Marco Polo — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Man, such a bummer.

I recently moved to Silverlake with a few friends, and have been excited to check out some local spots for us to frequent.

I passed this place a few times and was confused why it looked so empty despite the aesthetics/location. But this time, I saw a happy hour sign, and read that plates were around $10.

When I was eating the food, all I could think was "I gotta bring my friends here; this can be our frequent breakfast or lunch spot."

Then the bill came. Sure, the food was $10. But the water... was $12.

I literally had two glasses of water.

When I was seated, I was asked if I'd like still or sparkling water. My assumption was sparkling might cost something, so I asked for still. As I get from every restaurant. For free.

At first glance, I thought the bill said $2 for water. I was thinking "kind of weird but whatever it tasted good." But then I saw it was $12.

It all started making sense to me -- why this place was practically empty (only one other table had people there). I would never blame the workers for anything, and my waiter was excellent.

However, I wholeheartedly blame the owner for this very sketchy practice. I looked up other reviews on Yelp and saw a while back people complaining about the same charge, and the owner started saying they'll definitely work on being more clear about their different water options.

Yeah... they never did that. And the water prices aren't even listed on the menu.

To the owner, please know that you lost not only me (who was excited to be a regular) as a customer, but my roommates as well, and the people we would have brought.

Please, if you are going to charge $12 for still water, communicate that and also mention you have free tap water available too. You have amazing waiters, cooks, and decor -- don't sabotage it through unethical...

Solid food and drinks ... Marco Polo has that. Great atmosphere (depending on weather) ... Marco Polo has that. A pool you can snack and drink next to ... Marco Polo has that.

Marco Polo is attached to the Silver Lake Pool & Inn, and it takes the best aspects of a "hotel bar" and mixes them with the best of a stand-alone restaurant. Let's say it's a hot day and you'd love to dive into a pool for a bit and then grab a couple of cocktails and lounge in the sun. You can totally do that. (There's a two hour limit, I should add, for Marco Polo pool time.) Or, if you want to have a romantic dinner with that Tinder date that's becoming something more, then this is the place for it.

The vast majority of seating here is outside. That's mostly good, but can be bad if the weather is less than ideal. (It also means that reading the menu can be a little challenging at night depending on where you sit.) The sweet spot is definitely dusk on a warm day.

The menu is seafood-based Italian mostly and everything I've tried is delicious. You can easily share plates with one another so everyone can try everything.

The drink menu is exceptionally good, as is the wine list. To be honest, this is where Marco Polo really shines.

Grab some friends, order drinks and some apps for the table and enjoy the...

What a terrible experience. I came here on a Friday to get food and drinks by the pool. I got here at 12, valet the car and went inside. The rude manager told me I can’t because “it’s too hot today” and that they expect a lot of people to be here. I was told since i have no reservations, they can’t accommodate me. Which is understandable. Then i asked her if i can make a reservation right now because i see so many available spots on Open Table. She said ok. I made reservations like you would normally do, then she said oh no this is a reservation to dine in. I asked her how i can make reservations and she said it should be made under “experiences” on Open Table. Then before i could even check to see if i can make another reservation under the experiences tab, she said regardless we can’t do it today!! After i left, i checked and there were multiple spots open for reservations for the pool under the “experiences” tab. She was so unreasonable and rude. She just didn’t want to help. I was only one person, the place wasn’t crowded and she was very unprofessional. This is not the first time i have been here but it will be my last. The Valet person was apologizing to me instead of her. I just drove 40 miles for nothing. Very...