The Marble Table — Restaurant in Billings

Our server was very friendly. He started off by taking our drink orders. My go to is iced tea with a splash of lemonade (an Arnold Palmer is usually too sweet for me). My wife (MW) asked about mocktails, nope, so she copied my drink choice. First mistake, even with the splash the tea was very astringent. Then came the listing of the specials. I remember the price of two out of three. Mainly because I had to keep my jaw from hitting the table. Two steak options, one of which was 75 dollars, not aged, not served with Truffles, 75. The other one while still pricy was not memorable. Then the fish special...Halibut filet with accompanying sides etc. 64 dollars. I'm confused now. Their entrees range from $20 (mac n cheese) to $42 (pork chop). On to our food. We ordered the smoked whitefish dip appetizer. More on that later. MW ordered the fried chicken $28 (see menu for description). Now MW doesn't do spicy, so asked for the chipotle maple syrup on the side which they did. I tried it, and yes it has a bit of a kick, so she asked if they had regular syrup (they don't). I don’t know if the candied cottage bacon was part of the sauce and sank to the bottom of the sauce cup or if they just didn't bother. The chicken was good (maybe, maybe two thighs) was chopped into nuggets and fried. The cornmeal pancake was good. The side of green beans looked and tasted like they came out of a can got warmed up in a pot with some spices and dumped into a bowl. I ordered the lamb meatloaf $32. (Again, see menu for description). Two meatloaf sticks 1"x1"x4" is the best description for them. While tasty, they felt a little small on top of a huge lump of mashed potatoes. The "creamed spinach" was some spinach wilted in a pan with some cream maybe. This was on top of the potatoes and under the meat. The pickled veg was red cabbage that maybe sat in vinegar for an hour at best. The mushroom gravy was unremarkable. Now lets talk appetizer. It's after the mains because when our server brought the entrees and asked if there was anything else MW pointed out that we hadn't gotten the app. He was apologetic and brought it to the table shortly after we started eating. This was less of a dip and more of a sauce. The taste was similar to tzatziki but very dill and caper forward. It did have a little smoked fish flavor and there was one small chunk of fish found swimming in the sauce. Served with naan that was very similar to what I've gotten at Costco. The desert (comped because of MW birthday) was the London Fog creme brule. While good, the london fog didn't come through and added an unappealing grey color to the dish (the candle was appreciated).

The atmosphere is a little bougie/chic. The staff is friendly. But the food isn't there. MW and I joked on the way home that Robert Irvine needed to resurrect that restaurant rescue show for them. If this were Michelin, no stars. But I'm not nearly as picky, I ate and left full. Other dishes may be spectacular. Overall I'm...

This is the best dining experience I've had all year. From the moment we walked in, Jen greeted us and we later found out she's one of the owners. How often do you get to go into a restaurant and have the owner greet you? They were also able to accommodate us without a reservation on a busy Friday night, which was amazing.

Once we sat, our server (I wish I remembered her name!) greeted us and she was super charismatic, bubbly, and clearly loved her job. She had perfect timing and was just a joy to be around. We got sat at this little bar facing out on the street and ended up becoming friends with the guy we sat next to!

We started with the burrata which had a homemade tomato sauce that was to DIE for, plus crazy good bread toasted perfectly with lots of butter. We also shared appetizers with the guy next to us so we got to also try the tuna tartare and the crab cakes, which were all great.

I ordered the fried chicken and it was AMAZING. It's on-the-bone, cooked in a way that the meat just falls off the bone. And, as crazy as this sounds, the RICE WAS INCREDIBLE!!!

My fiance ordered the pork chop and that was also unreal. It came with these carrots that tasted unlike any carrots I've ever had. The mashed potatoes were also perfect.

We also got to try the lamb meatloaf because our new friend and us shared all of our food. It was impeccable.

Throughout the night, Jason (the owner and head chef) came by to say hi, and after we ate our food he came by to check on us. Jen also was checking on us through the night, but not in an annoying way, just in a way that a hostess at a party would check on her party guests. They made us feel literally at home and I wish we lived in Billings so we could be...

Staff was lovely and Denise was a wonderful server. She recommended the crab cake over the fritters to start. I was surprised by the heat but they were exactly what I was looking for. Lots of crab and just enought breading to hold it together. The remoulade was bright with citrus and a pleasant jalapeño spice.

The shoestring fries felt very airy, somewhere between fried and baked. Excellent execution on the thinner fries with fresh ground salt and pepper. The bacon ranch was very heavy on parsley or perhaps thyme. Made it a little too much for fries and not worth the $1 upcharge IMO.

The burger was the worst I have had so far in Billings. It looks like it is missing the gouda cheese. Perhaps it was supposed to be stuffed in there with the jalapeños and bacon... It was well spiced but that burger looked like it had nothing in it and was so overcooked I certainly didn't taste flavors of anything. Garlic aioli was a barely flavored mayo at best. Disappointed by what came out the door to me.

I would be comfortable coming back and trying an entree since overall the service was a positive. Maybe something not off the grill. Sadly it was a bit too much to give it 4 stars for my...