J. Hartman’s — Restaurant in Marion

Food was delicious, service was terrible and I ordered take out. Their sandwich meat is Boar's Head brand which I love and I got the Italian sub and loved it. Hit the spot just right. My son got the Raging Cajun and liked it, didn't love it, but liked it. And my other son got the chicken tenders and they were delicious. We also had two cupcakes and a coconut treat that were very delicious.

We had to eat take out because we were passing through the area and I had a new puppy with me that I couldn't leave in the car. So we opted to order take out on our way there and then just eat in our car. At the time I had some dietary restrictions and asked the gal on the phone about the ingredients in a couple of the items I wanted, the gal just said "I don't know" and that was it, no offer to check. My son also mentioned they had cupcakes so I asked what flavors they offered and the gal again said "I don't know". At this point I asked if she'd be able to check, she said "they're were too many flavors and she wouldn't be able to check"... Since it was a typical lunch hour I wondered if they were busy and figured I'd just look at the menu better once we were at the restaurant and we could take a peak at the cupcakes there before ordering. Once at the restaurant, I walked to the take out counter and saw 4-5 employees standing by the kitchen, a couple looked my way but didn't budge, and very few people in the restaurant at the time. So I was a little irritated about the lack of service on the phone. I noticed the cupcake counter and went to check that out on my own and saw about 10 varieties at the time, which I felt weren't very many for a person to check and list real quick so my opinion of the take out gal was not very high. Once we decided what we wanted, we opted to call in our order because we were split up checking everything out (one person with dog, one person looking at the menu, and me inside checking out the cupcakes). Ordering was a breeze but when I asked if the chicken tenders came with a dipping sauce the gal said no and I had to buy a sauce for them, which I did. We also ordered drinks. After waiting a while I went back inside to check for our order and again saw multiple employees standing around, couple looked my way, no one greeted me or came towards me. After a moment a gal came from the restaurant side toward the kitchen and saw me, greeted me, and went to the kitchen to check for it. Different gal came out with my food order but forgot my drinks and it took her what felt like forever to get the drinks. She was the one to check me out so I think she was the take out employee that day. Upon getting to my car I realized we had no napkins and the dipping sauce weren't in the bag. Sent my son back in to get those items and again it took forever.

So again, food and desserts were great, I'd even consider visiting again if in the area, but the service was terrible. Tried to give detailed account so if owner sees this they are aware. The employees that were standing around all seemed on the younger side so may just be a newer staff or younger staff that might need more...

I really want to love this place! When it’s good, it’s great. When it’s bad, well, it’s bad. Before the Hurricane I would eat here about once or twice a month. I was worried they might not reopen but was very happy when I heard they did. I’ve ordered take out twice since the reopen. The first time they were very busy- not a problem, I didn’t mind the wait or the hiccups. I was just happy to be ordering from them again. Got home and the food was…ok. Not the best but I caught them on very busy night and I’m sure it’s not easy getting back into the swing of things. Second trip I decided to go midweek around a not-so busy time. The salad was a bit fresher this time so that’s a plus! I’m not sure if the kitchen staff is new or if there is just a quality control thing going on. It is winter so I get things won’t be the best but…the food just wasn’t fresh. The pasta in the pasta salad was very mushy and it tasted like it had been made well over a week ago.

I don’t know. I’ll try again in a few weeks. It might just be some small things they need to work through in the kitchen. The wait staff is amazing and everything is always correct- the issue is just the food. Maybe it’s a take out thing? I’ll try to dine in next visit. Like I said, I really want to love this place and I know it could be one of the better restaurants in Marion. They just need to work through some of the kinks and I hope they do!

Edit: Changed my rating- ordered takeout tonight (2/15) and it was wonderful! The pasta salad was fresh and perfect this time! Fries were great, sandwich was great and had fresh veggies on it! Potato skins were awesome and so were the cupcakes! So happy my experience with the food quality was much better this time!!! Service was exceptional as always. Thank you! Will be coming back more often as it seems they have fixed the issues previously...

Carly (sp?) was a delightful, attentive server. Shortly after we sat, she walked by and said she'd be right with us, as she went to the next table and did whatever she needed to. She was back within seconds, so I joked she wasn't kidding about, literally, being right back. She was jovial and on top of anything and everything we might need. Thank you, Carly! (I do hope I got your name right, so you get the credit you so richly deserve!)

Our food was out in no time at all and this was right around noon. There were a number of occupied tables within view and people at the bar, so the speed was a welcome surprise and, I have to assume, a testament to the efficiency of the kitchen staff. BRAVO!

Anyhow, on to the food and how delicious it was. My wife and one of our friends said their Reubens were very good, though, personally, (from the single bite my wife ALLOWED me to have... LOL), I thought it needed a bit more Russian dressing...still quite tasty, though. My Smoke House burger was absolutely perfectly cooked (medium rare) and served exactly as requested. My side pasta salad was just okay, as it was an oil-based salad and I prefer a vinegar-based one. With oil, it just seems to be lacking a bit of flavor, in my opinion. But, I can't even bring myself to take off a star for such a minor thing, especially with how wonderful everything else was.

One of our party accidentally left their phone in the restroom and we didn't realize it until about 15 minutes after we left. In fact, we didn't know where it had even been lost, as we had made several stops that day. We called the phone and the nice woman handling To-Go orders answered to let us know she had the phone and where to pick it up. Absolutely excellent experience all around at this establishment! Next time we head out to Western NC, we'll very likely be...