Marketa at Vacation- Columbia & Chill — Restaurant in Columbia

Today was the first time we ate as a family of 4 at Vacation. I ordered the Raw Tuna Caesar salad. I really liked the addition of the wasabi peas for a textural element. Dressing was good, romaine lettuce chopped and tuna a little weird in terms of application. Think a pounded thin scallopini of tuna, on top of your salad like a blanket covering the entire top of salad. The tuna tasted fresh and was good but I would have preferred thicker slices.

My husband had the deluxe chopped salad with seafood and he loved it , there was no shortage of seafood which is good at $30 a salad. Salad portion sizes are decent. One of my sons ordered the Birria tacos- he liked them. My other son ordered the fried fish basket. He also enjoyed his meal. I would say that they need to up their game with fries. Make sure nearly half of an order does not contain what we had— over fried, greasy, or soggy and broken little nubs. They are homemade which is great, but at least today our order needed a quality check.

We also ordered the tempura cauliflower which was delicious. It is a meal, but we did it as an appetizer- fries were the same. The coleslaw is good as well - fresh.

The music was entirely too loud. Having to shout does not scream “vacation” but a busy bar instead. Also, although they were busy, our service was just not good at all. I waited tables a few decades ago and I understand but if your waitstaff can’t keep up with water refills or drinks, managers- you need to be out there helping out. There was one young man just wandering around the entire time. Hey, have a water pitcher in your hand if you are walking around. That would also help. Also, you can’t deliver food and never go back to check if all is ok. Someone needs to have an eye out when busy. Communicate with your fellow servers and ask him/her/ them to refill waters on table number xx.

All in all, it was a decent experience. We’ll be back for drinks as a couple sometime to check them out. For a price point context: A family of four with no adult beverages and one appetizer was...

The atmosphere is definitely giving vacation vibes. From the music to the service to the outdoor seating.

The managers and everyone else was super friendly!

Free parking at the garage directly next to it. Stroller friendly to enter the platform where the seating is. Not so much from the garage (but this isn’t on Vacation).

The bathrooms are nice and cool. Very clean! And for my parents, the second bathroom has a nice clean changing table inside (look for the koala sticker on the door).

NOW for the food and drinks

We had the Pina Colada Crush. If you like ginger beer, this is a good one! It’s cool, light, and refreshing.

For appetizers, we ordered the crispity, crunchity, sweet spicy, sesame, scalliony chicken wings (not bad!), the crab dip egg rolls (also not bad (I appreciate the spin on the dish!!).

For entrees, we had the ribs (delicious and super tender 😋). This one came with fries (that remind me of boardwalk fries), a pickle, coleslaw (I was impressed) and a sauce that tastes pretty good. Also had the brick smashed burger (didn’t hate it didn’t love it), fries, coleslaw, and a pickle.

This was a nice spot to swing by and try. I recommend it!

I’ll be trying The Food Market next time I’m by...

Visited on August 10, with my family. Be sure to join the wait during peak hours so you don't have to wait too long for a table when you arrive. I joined the waitlist as soon as I parked and we waited 18 minutes. Not bad.

We ordered the fried tomatoes with crab, pepperoni cups, watermelon, fried fish, fried shrimp, mango margaritas, and the sweet willi.

-My fam said the fried tomatoes were just "okay"

I had high hopes for the pepperoni but it was too salty.

-The watermelon was really good but I'd prefer it without the salt. That's just a personal preference tho. It was still really refreshing

-The waiter highly recommended the fried fish and although it was flaky and fresh, it lacked seasoning. I'd order it again but with a side of hot sauce.

-My brother enjoyed the fried shrimp.

-The fries were sooooo good.

-Mango margarita was tasty and a bit strong. The sweet willi tasted like straight juice but my mom still felt tipsy afterwards.

Overall, I really enjoyed the vibes and music. It's a great place to enjoy the warm weather. I find it to be a bit overpriced but I'm looking forward to trying more dishes soon, especially the pastrami hot dog and...