$ (with bier). The view on the park is nice - if you are on the right place in the restaurant, so do not count on it necessarily.

Absolutely phenomenal. You simply must order the bacon wrapped dates and the octopus. Trust your waiter and the wine selection is terrific. Great service great location. Ask for a seat by the window.

My most demanding and critical friend from NYC was in town and she was blown away by everything at "Mercat", especially the ambiance and cuisine . She often travels throughout Spain/Catalan for business and pleasure and she heartily approved of the paella, tapas and Spanish wines. Memorable stand outs were the bacon wrapped dates and the arros del senyoret paella. On a personal note, this was my first time back to the restaurant after a 5 year hiatus and I was as just as impressed as I was on my first visit about 15 years ago.

The best restaurant I've ever eaten at my life. Food is amazing

Food was great service was eh, if you are a young couple, let them know you're young!

Good location, good food. An older crowd and not the trendy West Loop set, which I view as a feature and not a bug.

Absolutley lovely! Wonderful food and staff! Great to order several dishes and share amongst a group of people.

If I could give this restaurant 0 stars, I would. I booked a lunch reservation via OpenTable for my mom and I on a Saturday at 1:30 pm.

Pro:
Food was delicious... this was the only positive thing I can say about this place.

Cons:
1. We were given the wrong menus when we were seated - it was 1:30 pm on Saturday which is brunch but we were given dinner menus. Our server only realized this once we tried to order food.
2. Slow service!
3. Our table didn t have silverware, napkins, or salt and pepper. We didn t realize this until we got our food and we had to flag down someone to get these items.
4. Server who brought food did not offer any butter, jam, or ketchup for our brunch items. We had to ask for this separately.
5. Amount of syrup given for the torrijas brioche French toast was minuscule and we had to ask for more.
6. Our server dropped off our check as we were STILL EATING and we hadn t even asked.
7. Got an email from OpenTable where I had booked the reservation a few hours later that we were a NO SHOW despite telling the staff that we had a reservation! Now I have to explain that we actually did show up! Work I have to do thanks to the ignorance of the staff.
8. Too costly for what we got.

Best Catalan restaurant so far in the whole United States!!! Just Amazing! All dishes are or almost exactly like the original recipes of the Catalan cuisine.
I have to say that there are other dishes that are not Catalan but from other regions of Spain and they are also extraordinary!!!
I would recommend this restaurant without a doubt. If you are home sick... just go... and before swallowing the first bite... you will feel like going back home. Yes! It is that GOOD!!!

The food was good, but left me a little hungry despite ordering the suggested amount of plates for two. In comparison to Baba Reeba, you're definitely getting less food for more money, but it's also a little higher caliber. They threw in a free dessert for my birthday, but declined to accept my Foursquare offer for $1.99 Sangria which they said was "oonly a seasonal offer" (with no mention of expiration on Foursquare) - kind of a bad business practice, in my opinion. I was expecting a nostalgic dining experience after having spent a semester in Barcelona, but this fell a little short.

I liked the decor and the service. The food is alright for its price. I think the lamb chops with the red pepper sauce is great. The other tapas were fine but the shrimp was a bit heavy on salt. Nice for a date.

My dining experience was excellent. The best steak and meal I have eaten in the US. I look forward to my next trip to Chicago to eat here again!!

Came here on a Saturday at 5:30 pm after a long day walking down Michigan avenue. I accidentally made my reservation for the wrong day, but thankfully the staff was able to accommodate my party. Got a paella, three tapas, and three glasses of sangria for my group of three. Enjoyed the ambiance, was able to get a seat near the window which looked across the street to grant park. Friendly staff, bathroom is in the hotel lobby and very clean. Would recommend if you're ever in Chicago and have a craving for tapas.

Excellent tapas style restaurant. Menu selection was limited for me due to a seafood allergy. Unfortunately they do not have a dedicated fryer for non seafood. The meatballs were great and so was the chorizo and cannelloni! Wish they had separate fryer so that i could have tried more items

Service at the bar was terrible while we waited. The bartender didn't even acknowledge us until we asked a question about drinks, to which his reply was "look at the menu" more or less. Our waiter was great given the circumstances, but two of us found hair in our paella that we were sharing. The manager of the restaurant was notified and came to "apologize" which was more of a "sorry, not really sorry" by saying he "wishes he could tell us hair in the food doesn't happen, but it does. I'll comp the dish." Just apologize and comp the food, no need to try and justify to us your cooks can't keep their hair out of people's food and give a sarcastic apology. The sad part is, the food was actually pretty good but the overall experience was terrible, we won't be back.

I liked it! Went for the new lunch specials and really liked the boozy popsicle.

Lovely small plates that have great interest and flair.

Great tapas and solid sangria. Did the tasting menu and we were stuffed.

Was there for drinks and appetizers. Service was beyond awful. Food was adequate. For the price you pay, I don't recommend. Many better options in the area.

We had no idea what to expect coming in but we were blown away! We did the tasting special plus a few other items and it was more food than we could eat in one sitting so it was our lunch and dinner the next day! Our server was amazing. Everyone was so friendly and polite and helpful. Cannot wait to come back!

Good stuff. The main restaurant was under some form of construction when we stopped, so it was just the basement bar open. But the food selection was still really good. Service was quick, which was great, because we were on our way to a movie.

Excellent food, no doubt! Sadly the service was incredibly lacking and on many occasions were we waiting for extended periods of time trying to order more food and drinks.

Great atmosphere to lounge, and to visit. Seperate walk in Bar as well streetside, but dinng was a pleasure. Great service, and amazing attitude on a holiday month.

Really loved Mercat from the moment we entered through the lobby of the hotel until we stumbled out via a tapas coma. Our server was very good and fed our table of 4 about 10 things that were absolutely delicious. We opted for the secret special which was a fantastic cut of pork that was oh so tender. Plan on spending $60-80 PP but there is a ton of value here.

the mercat has great food. My favorite food there is there hamburger. I will surely go back there again.

It was like being in Barcelona. Wonderful selection of tapas.

Good service, good atmosphere , good croquetas, the black ink paella is amazing!

Unique menu selection and like the family style serving shortage. Great way to enjoy an evening with colleagues or friends while sampling different dishes and drinks. Enjoyed the Sangria, too.

Wow, this a great little place in an old hotel. We really enjoyed our dinner. Got the pork shoulder! It was spectacular and learned about a new sauce. You have to go there and find out!

Really good food - we enjoyed everything we had. Thought we could have eaten a little more, but we went for less tapas (3 total + appetizer for 2 people). Overall great space and a fun night out.

This place is truly deserves five stars. The server was extremely knowledgeable and had some great recommendations for us. It is located inside of a hotel so finding it was a bit of a struggle but once we did we were in an elevator on our way up to the restaurant. The Decour is absolutely beautiful, The hints of color in the dining room really stand out and I can tell were strategically placed to be appealing to the eyes. We ordered a pitcher of sangria to share which was strong but good. I ordered two things: green salad with cheese along with meat balls that had Yogurt and I was very content at the end. The bread went perfectly with everything served at the table which is the way it should be. Everything everyone else ordered was good also and I can t wait to go back. This place is DEF a gem.

5* service, exquisite dishes, comes in my top 5 best restaurant places.

Cozy place. Quite expensive thou. The Jamon iberico doesn't taste the same as the one back in Spain.

Had breakfast in this hotel restaurant. Very limited menu and mediocre food for breakfast. Heard it is a good reputation for dinner.

Claudia is absolutely wonderful. Great food and service. Chef Diego was very friendly and came out to greet and chat with us. Our favorite place to visit when we come to Chicago and the Blackstone is one of our favorite hotels to stay in.

This is what goes for Spanish in the US. If you've ever been to Spain, it's mediocre. If you haven't, it's just ok..

This is a great place to eat, drink, and people watch!

The food is really good! We went for Thanksgiving dinner and we were not disappointed.

I can only speak for the drinks, but the drink I had was very tasty their version of a Mojito. At $13 per drink, this is not a cheap option but what can you expect for Chicago?

What an amazing place! Absolutely beautiful space, delicious food and knowledgeable staff. I was thrilled to celebrate my 50th birthday at this awesome place. I will be back!

Being from Philadelphia, was very familiar with Jose Garces restaurants. Mercat doesn't disappoint.

Service = good
Food = lacks flavor, not to the level expected from a place like this
Ambiance = pleasant

Background: ordered 4 dishes. 2 of them were OK and the other 2 were . Really really bad.

Mercat has some great cocktails and tapas on their menu. Their location in the historic Blackstone is absolutely beautiful.

Good tapas as always.
Specialty cocktails very slow to prepare.

Terrible food. Tasteless. Awful service! Overall probably the worst restaurant in all of Chicago. On top to charge you $52 for chicken paella! That taste like rubber tasteless chicken that could be served out of a can! If you want tapas stay away from this spot, save your time and money.

This place is great for a nice dinner or a romantic date. The food was exceptional. I loved the Branzino and eggplant. I want to try every single thing on the menu so I will keep coming back. Service was great. Attentive but not overwhelming. Overall ambiance was perfect.

I am from the Catalunya region in Spain and I can tell you 99% of the food served here is and tastes like at home amazing. Great price compared to other Chicago restaurants. But the food is even better.

Tasting menu was great, with a giant plate of paella to close out.

A good Spanish restaurant in an interesting space. Wouldn't go there for brunch which was average. Try it a dinner

My wife and I tried this place out b/c we were staying at the Blackstone Hotel. The waiter was rather rude. The food was only alright. The price was way out of line for what we got. I would not go back there even if it was being paid for by work! Save a lot of money and go eat some place else.

Everything was delicious, but their bacon wrapped dates are exceptional

Very good authentic Spanish restaurant inside The Blackstone. Great entrees, and a ton of tapas exactly as you would find in Madrid. Nice wine list, and plenty of beers on tap and by bottle. Priced about right. No reason to go anywhere else when staying at hotel.

My uncle treated me to a meal here. Amazing overall experience. Go with the tasting menu. you will be glad you did.

This is a great Spanish inspired restaurant with tapas d traditional Spanish fare. They have a great lunch time deal that is pretty quick, affordable and delicious!!

I spot here every time I m in town.

Worst customer service. Michael (manager) is the worst. We walk in and didn't make us welcomed. First line " we closing at ... And kitchen is closing at ... " The 2 tables that came in after us didn't get that welcomed

The food was awesome and the drinks were even better! The bartender Claudia is the best!

Affordable. Delicious. Inventive. Because this restaurant is inside the Blackstone Hotel, it sometimes gets passed by from the tourists. But that's not a bad thing. The menu is limited, but solid in options, and very affordable. The prix fixe lunch is one of the best values in downtown Chicago.

The food was tasty and the service was good. We got the dates and the breakfast for 2. I was a bit disappointed by the cleanliness though. We were seated by the windows and they looked what I can only describe as "sticky". Also, we were seated next to the waiter station and the paint was peeling off of the decor there.

When I called to make reservations, they had asked if it was a special occasion and I said birthday. However, when we arrived, they didn't mention anything about our birthday. I didn't mind, but it was just odd since they had asked.

Food was ok. It was unusual but ok tasting. Definitely overpriced.

everyone loves the bacon-wrapped dates. big fan of location/vibe.

I loved it. Paella was enough for two to three. This may be a new Chicago favorite for me.

Very good but not very clear about what is in the food...

When you feel like splurging...

We went here on the day before New Year's and splurged on the Chef's Luxury Tasting Menu with wine flight for 2 at $135 apiece. (That was done largely because we hadn't tried anything there before and wanted to get immersed in the full dining experience.) The interior design of this place is quite magnificent to behold. Our server was super attentive, and even gave us both an extra glass of wine for our final item not coming out with the rest of the 3rd course. (We received 12 plates total for 3 courses.) It probably did help a lot that we arrived for early seating, too. My biggest pleasant surprise were how well the exotic mushrooms tasted just by themselves (and I'm normally not a fan of mushrooms by themselves). We would certainly come back here again when staying downtown, and next time just to try out a few individual items on the menu. (Of course it is pricey, so plan to save up!)

The octopus was fantastic as were the drinks. Some of the small plates though are lacking.

Very unique menu, skilled bartenders, very relaxed and helpful staff!

Thursday night visiting Chicago. The tasting menu was a great solution to our tapas dilemmas. A fantastic selection of Spanish wines which provided a good pull from Rioja. Everything came out great. The paella was a lot to take in after the delicious courses before. The bacon wrapped dates were a highlight and a pleasant surprise in flan with poached pears and cinnamon ice cream as the chef s dessert. Highly recommend.

Great tapas restaurant. Order the tasting menu, it is a wonderful experience.

Food was wonderful, but take it from an Architect ... this is one of the worst interior decorated rooms I've ever been in.