ELIA Mediterranean Grille — Restaurant in Marshall Township

Sigh. Tl;dr: okay place overall, but the menu is uninspired and overpriced for the quality, and the service was underwhelming.

Read on if you feel like skipping down petty lane with me.

Because, my friend, i have opinions.

The atmosphere is confusing. It's an industrial/rustic/etsy shop vibe (why would I buy shower steamers at the place Im trying to watch the game at?).

Maybe there's some back story I'm missing here to explain why the poor hostess had to inexplicably hock candles while we were waiting for our reservation.

Food itself was, again, fine. They have a lot of GF and vegetarian options which is nice. The portions are massive, which I think is their way to justify the price? I think this is where the "casual" part of their upscale casual goal lands.

A subpar meatball sub isn't elevated by slapping a higher price tag on it.

The service is a big no for me. Between cocktails, apps, entrees, after dinner drinks, we were here just under 2 hours. I find this reasonable. Our server did not. She checked on us so often that we got uneasy since it was clear she wanted us to wrap up.

I think this restaurant must be a place just to "eat" and not to "dine" if that makes sense.

Speaking of uneasy, there was a gentleman walking around (maybe the GM or owner?) That kept rubbing my girlfriends back when he would stop by our table. She was visibly uncomfortable by it.

Maybe he thought he was being charming.

He was not.

There's other places nearby with similar price points that will yield an overall better dining experience.

You won't even feel pressured to buy bath bombs!

Go...

We came here for our anniversary dinner, because we thought it was still MAXX and we had a gift certificate for that restaurant (did not know it closed / went to new ownership). We'd made reservations days in advance, to be told that only a very wobbly (I repeat, very - both the table top and the legs were broken and if you put a drink on it, it would fall off and crash) table right next to the kitchen was all that they could find for us - even though there were other open tables (sat more than 2). It then took a server almost 10 minutes to come over and after seeing the table, it seemed that we were just going to have to jig it until we specifically said we would like another table. She then had to get the owner to come look at it before we could be moved, which took another 5 minutes. We got the calamari appetizer and each only ate 1 piece because it was very rubbery, not crispy, flavor was overall not great, and the marinara tasted off. We never like to send things back, and we typically just deal with things if they're average, but when she asked us how it was, we had to be honest because it was a $15 appetizer we weren't going to eat. My husband's steak was decent, but he still said he'd never pay as much as he did for it again. My filet was alright - I've personally had better cooked filet at Longhorn... Perhaps we should have gotten something more authentic (Mediterranean), but we personally just weren't drawn to anything on the menu. We then unfortunately both had stomach aches later in the evening.. overpriced for an undesirable evening, and overall not the...

First time here after discovering this restaurant passing by shopping in the area. We enjoy Mediterranean cuisine and decide to stop and try it out. After entering and being seated, we realized it was owned by the same owner as Central Diner, which is a place we enjoy going. Interior is decorated nicely, staff were efficient and friendly and the food was fantastic. We started with hummus and pita, which was awesome...fresh garlic flavor with just enough bite. My boyfriend ordered chicken souvlaki, and I ordered lamb chops and a bowl of chicken lemon soup. The lamb chops were cooked and seasoned to perfection. They were juicy, tender, and melted in my mouth, the best lamb chops I've ever had. The chicken lemon soup was also the best I've had from any Mediterranean restaurant, honestly, and I will admit that I'm pretty particular. My boyfriend had the same sentiment about his meal. His chicken was juicy and seasoned very tastefully. Pricepoint is about what I would expect for this type of restaurant, and for the price, the portions were fair, but the quality of the food and flavor were well worth the cost. There were some upcharges, and my boyfriends beer was a bit pricey at 8.50 each. He also usually drinks cheaper things like Yuengling, so I found that to be a bit expensive. Overall, my expectations were definitely exceeded, and we will be back. I'd recommend stopping in, especially if you enjoy this type of cuisine, but if you've never had it, this would be the...