Mercado

As the Glasgow nights get chillier, we can be excused for looking back wistfully on those warm Mediterranean nights of the summer holidays.

No need to check the Ryanair itinerary and the temperatures in Murcia though.

Recapture a little Spanish atmosphere and flavour with today’s Big Deal, offering an authentic Spanish tapas feast for four, with bread, olives and bottle of Cava to share.

Merchant City dining

Mercado enjoys an evocative and atmospheric setting beneath the glass roof of the original markets on Merchant Square. Weather permitting, the tables on the cobbled terrace provide a great vantage spot for observing the Merchant City nightlife.

Available seven days from noon to 9:30pm, the Big Deal is for four people and includes olives and bread, five tapas dishes chosen from the Big Deal menu, plus a bottle of Cava to share.

The Big Deal tapas offer features a wide variety of authentic dishes from around Spain. Albondigas are the familiar meat balls in tomato sauce. Pulpo a feria is the traditional Galician octopus dish, dusted with paprika. Pimientos de Padron are another north-western delicacy, tasty green peppers roasted with salt.

The Andalucian estofado de pollo is a garlic-scented chicken stew. Tapas bar favourites such as tortilla, croquetas and patatas bravas also feature, and there are plenty of vegetarian choices.

Bread and olives make the perfect appetiser.

The Cava options are the Rosado rose or the medium-dry Demi-Sec.

Customer feedback

Mercado has found plenty of favour with 5pm members. Recent reviews include the following comments:

‘Food was lovely and the service was great.’

‘An excellent experience, lively friendly staff, great food, a good time had by all of us.’

‘I’ve had tapas in lots of restaurants and this was one of the best.’

Estupendo

Today’s Big Deal at Mercado looks like the ideal excuse for a get-together with friends, maybe while you plan next summer’s getaway to the Costas.

The Scottish weather might not be playing along, but inside Mercado it’s a little slice of Spain.