Mercato Centrale Is Sugbo Mercado With Bigger Vibes

Last week, I finally got to check out Mercato Centrale in BGC -- and let me tell you, this place is basically Sugbo Mercado’s extroverted cousin located in Manila that's louder, busier, and somehow even more obsessed with barbecue and whatever food is trending on socmed.

I went on a Wednesday right after work with a teammate. It was still early when we arrived, so we managed to snag a table easily (Pro Tip: go before 6:30 p.m. if you’re table-hunting and hangry).

Mercato Centrale at around 7 p.m. on a Friday

As a Cebuana who loves Sugbo Mercado, I thought I had the whole food bazaar thing figured out.

But Mercato? Dude, she's built different.

The vibe was next-level -- louder, more chaotic, and full of people who looked like they’d sprinted from their desks straight into shawarma lines. My kind of crowd, honestly.

If you're indecisive AF like me, then trust me when I say that you'll have a hard time picking out what food and drink to buy here. It's overwhelming, but in a good way. LOL

There’s food everywhere, everything looks good, and there are too many options. I was walking around in circles trying to figure out if I wanted Korean barbecue, takoyaki, street tacos, or chicken skin.

I wanted them all, and since the only thing stronger than my craving was my lack of self-control, naturally I over-ordered. (FU diet. huhu)

The thing with places like this for someone who's not familiar with it is it makes you buy way more than what you can eat because:

1. You feel that you haven't bought enough yet

2. You find another dish that looks way more delicious than the one you already bought

3. You think that they're not that expensive, so why not?

   
   

So here's what happened with me and my friend during our impromptu Mercato food trip -- we went there after ditching another restaurant because that place would cost us around Php 500 for a meal, but guess what? We ended up spending just about the same at Mercato. LOL.

Here's a breakdown of what I had:

• Spicy Shawarma Rice with Egg - Php 100.00

• Thai Milk Tea - Php 95.00

• Chicken Skin - Php 100.00

• Cheesecake Pop - Php 170.00

All in all, I spent Php 465.00 for noms that didn't taste that great, but what made the whole experience worth it was its motherfucking vibe.

It was so lively and loud and teeming with people who just got off from work or were on their break, and I absolutely love that energy.

So will I go there again even if the food that I had was not that good? Hell yes.

There’s just something about a loud, bustling night market that feels a little like therapy -- the food kind.

I went back two nights later, this time with more restraint (growth, lol).

On Friday, I went there again with my officemates. With the lesson well-learned, I stuck with a bottled juice drink for Php 40.00, potatoes with cheese at Php 50.00, and three pieces of pork barbecue for Php 105.00.

Since it was the end of the week and it was already late when we went there, the place was already crowded with people.

With no seats this time, we made our way across the street to the amphitheater area and had an impromptu picnic with everyone else who couldn’t find a table.

There’s something low-key magical about eating barbecue while sitting on concrete steps under the city lights and amidst high-rise buildings. So BGC, so big city vibe, so… me now, I guess?

View from the amphitheater area where we ate everything that we bought.

TL:DR

Will I be back? Absolutely. I still have a mental list of stalls I want to try and and let’s be real, I like being part of the crowd there. It's loud, messy, and weirdly comforting.

Just don’t forget to clean up after yourself. We don’t need more trash, literal or emotional. Cheerios.