Mariner Grille — Restaurant in Narragansett

We went to the Mariner Grille after spending a day working on a construction project at home. We were rewarding ourselves. I've been here before.

We were seated quickly, at a bench table. The cushion side was squishy, I sank down about 4.5 inches. I needed a booster seat, so I decided to sit next to my husband, in a proper chair. When I got up, I saw the bench was smattered with crumbs. Boo. And the table was grimy.

Water was brought, had the whiff off chlorine.

Waitress was cheery and polite. We ordered drinks (A sparkling water, a beer on tap). A bit long before she returned, and informed that the beer ordered was 86. She did not bring my water at that time. He ordered another, and we waited some more.

The menu LOOKED price-right. My husband ordered a seafood dish which came as a casserole of scallops, lobster, shrimp in some (cheese?) sauce, breadcrumb, mashed red potatoes and scant carrots/broccoli on the side. Uber-traditional. He thought it was fine. BUT...

I ordered the Duck Confit: "Confit of Duck Leg with mushrooms, Asparagus, Tomato-Gorgonzola Cheese Risotto, & Port Wine Glaze."

We enjoy fine dining. We are happy to pay over $25/plate up to $40+ for something beautiful, gastronomically pleasing and delightfully well-presented. I often order confit of duck in different places and I know just what it is. This was not it.

The duck wasn't crisp, still covered in herbs (meant to be dusted off before the "confit" process, was DROWNING in glaze-which did NOT taste like port wine--a unique flavor). It did easily pull from the bone, but so smothered; difficult to taste the duck. It was pressed into a bowl of awful, too-much-cheese risotto and barely sprinkled with asparagus (of the thinnest kind, over-cooked, and maybe had two entire stalks in it-I had to dig for them). I found no mushrooms in the dish.

The "blend" of flavors was amateur. Too much contrast. Gorgonzola is a strong cheese, and if you use too much of it, it tastes a bit like vomit, especially if you combine it with an overly-sweet gravy (I mean, GLAZE).

No effort to refill our drinks. She returned to check on us and see if we were enjoying our food, it was obvious that I was "done" with the dish (I had been for probably ten minutes). I was honest and polite abd said, "I have been trying to like this dish, but I just can't." She apologized; offered to bring me something else. My husband was almost finished, and I doubted they could rustle up anything that would arrive quickly. He was already awkwardly eating while I was not. I politely declined.

She didn't offe a second drink. She took the duck off our bill (the right thing to do, but not heroic).

If the chef reads this review: Duck confit is almost ALWAYS served crisp. It is rich and fatty, and so does not need to be served with overwhelmingly sweet or fatty dishes. Unless you are making cassoulet, rillettes, or shredding it for use in a casserole of another kind. I'm going to be a little...snarky and offer a more apt menu description:

Risotto and Duck: Creamy gorgonzola and tomato risotto, dotted with asparagus and mushrooms, stewed confit of duck smothered with red wine glaze.

This way, you would redirect the COMMON expectation of a crisp leg, describe the very rich risotto and be honest about the veggies.

HOWEVER--note that nearly anyone who writes about confit will reprimand serving this item with fatty, over-rich foods.

The waitress brought us our check and confirmed she took the dish off the bill. My husband promptly placed his card in the folder. As we waited, a waitress cleared the table adjacent, andwiped the crumbs from the bench WITH HER BARE HANDS. Gross. This means that any grease was left behind will end up on the clothes of the next patron. For the price point, the presentation, service and atmosphere need a TON of work.

I got up to use the ladies'. After, still no waitress. I pulled out my wallet, had just enough cash for the bill and tip (20%),...

We saw the reviews and were excited. Thought it would be a great place to stop for our last fish dinner in the area. The staff was pleasant. My husband ordered the NE clam chowder, the taste was nice but there were tons of potatoes and not a single clam in it. We both ordered the seafood scampi. Regarding the seafood, there was plenty. The scallops and clams were cooked well, the shrimp was very over cooked. His dish came with a great deal of pasta. I ordered gluten free pasta, had plenty. I was never told there was a $5.50 up charge for gluten free pasta. Come on, a pound of this brand pasta costs $2.50. I probably would have ordered it anyway but that is really ridiculous. So let’s talk about the scampi sauce. It was very heavy on olive oil, I didn’t taste any butter or lemon. Minimal garlic taste, as well. I really wanted to love this restaurant, unfortunately I was very disappointed. Their reviews are generally very good. It was a Wednesday so perhaps we caught a bad day and inexperienced staff. Honestly though, I would not return. They got a 3/5. I would have given them less except the waitstaff was lovely...

This place seems to get better as time goes by. I came with a friend a few months ago just to get some calamari, which was great! Fresh, not chewy, we decided to stay for a meal. Today was Easter and our family came here. Of course we got reservations like we did last year. Coming up the stairs I found they'd remodeled that section so it's much bigger and looks less like a loft and more like a banquet room. The food was wonderful (it was a brunch buffett,) the typical breakfast foods (the waffles didn't need the hard to find syrup,) appetizers that included smoked fish, oysters, cheeses and more, a meat slicing station with moist prime rib and more, so many things I can hardly remember every food. I ate so much I didn't try the desserts which looked typical though nonetheless delicious. I'm looking forward to being able to change my 4 star rating to 5. If you're going to the beach but aren't looking for a clam shack, stop here for a...