Café Margaux — Restaurant in Cocoa

Cafe Margaux- Cocoa Village- 5.0-Stars 28 years. 28 years in the same spot says a lot about a restaurant. Namely, they cook damn good food. Cafè Margaux has been in the historic Belair Courtyard for 28 years. They have expanded, opened a sister steakhouse in the same center and even bought the entire building. They must be doing something right and I am fairly certain it is the food and not the "team service" experience. There is nothing I can say that has not already been said about the owner of this fine establishment, Alex Litras and his Executive Chef for more than 20 years, Chef Erol Tugrul. As such I shall not bore you any more than usual and get right to the food reviews.

I think our server was Michael, but with so many walking around with blinders on, it was hard to pinpoint one. Jennifer started out as the team leader and she was very peppy, happy and exuded enthusiasm. I got lost in the team service concept and if we here at BBDO included things such as ambiance and service in our ratings, this place would drop a star for sure solely because of the discombobulated service set-up. Alas, we do not and so I stand by the 5-star review.

Deciding to take full advantage of their bar we began with one Prince Reviver and a Glenlivet 18-year-old, neat. As for our meal, we asked for Coquilles St. Jacques, Escargot and Confit Duck Rillettes Focaccia to start things off and continued with an order of Walnut and Fig stuffed Quail and some Penne Pheasant Breast to complete the experience. Twenty-three minutes later and our drinks are still MIA. Maybe the order got lost in the team shuffle going on in the back, who knows? I had to corral a specific server to complete the 23-minute wait for the 20 servers not bringing our drinks.

Thankfully, it wasn't another 23 minutes until our food arrived as Michael was soon seen approaching our table with a tray laden with delectables. The scallops in the Coquilles St. Jacques were tender and sweet, the mushrooms fresh cut and the white wine cream sauce reduced to a perfect consistency while holding its complex flavorings. It was superb, to say the least. The Escargot was cooked properly and I found them to be quite exquisite in their texture and taste. While I was still enjoying the memory of the recently devoured Escargot, I tried the last appetizer on the bill, the order of Confit Duck Rillettes Focaccia. This was also sublime. They were smooth and flavorful while the sauce was light and creamy.

Moving on to our accompanying salads before digging into the olfactory treasure chest that was our entreès was a smart move on my part. The Cranberry vinaigrette was bursting with flavor and the salad was clearly homemade. Sadly, the bread service was lacking and nothing to write home about at all. Bread service is the first contact the kitchen has with the guest and it should really set the bar for the following meal. In this case, the bread was the last one standing in a game of kitchen limbo and the rest of the food was setting a pole vaulting state record. Speaking of the rest of the food the order of Walnut and Fig Stuffed Quail had to be some of the most delicious fowl I have ever chewed upon. It was fresh, tender, juicy and the combination of the English walnuts and figs was crunchy and superbly executed. This brings me to the final item to be reviewed, the order of Penne Pheasant Breast. The pasta was obviously homemade and cooked to a perfect al dantè. The Pheasant breast, not unlike the previous Quail was tender, juicy and exploded with flavor on the palate. It might have been the freshly ground chorizo, or perhaps the Manchego Garlic Madeira cream sauce that made this dish so extraordinary, but whatever it was it was done to culinary perfection.

The Big Boy says, "If you can stand the “team” approach to service and possibly getting lost in the 20 people or so working your table, a meal at Cafè Margaux will more than make up for it!" #bigboydiningout...

Upon recommendations from many of our friends for a high-end restaurant, we came here expecting superior quality of service and food. I've heard so many wonderful things over the years and was very excited to splurge and enjoy ourselves. Unfortunately although the food was fantastic, the service we found severely lacking for a $250 dinner. We were seated immediately because we had a reservation, as someone who likes personal space, the tables were exceptionally close to each other. But the seats were comfy and we were here to celebrate so didn't mind. Our initial server was wonderful, went through the menu, answered questions about certain dish preparation, had great recommendations for drinks, And if she had stuck around, this review would be ending very differently. Unfortunately after the appetizers were delivered, she disappeared and we never saw her again. A different woman quickly dropped off the wine when the entree was delivered, and then for about 40 minutes, nobody came by to ask how our food was or if we needed anything, which actually we did and had to go without. My husband got the USDA ribeye and it had a big hard tendon piece in it, but there was no one around to even tell. For $70 steak this is unacceptable. Nobody refilled our waters the entire meal (Yes we are capable of refilling our waters ourselves, but this is not the type of place that you should have to do that) About 40 minutes later a different third person came by long after we were finished and waiting around for the check and boxes, dropped dessert menus on the table with nothing more than "Hope you saved room" before quickly walking away. No explanation of desserts, no recommendations. At this point we were over it, although initially we had said we were going to do dessert. We had her bring the check and left. We noticed that our first server was still in the restaurant but serving other tables now. Very confused as to what happened here. Where we forgotten? Is this one of those places where multiple different servers take care of all the tables like at a cheap diner? I don't know. But for our bill for two people to have an appetizer, entrees, and 1 drink at $250, this was absolutely not worth it. After hearing so many wonderful things, and choosing this restaurant to celebrate a major life event that, our experience fell far short of expectations. The food: The Florida rib eye was well seasoned, and had a nice char. Cooked perfectly. I subbed the mashed potatoes which were also delicious. Asparagus was well cooked. The USDA ribeye was under seasoned, no char, the meat was softer, but it was lacking in flavor. My husband says he preferred mine, and I wholeheartedly agree. Roasted potatoes he enjoyed although they were not my cup of tea. The meatball appetizer was just okay. Nothing special, and definitely not worth $18. The scallop appetizer was absolutely amazing and I would come back just for this alone. A beautiful delicate creamy sauce, and scallops were perfectly cooked. The french fries with key lime truffle sauce were beyond delicious. I'll be trying to recreate that sauce at home! Definitely would recommend these for the table. Our drinks from the bar were also fantastic although I don't remember the names. I got a martini with fig vodka and cranberry juice. We also had a glass of the Charles Krug red wine. Absolutely no complaints there. And the drinks were surprisingly well priced. All in all, the food was definitely good enough to come back for, but we would probably see if they offer take out because having to leave a $50 tip for service that bad is insulting to me as a customer. And yes I could have left nothing, but I'm not that type of person. I don't know what happened here last night, but I'm hoping the manager sees this review and corrects whatever issue might be going on in case our experience was not...

Celebrated my wife’s birthday dinner at Café Margaux and it did not disappoint. We arrived early not knowing what traffic was going to be like and the team at Café Margaux was accommodating and understanding.

The table was perfect, in the corner with a window view. Everything was charming and quaint. The contrasting wall colors paired perfectly with the stylistic chandeliers. Then Monica greeted us first, professional and polite. Next was Tara, who took care of us for most of the dinner.

Started with cocktails, which were excellent and the choices on the drink menu were extensive. We had the Confit Duck Rillettes, which was tasty and sublime. My wife asked Matt for extra cabernet Dijon sauce, which he brought out quickly and with a great and friendly attitude. Followed by the house salad, which was simple and fresh. My wife ordered the Mélange of Fresh Seafood, which was a tasting of their three fresh seafood catch = swordfish, salmon, and mahi. She liked them all, but noted the mahi was really good. I had the 16 Ounce Local Boneless Ribeye, which was great and very tender. We paired our dinner choices with a nice bottle of La Grangette des Papes Chateauneaf-du-Pape, which was great, soft and supple. Tara paced the meal perfectly and we never felt rushed. I forgot to add, they served fresh hot mini-French rolls, which were crusty and soft in the middle.

For dessert, my wife ordered the Limoncello Mascarpone Cake and I ordered the Amaretto Cake. Both were just right and not overly sweet. My wife had a nice pour of tawny port and I had a snifter of armagnac. After we were finished with our deserts, the folks at Café Margaux treated us to some bubbly as a celebratory drink for my wife’s birthday. That was very kind of them.

All in all, the experience was great and worth the price. If you’re looking for a more refined dining atmosphere with food to match, look no further than Café Margaux. Ask for Tara, Monica, and Matt, they are a great team working together. All were very professional, positive, informative, and made the time fun.

Thank you team at Café...