Heard a lot about Marben so we finally made the trip. I am a big fan of their neighbor, Le Select and I went there with friends on a thursday. The decor is great and we ordered the famous john's burger, the lamb tagine, the tuna -avocado app and the duck. The burger was tender and decent but I wouldn't put it in the same caliber as Burger Priest, Harbord Room, Habits, Queen and Beav et all. I tried the lamb but it didn't really jump out at me as anything special although the tagine was very decent. The duck was good although it reminded me more of chinatown duck than a bistro duck dish. Still very good and my friend who ordered it said it was very filling.
The cocktails were great, especially the chili pepper infused gin n' juice.
Service was great and we got the chef's table overlooking the kitchen but maybe it was because they weren't that busy? Either ways, we were content.
Overall verdict: while no single dish blew me away, it was still decent value for money and worth a second visit. Definitely a place you can take a date though.