Marketplace Grille in the Boat Yard Trolley — Restaurant in Gig Harbor

tl;dr -- If you find yourself in Gig Harbor, or are in the Seattle/Tacoma area LOOK FOR THIS TROLLEY. Marketplace Grille! A vision, a feast, a wholesome memory of food and friendliness that everyone deserves to experience.

If I could give 6 stars I would!! My friends and I had to leave a nearby restaurant b/c I forgot my ID...(I'm 31, but have a round face). We came across this trolley and thought, "Why not? It looks cute and smells AMAZING"...wow. It did not disappoint.

FOOD WE ORDERED: I had the Broiled Halibut Sandwich, friends got Fish and Chips, Shrimp Croissant sandwich, and the Paella (curried!) and we all LOVED it. We also shared an order of calamari and it was so...delicate? Unbelievable. The food was extremely fresh and the fries especially could breathe life into the dead, I swear. So crispy and fluffy and perfectly seasoned at the same time.

ATMOSPHERE/SERVICE: The woman who took our order told us it was her and her husband that worked there together and it was a family-owned operation. She was so friendly and inquired about us as well. There was also some Caribbean music playing which was such a vibe and the couple were from Trinidad and Tobago so the whole experience from the food to the service to the atmosphere was just incredibly welcoming and wholesome.

OVERALL: My friends and I were in town for a festival and we all marveled at how LIFE-GIVING their food would be at any concert venue, especially those fries. I wish we had taken pictures of our food but we simply dove into it all as soon as we got it. There was also such a diverse group of customers -- a group of teens with fishing lines, families, my group of friends...

Good Food, Skimpy Portions, Nightmare Parking. Small eatery on Gig Harbor. Loved their grilled veggie medley. Everything we ordered was delicious, but for the money, the portions are not exactly generous.

There were only two people running things -- the cook and a waitress. It took a long time for our food to arrive even though they were not busy. Waitress was charming, friendly, and attentive. We had a terrific view of the harbor from our window-side table.

Parking is an absolute nightmare. Beside on-street parking, there is a parking lot across street but it fills up fast during dinner hours in this popular location. There is a larger seafood restaurant right next door that was VERY busy, and consequently all parking was occupied. Our party came in 2 cars; my granddaughter found a spot right away, but we drove back and forth for about 15 minutes before she phoned us to say someone was leaving and she was going to hold the spot for us.

Bottom line: we would not go there again except perhaps...

FUTURE CUSTOMERS: This place IS the trolley. There is no store front, or inside seating.

I loved the cute idea of ordering from a trolley food cart, but honestly the food just really wasn't good. I got a sandwich with fries, clams and coconut shrimp. It was all overcooked.

The coconut shrimp shouldn't be served on skewers, it's a cute presentation, but it was incredibly difficult to eat because the shrimp doesn't slide off the wooden stick, it sticks to it.

The clams were good, but quite sandy, and could use more time in water, prior to cooking, to filter out the sand.

My husband's sandwich was not good at all. And even the fries... Were not good.

I'm bummed, this is SUCH a cute idea. Tourists would pay a lot more money than what they're charging, but not if the food is this...