Cantina Mercatto

What is Cantina Mercatto? Occupying a lofty space at 20 Wellington Street East just steps from Berczy Park, Cantina Mercatto serves as the flagship hub of Jack and Domenic Scarangella’s veteran hospitality group. The room channels an upscale Italian wine cellar reimagined for modern downtown dining, complete with vaulted arches, bespoke wallpaper murals, and a handsome emerald-green marble bar. Seating is varied and spacious, offering deep leather banquettes, high-top bar perches, and private dining rooms tailored for both business groups and weekend dinners.

Cantina Mercatto Menu & What to Order Executive chef Doug Neigel oversees a kitchen focused on rustic, scratch-made Italian staples executed with fire-and-pan precision. Begin with the crisp saffron arancini filled with molten mozzarella or a bowl of rich veal, pork, and ricotta polpette. For mains, order the house-extruded chitarra alla carbonara studded with crisp pancetta, the hearty pan-seared lasagna, or a blistered thin-crust diavola pizza, finishing things off with an espresso-drenched affogato or salted caramel chocolate budino.

Know Before You Go Reservations through their website booking system are highly recommended for prime dinner hours and weekday lunches when the surrounding Financial District fills the room. Walk-in guests can generally find a spot at the lively marble bar for cocktails and spuntini during late afternoons. The restaurant is situated a two-minute walk from King subway station, making public transit much easier than hunting for downtown street parking.