The Marisol — Restaurant in North Carolina

First,let me say that the service was excellent. Heather was very personable, very pleasant and knowledgeable. The restaurant itself was a bit of a let down. The Marisol was in the top 5 of "Romantic" restaurants in Greensboro......I hate to break it to them, but no, they are not. They are located in a "strip mall" type building. Sure, it is in a classier part of town, but we expected more from a supposed romantic atmosphere. The decor was all over the place. Mediterranean stucco style book shelves, French/American art scattered around and American lighthouse pictures clustered together. The effect did not made it feel romantic, more like it was thrown together at the last minute. The tan walls were not the best choice, they did not give a cozy atmosphere. All the reviews raved about the Marisol's expensive, but exquisite food palate and their award winning wine. I'm not a wine connoisseur, so my best guess is that most people get so drunk, they can't taste the food? We knew going in that we were going to pay close to $150, but we expected at that price to be "WOWed" by the food.....we were not. Their menu does change frequently, but most of their appetizers stay the same. My husband had the fried Scallops, which he did like. I had the white Truffle Gnocchi, with dijon mustard. To me, it tasted more like mustard soup, due to it was drowned in the mustard cream. For our main courses, I had the Rabbit and my husband had the 8 oz. Filet minion. My rabbit, while tasting like chicken, was for the most part fatty, but ok tasting. Not to spectacular. My husband's "steak" tasted more like stew meat, not a top-notch, expensive piece of beef. Sorry if this review is harsh, but we wanted a romantic night out and got an over-priced let-down. We are parents of two energetic toddlers, so our night outs are far and few between. Needless to say, we will not be dining at the...

The Atmosphere was not the best. We were seated close to the door with the table half on a brick wall and half on a window. I felt crowded. There were empty tables toward the back that were not as crowded. The food was overpriced. The steak was not juicy it was on the dry side. I ordered lamb fully cooked and when I got the plate the first time it was still rare inside. They took the plate and brought back the same plate with the same lamb and sides. They had barely cooked the lamb as it was still med-rare inside. They took the plate back a second time. They brought it back a third time with the same plate and cut up lamb and side that had been on there at this point it seemed ridiculous that I had sent this same plate back. I was hungry and my friend had already tried to wait to eat his food as I was waiting on mine to be fixed. The lamb this time was a medium well. I just ate it this time. I didn’t appreciate the server trying to make an excuse by saying “sometimes it’s hard for them to tell if it’s well done because of the bone.” This is supposed to be a 5 star fine dinning restaurant and to me it seems that they should know how to fully cook meat. It is unacceptable to make excuses for poorly served food. There is a thing called a meat thermometer. I will definitely...

I am a food blogger and actually posted a pretty nice video of this place from my first night/experience at the restaurant. I went on a Friday, sat at the bar and had a superb dinner.

I mentioned to the bartender I’d be back the next night because it was so good (and for those wondering I tipped very well so that’s not the issue). I even showed at up at 5:45 as they opened to be sure I’d not have an issue. At no point did she say you may want to reserve a seat or that she was full. Market is happening but ppl are notoriously late at market and the place was empty…

I showed up to be told “I’m full”… I had to take a call and was there another :35 in my car and nobody else showed up to sit at the bar. I was alone and would not have been more than :30-45 mins based on previous night but rather than earning a loyal customer (who comes to HP several times a year), they have instead earned a poor review for their lack of hospitality and poor customer service. It’s really a shame they treat customers or potential customers this way when their food was so good.

Honestly they should have had something that said reservations required at the bar on their site or at least the bartender should have told me when I told her I’d be back tonight so I did not...