Marais — Restaurant in Dickinson

I'd heard about this place before but had never found the right time to visit. I was in the area to meet an old friend for dinner and Marais was suggested, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out. We were greeted warmly by a maitre'd as we walked in and were seated at a table immediately. Our server showed up just a moment later and she was professional, efficient, and knowledgeable about the menu. We ordered a couple of drinks, which promptly arrived and had a sufficient quantity of alcohol. We also ordered a dozen Gulf oysters on the half shell (not the best time of the year for them, but they were still "okay"), the candied pork belly bites (7/10), and the smoked redfish dip, which was absolutely fantastic (9.5/10). For entrees, I got the paneed chicken breast topped with fried shrimp served over jambalaya. I don't even usually like jambalaya, but everything on the plate was top notch (9/10). My friend ordered the redfish plate and enjoyed it, as well. Throughout our meal, both our server and a woman I assume is the owner were attentive and friendly, checking in on us regularly. While I'll have to go back a couple more times to see if they're consistent, this first visit made for one of the better dining experiences I've had south of Houston these past few years. I was impressed and will be back soon to try some other dishes. Highly recommend.

UPDATE: I have returned 2 times since my initial review and am happy to report that if anything, Marais has gotten even better. The food is still fantastic, our service last night was the best we’ve had, and the host/manager was professional and courteous as he checked in during our meal. The pecan-crusted redfish is still so good and the wild salmon over Brussels sprouts was also...

I made a reservation for 8 on a Sunday evening at 5:45. I told the girl we'd like a quiet corner where we could talk. We had 2 people in our party who were a little hard of hearing. When we arrived, we were sat right next to the kitchen where all the servers were picking up plates and others making drinks, so basically the loudest area of the restaurant. I wasn't really happy about that because I only had 1 request. We got water for the table and 1 cocktail drink was wrong so it had to be remade. We received bread for the table and were 2 slices short. So 6 pieces of bread for 8 people. The server said he would bring more out as soon as it was available. We were 1/2 way though our meal before it showed up. The redfish was bland. No seasoning on it, just breading. My husband ordered the grouper and no lie, it was the size of a thick chicken tender. He could have eaten 5 of them. I had the salmon and it was very good. My son found a hair in his crab cake dish so that was remade and taken off the bill. My mother ordered the crab & shrimp salad and the shrimp fell off the top before it was served to her. That was fine but the food delivery girl picked them up with her bare fingers and put them back on top. The manager saw this and quickly took it away and brought a new one. Then he reamed that girl for doing that. The deviled eggs & blue crab beignets were really good. Also the Cajun grits mes amis was good as well. Overall the place didn't live up to the hype I've heard about it and I was really upset with where we were sat after asking for the quieter area. Not sure if we will return for the prices that...

Sunday lunch at a local restaurant is a regular outing for me and my family. This past Sunday we chose to dine here. We were not expecting them to be serving a buffet style lunch. Items to choose off a menu were very limited. I have a special needs brother who delights in fried shrimp. Fried shrimp were not on the buffet. Management did accommodate and make him some fried shrimp for which we were very appreciative! However the rest of us were stuck with a $40/plate for the buffet. I chose the prime rib. It was cold, tough, and had very little flavor. So I switched gears and went to the fried fish...the temperature was fine, but many of the pieces I picked up were undercooked. They did have some mustard greens that were very good! Since the prime rib and fish didn't work out, I tried the fried chicken. The fried Chicken was a crash and burn as well. I was very disappointed in the cost to food quality ratio. To top it all off they had a whole selection of desserts available...few of the desserts were made in house. They looked and tasted like they came from a local grocery store and were plated for appearance. Very disappointing. However the fried shrimp my brother had looked very good! And we do very much appreciate them for accommodating him with the fried shrimp! Outside of that it was a very disappointing and expensive dining experience. The service and ambiance is definitely fantastic though! There's no doubt about that! I have mixed feelings, but may go try it again when they actually have a dinner menu...