Very disappointing experience
September 23, 2007 by Lucy

A friend from Syracuse drove to Erie to take my husband and I out to dinner to celebrate a special event.

We always like to give local restaurants our business, especially when dining with out of towners who would appreciate something local. We wanted to go for a relaxing evenign with our friend who was driving quite a distance to take us out for a celebration.

We chose the Marketplace Grill. It was the Sat of Labor Day weekend. We arrived at 7 with reservations. The three of us were escorted to a large booth, and we immediately asked for a table that would be more appropriate for three. None were available. Our waiter was very cordial but was obviously stressed. He was working hard and was sweating. While a nice young man, he lacked any finesse and skill at waitstaffing.

We ordered a drink and I had to send back the flat beer and ask for another. We ordered soup and my husband stressed that he wanted the soup hot. The soup came out lukewarm-at best.

The place was jammed and our waiter was too stressed for us to ask for another soup. My husband and I both ordered a chicken and pasta dish and our friend ordered the same only with shrimp and chicken. We had an ok salad but no bread.

The entrees arrived and looked good. I took one bite into my chicken and could not swallow it. I disposed of it quietly and politely. It seemed raw and had a spoiled taste. My husband ate one piece and also could not continue. We did not want to ruin the meal for the guest so neither of us said anything, ate some of the pasta and left all the rest of the chicken on the plate. Our guest did not finish her meal.

The waiter came to remove our plates and never asked if we enjoyed the meal or questioned the fact that the plates were barely touched.

In order to avoid any problem at a meal that was supposed to be very special, we did not say anything and tried to keep the evening as pleasant as possible. Unfortunately, our guest did comment on the bedlam that appeared before us with the waitstaff.

To further make the experience difficult, a waitress kept marching past our table in anger and spewed out her anger at her coworkers so diners in the area could hear.

We were so disappointed and embarrassed and felt horrible that our guest had to pay for such an inferior meal.

I have no way of knowing if this is isolated as we do not dine at the Marketplace regularly. We certainly have been there in the past, but this experience has turned us off to dining out for special occasions for awhile.

Rehearsal Dinner
October 31, 2006 by Mike A.

We ate at the Marketplace Grill for the rehearsal dinner for my brother's wedding, so I'm not sure what a normal dinner there is like. Our meal was good, though. We had a buffet-style meal with some great mashed potatoes, sliced pork, and barbecue chicken. The staff was great and kept everything moving and the drinks flowing. I wouldn't mind going back there for a similar event.