Mary Lou's — Restaurant in West Palm Beach

Atmosphere ✅Great (+1 star)

They did a good job keeping some of the corner store’s spirit alive (check out the exposed plywood ceilings), while making it comfortable and feel upscale. The jazz ensemble was enjoyable, and played an entertaining rendition of Britney’s iconic “Toxic”

Drinks ✅Great (+1 star)

Food ❌ Bad

Octopus: tough, chewy, without a hint of “crispy.” Red sauce alarmingly bland. Wagyu: grey color with no sear should have stopped us. Mistake. Offensive. Foul. Banana crème brûlée: comes in half a peel with two tablespoons of soupy liquid beneath the sugar shell. Cute idea, hilariously poor execution. Generally everything we had lacked flavor (salt). I imagine some menu items could be great; unfortunately this was not our experience. We watched food deliver to wrong tables twice. After eating, wish they had kept it. “Michelin chef” = catchphrase for suckers. Yawn.

Service ❌ as others have said, expect to be notified at some point during your reservation that you need leave soon. In our case, this was at about the $300/one hour mark. Honestly understand, but it would be classy to include this policy in the reservation or upon arrival, rather than when we are still hungry (see above) trying to enjoy ourselves. The place was about 1/3 empty, so random people sitting at empty tables next to us, plus empty stools at the bar, made this gesture even less appropriate. For such a bespoke reservation system, there was no mention during our allotted time of our special occasion. No method to have valet to get car in advance, resulting in us stand outside watching valet fumble keys/cards only to pull up from 10 ft away. Servers, bus boys, management, valets all numerous and standing around. Don’t forget there’s 20% auto-gratuity already on the bill — I get Mary Lou’s is going for “a touch of ridiculousness” but the service is just plain silly. 🥴 I imagine this establishment will be closed over the summers and shuttered for good one or two...

⭐ 1 Star – If I Could Give Zero, I Would

If you’re looking for a place where the staff’s egos are bigger than the crowd, look no further. This “club” (and I use that term loosely) is a masterclass in unprofessionalism and bad taste. Five of us—five classy, well-dressed women—showed up at 10:30 PM (yes, before the rush), only to be greeted by a door girl who clearly mistook her Red Bull for a personality. Rude doesn’t even begin to cover it—condescending, degrading, and so fake with her “sincere apologies” that it was almost laughable. Spoiler alert: she wasn’t sorry.

And as if one trash attitude wasn’t enough, the man working the door took it to a whole new level of disrespect. He talked to us like we were beneath him—ironic, considering I have more class in my pinky than he does in his entire being. Garbage.

To make it even more absurd, they let two of my friends in while leaving three of us outside like it was some kind of twisted social experiment. What’s the logic? There isn’t any. Just an inflated sense of self-importance from people who wouldn’t know sophistication if it smacked them in the face.

If you enjoy being treated like you’re lucky to be in their presence (newsflash: we’re not), by all means, waste your time here. Otherwise, save yourself the headache and go somewhere that treats people with basic human decency.

Zero stars for the laughable staff, tacky vibes, and the most bizarre entrance policy I’ve ever witnessed. This place isn’t exclusive—it’s...

Disappointing Experience

I had a very disappointing experience at Marylou PB on 250 Southern Blvd. I arrived shortly after 10 PM and proceeded to valet my car, only to be met with rude hostesses who dismissively told us it was reservations only. There was no courtesy or effort to accommodate—just attitude.

What made it worse was that valet should have asked if we had a reservation before taking our car. That way, we wouldn’t have wasted our time and energy getting out and dealing with such unprofessionalism.

To add to the poor experience, the security outside was incredibly rude. One of my male friends was wearing shorts, and instead of politely informing us of the dress code, the security guard mockingly told him to “go to Roxy’s.” If the dress code is strict, that’s understandable, but the way it was handled was disrespectful and unprofessional. Again, if the valet had been better informed, we wouldn’t have even gotten out of the car in the first place.

I’ve never felt so profiled and unwelcome at an establishment before. There are plenty of places in Palm Beach that offer great service without the attitude. I won’t be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for a welcoming and professional...