the hip-stir — Restaurant in Marion

Yes they have a 4.6 rating. But when I looked at the lowest reviews I could relate. I had a waitress/bartender/hostess the only one there on a Wednesday afternoon. I got an icy reception from her. Went downhill fast. I asked about the gluten free hamburger and asked about sauce or au jus because I decided to get the steak and cheese sandwich instead. I wanted fries and coleslaw because it sounded good. The coleslaw was limp and sour. Someone's trying to save money and not making fresh food. When I told my waitress she got a major attitude and took it back from me. I don't like dry sandwiches so I asked about steak sauce. They don't have any. I asked about a little beef broth (au jus) and I was told it wasn't gluten free. That's dumb on the part of the restaurant. You're eliminating a large portion of your food from gluten free guests when all they have to do is switch to a gluten free soy sauce..they taste exactly the same.

I asked for the bun to be toasted because gluten free bread falls apart unless you toast it or microwave it. They didn't toast it or not enough and the bun was mush. I couldn't hold my sandwich together. So I had to ask her to please replace the bun. Another unpleasant exchange. She wasn't overly rude (untill I asked her to take the rotten Cole slaw off the check), but I could tell she thought I was a Karen and treated me accordingly.

Oh and they charge for Worcester sauce and a little broth. Without telling you ahead of time. So she took it off and I went from a Karen to a cheapskate Karen.

The atmosphere was cool. I loved the decor. But I will never go back there. My waitress/bartender/hostess said something about having a lot of work to do at the bar when I told her how uncomfortable she made me feel. Whatever. When you run off new customers and treat them like crap and they write a review like I am, soon you won't need to be busy working at the bar. You won't have a restaurant anymore.

I wish business owners would get a clue. If they don't drill into their employees' heads EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE, They might as well have a bankruptcy attorney available. Because employees like the woman I got today will shut their business down so fast they won't have a chance to get it right. Recent 1 star reviews like mine also mentioned poor service.

Owner you've been warned of the consequences of employing unfriendly, rude wait staff. And if you are going to charge for Worcester sauce then I suggest you rethink your business.

And use gluten free soy sauce. It's not that hard.

On a positive note the beef was nicely flavored. The cheese was skimpy though.

And you see the hateful response? Yeah I'd be afraid of them serving and cooking my...

I decided to check this out after seeing it in the Thursday paper. Seeing the flavor combinations listed for their dishes intrigued me.

The atmosphere was very unique. Doors on the ceiling, 50’s styled pictures, booths situated inside wine barrels, mood lighting; a lot of work went into the interior design.

The workers were friendly and knowledgeable about the dishes served. She did forget to get us our appetizers but she was genuinely regretful about that and gave us the appetizers on the house. A very generous compensation.

Our choices of dishes were the Steamed Pork Belly Buns, the Chipotle-Miso Udon, the Ciopinno, and the Sacred Cow.

The member who ordered Cioppino had good sized shrimp and scallops but the mussels were a bit small. Overall flavor was good. The serving of bread was generous and crusty without being too crunchy.

The Sacred Cow (ordered by my other group member) was deemed okay. The fish seemed to try incorporating too many flavors for her taste. She claimed the Lime Vinaigrette on the house salad was too salty and acidic.

The Pork Belly Steamed Buns were excellent in my opinion. A decent serving of pork with cucumber for a refreshing crunch and a decent amount of chipotle mayo for extra flavor. I found them to be great but another member thought the sauce was too spicy.

As for my Chipotle-Miso Udon, the biggest issue was the salt content. I found the dish to be extremely salty. It really overpowered the flavor of the chipotle-miso broth. And since I heard miso is a naturally salty food, any extra salt would have been overkill. When I took the rest home, I had to dilute the broth with unsalted chicken stock. It was only then I could start to appreciate the spicy-salty combination.

That being said, the rest of the dish was pretty good. There was a generous amount of noodles and a decent combination of different toppings. I enjoyed the edamame and cabbage. The pineapple, to me, offered a refreshing contrast to the saltiness.

I hope that future servings of the udon are not going to be as salty. Overcoming that issue would really help that dish appeal to more customers (in my opinion).

While there were some detail that weren’t too great, I found the overall experience to be pretty good. I’d be willing to try this place again though it wouldn’t be too often given how pricey...

the hip-stir

1120 7th Ave., Marion, IA, United States, Iowa

•Date night outing•

I'm so glad we stopped in and tried this place out a month or so ago (and tonight is our second visit). The food is just so outstanding, and I love the options that are unique to this area in many cases!

•Customer Service•

The service was terrific yet again! Caitlyn served us and checked in multiple times for drinks and food. We never wanted for water, drinks, or another opportunity to order another delectable food item. We also didn't know about the happy hour buy one get one; that was a pleasant surprise 🙂!

•Food•

Earlier this week (Monday) we tried the following.

•Pork belly bun - Im pretty sure I will get this every visit as long as they offer it! this was a joy for my taste buds 🙂.

•Deviled eggs - Amazing! I loved that it wasn't just a salty deviled egg, the sweet bbq sauce on top and blue cheese crumbles in the yoke really went together so well!

•Baked Cheese - Okay, the cheese was excellent, but the pickled mushrooms and garlic gloves were out of this world! (I had to fight the wife for one!) She won 😜.

•Udon soup - I loved it. A wonderful combination of flavors. The spice, the sweet pineapple, egg, and perfectly done noodles. (This is where I make all the sounds of enjoying food)

•Fish and chips - Finally! I have found my spot for fish and chips. The Atlantic cod is done exactly how I like it. The Batter was lite, and crispy, the fish was flaky, and the three different items that come with it on the side add such a wonderful flavor palette. Pickled Vegetables, Tartar sauce, and sweet coleslaw. This will be another item I get many times.

•Waffle Fries - Loved these as well! Came out fresh, and crunchy, and the seasoning is wonderful cajun/sweet/savory goodness.

We loved all of it! It was fresh, fantastic, and the presentation was on point; it was just incredible. The hip-stir is definitely a top 3 location for us in this area, and is now one of our all-time favorite locations here in the CR/Marion area and will be back many times in the future 🙂.

#thehipster #marionrestaurant #udon #fishandchips #porkbellybun #deviledeggs #supportlocal...