Little Bar Restaurant — Restaurant in Marco Island

I am open to trying again, we have been here many times but this is the first time under the new ownership. To preface let me say we are a big fan of the owner's other restaurant Sami's and we go there all the time. Every winter we go to Little Bar for lunch a few times a year and always love it. Last night I had called a few days out and had a reservation for 6 and was taking four people from out of town over to enjoy dinner. We were seated quickly and politely and received our drinks in good time. We ordered appetizers which came out fast however they were not that good, conch fritters were the size of a large marble with no detectable conch, Crab claws without any dipping sauce but the peel and eat shrimp were plump and good. We then ordered and our garden salads and they were delivered and some bread, the bread was great and the salads a nice size and fresh. No complaints at all about the salads and bread.

Then our entrees show up just as finishing the salads, however all our appetizer plates and all our salad and bread plates were still on the table so we helped the server remove them when he started setting down our entree amidst the table mess and we were like "hey wait, can we get a few plates out of here before you try to fit the entrees in?" so he did and we did, then he started to leave and literally there was not a drop of water or a drink on the table. We asked him if we could refills on some tea and soda and water and another beer and wine. He said, "sure once I clear these plates". Well we all had $40 dollar entrees in front of us and nothing, not a drop to drink and he is being a "smartie" about this? Also the plates are on an empty table and the restaurant at 7:30 on a Friday night is half empty. My husband ordered grouper and it was given to someone else in our party so we paid market price for him to eat Mahi Mahi instead of the grouper he ordered, the entrees and sides were just ok, like a 2 or 3 out of 5, mostly a 2, and when the check came we found out that anyone at the table that got the vegetable of the day as their side had a 4.95 upcharge and that was for some sautéed zucchini. The fries, baked potato, rice or sweet potato were not an uncharge.

During the drinks debacle I went to the hostess to tell her we had our entrees for over 10 minutes without a drop of anything to drink and she said she would let the manager know, I told her that is not what I meant, I meant maybe the server needs some help. I have often seen hostesses and bussers pitch in with drinks when a server gets behind. Anyway..... I never saw a manager around or I would have spoke to him. We were very disappointed and a bit embarrassed as we hoped to bring them to an island institution for a great meal. Of course we will try again but they really need to get it together because the prices are high and the service should be good to very good,...

Value is just not there... At 50-90 dollars per person I would normally expect more. Charm and nostalgia does not make up for what Little Bar misses. I think there are some other neighboring establishments that offer the expected unique island feel where the price and expectations better align, nonetheless here are some worthwhile notes to consider ahead of planning your dining.

Tip- Plan to make reservations during the winter season. We tried to call at 5:30pm but no one picked up.

Our overall experience was pretty lack luster. Firstly, the stogie old place wares, vinyl table cover, paper napkin, and cheap relic silverware did not align with the price tags on the menu. (We are talking about setting expectations here, I have no issue paying even upwards of a $100 a person but I want to see things align).

The plating of food was thrown together and did not look proudly or professionally placed. The salad was something from Sisco out of a bag and was so plain I quickly skipped over it. Frozen butter in tiny foil packets did not remind me of years past, it reminded me of profit over quality. We ordered the stone crab, which honestly was fine, but at $40 for an app it better leave a lasting memory.

Next came The fish spread, it came out with a side of individually wrapped "Zesty" saltine cracker! I almost fell off my chair. This is not nostalgic this is just cheap. On top of that the saltines were stale, how is that possible? Shaking my head we moved on...

We next ordered the Tuna Wasabi (special). It was plated looking like it came out of the 80's Big Boy restaurant from my childhood past. The wasabi was so heavy handed I should have had a gallon of water to wash it down. But oh, yeah...no water service. We ordered the rice pilaf with the meal and sure enough it came out as an ice cream scoop ball in a small dish, again expectations and presentation were missed.

The harbor edge and service is likely Little Bars best assets. However, we did hear the table behind us send food back. I could totally see younger patrons just not being wowed by this place (including myself). It seems to have a certain older crowd in mind. Don't get me wrong I am all for "quietly resisting change" but this awesome area still needs to stay current to remain thriving.

I genuinely hope management can make improvements with the ambiance, decor, and presentation. And remember that starting with good seafood is not where...

We decided to try Little Bar for lunch today based on reviews. Very friendly and accommodating staff…Laura may have been one of the friendliest servers we have ever encountered! Atmosphere is as described by others; casual and eclectic. It was a rainy day but our table on the screened in porch offered nice views of the water and boats. Having eaten lots of fish over the past few days, we went more old school (we were tempted by some nostalgic offerings!) I had the liverwurst sandwich and subbed a green salad for fries and coleslaw. Salad was icy cold and crisp. The house creamy garlic dressing was pretty bland but perked up with some cracked black pepper. Husband had chicken tenders with fries and coleslaw. Again, tenders were pretty plain and chicken was tender but a tad dry. Fries were fine but not anything special. The coleslaw was very good, with maybe a hint of pineapple. Bottom line…if we lived in the area or were spending more time on Marco, we would definitely give it another try, maybe on a sun-filled afternoon, and we’d order fish, which they seem most respected for. We probably just ordered the wrong things! On another note, we tried Sami’s on Marco and LOVED it! Just had salad and pizza, but both were excellent! We’ll probably make another trip there before heading back...