Great food, very Poor service. I have to say that this is disappointing. I am a fan of the general atmosphere and setting of this restaurant. While well disguised now, it was once a Pittsburgh Fire Department station and later housed a well known Pittsburgh Advertising agency. I have had 2 negative experiences at Bar Marco, none involving the food. The food is near exceptional but the service taints it heavily. I visited last week with 3 co-workers / clients. Our waiter ( his name begins with a 'D' ) started out okay. Once it came time to take our 4 orders ( 4 of us ordering multiple courses ) he chose to write nothing down. When a couple of us changed our minds mid-stream he was visibly and verbally annoyed with us. I opted to ask for him to pre-package half of my entree to eliminate any temptation I might have to consume the entire high calorie plate. D protested, agitated and angrily, but when I stood firm, he relented. Again visibly and vocally annoyed. I suppose with their 'no tipping' system this is what we all might come to expect? Restaurant owners unable to incentivize their staff to treat customers courteously at all times, and wait staff that loses sight of ( or just doesn't care about ) the importance of the customer to the establishment. I have not looked at tipping as the customer footing the payroll of the staff. I saw it as a system of checks and balances that evolved to protect the customer and the proprietor while giving the staff an opportunity to make more pay by providing better service. IMHO This is one area of consumer experience that may well have done without being 're-imagined', and Bar Marco is suffering for it.
Update Feb 2018. I have gone back and given them another shot. Like I said, the atmosphere is great ( almost like a speak easy ) and the food stellar. This time we had nothing but great service and attitude from the staff. I'm hoping it is this way for everyone now. I added a star with cautious optimism. I will return again soon.