Marisol Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Chicago

I was there at the Museum of Contemporary Art earlier in the week on Tuesday to see the Faith Ringgold exhibit which was great. Decided to patronize the little cafe Marisol before leaving. As I approached the counter, there was already a customer being waited on by the server/cashier. The server did not acknowledge me with a 'Hello', 'One moment please', or anything. That transaction ended, and the server proceeded to start working on something else still without acknowledging that I was standing there waiting. Was it busy? No! I was the only person standing there until a different woman that had already been waited on before I arrived there, approached the counter for something else. The server/cashier took her order and her money still without acknowledging me at all.

I decided to address the oversight when the customer apologized to me for butting the line. It was a pleasant exchange. When the server/cashier finally addressed me, I asked to speak to her manager.

When the manager came out, I explained to him the situation. He listened, apologized, and then proceeded to admonish me in front of the employee, "What you need to understand is that she has had a really bad Christmas." ?????

While I do understand a manager having empathy for an employee that is stressed with personal issues, I absolutely do not understand any experienced manager feeling compelled to rationalize AND cosign the clearly unprofessional behavior of an employee that perhaps should not have been interacting directly with customers at all on that day while at the same time demanding that I as a customer know about and understand this employee's personal issues that are really none of my business.

This particular manager set a precedent in poor judgement, poor behavior, and poor management (I guess at Marisol cafe, it is okay to show bias towards select customers if you arrive at work unhappy or sad about _.) while at the same time antagonizing a customer and possible onlookers.

While I did get a free chocolate chip cookie out of the whole ordeal, and it was DELICIOUS!, I won't ever patronized this place because of...

A second visit and I have to update the original review - I can't for the life of me understand why this place isn't out the door given its location in the heart of a densely populated wealthy population. I think it is the location in the museum that keeps it from being recognized, or else just a poor marketing job. They won't survive with the traffic that we witnessed on a Thursday evening of our second visit. Once again, the food and cocktails were outstanding. Had to have the little gems Marisol salad again as well as an outstanding cavatelli, fava bean tartine and grilled zucchini. How they can maintain the freshness of their ingredients given the volume of diners is beyond me. I only hope they figure out what they need to do to get people in the door. Another gem on the Chicago restaurant scene with very creative and tasteful dishes, special cocktails, excellent service and surprisingly reasonable prices. Highly recommended. Ask for Matty if you want a knowledgeable wait person who can provide lots of info about the dishes you are considering as well as providing...

Recently spent a day at the MCA as it is free for Illinois residents on Tuesdays. Made sure to have lunch at the newly reopened Marisol. It is located at the basement level with a sleek and modern design. There is a cafe along side of it as well. I would love to go back to try a latte as I am a lover of crafty baristas. Nonetheless, the experience at Marisol was spectacular. Andres, my server was a delight and very helpful with his suggestions. The Asparagus Panzanella and Salmon Tartine showcased fresh and vibrant ingredients. Everything was quite unique and the flavors were exquisitely balanced. The bread was of great quality and the chickpea side dish was sweet in all the right places. My friend and I shared two dishes and we were pleasantly full. I would love to go back for dinner. Wine list has great options; it features more of an Old World approach. The sparkling Gruner Veltliner was just delicious and went with lunch quite nicely. Soo glad...