Marbella Mediterranean Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

Last night, I went here with a friend, and unfortunately, the experience was incredibly underwhelming from start to finish.

First red flag: we had a reservation, but they called before it even started to confirm we were still coming — only for us to walk into a nearly empty restaurant with just three other tables. We were sat directly next to a loud speaker, which made it hard to relax or even hear each other.

The owner or manager came over and gave us an energetic pitch about how amazing the food is for sharing and how generous the portions are. That absolutely did not match reality.

We ordered two appetizers and the skirt steak (which came with Greek salad and potatoes), plus two cocktails. The appetizers arrived long before the drinks — and despite the place being nearly empty, we waited over 30–40 minutes for two simple cocktails. One came out as our entrée was being served, and the second didn’t even show up until we were already eating our steak. No apology, no explanation. Just silence.

And when the drinks did arrive, one was wrong, and the “spicy margarita” I ordered tasted like tequila with sour mix — no spice, no balance, and definitely not crafted with any attention.

The service overall was inattentive. Water glasses sat empty, and it felt like the staff was more focused on socializing with people at other tables than taking care of the rest of the room.

Now the food — where to begin. The potatoes were disgusting. Not just bland — they had some kind of odd, gross sauce on them that made them completely unappetizing. I actually gagged trying to eat one. The Greek salad was completely drowned in feta — it was just really gross And the skirt steak? We each had about two bites. That’s it. And to make it worse, they didn’t even give us steak knives — we were literally trying to cut steak with butter knives.

To top everything off, nothing was taken off the bill. No discount, no acknowledgment, even though we got our steak before we had even received both of our cocktails.

This place is all talk and no follow-through. It felt careless, overpriced, and totally not worth it. Would not return, and definitely...

This is the most irresponsible business I ever saw. Probably, their slogan is "keep the ethic away from us". They located at the ground floor of residential building, and I'm living right above them. And you know what? They really thinking their music taste is too good to share. This is not like that, but they don't pay any attention. There is 4:42 PM, Thursday and I really don't understand why I should listening their "cool" music even if my windows are closed. This happens daily. But this is not the most annoying part of them, because sometimes I can't sleep. They put their music even if its 10 in the evening, or 11; their basses make my walls shake sometimes; sometimes there is a drunk teenagers wandering around it (literally teenagers, so I think somebody need to check whom their selling alcohol to); or just a crowds of drunk and loud people. It's very cool to have neighboors like this - they quick to remind me that I'm not a real human who can be tired, sick or just wanting a little privacy, but an empty space. Their manager decided that I should listen that crapp and I was endofrced to "enjoy" it even in the late nate. So before make visit here just remember about that - your fun is someone discomfort. By the way, I knew a few people, who visited them and then said their food is the same for their ethic. One friend of mine tells that he got a severe problems after...

To be as unbiased as possible here is the good:

1: service was great- owner Joe introduced himself gave us several free shots super friendly. we had wanted to go to the bar to stay but it was full otherwise I would’ve happily stayed. Our server was lovely as well. She gave us honest recommendations.

2: the decor and atmosphere is very nice. I would recommend dressing up a little I saw some girls in big oversized sweatshirts and it kinda looked out of place bc most people are dressed nicely

3: the food was really tasty- we got the dip trios and then I got the skirt steak and my friend got the harissa honey bowl. My only negative note was I asked for a medium rare and it was quite rare in the middle still delicious just not my preference. And the dips came with fried pita and they charge you for extra but there’s a lot of dip vs the pita ratio and the dish costs $30 so I feel like I should be able to finish my dips without paying for extra chips

Overall, I would say this place is worth it, for the atmosphere and vibes I think the prices were reasonable it’s in a lovely area in the navy pier of Staten island great place you can take a walk before or after dinner and get a great view of the Verrazano. The owner was really kind and informative we enjoyed speaking with him. I think it is...