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El Mercado Modern Cuisine, Santa Ana, CA
Award-winning

El Mercado Modern Cuisine

4.5 (397)
$30 and under
Mexican
301 N Spurgeon St, Fl 1, Santa Ana, CA 92701

About this restaurant

  • Good for special occasions
  • Lively
  • Charming
El Mercado Modern Cuisine brings you the daily adventure of obtaining fresh ingredients from the market to cook the perfect supper.

At El Mercado Modern Cuisine, we take this everyday trip and transform it into a modern dining experience.

We carefully choose our ingredients for our hand-crafted cocktails and dishes to bring you the best expression of our Modern Cuisine.

Offering a Taco Tuesday specials, Happy Hour every day (5pm-7pm). Bottomless Mimosas on Sundays from 11am-3pm. All night Happy Hour on Wednesdays.

Live Entertainment on the weekend.

Permanently Closed

This restaurant is permanently closed.

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Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Mexican, Global, International, Latin American
  • Hours of operation
    Brunch Sat, Sun 11:00 am–3:00 pm Dinner Tue–Thu 5:00 pm–10:00 pm Fri 5:00 pm–12:00 am Sat 3:00 pm–12:00 am Sun 3:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Phone number
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Private party facilities
    Let us plan your special event. Celebrate your birthday, private corporate event, happy hour gathering, etc. We have multiple options from our Patio, Dining Room and semi private lounge area.
  • Award-winning
    1. MICHELIN Plate 2022
  • Neighborhood
    Santa Ana
  • Cross street
    3rd Street
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Late Night, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Vegan, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 397 people are saying

El Mercado Modern Cuisine reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

4.5
4.5 based on recent ratings
  • 4.5Food
  • 4.5Service
  • 4.4Ambience
  • 4.0Value

NoiseModerate

396 Reviews
  1. Daniel

    Orange County7 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on October 20, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    Great little restaurant, the food and drinks were amazing and the live music show was the highlight of the night.

    Is this helpful?

  2. Rudy

    Los Angeles1 review

    5.0

    Dined on October 20, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Possibly the best aguas frescas we’ve ever had. Food was great, homemade ice cream. What more can you ask for? Staff goes above and beyond to make sure you’re enjoying the experience.

    Is this helpful?

  3. Amy VIP

    Orange County1 review

    5.0

    Dined on October 12, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great food, great live music. Parking is the biggest challenge but worth it

    Is this helpful?

  4. OpenTable Diner VIP

    Orange County7 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on September 22, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    The owner was phenomenal in ensuring our experience was exceptional. The food was great and the location was in a fun area down town..

    Is this helpful?

  5. Sandra

    Orange County1 review

    4.0

    Dined on September 8, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    The food and drinks were really good but too expensive for the quantity you receive. The music was extremely loud, was hard to have conversation at the table. Was given a dirty glass, but immediately replaced when asked for with no apology.

    Is this helpful?

  6. Michelle

    Los Angeles12 reviews

    2.0

    Dined on September 8, 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 1
    It was a gathering of 5 women celebrating a special birthday. Horrible restaurant temperature. It was as extremely hot. We asked the sever 3 times about the air conditioner setting. The air was clearly not on. And she gave 3 different vague answers. Never replied directly. Never apologized. Never brouht the manager over to explain anything about the environment. Overall epic fail.

    1 person found this helpful

  7. NYLDA

    Orange County7 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on September 7, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    This restaurant is very upscale, great food and ambiance. Drinks are the specialty.

    Is this helpful?

  8. OpenTable Diner

    Los Angeles15 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on August 31, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    What an incredible experience! We went to celebrate my sister's birthday, and it couldn't have been more perfect. The food was simply exquisite, and I had the chance to try crickets for the first time—let me tell you, they were surprisingly delicious! I highly recommend visiting this restaurant. The tacos, empanadas, and the coconut dessert were all absolute perfection. To top it off, our server was fantastic and exceptionally kind. A flawless 10/10!

    Is this helpful?

  9. Columba

    Los Angeles1 review

    5.0

    Dined on August 17, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    La noche Colombiana excelente experiencia ! Los músicos de 💯, no puedo hablar de la comida no cene, bebidas 💯, lindo lugar para una noche de amigas o con el galán!

    1 person found this helpful

  10. Jennifer VIP

    Orange County6 reviews

    1.0

    Dined on August 5, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    With an award under their belt you would expect the food to be so much better. Dead restaurant and now I understand why. The food is not worth the expense. So sorry but raise the bar to keep that award! Stop the false advertising?

    2 people found this helpful

FAQs

El Mercado Modern Cuisine offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (714) 338-2446.

El Mercado Modern Cuisine is rated 4.5 stars by 397 OpenTable diners.

  1. Home
  2. United States
  3. Orange County
  4. North Orange County
  5. Santa Ana

Permanently Closed

This restaurant is permanently closed.

Google Map for El Mercado Modern Cuisine

301 N Spurgeon St, Fl 1, Santa Ana, CA 92701

Additional information

  • Award-winning
    1. MICHELIN Plate 2022
  • Cross street
    3rd Street
  • Neighborhood
    Santa Ana
  • Hours of operation
    Brunch Sat, Sun 11:00 am–3:00 pm Dinner Tue–Thu 5:00 pm–10:00 pm Fri 5:00 pm–12:00 am Sat 3:00 pm–12:00 am Sun 3:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Mexican, Global, International, Latin American
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Late Night, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Vegan, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine
  • Phone number
  • Private party facilities
    Let us plan your special event. Celebrate your birthday, private corporate event, happy hour gathering, etc. We have multiple options from our Patio, Dining Room and semi private lounge area.
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