Marea — Restaurant in New York

Marea was an excellent experience. We made a reservation for lunch, it was a leisure appointment, no business. Marea states on their website that the restaurant "...attracts those who don't chase luxury, but who live it - by elevating life's moments...with the best food, service, and surroundings in the world". I must say that they live up to their mission statement of sorts. We made an appointment for 1:15 PM, indoors. We were pleased to arrive at a hustling atmosphere, one that invited relaxation and experience. Yes, they're not chasing luxurty, they're not pretending to be anything that they're not - they don't need to pretend, they're masters. The hostess was very friendly, she welcomed us with a genuine smile and offered to take our umbrellas. This was a first class move, luckily, we didn't end up with a girl in her 20s with risqué clothing who dares to take the weight of the world on her shoulders by finding you to your seat. This woman was confident, warm, and willing to meet the customer where he/she is. Our waiter was John. The wait staff here took a unique approach. They seemed to have abandoned the notion of 'getting to know your customer' to exchange gibberish wording in an effort to offer some kind of superficial connection. I was pleased with this, for we didn't have to worry about one-liners, or conversation segways. It was all avoided because it was business, and exchange of requests for services and products. It was friendly, of course, but there was no nonsense. This is a rare combination. The efficiency of the waiter with the open arms of the hostess. So far, the experience was making all the marks. John provided us with our waters and allowed us some time to look over the menus. The menus were very user-friendly. They were simple, clean, easy to read, well-spaced and attractive. They weren't massive, awkward solar panels that you had to maneuver around the table with fear of running out of table surface area or knocking a glass of water. Another win for Marea. John took our orders with inquiring about any allergies. We noticed there was a pronounced presence of 'mocktails' on the menu, something that seems to be making a comeback across several global metropolises like London, Paris, and now New York. I was pleased with this, especially at lunch hour. We ordered two of them, both were delicious. The food was excellent, and visually attractive. The visual was not a show, it wasn't a piece of stale cracker and tartar sauce that some other restaurants may want to pawn off as 'culinary' simply because it's unique to an untrained eye. It was all necessary, complementary combinations that gave your dining experience one of curiosity - how can such creations come together to mystify the satisfaction of culinary excellence? The busboys were quick to refill our waters, John did his typical mid-meal check in, and was sufficient in cleaning the crumbs off the table as we ate. We finished with dessert and coffees which were clearly made to order. The facility was beyond relaxing, the dress code was clearly business casual at this hour, the clientele was informed and well-read enough to respect that. It is clear that Marea isn't looking to please a one-time customer, but instead invests in the institutions of hospitality merit that seek to do one thing - retain, to retain their customer base. They have done a smashing job. I will most certainly return to Marea next time I am in the Columbus Circle area because it's an experience that hits on all fronts; ambiance, dining, hospitality, service, efficiency, pleasure. If you dine Central Park South, you...

UPDATE: THEY WANT TO SILENCE ME BY DELETING MY REVIEW. WE SHAN'T BE SILENCED! THIS REVIEW IS ORIGINALLY FROM 2021 AFTER A HORRENDOUS DINING EXPERIENCE.

ADDITIONALLY, THEY HAVE SINCE LOST BOTH THEIR TWO (2) MICHELIN STARS! JUSTICE SERVED!

I am really saddened to leave a horrible review after weeks of anticipation. We were very excited to celebrate a good friend's birthday at a prestigious italian-seafood restaurant that boasted a Michelin star. Unfortunately, our experience was nowhere near the Michelin standards and I hope the Michelin critics soon revaluate their decision to award this restaurant one of their stars.

To start with, it is important to note that this establishment runs nothing short of a scam. When we were first seated, the waiter invited all of us to glasses of sparkling water. The waiter failed to mention any price and it was assumed to be complimentary. For the first time, a restaurant's water fell short of expectations. They served us lukewarm bottles of S. Pellegrino that had nearly no carbonation remaining, due to all of them being left open in front of all the customers. Nevertheless, the waiters were adamant on constantly refilling our glasses, running us two bottles and two bottles more than we would have preferred. When the bill came, we couldn't believe our eyes that the sparkling bottles each costed us $12. We later found out that one bottle of the same size ran only $2 at the nearby Whole Foods. It is unacceptable for any restaurant, no matter prestige, to charge unaware customers a 600% increase on a third party product. It should be reminded that the waiters deliberately did not warn us of the stupendous price Moving on, the Red Wine-Braised Octopus Fussili was a bad experience like no other. At first glance, the presentation was a such a mess of red sauce and noodles, one could not even distinguish the octopus tentacles. I also quickly found that the noodles were not cooked long enough; the inside was near crunchy-hard and the sauce lacked much flavor. What really made the experience horrible was that after I requested a recook, I suspected that my dish was microwaved. The result was slightly cooked noodles with soggy panko crumbs and uneven temperatures. Furthermore, it ruined the star of the dish, the octopus tentacles, by overcooking them into a hard texture. Simply a bad financial and culinary experience all around, will never come back and I hope their Michilen star awarded a decade ago gets revoked.

I WOULD RECOMMEND NOTHING FROM THIS RESTAURANT...

Reservation for two on a Sunday night to celebrate my 40th birthday. Marea had always been on my NYC bucket list, so was excited to kick off the first night of our trip at this 1-star Michelin restaurant on Central Park. Overall, I was very pleased that I picked Marea to celebrate my 40th; food was spectacular but service seemed a bit ‘off’ for a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Food Lineup:

Started with Hamachi Crudo - beautiful presentation and incredible flavor *

For appetizer we had the Astice (lobster, burrata, and eggplant) - another winner *

Instead of a meat dish, we opted for two pastas. My wife has a gluten allergy so we substituted the GF pasta in both: -Fusili - Marea’s signature dish did not disappoint. Braised octopus with bone marrow that I can still taste today. Spectacular dish * -Bucatini (lump crab) - this dish would be star of the night at any other Italian restaurant but up against the Fusili it didn’t stand a chance **

Tiramisu for dessert was a great way to end the meal

Service: For a restaurant of this status, there were several examples where the service seemed subpar. First, the restaurant was notified ahead of time (and also when we were seated) about my wife’s gluten allergy, yet that didn’t stop the bread service with full-glutened bread. It was only after about 10min (and us asking two waitstaff) that GF bread was brought to the table.

Our server was generally “OK” but didn’t write down any of our order and he had to return to the table to inquire about our pasta order because he seemingly had forgotten what we wanted. Having waited tables for many years in my younger days, this was always to be avoided (and that was at a fast-casual restaurant). Additionally, he also forgot my post-dinner espresso order and I had to remind him of the order.

Aside from the above, the restaurant did recognize the birthdays of both my wife and I which was a nice touch.

For those that prefer to bring your own wine, the charge for corkage was $75. We had several nice chats with the somm, although he carried our bottle to the back to open it, whereas I prefer when this is done tableside.

$400 (including tax/tip) is not an everyday meal for us, but despite the service issues, I still felt as though we got our money’s worth at Marea. Would love to return next time...