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| - I booked a party of 10 recently because of the reviews and the location. First of all, the location for this restaurant is great, close enough to the downtown core yet tucked away on a side street with plenty of street parking. I was worried about the parking at first and parked a block away from the restaurant only to realize I could have parked right in front. Once arriving I was greeted by the nice hostess that took our jackets and showed us to our table. I had made a 6:30 pm reservation for 10 and informed my guests we would have to leave by 8:45 pm due to a second seating.
All my guests arrived on time, minus one strangler who showed up 1 hour late but was the 11th person in our party. Right away I noticed that we has 'prefix' menus in front of us and I called the waiter to tell him we would be doing a la carte this evening. He informed me that all parties of 10 or more had to do a prefix menu. I told him that I had spoke with the manager prior to my booking the reservation and she said that a la carte was fine. He didn't believe me but went to check anyways. Upon realizing his mistake he apologized. But it had bothered me that he didn't believe me.
He came around to take the order and uncomfortably tried to upsell us on apps. I've been a server for 4 years so I know all about upselling. But when one of the guests ordered bread his response was "would you like to order a few of those for the whole table?" an awkward silence happened. I didn't like my guests hassled to spend more. In the end I did order a few apps for the table and some wine.
A friend of mine ordered me a bourbon and the presentation was great, nice glass with a huge square ice cube in the center. Only problem was that after a few sips I notice there was something frozen inside it!! I looked closer and I think it was a bug! I called over the waiter and he got me another bourbon but I think he just pour the old bourbon into a new glass. He apologized and told me he'd find out what it was... I didn't really care what it was, but it was disgusting... In the end he said it was a raisin. But I think it was more likely an olive pit or a bug. If you were a restaurant owner would you admit it was a bug?? Doesn't matter either way because there shouldn't have been anything in it...
Dinner was served in a timely manner and all the food came out at the same time. Dinner portions were very small. I had selected a dish that the server recommended, a porketta. It was dry. I should have ordered the scallop risotto but the portion for that was very small, same with the burger, about 1/3 the size of the regular burger. My girlfriends dish came out cold (frozen in the center)...
After dinner I asked if another table could be set aside for our party since a few people professed interested in having drinks. They said we could just head to the bar instead. So I decided to leave. The bill was around $475 for 10 people, plus add another 15% for tax and 18% automatically added for tip!!...
In the end, I think Marben is a nice place for drinks (minus a bug or two) and the atmosphere is nice. If I lived nearby I think this would be a nice place to bring visitors. But I would not recommend this place for larger parties or people looking to get their money's worth. 33% of your bill is tax and tip alone so beware..
My rating, 2/5, come for the atmosphere but go elsewhere for good food and service...
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