P.J. Marley's - Medina, OH — Restaurant in Medina

Atmosphere: A- The restaurant is converted from an old bank. Decor is very well done including an old-style safe. Minus for the random Christmas lights near the bar in October. The place was quiet and maybe half full for dinner on a Tuesday. The restaurant itself is located in a scenic and quaint area of oldtown Medina.

Appetizer: F Ordered Chips n' Salsa. Received a basket of (slightly stale, but more on that later) blue corn chips with a tiny 1oz black plastic cup with store-bought salsa and another cup of sour cream. Needless to say, the salsa was average and only lasted for a quarter of the chips provided. The sour cream was untouched but I did stare at it for a minute hoping it would turn into some more subpar salsa. You'll find a few chips with salt and pepper but most of them had no salt and were incredibly bland. Almost like they scraped them off before serving. I get the impression that no one who knows PJ Marley's orders the Chips n' Salsa; overpriced, straight off a grocery shelf and stale. You'll order the Chips n' Salsa as a lighter option than the other appetizers, but what you'll get is a reason to not come back.

Drink: B Upon first glance at the drink menu, I was quite pleased. Though I immediately knocked it down half a letter grade for not including prices. There was a good selection of ciders which was key for me. Unfortunately had to mark it down another letter grade because the waiter had to come to the table twice to tell me they didn't actually have the cider that I had ordered. Fortunately, the price didn't end up being too outrageous ($3.99 Bottle) and the Ace Joker cider I ended up with was very good. Similar to an Angry Orchard and definitely a drink I will look for on future drink menus.

Entree: C+ Unfortunately, my experience with the burgers here was average at best. The Safecracker burger I had was under-cooked, dense and a bit dry. An odd combination of miscues but there you have it. The bun, fries and burger toppings (bacon and mac n' cheese) were quite good, which made the sub-par burger even more frustrating. The amount of attention paid towards some of the food on the entree was refreshing after the extremely disappointing appetizer.

Price: C- $4.99 for a bad appetizer. $10.99 for an average albeit well-attempted burger. The prices were really not so bad, had the burger lived up to it's potential I'd be willing to splurge and spend the $10.99.

Service: C The waitress was a bit distant, not particularly helpful. Forgot some minor requests and checked in at some odd times but no worse than ordinary service. The food was prompt, as was the check.

Try Again?: Maybe, but not likely. I only say maybe because I really do expect the burger should have been more enjoyable than I found it. And it will be easy enough to avoid the Chips & Salsa which had no right to be...

Great server, solid food, awful management. I'll start with the positive. Our server was awesome and did everything she could to make sure we had a great meal. The food was also good. The management ruined the meal. We ordered an appetizer and asked that no pepper was added to the top (as it mentioned on the menu). The pepper is an allergen and has a habit of ruining evenings. Can't eat it.

The pickles come out covered in pepper. Fine, it was an error and we send it back. Less than 2 minutes later they come back. Sketchy, like the top couple were removed, but fine looked like it was clear... we'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Next we order the meal...they had pepper on it that we didn't expect. Even though it was unexpected, the server was great about it. She didn't have to send it back but did. We appreciated it. Food comes​ out 5 mins later, enough time to remake it we think. Most seems fine until we get to the last part and notice there is still pepper. At this point we realized the meal was likely handled the same as the pickles.

At this point, eating a good amount of food and growing anxious for the consequences, we let the server know. She was apologetic and said she'll take it to her Manager. She brings the check back and is almost embarrassed when she hands it to us. $1.20 off. It just shows the complete lack of care.

I have been fortunate enough to have pretty good experiences in the restaurants I visit and rarely leave a bad review. A restaurant that cares this little for it's patron won't be getting another visit...which sucks cause that burger was...

Great atmosphere. SUPERB service. Good food. Can’t say enough about our waitress Sara. She was totally awesome! I was having a birthday celebration with my daughters. Only complaint was the hostess. I’m disabled and it was difficult for me to enter the facility since you had to navigate a set of cement steps. I had to balance my handbag, my cane, and a bag with birthday gifts. The young female hostess was standing outside on the landing next to the entrance door. She stood there and stared and watched me struggle up the steps. Never said hello, welcome, can I help you, NOTHING. When I got to the entrance landing she quickly ducked in front of me and entered the restaurant. I said I had reservations for the vault room. She said I couldn’t be seated until my full party was there. I said that was fine but asked her to bring me a chair (due to my handicap and there wasn’t a seated waiting area). She told me I had to stand next to the hostess desk. When I again asked for a chair, she snorted and said she would just seat me. I don’t know this person, I’ve never seen this person, I had never been to this restaurant, I don’t live in that city or even nearby, so I was quite surprised by her rudeness and saddened by her coldness. They definitely need to get her some serious PR training. That alone would make me wonder if I want to go...