Marker 39 Floribbean Cuisine — Restaurant in Safety Harbor

I am a local resident of Safety Harbor, and I have been wanting to try Marker 39. This morning, for a treat, I took my 9 year old grandson there for breakfast.We were greeted by a lovely woman who seated us. Our next contact was with a waitress named Jaime. She was rude, surly and had poor communication skills. She took our order, without making eye contact, and acted as if I was irritating by her body language of sighing and rolling her eyes when I asked if they had a kids menu and if they could substitute something for the meat in my order. We then waited 50minutes without anyone coming back and checking on us for our food to come. When it did come, it was wrong, and it was disappointing. I ordered a big breakfast, with two eggs, muffin, and cheese grits. They forgot the jam - when it came it was very little and runny. The cheese grits were pitiful with only a few piece of shredded cheese on top of a tiny bowl of grits. Beckett's order was wrong, and they brought back a bowl of lettuce about 15 minutes later. I complained and was met with surly silence. I then asked for my check, and I waited another 15 minutes, having to asked twice more before I got it. When I got my check, I complained because they charged me for a ceasar salad when all I asked for was a small bowl of romaine for my grandson. The manager came out, argued with me, and dropped the check in front of me. I will not be going back there again. The entire time I was pleasant and calm. Towards the end, my irritation was showing, but I remained calm throughout. This restaurant could learn some communication customer...

The menu selection which we viewed before heading to Marker 39 was interesting and we were excited to try the restaurant’s version of a paella. The restaurant was a pleasant place to be; the restaurant staff were very friendly and accommodating and the decor was lovely. I ordered myself a glass of wine. I enjoyed the wine and the food was ready quickly. Unfortunately where it went wrong and why I have to drop my rating to three stars: The paella was not even enough food for one person, unless that person had eaten something else before getting the paella. It was $32 dollars, which is $3 more than what is displayed on their menu online, and we had decided to only order the paella and see how we felt about ordering more food. My spouse did not care for the flavor combination of their paella, while I enjoyed it but was disappointed at how little food we were given. There seemed to be little more than a quarter cup of rice and then a broth with a variety of seafood and chicken (we asked for no chorizo), and two plaintain chips. The variety of seafood included was excellent in my opinion but we just needed more food, especially for the price and with the notion that this is labeled as the restaurant’s version of a paella. We decided to take the check and go elsewhere to eat as we were worried that we would order another meal and still...

I don’t think you could do much better than this intimate and welcoming chef-owned HIDDEN GEM. It’s a great spot for a date night or any time you are looking for phenomenal food with impressively good flavor combinations. David, our server, was also incredibly knowledgeable about the impressive wine list and pairings. He helped tailor our order to our tastes.

Marker 39 serves Floribbean cuisine at its finest. We were both incredibly pleased. Portions were perfect and served promptly. David, our server, was also unobtrusive and yet very attentive, popping in at exactly the right times for an unhurried amazing experience.

We declined dessert, as difficult as it was. The chef kindly came out with 2 small scoops of some homemade ice cream with homemade caramel and a shortbread crumble he was trying out. Nothing short of an impeccable and perfect date night meal.

We will definitely be repeat customers here.I can’t wait til the weather cools a bit so we can try the lovely looking shaded patio. Don’t say we didn’t warn you how difficult it is to...