Marcelino’s Seaport — Restaurant in Boston

I am compelled to write a review as Marcelino's is considered the new "it" spot in Boston, which I suggest grossly misses the mark.

Food: Portions are as advertised for a tapas style restaurant; valued at 20-40 dollars a plate, I expected authentic Mediterranean cuisine, full of rich, bold flavors. Each dish was underwhelming and bland. Worst yet, all food was obviously prepared on the same grilling station, as the squid tasted oddly like other seafood and sink water. Dishes are also unmistakably pre-prepared as all dishes came out cold to warm, at best, and in such rapid succession you did not have time to truly enjoy each plate.

Drinks: touted for creativity, and home made infusions and syrups, drinks too were unimpressive. The infused salts were the most enjoyable part of the beverages, although the whole glass was rolled in the garnish, making the whole drinking experience quite messy.

Ambiance: we dined on a night with live music, which we were hopeful would be an added treat. The music was incredibly loud, making any conversation inaudible. We did appreciate staff trying to accommodate by sitting us furthest from the speakers. This adjustment came with its own set of issues: we dined on a rather chilly night and heating lamps were available. However, the heating lamp closest to our table failed during dinner, and we were told it could not be relit since the establishment was concerned about the device as a fire hazard. Our waitress' comment was especially off putting - "better cold then on fire, right?"

Waiting staff: considered an elevated, elegant establishment, guests are told to dress the part, but staff do not represent the same spirit. Our waitress had chipped nails, her uniform disheveled and her hair undone. Two other unsettling points, as we were paying the check, a server placed breadsticks on our table and scurried away, without giving us time to suggest the food was not for us. When our waitress came by for payment, she noticed the food, and said "you didn't touch those right? they are for the table next to you." We looked at her wide-eyed, shocked that she would even suggest that she would take this food from one table to another. Finally, when making this reservation, we informed the restaurant that this was for a birthday celebration. We did not receive any acknowledgement of this point, such as "we are so thrilled you have chosen to have your special day with us." These are the small touches of truly exclusive, fine dining restaurants that know how to cater to the whole experience.

When rating a restaurant the key is matching expectations to reality. Unfortunately, Marcelino's does...

I really wanted to LOVE this restaurant, as I have eaten at a lot of Mediterranean restaurants and love to try them and support them. Unfortunately, it was a huge letdown given the price. I'm going to breakdown my review into a few categories because it does some things great, and others, are just fine:

Atmosphere: In terms of vibe, it was awesome. They open the door for you and as you walk in there is this cool arch - very fancy.

Cocktails: The cocktails also sound very unique and exciting and I love a good cocktail. Unfortunately, for the price, most of them were not super unique or didn't have the unique flavor expected. The most unique was the tomato oregano cocktail because you could actually taste the tomato and oregano and it was very good. We tried that one, Quince/Cilantro, Rose / Hibiscus, Tomato/Grapefruit, Mushroom, and Palo Santo / Honey. There were 6 of us so we got to taste each other's cocktails. They were all good, but for the price and based on description, only the Tomato/Oregano was as unique as expected.

Food: The sizes are pretty small, so we ordered a bunch to share. We ordered Za'atar Pita, The G.O.A.T. Labneh, Za'atar Halloumi Skillet, Tahini Chicken Schnitzel, Aleppo Lamb Kebab, and Saffron Squid Skewers. All the food was good, but, again, for the price, it did not blow me away. The Tahini Chicken Schnitzel was by far the best. The Halloumi Skillet was good, but you can get a better Halloumi salad for less at Tatte. We also ended up going to Shake Shack afterwards, because the food here was not enough.

Dessert: We ordered one of each dessert (Luscious Pistachio Puff Pastry, Halva Tahini Brownies, Baklava Cheesecake) and they were all fine, honestly a disappointment. Nobody even wanted to finish the last puff pastry.

Service: the service was excellent and we felt very well taken care of. We were not rushed out or anything and our table was ready right when we walked in.

Bathrooms: The bathrooms for this restaurant are outside the restaurant and I believe are accessible to the public. Given the atmosphere, I wish they had nicer bathrooms that were actually within the walls of the restaurant. They were clean, though, so that's not a huge deal.

Overall, if you want to go out somewhere to see beautiful people, eat beautiful food, drink beautiful cocktails, and be seen, this is a good spot. If you want delicious Mediterranean food, with good portions for a decent price, this is not the place to go. Go to Kava in the south...

TLDR: Food was excellent and the cocktails delicious. Service was very good. The atmosphere was warm and comfortable - and could be described as romantic if you were so inclined. Somewhat pricey, especially the cocktails given the limited volume served.

More detail... Between 2 of us, we ordered 5 cocktails, one glass of wine and 5 plates of food, for a total of about $315 (including a generous tip).

Cocktails first. We both loved the Basil. It was light and refreshing - very green/herbal. You could drink them all day. The Quince/Cilantro was similar, but fruitier. I tried the Mushroom, which was visually stunning and definitely rye-forward - the umami flavors (mushroom butter, soy balsamic) didn't come through as much as I had hoped. We both had the Cardamon/Coffee with dessert and going out difficult to drink due to the coffee foam and the large ice cube. When you did get both the foam and citrus-y cocktail liquid together in one mouthful it was delicious. My partner also had a glass of Scarpetta Pinot Grigio, which was fine, with a generous pour. The large ice cube in the cocktails took up a lot of space, however, so the actual amount of drink in the drinks - in my opinion - was limited. Obviously I didn't measure the amount, but I have never left a table after consuming 3 cocktails without feeling at least a little buzzed. If you had told me later that the cocktails were actually cocktails, I would not have been too surprised. But they were DELICIOUS.

The food... We shared the G.O.A.T. Labneh, Fattoush salad, Adana lamb chops, Carob-kissed caroaccio and Baklava cheesecake. All were very well prepared and delicious. Of those, In particular the lamb chops were well seasoned and the yogurt/salad accompaniment very tasty. We were tempted to lick the plate clean. The meat was on the salty side, but it worked well. The cheesecake made me remember that real cheesecake is made with real cheese - you could taste and feel it's ingredients, which were fresh and yummy.

Overall, I would/will return to try some of the other items - I especially want to try the saffron-squid skewers and the smoky miso eggplant. When the weather warms up the covered outdoor patio should be lovely.

So, food, service & atmosphere 5 stars. Overall 4 stars due to the small volume (or weakness) of the cocktails making them not worth $20+ each even though they...