4 FANGZHUANCHANG HUTONG (WEST OF NANLUOGUXIANG), DONGCHENG DISTRICT
Pechino
China
86.10.8402.5098
MERCANTE.HOME.CUISINE@GMAIL.COM
http://www.thegoodfoodgroup.asia/mercanteeng#mercantewelcomeeng
Recentemente nominato dal Daily Mail come uno dei 10 migliori ristoranti italiani nel mondo, Mercante offre cucina tradizionale italiana fatta in casa in una piccola struttura del centro storico di Pechino. In una trattoria con solo dieci tavole e una piccola terrazza propone una varietà di pasta fatta a mano (tagliatelle, pappardelle, ravioli, tortelloni), formaggi italiani e le migliori selezioni di carne accompagnate da pane sfornato tutti i giorni e una selezione di dessert fatti in casa. Per gli amanti del vino italiano Mercante ha selezionato accuratamente circa 50 etichette e birre artigianali. Dallo scorso dicembre, Mercante ha un ristorante gemello, Fiume, sulla costa a sud del Liangma River, nel cuore dell’Embassy Area, che offre cibo italiano genuino in un ambiente moderno e fresco.
When in the Autumn of 2011 Yuan Yuan, from Beijing, and Omar Maseroli, from Reggio Emilia (Italy), had the idea to open a 7 tables Italian trattoria in a hutong (old alley), lost in the maze of Beijing's historical town, friends and neighbours thought they were a crazy couple...and probably they were right. But crazy ideas when fuelled with love sometimes prove them right and that's how Mercante quickly became a name in the restaurant scene of Beijing first and abroad after.
Welcome to Mercante (商shang 贾gu), a cozy Italian trattoria in a hutong, the small alleys of the historical center of Beijing, near the Drum and Bell towers, that since 2012 offers all handmade, home-style, traditional Emilia Romagna food, focusing on high-quality imported Italian ingredients.
Mercante is an old Italian word that means Merchant. This name came to our mind from the location we chose to open our cozy trattoria: at the center of a buzzy grocery street-and-shop market right at the cross of some small alleys (Hutong) that are the essence of the Old Beijing. Back in 2012 the location was considered unconventional to open a trattoria devoted to quality and authentic Italian flavours, but over these years of unconditional love for our mission Mercante not only became more and more well know as a restaurant destination for expats, locals, business and leisure travellers and generally diners that look for a more unique place to eat and experience the city, but collected many awards, culminated in 2018 with two prestigious recognitions.
Being the only restaurant in Beijing cooking traditional Italian food awarded with One Red Shrimp from Gambero Rosso "Top Italian Restaurants 2018" Guide and entering the “Hall of Fame” from Tripadvisor after five consecutive years of Certificate of Excellence based on the reviews of our guests.
Both these recognitions were confirmed this year as a witness to our effort in keeping every day the same attention to details as the first one. It’s not a case that our motto is: “Handmade always, Shortcuts never!”
The design is a mix of the style of classical Italy and communist China: red brick floor, marble table surface give the feeling of classical Italian style- the country root of the cuisine; the pieces of 50s-70s communist Chinese signature lamps, Danwei wooden chairs, big wooden suitcases, wooden doors add the elements of the local country-communist China.
